Enola Gay
Enola Gay, a U.S. Army Air Force B-29 bomber, dropped the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945 during World War II. The weapon was known as "Little Boy". The Enola Gay was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Force's 509th Composite Group and flew her mission out of Tinian, a small island in the Marianas chain. She was one of only 15 B-29s modified to deliver nuclear bombs. Colonel Paul Tibbets, the plane's pilot, named her after his mother.
The Enola Gay was followed only two days later by another B-29, called "Bockscar", which dropped a second nuclear weapon, "Fat Man", on Nagasaki. Little Boy and Fat Man were the only nuclear bombs ever used as offensive weapons.
The Enola Gay has been fully restored and is currently displayed as a major exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC.
The exhibition of the Enola Gay at the Udvar-Hazy Center, as well as the previous partial presentation in the original Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, has been met with controversy on numerous occasions. The airframe's instrumental role in the bombing of Hiroshima has led many to challenge the Smithsonian's presentation displays around the aircraft. Some individuals, including many Hiroshima survivors, have called for more comprehensive language detailing the destruction caused by the bomb. The Smithsonian has largely refused to elaborate the language presented on the signage, on the basis that all aircraft in the museum are presented with the same succinct technical data.
The Enola Gay's crew on August 6th, 1945 consisted of twelve men, namely:
See also:
