WW2-ANNIVERSARY/USA-ENOLA GAY Hiroshima bomber stands restored 70 years after dropping atomic bomb

Record ID: 145195

  • Title: WW2-ANNIVERSARY/USA-ENOLA GAY Hiroshima bomber stands restored 70 years after dropping atomic bomb
  • Date: 4th August 2015
  • Summary: CHANTILLY, VIRGINIA, USA (AUGUST 3, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BOEING B-29 SUPERFORTRESS THE 'ENOLA GAY' ON DISPLAY AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION - NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM CURATOR JEREMY KINNEY WALKING TOWARDS ENOLA GAY CLOSE UP OF WRITING ON AIRPLANE READS: 'ENOLA GAY' (SOUNDBITE) (English) AVIATION CURATOR AT THE NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM, DR. JEREMY KINNEY SA
  • Embargoed: 19th August 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5ASGUW3JK9KQURQ2X59KFTRA6
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: 70 years after the first nuclear bomb used in warfare was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the plane that dropped the bomb remains a popular and symbolic attraction at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Virginia.
    Paul Tibbets, the pilot who flew the Boeing B-29 Superfortress painted in block black letters his mothers name, 'Enola Gay' on the left side of the nose of the plane, giving the historic bomber its name.
    The Enola Gay's mission was the first of its kind and is widely believed to have brought an end to World War Two in the Pacific. It also marked the start of the atomic bomb age which has revolutionized warfare.
    "It's significant as ushering in the atomic age, but also ushers in the end of World War Two in the Pacific in 1945," Dr. Jeremy Kinney, aviation curator at the museum said.
    The death toll from the blast on August 6, 1945 by the end of the year was estimated at about 140,000, out of the total of 350,000 who lived there at the time. Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, the United States dropped an atomic bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" on Nagasaki.
    Officially, World War Two ended on September 2, 1945, with the surrender ceremonies on board the U.S. battleship "Missouri" in Tokyo Bay.
    But the announcement that Japan had accepted the Allied surrender terms on August 15 was widely celebrated by the Allies as VJ-Day -- Victory in Japan.
    The Enola Gay was one of thirty, out of some 6000 Boeing B-29 planes produced, that were modified in order to be able to carry such a heavy bomb.
    "It needs to be made as light as possible so all the defensive ornament all the armor, some of the spar of the wing is actually removed so they can fit the bomb in the fore bomb bay. It had specially propellers that act as breaks upon landing so if they have to land with a bomb they can do that," Kinney explained.
    It took some 300,000 man hours to restore the Enola Gay which went on display at the museum in its current condition in 2003, he said.
    According to the Smithsonian's website, the bomber had remained in outdoor storage until 1961 and then was disassembled and moved indoors. The restoration process began in 1984. It was the largest restoration project the museum had ever undertaken. It was estimated that the project would take seven years. The job actually took two decades.
    "In terms of being a weapon used against another nation in warfare, this is truly a significant artifact that the Smithsonian has to display so people can continue to discuss and debate and have a dialogue about the use of nuclear weapons," Kinney said.
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