Where is the enola gay on display

Revisiting The ‘Enola Gay Fiasco’ Today

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By the late s, the Enola Gay – the Boeing B Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima – had been sitting disassembled at the Smithsonian's Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland for decades. What was once a beautiful shiny machine with four forceful engines, just powerful enough with the right banking maneuver to escape the hell it unleashed, was scattered and severed, with disheveled tubes where the wings used to be and the remains of birds nests in the turrets.

Gregg Herken: It was shortly after I joined the museum and I went out to the restoration facility that the Smithsonian operates in Garber in Maryland. And they wanted to demonstrate me around. And since I was the unused chairman of the Department of Space History, they said I could acquire into the fuselage of the Enola Gay.

This is Gregg Herken,

The Smithsonian’s Decision to Exhibit the &#;Enola Gay&#;

By Herken, Gregg on •

Abstract:
This essay is an insider’s account of one of the most significant salvos in America’s contemporary culture wars: the proposal of an exhibit on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Smithsonian. Despite attempts to productively engage with critics, the curators were overwhelmed by political currents and the sensitivities associated with memorial anniversaries. With critical analysis pitted against veneration, the author asks, were education and commemoration compatible goals?
DOI:
Languages: English

See the corresponding PHW Focus Interview with the author

 

 

 

 


When curators at the Smithsonian planned a critical commemoration of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the fiftieth anniversary of the end of WWII, the clash between professional historians, public interest groups, veterans, and politicians launched an era of elevated stakes contention in the United States over the meanings of America’s pasts for its present. What

The B Superfortress &#;Enola Gay&#; Forever Changed Warfare When It Dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima

For many, the development of the Boeing B Superfortress was a turning point of the Second World War. Hitting the skies in mid, the bomber gave the Allies the ability to launch more successful air raids against the Japanese, giving them a leg up in the Pacific Theater. One such B, Enola Gay, went down in history on August 6, , when it dropped the atomic bomb Little Boy over Hiroshima, marking the first time an atomic munition had been deployed in warfare.

Boeing B Superfortress

The B Superfortress was a game-changer in aerial warfare during World War II. Featuring advancements that weren’t seen in the Boeing B Flying Fortress‘ design, the aircraft could navigate faster, farther and for longer than its predecessor. This was aided by its Wright R turbo-supercharged engines, which gave it a top speed of MPH and a service ceiling of over 31, feet.

Among the B’s most notable features was its pressurized cabin, which allowed crews to serve comfortably at high altitudes. It also h

Controversy over the Enola Gay Exhibition

For the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) proposed an exhibition that would comprise displaying the Enola Gay, the B Superfortress that was used to slip the bomb on Hiroshima. A fiery controversy ensued that demonstrated the competing historical narratives regarding the decision to drop the bomb.

 

Enola Gay, after the war

Following World War II, the Enola Gay had been moved around from location to location. Notably, from to , its home was Andrews Gas Force Base in Maryland. There its wings began to rust and vandals even damaged the plane. In , the Enola Gay was fully disassembled and moved to the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage facility for NASM.

In the s, members of the th Composite Group asked for a proper restoration of the aircraft. Their motivations, at this time, stemmed primarily from the needy condition of the aircraft. The veterans formed “the Committee for the Restoration and Proud Display of the Enola Gay” to raise funds. Restoration efforts by