Enola Gay: The Aircraft That Changed History

The Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, played a pivotal role in World War II, becoming the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare. Named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of its pilot, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Jr., the bomber was instrumental in the mission that devastated Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945.

Built by the Glenn L. Martin Company at its Bellevue, Nebraska, plant, the Enola Gay was one of the first fifteen B-29s modified under the "Silverplate" specifications. These modifications included an extensively altered bomb bay, reversible pitch propellers for better landing control, improved engines with fuel injection, and the removal of protective armor and gun turrets to reduce weight.

On May 9, 1945, while still on the assembly line, Colonel Tibbets personally selected the aircraft for its historic mission. The U.S. Army Air Forces officially accepted the Enola Gay on May 18, 1945, and assigned it to the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, 509th Composite Group. On June 14, Captain Robert A. Lewis and Crew B-9 flew it from Omaha to Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, where it underwent further modifications. Later, on June 27, it departed for Guam before reaching North Field, Tinian, on July 6, 1945.

Throughout July, the Enola Gay participated in several training flights and operational missions, including the dropping of "pumpkin bombs"—conventional explosives used to simulate the weight and handling of an atomic bomb—on industrial targets in Japan. On August 1, its tail markings were changed to match those of the 6th Bombardment Group as a security measure, and its squadron number was altered from 12 to 82.

The atomic bomb, code-named "Little Boy," was transported to Tinian in separate components. The bomb's projectile and uranium-235 target discs arrived by the USS Indianapolis and several aircraft in late July. On August 5, Tibbets assumed command of the Enola Gay and named it after his mother. That same night, Private Nelson Miller painted the name under the pilot's window.

At 2:45 AM on August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay took off from North Field, Tinian, accompanied by two other B-29s: The Great Artiste, carrying instrumentation, and Necessary Evil, assigned to document the event. After rendezvousing over Iwo Jima, the aircraft reached Hiroshima at 8:15 AM. Major William S. "Deak" Parsons armed the bomb during flight, and Second Lieutenant Morris R. Jeppson removed the safety devices shortly before release.

The bomb detonated approximately 1,968 feet above Hiroshima, creating a blast equivalent to 15 kilotons of TNT. The explosion destroyed about 69% of the city’s buildings, ignited massive fires, and killed an estimated 70,000–80,000 people instantly, with thousands more perishing in the aftermath.

After releasing the bomb, the Enola Gay rapidly turned to escape the blast, feeling the shockwave 43 seconds later. The aircraft safely returned to Tinian at 2:58 PM, where Tibbets and his crew were greeted with cheers and awarded medals.

Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the Enola Gay participated in the second atomic bombing mission as a weather reconnaissance aircraft for Kokura, the primary target. However, due to heavy smoke and cloud cover, the primary target was abandoned, and the bomb was instead dropped on Nagasaki by another B-29, Bockscar.

After the war, the Enola Gay was flown back to the United States, arriving at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, on November 8, 1945. It later took part in Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in the Pacific but was not chosen to drop a test bomb. In July 1946, it was transferred to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona for storage. On August 30, 1946, ownership of the aircraft was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, and it was officially removed from the U.S. Army Air Forces inventory.

For many years, the aircraft was stored outdoors at various air bases, exposed to the elements and souvenir hunters. In 1961, Smithsonian personnel dismantled the Enola Gay and moved it to a storage facility in Suitland, Maryland.

In the early 1980s, efforts began to restore and display the Enola Gay. Veterans of the 509th Composite Group, along with figures like Senator Barry Goldwater, advocated for its preservation. Restoration began in the 1980s and continued into the 1990s.

For the 50th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing in 1995, the cockpit and nose section were displayed at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C., sparking significant controversy regarding the historical context of the exhibit. Since 2003, the fully restored Enola Gay has been on display at the NASM’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

The last surviving member of the Enola Gay’s crew, Theodore Van Kirk, passed away on July 28, 2014, at the age of 93. Today, the Enola Gay remains a powerful artifact, symbolizing both the technological advancements of warfare and the devastating consequences of nuclear weapons.