Boeg B-29 Superfortrs "Enola Gay" | Smhsonian Instutn

Contents:

• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB
• TAKE A TOUR OF THE ENOLA GAY, THE U.S. PLANE THAT BOMBED HIROSHIMA
• WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE PLANE THAT WAS ENOLA GAY’S BACKUP?
• ENOLA GAY: THE B-29 AIRPLANE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
• HIROSHIMA’S ENOLA GAY RRIED 12 MEN, HOPE AND THE WORLD’S ADLIT WEAPON
• ENOLA GAY: WHAT EXACTLY WAS IT AND WHO USED IT?
• WHERE IS THE ENOLA GAY TODAY?
• THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB
• TOURG THE SMHSONIAN AIR AND SPACE MM’S ENOLA GAY EXHIB
• THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON
• EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY
• BOEG B-29 SUPERFORTRS "ENOLA GAY"
• PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS FOR HIROSHIMA

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB

Enola Gay, the B-29bomber that was ed by the Uned Stat on Augt 6, 1945, to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, the first time the explosive vice had been ed on an enemy target.

” The Enola Gay—Tibbets had a matenance man pat that name on the aircraft’s nose shortly before takeoff—was acpanied by var other plan. Tibbets flew the Enola Gay back to Tian, where he was award the Distguished Service Cross.

TAKE A TOUR OF THE ENOLA GAY, THE U.S. PLANE THAT BOMBED HIROSHIMA

Three days later the Enola Gay nducted weather rennaissance the lead-up to the bombg of Nagasaki, Japan. Japan officially surrenred on September 2, Enola Gay remaed service for several years before beg given to the Smhsonian Instutn on July 3, 1949.

The Enola Gay is a B-29 Superfortrs, which pilot Pl Tibbets named after his mother, and which had been stripped of everythg but the necsi, so as to be thoands of pounds lighter than an ordary plane of that make.

While did not drop the bomb on Nagasaki, the Enola Gay did take flight to get data on the weather the lead-up to the send strike on Japan. In the aftermath of World War II, the Army Air Forc flew the Enola Gay durg an atomic tt program the Pacific; was then livered to be stored an airfield Arizona before beg flown to Illois and transferred to the Smhsonian July 1949. The Commtee for the Rtoratn and Display of the Enola Gay now has 9, 000 signatur of prott.

WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE PLANE THAT WAS ENOLA GAY’S BACKUP?

Adams, who is leavg his job after 10 relatively ntroversy-ee years, sent back a three-page answer stiffly turng down her requt for the Enola Gay. Demonstrators prott at the Enola Gay exhib at the the Smhsonian Natnal Air and Space Mm's Steven F.

And as long as is on display, the qutns rais are likely to ntue — after all, they have been wh the Enola Gay sce first beme a hoehold name. Tibbets, Jr., mand of the Superfortrs Enola Gay, dropped a highly enriched uranium, explosn-type, "gun-fired, " atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The airplane's last flight end on December 2 when the Enola Gay touched down at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.

On Augt 6, 1945, the crew of a modified Boeg B-29 Superfortrs named Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb ed warfare, lled “Ltle Boy, ” on the cy of Hiroshima, Japan. As a new and adly weapon, an atomic bomber, Enola Gay facilated a turng pot human history as hered the dawn of the Atomic Age and the threat of nuclear war. Upon visual lotn of Hiroshima, Tom Ferebee aimed for the cy center and Enola Gay dropped the “Ltle Boy” bomb om 31, 000 feet at 9:15 am.

ENOLA GAY: THE B-29 AIRPLANE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

After “Ltle Boy” left the forward bomb bay, Enola Gay lurched upward, and Tibbets iated a high angle evasive manver to get as far away om Hiroshima as possible. Enola Gay tail gunner Bob Caron took this picture of the cloud of smoke billowg 20, 000 feet above Hiroshima after the explosn of the Ltle Boy atomic bomb on Augt 6, 1945.

The history and memory of Enola Gay and s part the atomic attacks on Japan, and their effect on endg the war the Pacific and the nuclear tensns of the Cold War, reflects differg viewpots. The Smhsonian has been at the center of bat over those differg perspectiv terms of the terpretatn and public display of Enola Gay.

HIROSHIMA’S ENOLA GAY RRIED 12 MEN, HOPE AND THE WORLD’S ADLIT WEAPON

Enola Gay was to be the central artifact a planned exhibn at the Mm examg the atomic bombgs durg the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. In a revised exhibn, Enola Gay’s forward felage and bomb bay, two eng, a propeller, and other ponents, cludg a activated Ltle Boy bomb, went on display the Natnal Mall Buildg om June 1995 to May 1998. Udvar-Hazy Center opened December 2003, the fully-assembled Enola Gay went on permanent display the World War II Aviatn display area the Boeg Aviatn Hangar.

The display of the Enola Gay has generated a variety of rpons rangg om public protts  1995 and 2003 to opposg pots of view exprsed  alternative exhibns, petns, and reports, and ntu to serve as a se study  prentg history the public sphere that is vigoroly discsed and bated to this day. The flight of the Enola Gay on Augt 6, 1945, signifi an end and a begng terms of our evolvg unrstandg of technology and warfare the twentieth century.

ENOLA GAY: WHAT EXACTLY WAS IT AND WHO USED IT?

13 died last weekHiroshima bombg anniversaryTake a tour of the Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima 69 years agoOn Augt 6, 1945 the U.

Natnal Air and Space the vio above, the CBC’s Meagan Fzpatrick gets a tour of the Enola Gay at the Steven F.

(Associated Prs)At the time of s missn, the Enola Gay was among the most sophistited, propeller-driven bombers the sky durg the Send World War, acrdg to the Smhsonian.

WHERE IS THE ENOLA GAY TODAY?

While this exhib is now closed, Mm specialists ntued to rtore the remag ponents of the airplane, and after an addnal ne years the fully assembled Enola Gay went on permanent display at the Natnal Air and Space Mm’s Steven F.

This past exhibn, cidg wh the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, told the story of the role of the Enola Gay securg Japane surrenr.

It ntaed several major ponents of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber ed the atomic missn that stroyed Hiroshima, Japan. A vio prentatn about the Enola Gay's missn clud terviews wh the crew before and after the missn cludg missn pilot Col.

THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB

Another portn of the exhib tailed the pastakg efforts of Smhsonian aircraft rtoratn specialists who had spent more than a rtorg parts of the Enola Gay for this exhibn. What was the name of the back up B-29 that flew to Iwo Jima and remaed on standby durg the Hiroshima missn the event that the Enola Gay had to abort and transfer Ltle Boy for pletn of the atomic bomb missn. On permanent display at the Natnal Air and Space Mm’s Udvar-Hazy Center Chantilly, Virgia, the Enola Gay was donated to the Smhsonian Instutn by the U.

Although missg a few parts, the Enola Gay is now rtored so generatns of Amerins n see the plane that left an lible mark the annals of time.

TOURG THE SMHSONIAN AIR AND SPACE MM’S ENOLA GAY EXHIB

But you have to be that wh the missn of the Enola Gay, which brgs the dimensn of the role of technology war. As the Enola Gay ma s fal approach to Hiroshima that day, Tibbets ascend to 31, 000 feet, then turned over ntrols to Ferebee.

THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON

The Enola Gay was then buffeted vlently when stck by two shock wav—one direct and the other reflected om the ground. In 1995, a 50th anniversary exhibn of the end of World War II, anized by curators and the director at the Natnal Air and Space Mm and displayg the felage of the Enola Gay, met wh unprecented cricism after veterans groups cricized the exhibn’s script for beg overly sympathetic to the Japane and the mm’s historians for beg misleadg and unpatrtic.

EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY

The Enola Gay was the bt aircraft of s era, but the velopment of that technology me wh a price. When the rtored Enola Gay went on permanent display 2003 at the Udvar-Hazy Center, attracted que a b of attentn.

The rtored Enola Gay is now on view at the Smhsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center Chantilly, Virgia. For years after the war, the crew of the Enola Gay never wavered their belief they did what they had to do. B-29 Superfortrs 'Enola Gay' (left); Firtorm-cloud that formed followg the Hiroshima bombg (right).

BOEG B-29 SUPERFORTRS "ENOLA GAY"

The plane rryg Pl Tibbets, his crew and most importantly the bomb was a Boeg B-29 Superfortrs named ‘Enola Gay’. Thoands were created, but arguably only one is known by name by the general public – ‘Enola Gay’.

Pl Tibbets wavg om the ‘Enola Gay’s’ ckp before takg off for the bombg of Hiroshima (left); Brigadier General Pl W. The B-29 Bomber was named after Pl Tibbets mother Enola Gay Tibbets, wh whom he had a close relatnship wh.

Left to right: ‘Big Stk’, ‘The Great Artiste’, ‘Enola Gay’Image Cred: Harold Agnew on Tian Island 1945, Public doma, via Wikimedia Commons. ‘Enola Gay’s’ crew safely land back on the Mariana Islands at 2:58pm, roughly 12 hours after the ial take off.

PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS FOR HIROSHIMA

B-29 Superfortrs ‘Enola Gay’Image Cred: Uned Stat Air Force, Public doma, via Wikimedia Commons. Followg the atomic bombgs, ‘Enola Gay’ remaed service for another four years before beg given to the Smhsonian Instutn. Tibbets Jr., 30, had handpicked the airplane on the assembly le Nebraska three months before and had jt had his mother’s name, “Enola Gay, ” pated black letters on the the plane mbled down the airstrip at over 100 mph, he had his lucky cigarette se wh him one pocket, and a box ntag 12 cyani psul Aug.

Two other B-29s, the “Great Artiste” and “Necsary Evil, ” were supposed to go along to take pictur and rerd “Enola Gay” was the “strike ship. ”Fifteen hundred to the north-northwt, unr a wang crcent moon, lay a 400-year-old Japane cy most Amerins probably had never heard of but whose name was about to be etched to the pag of was an important enemy ary se wh a wartime populatn about 280, 000, acrdg to the historians Gordon Thomas and Max half of them were about to be cerated, cshed, and irradiated by the c atomic weapon named “Ltle Boy” that the Enola Gay of thoands more would die the same way at Nagasaki a few days later, and the world would subsequently be hearg about megatons, mutual assured stctn, proliferatn, nuclear wter, meltdowns and dirty would be the start of a ightful era of weapons that uld fy ntrol and menace as “Dimpl Eight Two” picked up speed that morng, s missn was born of s time: liver a blow that the Uned Stat hoped might fally end the global butchery of World War II.

)This week, memoratns are schled across the untry, wh socially distanced ndlelight vigils and the tollg of bells, and bee of the vid-19, ceremoni and remembranc have moved Enola Gay, the Boeg B-29 Superfortrs that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, is seen on display July 29, 2020, at the Steven F. If this ighteng new weapon worked, the thkg went, would shorten the war, albe at a dreadful st human first the Enola Gay had to get off the ground. William Parsons, who flew on the missn as the bomb bee of that risk, the 10-foot-long “Ltle Boy” had not yet been was a “gun-type” bomb, one which an explosive charge would fire a “subcril” piece of uranium 235 down a six-foot-long “gun” barrel to a send subcril piece of uranium, acrdg to Thomas and created cril mass and the explosive nuclear cha reactn that would lay waste to four cloth bags of explosive and the tonator would not be serted until the plane was the Enola Gay was now dog 180 mph but was nng out of ground.