| Boeing B-29-45-MO Superfortress serial number 44-86292 “Enola Gay” which dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It is in its “Circle-Arrow” 509th Compositie Group livery, with victor number 82 not visible on the fuselage just forward of the tail fin. The United States Army Air Force and the Smithsonian Institute recognized that Enola Gay was a historic aircraft even before she left service. The 509th Composite Group left Tinian, Marianas, on November 5, 1945, to redeploy back to Roswell, New Mexico. Enola Gay flew to Kwajalein in July 1946 for the Operation Crossroads atomic tests but didn’t drop any nuclear devices. Enola Gay was flown to Davis-Monthan Army Air Field on July 24, 1946, for storage. There, it sat in the Arizona desert for 3 years, waiting for the Smithsonian to develop a storage facility. The Smithsonian’s newly created National Air Museum was established on August 12, 1946. This view was taken during her time at Davis-Monthan in October 1946. United States Army Air Force Colonel Paul Tibbets (February 23, 1915 – November 1, 2007), who piloted Enola Gay on the Hiroshima mission, flew her to Chicago on July 3, 1949. Enola Gay was temporarily stored in a converted factory in Oak Ridge, but with the advent of the Korean War, the Air Force ordered the Smithsonian to vacate. Most of the Smithsonian’s collection went to Maryland, but the big, 4-engined bomber couldn’t be accommodated there. On January 12, 1952, Enola Gay was flown to Pyote Air Force Base, Texas, for outdoor storage, alongside other surplus B-29s and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 40-3097 “Swoose” for another year of outdoor storage. In her final flight, Enola Gay landed at Andrews Air Force Base on December 5, 1953, and Swoose arrived 3 days later. The 2 bombers were towed to a remote corner of the base, left to souvenir hunters and birds, who nested all over the aircraft. The Smithsonian had hoped guards would be placed to protect the historic aircraft, but instead they decided to disassemble them. On August 10, 1960, an 11-month removal to Silver Hill, Maryland, began. There, Enola Gay was stored, in pieces, for the next 43 years. The last parts of Enola Gay left Andrews on July 21, 1961. On September 26, 1961, Boeing B-29 Superfortress 44-27297 “Bock’s Car,” the aircraft that dropped the “Fat Man” device on Nagasaki, flew to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The aircraft, in intact condition, went on display at the United States Air Force Museum. By 1980, external and internal pressure were mounting on the Smithsonian to restore the Enola Gay. Tibbets lent his voice and saw the aircraft for the 1st time since 1949. He never regretted his participation in the Hiroshima attack, but he was saddened by the condition of the Enola Gay, an aircraft that he regarded as a responsive flying machine. On December 5, 1984, restoration began; damage was so great that many parts had to be fabricated or sourced. For the 50th anniversary in 1995, a special exhibit was planned, but it was quickly mired in controversy, as conservative pundits and anti-nuclear activists criticized the content. The original exhibit was canceled, and A new iteration, featuring the forward fuselage, vertical stabilizer, 2 propellers, and an aileron, along with a full-scale replica of the Little Boy bomb, opened on June 28, 1995, and closed on May 19, 1998. Billionaire Steven F. Udvar-Házy (Born 1946) donated 65,000,000 dollars for a new Smithsonian aircraft collection display center. On April 10, 2003, the wings were remated to the fuselage for the 1st time since 1960. Enola Gay was fully restored on August 8, 2003. It was painted with the “Circle-R” livery of the 6th Bomb Group, 313th Bomb Wing. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center was opened on December 15, 2003, with Enola Gay as the centerpiece of the Museum’s World War II collection. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2092.jpg |
| Image Size | 600.52 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2998 x 2335 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Air Force |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | October 1, 1946 |
| Location | Davis-Monthan Army Air Field |
| City | Tucson |
| State or Province | Arizona |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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