Shortly afterwards, she was moved to the Smithsonian Institution and later disassembled and moved to a storage facility. In 1946, Enola Gay took part in another nuclear action, specifically the Operation Crossroads atomic testing in the South Pacific. Enola Gay’s service continued, however, and she returned to the United States where she first operated out of Roswell, New Mexico. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki finally forced the Japanese to lay down their arms, and World War II officially ended three weeks later when the surrender documents were signed aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Harbor. When clouds and smoke hindered the mission, the target was changed to the city of Nagasaki. This time, the B-29 was assigned to serve as the weather reconnaissance craft. Three days later, Enola Gay and Tibbets were scheduled to return to the skies for the bombing of Kokura. On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb-known as “Little Boy”-on the city of Hiroshima. The Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay took off for Japan on the morning of August 6, 1945. Paul Tibbets waves from the cockpit of Enola Gay, 6 August 1945Īt the head of the 509th, Tibbets piloted the B-29 Superfortress-which he named for his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets-that led the bombing of the two cities. In 1945, that group was assigned to carry out the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the war neared its end, Tibbets was appointed commander of the 509th Composite Group. By 1942, he was promoted to the 340th Bombardment Squadron of the 97th Bombardment Group.Īfter taking part in several bombing missions in Europe, Tibbets returned to the United States and played a pivotal role in the development of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. became a pilot in 1938, which enabled him to take part in anti-submarine patrols after the Decemattack on Pearl Harbor. Although he originally planned o becoming a doctor, Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. In 1937, a 22-year-old man from Quincy, Illinois enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. It was first flown in 1942 and soon became popular in the Pacific theatre during World War II. Air Force photograph The B-29 (also called Superfortress) was a four-engine heavy bomber that was built by Boeing. The story of the Enola Gay actually starts before the outbreak of the War in the Pacific. Tibbets, Jr., pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. The History of the Plane That Devastated Japan She would soon serve an important purpose that was aimed at finally putting an end to the war. Enola Gay, a B-29 Superfortress, was placed into service in May of 1945, toward the end of the Second World War.
![b 29 bomber enola gay b 29 bomber enola gay](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/icMAAOSw~kFfo27T/s-l300.jpg)
But one plane in particular has a more difficult and ambivalent history.
![b 29 bomber enola gay b 29 bomber enola gay](https://live.staticflickr.com/3644/3548687282_5882c192b7_b.jpg)
Storied battleships, mighty aircraft carriers, and fearsome warplanes all contributed to the massive Allied forces in the Pacific Theater. There were many memorable ships and planes that played a larger-than-life role in the American war effort of the 1940s. When Allen died on February 13, 1943, in the fiery crash of the second XB-29, aviation lost one of its most heroic figures.Enola Gay landing after the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, 6 August 1945 Although he became Chief of Boeing's Research Division, he continued to fly test flights because his knowledge of large aircraft was second to none. On loan to Lockheed, he made the first flight in the famed Constellation airliner.Īllen was particularly important because he insisted on integrating test flying with research and development, design, wind-tunnel tests, and production. Allen had an unusual expertise in large aircraft, having made the first flights on such Boeing giants as the XB-15, Model 307 Stratocruiser, and Model 314 flying boat. No one was more skilled than Edmund Turney Allen, who was widely known as the dean of test pilots. Test pilots have always been vital to flight, for the success of a new aircraft inevitably depends in great part on the ability and judgment of men and women who are willing to risk their lives for aircraft development. Edmund Turney Allen: the Dean of Test Pilots