Pilot of Enola Gay Had No Regrets for Hiroshima : NPR

Contents:

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

ENOLA GAY

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. Japan officially surrenred on September 2, Enola Gay remaed service for several years before beg given to the Smhsonian Instutn on July 3, 1949.

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.

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

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.

THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON

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. 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. 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.

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.

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

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. 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.

THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY

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.

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

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. The Enola Gay, known for droppg the first atomic bomb, was volved nuclear weapons tts before beg prerved for historil purpos.

Controversy surroundg the exhib foced on the balance between Japane sualti and the bomb's role endg the war, sparkg ongog discsns about how to appropriately display and remember the Enola Gay.

Followg succsful ttg wh the project, Enola Gay, a B-29 Superfortrs bomber, beme famed for droppg the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, Augt 1945.

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

After pletg s Augt 1945 missn, the Enola Gay returned to the Uned Stat and arrived at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexi, November 1945. The tle was transferred om the ary to the Smhsonian Instutn Augt 1946, and the Enola Gay was removed om the USAF ventory.

Boyne, a former B-52 pilot, beme director of the Natnal Air and Space Mm and prrized the rtoratn of the Enola Gay.

The Enola Gay beme the center of ntroversy when the Smhsonian planned to exhib s felage 1995, memoratg the 50th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombg.

BOEG B-29 SUPERFORTRS "ENOLA GAY"

The display of the Enola Gay aga sparked further ntroversy, wh some argug for a more nuanced prentatn of s history. 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.

PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS FOR HIROSHIMA

It ntaed several major ponents of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber ed the atomic missn that stroyed Hiroshima, Japan.

THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB

A vio prentatn about the Enola Gay's missn clud terviews wh the crew before and after the missn cludg missn pilot Col. 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. Seventy-five years ago, the Uned Stat dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, brgg an end to a long and vastatg World War II and makg the Enola Gay, the B-29 that livered , one of the most famo history.

He handpicked the plane the night before the missn, to the surprise of s crew, and had his mother’s name -- Enola Gay -- pated on s si. It was a moment for which none of the Enola Gay’s crew -- away by then, but still rocked by the blast -- was que prepared.

WHERE IS THE ENOLA GAY TODAY?

Some fly ahead to check the weather to see what ’s like at the actual target, and Enola Gay was part of that for Nagasaki, " Kney said. After the bombgs and the war’s quick end, the Enola Gay remaed wh the Army Air Forc, takg part the Biki Atoll atomic tts before beg shipped to the Smhsonian 1960. "They want to see the spachip Disvery, they want to see the [SR-71] Blackbird, and they want to see the Enola Gay.

The plane rryg Pl Tibbets, his crew and most importantly the bomb was a Boeg B-29 Superfortrs named ‘Enola Gay’.

Pl Tibbets wavg om the ‘Enola Gay’s’ ckp before takg off for the bombg of Hiroshima (left); Brigadier General Pl W. Left to right: ‘Big Stk’, ‘The Great Artiste’, ‘Enola Gay’Image Cred: Harold Agnew on Tian Island 1945, Public doma, via Wikimedia Commons.