The Enola Gay's History Liv On > U.S. Department of Defense > Blog

Contents:

• THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB
• THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON
• EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY
• THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY
• HIROSHIMA’S ENOLA GAY RRIED 12 MEN, HOPE AND THE WORLD’S ADLIT WEAPON

THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB

After the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 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. But even unr the ctody of the mm, the Enola Gay remaed at an air force base Texas.

THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON

The Commtee for the Rtoratn and Display of the Enola Gay now has 9, 000 signatur of prott. 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. Enola Gay.

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.

EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY

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.

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. Boeg B-29 Superfortrs "Enola Gay". Frequently Asked Qutns Regardg Exhibn of B-29 Superfortrs Enola Gay.

The Enola Gay: The B-29 That Dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima. 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.

THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY

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.

Tibbets and his crew took off om Tian  Enola Gay at 2:45 am on Augt 6, 1945. 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.

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

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. Robert Lewis wrote his journal and may have subnscly said out loud over the rad ter, “My God, what have we done?” Enola Gay land back at Tian 12 hours later at approximately 3 pm.

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.