The plane was one of 15 B-29s with the final "Silverplate" modifications necessary to deliver nuclear bombs.
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Udvar-Hazy Center annex near Dulles International Airport in Virginia.Ĭolonel Paul Tibbets waving from Enola Gay's cockpit before the bombing of HiroshimaĮnola Gay (B-29-45-MO, serial number 44-86292, victor number 82) was assigned to the USAAF's 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group and flew the August 6 mission out of Tinian, a large island with several USAAF bases in the Mariana Islands chain. In 2003, Enola Gay went on display at NASM's new Steven F. The plane gained additional national attention in 1994 when an exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution was changed due to a controversy over its historical script.
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Because of its role in the atomic bombings of Japan, its name has been synonymous with the controversy over the bombings themselves.
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Information can be found on how to visit and donate to his cause here:įor Peterson, he does it for all those veterans who came before, and while getting choked up, said, “The sacrifices of our veterans, it’s something that as the generations get further from that time that needs to not get lost in our memories.Enola Gay is the B-29 Superfortress bomber that dropped "Little Boy", the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare, when the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) attacked Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945, just before the end of World War II.
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The base is in pretty much the best shape it's been in in recent history thanks to the hard work of Peterson who has started a foundation to preserve the historic Wendover Air field. He met my mother in Salt Lake when he trained here.” “This is part of my dad’s life, a big part of it. “He was an eyewitness to what happened 75 years ago today, his plane was pointed directly at Hiroshima,” Marquart told FOX13, also emphasizing the role Wendover played in his entire family's life. One of those who knows all about that is Steven Marquart, who is the son of one of the pilots who flew on both missions, including flying the Enola Gay itself on the second mission to do weather scouting. “It’s a place that is like no other," Peterson said. and has over 88 structures intact including the hangers where those 15 B-29 aircraft were outfitted for their missions. The Army airbase is the most complete one still in existence in the U.S. “The day before the mission, Colonel Tibbetts chose which plane he'd fly and told one of the airmen to go out and paint 'Enola Gay' on the nose. “None of the atomic mission planes had any nose art, in fact the tail design was changed several times to confuse people.” Peterson said. The plane that actually dropped the bomb, the Enola Gay, has a story all its own. "It’s something that happened right here in Wendover.”įor a part of history that is so important, few people know about the huge Utah connection Peterson said.įor months leading up to the missions, the 509th Composite Group in Wendover was developed in secret, testing and developing the aircraft that would ultimately drop both atomic weapons.
![enola gay bomber nose art enola gay bomber nose art](https://live.staticflickr.com/4047/4435858777_230ca89ebe.jpg)
“It’s something that it’s a part of history," Jim Peterson, Wendover Army Airbase Museum Director, told FOX13.
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The plane carrying the first bomb named the Enola Gay was a specially designed B-29 Superfortress that was designed and outfitted at Wendover Army Airbase and overseen by Colonel Paul Tibbits. It and a bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, changed the course of history forever and changed many lives, ultimately killing between 129,000 and 226,000 Japanese citizens. WENDOVER, Utah - Thursday, August 6 marked 75 years since the devastating events of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, Japan ultimately ending World War II.