Enola Gay Was a Specially Modified Aircraft for an Unthinkable Secret Task
There once was a B-29 Superfortress bomber known to entire generations of Americans. That B-29, actually a B-29-45-MO, Army Air Forces serial number 44-86292, was built not by Boeing, but by the Glenn L. Martin Company at its plant in Bellevue, Nebraska. By no means unique but certainly rare, 44-86292 was one of the first 15 Silverplate B-29s. Specially modified to do an unthinkable but necessary job, this well-known B-29 was named Enola Gay- the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb.
Silverplates
Silverplate B-29s were modified to enable them to carry the atomic bombs of their day. Revisions to these special Superforts included pneumatically operated bomb bay doors, dual redundant British bomb attachment and release systems, improved Wright R-3350-41 Duplex-Cyclone turbo-supercharged radial engines with revised fuel injection and cooling systems turning reversible propellers, and the removal of the dorsal and ventral remote-controlled gun turrets. A weaponeer crew position was added in the cockpit area.
Hand-Picked by Tibbets Himself
Colonel Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. personally selected 44-86292 while the aircraft was still being assembled at the Martin plant on 9 May 1945. Tibbets, the commander of the 509th Composite Group, later named the bomber Enola Gay after his mother.
After the B-29 was accepted by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 18 May 1945 it was assigned to the 393rd Bombardment Squadron (BS) of the 509th. The aircraft was flown to the 509th base at Wendover Army Air Field (AAF) in Utah, on 14 June 1945.
Wearing False Colors
Just shy of two weeks later, 44-86292 was on its way to Guam in the Marianas Islands. There the aircraft had its bomb bay modified, after which it was flown to North Field on Tinian on 6 July 1945. From there the bomber flew eight practice/training flights, usually flown by a different aircraft commander- Captain Robert A. Lewis.
Lewis also flew two missions in late July to drop 10,000 pound pumpkin bombs on industrial targets- first on Kobe and then on Nagoya. The tail identification markings on 44-86292 were those of a different squadron to maintain secrecy. On 31 July 1945, 44-86292 flew a rehearsal flight for the atomic bomb mission.
Squabble Over the Iconic Name
During preparations for the atomic mission on 5 August, Tibbets officially named 44-86292 Enola Gay. Allan L. Karl painted the name in the aircraft. This did not please Lewis, who believed as aircraft commander he was being slighted. Lewis flew the mission with Tibbets as co-pilot. The B-29 had to be lifted using a special rig so the atomic bomb could be loaded into its forward bomb bay. The B-29 departed North Field in the company of two other Silverplate B-29s: The Great Artiste, carrying instrumentation, and an additional B-29 to take photographs.
The Release and Return
The three B-29s proceeded to Iwo Jima, where they rendezvoused and set course for Japan. The three bombers arrived over Hiroshima with clear skies and unlimited visibility (CAVU) conditions at 32,333 feet altitude. The weapon, unarmed to that point in the mission, was armed, and the safety devices were removed.
Released at 0815 local time, the “Little Boy” bomb took 43 seconds to fall from 31,600 feet. Enola Gay traveled 11.5 miles before the shock waves from the blast were felt onboard. The plane returned safely to North Field at 1458 local time after 12 hours and 13 minutes in the air. Tibbets received the Distinguished Service Cross after the return of the Enola Gay.
Enola Gay Also Flew the Second Mission
Enola Gay was flown by a different crew as a weather reconnaissance ship during the Nagasaki mission on August 9th. After that the bomber did not fly another wartime mission. The 509th and Enola Gay flew stateside to Roswell AAF and operated there from November 1945 until May of 1946, when the plane flew west to another Pacific destination- this time Kwajalein for Operation Crossroads. 44-86292 was not selected to fly the mission to drop an atomic bomb on Bikini Atoll.
Later in 1946, it was removed from USAAF inventory and transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. The well-known bomber was then ferried from one Air Force Base to another until 1961, when Enola Gay was disassembled and trucked to the Smithsonian Institution storage facility in Suitland, Maryland.
Controversy Over History
Enola Gay was embroiled in controversy during the 1980s when veterans groups expressed interest in displaying the historic aircraft in Washington. Politics ensued, delaying display of the bomber until only the fuselage was displayed at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Hiroshima mission- amid inevitable controversy. The aircraft was restored, completely assembled, and has since 2003 been on display at NASM’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
The Crew of the Enola Gay
The crew of the Enola Gay on her 6 August 1945 mission were pilot and aircraft commander Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Jr., co-pilot Captain Robert A. Lewis, bombardier Major Thomas Ferebee, navigator Captain Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk, weaponeer and mission commander Captain William S. Parsons, USN, radar countermeasures officer First Lieutenant Jacob Beser, assistant weaponeer Second Lieutenant Morris R. Jeppson, tail gunner Staff Sergeant George R. “Bob” Caron, flight engineer Staff Sergeant Wyatt E. Duzenbury, radar operator Sergeant Joe S. Stiborik, assistant flight engineer Sergeant Robert H. Shumard, and VHF radio operator Private First Class Richard H. Nelson.
10 comments
Very interesting article. I would like to add that there were two pits put in the ground at North Field on Tinian…. One for each style of atomic bomb that was dropped on Japan. The bombs were placed in the respective pit and Enola Gay or Bockscar was backed over the pit and the bomb raised into the bomb bay. The airplanes were not “lifted using a special rig.”
Article contradicts on who was the Aircraft Commander on Aug 6th, 45.
I thought the lifting would be counter productive.
Got to meet Col Tibbets in Columbus Ohio mid 70’s when he ran Executive Jet Aviation.
Actually, both Little Boy and Fat Man were loaded from the same pit. Lots of photos and video available to verify that.
The Enola Gay was NOT lifted up to load Little Boy atomic bomb. There was a concrete piy with a lift inside. The bomb was put on the lift and lowered into the pit. Enola Gay was pulled over the bomb and the lift lifted it into/onto Enola Gay. There were many pictures taken of the proceedure. Then Enola Gay flew off for a very important date!!!
I helped restore the Enola Gay as a volunteer.
I met Bob Caron at a KFC in Federal Heights Colorado before he passed. He was a wonderful man who loved talking about this amazing aircraft. Thanks for the wonderful article.
I noticed the same.
I believe both pits were the same,either bomb could be loaded from either pit. Only one pit was built on Iwo Jima where a backup plane for either mission was on standby