14 June 1945: TOS USAAF and delivered to the 393rd Bomb Squadron/509th Composite Group. 24 & 26 July: Dropped "pumpkin" bombs on industrial targets at Kobe and Nagoya, Japan. 6 Aug: Dropped "Little Boy" atom bomb on Hiroshima. July 1946: Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, for storage for the National Air Museum. Dec 1953: Flown to Andrews AFB, MD for storage. July 1961: Trucked dismantled to Paul Garber Facility, Silver Hill, Suitland, MD. By 2003 the plane was completely restored and displayed at the new Udvar-Hazy Center in Reston, VA.

14 June 1945: TOS USAAF and delivered to the 393rd Bomb Squadron/509th Composite Group. 24 & 26 July: Dropped "pumpkin" bombs on industrial targets at Kobe and Nagoya, Japan. 6 Aug: Dropped "Little Boy" atom bomb on Hiroshima. July 1946: Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, for storage for the National Air Museum. Dec 1953: Flown to Andrews AFB, MD for storage. July 1961: Trucked dismantled to Paul Garber Facility, Silver Hill, Suitland, MD. By 2003 the plane was completely restored and displayed at the new Udvar-Hazy Center in Reston, VA.

14 June 1945: TOS USAAF and delivered to the 393rd Bomb Squadron/509th Composite Group. 24 & 26 July: Dropped "pumpkin" bombs on industrial targets at Kobe and Nagoya, Japan. 6 Aug: Dropped "Little Boy" atom bomb on Hiroshima. July 1946: Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, for storage for the National Air Museum. Dec 1953: Flown to Andrews AFB, MD for storage. July 1961: Trucked dismantled to Paul Garber Facility, Silver Hill, Suitland, MD. By 2003 the plane was completely restored and displayed at the new Udvar-Hazy Center in Reston, VA.

Enola Gay with is original circle arrow tail marking used by the 509th, the atomic bomb unit. This was changed soon after arriving at Tinian to circle R to disguise the unit among other B-29 squadrons. Enola Gay wore the circle R tail markings when it dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. There was no serial displayed on the fin with either markings. Photo from: National Archives at College Park, Maryland

Chosen for preservation, the Enola Gay was stored at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ in 1946. Transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, the aircraft moved to Orchard Place Air Field, IL (1949), Pyote Air Force Base, TX (1952), and Edwards AFB (1953) for storage outside as the Smithsonian had no place to store such a large aircraft. In 1960, it was disassembled and moved to the Smithsonian storage facility in Suitland, MD where it's pictured in cramped quarters. Restoration beginning in 1984 at the Garber facility, the historic bomber was unveiled at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in 2003.

"Enola Gay" of the 509th Composite Group on display at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. On Aug. 5, 1945 Col. Paul W. Tibbets ordered the name of his mother painted on at Tinian. On Aug. 6 at 8:15 a.m. she dropped the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima and later flew on Op. Crossroads. Due to deterioration from storage outdoors, restoration by NASM lasted almost two decades. As part of the Silverplate conversion to save weight, the nose section is devoid of the upper gun turret.

'Enola Gay' at the Smithsonian Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center needs no introduction. I fully understand the overarching imperative of the Americans to end WWII as quickly as possible with as few casualities as possible on their side. I get that completely, yet after visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park & Museum a few years ago I found this a very sombre and thought-provoking exhibit.

This historic aircraft was vandalized by anti-war activists on the museum's opening day in December 2003.

Many years ago while "Enola Gay" was still dismantled and in store at the Silver Hill facility, I once had the eerie experience of being able to go on board and sit in the bombadier's seat. Of course this is the Superfortress which dropped the world's first atomic bomb used in warfare on Hiroshima on 6.8.45