"module, Hubble Space Telescope test vehicle, pace Shuttle ""Discovery"", B-29 Super-fortress ""Enola Gay"", Concorde, Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird, and Boeing Stratoliner. History, Care, and Handling of America's Spacesuits: Problems in Modern Materials by Mary T. Baker & Ed McManus At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Lunder Conservation Center, serves as the conservation center for three Smithsonian units; the American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Renwick Gallery. Lunder is the first art conservation facility to allow the public permanent behind-the-scenes views of the preservation work of museums. The Center features floor-to-ceiling glass walls that allow the public"
"Air Force Base. The Silverplate bombers differed from other B-29s then in service by having fuel injection and reversible props. Pilot Charles Sweeney credits the reversible props for saving ""Bockscar"" after making an emergency landing on Okinawa following the Nagasaki bombing. ""Enola Gay"", flown by Tibbets, dropped the first bomb, called Little Boy, on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. ""Enola Gay"" is fully restored and on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, outside Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. ""Bockscar"" dropped the second bomb, called Fat Man, on Nagasaki three days later. ""Bockscar"" is on display at the National"
"Group, Atlantic, in Norfolk, Virginia, was also named for him. Parsons' portrait is among a series of paintings related to Operation Crossroads. His papers are in the Naval Historical Center in Washington, DC. William Sterling Parsons Rear Admiral William Sterling ""Deak"" Parsons (26 November 1901 – 5 December 1953) was an American naval officer who worked as an ordnance expert on the Manhattan Project during World War II. He is best known for being the weaponeer on the ""Enola Gay"", the aircraft which dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. To avoid the possibility of a"
"After the war, the ""Enola Gay"" returned to the United States, where it was operated from Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico. In May 1946, it was flown to Kwajalein for the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in the Pacific, but was not chosen to make the test drop at Bikini Atoll. Later that year it was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, and spent many years parked at air bases exposed to the weather and souvenir hunters, before being disassembled and transported to the Smithsonian's storage facility at Suitland, Maryland, in 1961. In the 1980s, veterans groups engaged in a call"
"William Sterling Parsons Rear Admiral William Sterling ""Deak"" Parsons (26 November 1901 – 5 December 1953) was an American naval officer who worked as an ordnance expert on the Manhattan Project during World War II. He is best known for being the weaponeer on the ""Enola Gay"", the aircraft which dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. To avoid the possibility of a nuclear explosion if the aircraft crashed and burned on takeoff, he decided to arm the bomb in flight. While the aircraft was ""en route"" to Hiroshima, Parsons climbed into the cramped and dark"
"Theodore Van Kirk became the last surviving ""Enola Gay"" crew member (Van Kirk died on July 28, 2014). Morris R. Jeppson Morris Richard Jeppson (June 23, 1922 – March 30, 2010) was a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He served as assistant weaponeer on the ""Enola Gay"", which dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Jeppson was born in Logan, Utah, and studied physics at the University of Nevada, Reno. After enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942 at the age"
"injection and better cooling, and the removal of protective armor and gun turrets. ""Enola Gay"" was personally selected by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Jr., the commander of the 509th Composite Group, on 9 May 1945, while still on the assembly line. The aircraft was accepted by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 18 May 1945 and assigned to the 393d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, 509th Composite Group. Crew B-9, commanded by Captain Robert A. Lewis, took delivery of the bomber and flew it from Omaha to the 509th's base at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, on 14 June 1945."
"8 November. On 29 April 1946, ""Enola Gay"" left Roswell as part of the Operation Crossroads nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific. It flew to Kwajalein Atoll on 1 May. It was not chosen to make the test drop at Bikini Atoll and left Kwajalein on 1 July, the date of the test, reaching Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Field, California, the next day. The decision was made to preserve the ""Enola Gay"", and on 24 July 1946, the aircraft was flown to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, in preparation for storage. On 30 August 1946, the title to the aircraft"
"the Atomic Bomb and the Cold War,"" was drafted by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum staff, and arranged around the restored ""Enola Gay"". Critics of the planned exhibit, especially those of the American Legion and the Air Force Association, charged that the exhibit focused too much attention on the Japanese casualties inflicted by the nuclear bomb, rather than on the motivations for the bombing or the discussion of the bomb's role in ending the conflict with Japan. The exhibit brought to national attention many long-standing academic and political issues related to retrospective views of the bombings. As a"
"was hoped that the Air Force would guard the plane, but, lacking hangar space, it was left outdoors on a remote part of the air base, exposed to the elements. Souvenir hunters broke in and removed parts. Insects and birds then gained access to the aircraft. Paul E. Garber of the Smithsonian Institution, became concerned about the ""Enola Gay""s condition, and on 10 August 1960, Smithsonian staff began dismantling the aircraft. The components were transported to the Smithsonian storage facility at Suitland, Maryland, on 21 July 1961. ""Enola Gay"" remained at Suitland for many years. By the early 1980s, two"
"15, 2013, he spoke for approximately an hour and answered questions about his military service and specifically his role as the navigator on the Enola Gay at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas. Afterward, he signed copies of his book, ""My True Course"". Van Kirk died on July 28, 2014. He was survived by his four children. His decorations include: Theodore Van Kirk Theodore ""Dutch"" Van Kirk (February 27, 1921 – July 28, 2014) was a navigator in the United States Army Air Forces, best known as the navigator of the ""Enola Gay"" when it dropped the first atomic"
"was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution and the ""Enola Gay"" was removed from the USAAF inventory. From 1946 to 1961, the ""Enola Gay"" was put into temporary storage at a number of locations. It was at Davis-Monthan from 1 September 1946 until 3 July 1949, when it was flown to Orchard Place Air Field, Park Ridge, Illinois, by Tibbets for acceptance by the Smithsonian. It was moved to Pyote Air Force Base, Texas, on 12 January 1952, and then to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on 2 December 1953, because the Smithsonian had no storage space for the aircraft. It"
"Okinawa. ""Enola Gay""'s crew on 6 August 1945, consisted of 12 men. The crew was: Of mission commander Parsons, it was said: ""There is no one more responsible for getting this bomb out of the laboratory and into some form useful for combat operations than Captain Parsons, by his plain genius in the ordnance business."" For the Nagasaki mission, ""Enola Gay"" was flown by Crew B-10, normally assigned to ""Up An' Atom"": On 6 November 1945, Lewis flew the ""Enola Gay"" back to the United States, arriving at the 509th's new base at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, on"
"the August 1943, raid on the Romanian oil refineries in Ploiești, chose Colonel Paul Tibbets to lead the 509th Composite Group, asking him to organize and lead a combat force to deliver a new type of explosive device that is so powerful that its full potential was unknown. Tibbets did so, and was the commander and pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane that delivered the first atomic bomb (Little Boy) on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. The Enola Gay's navigator on the mission was Captain Theodore ""Dutch"" Van Kirk, also a native of Northumberland, who was among the"
"Theodore Van Kirk Theodore ""Dutch"" Van Kirk (February 27, 1921 – July 28, 2014) was a navigator in the United States Army Air Forces, best known as the navigator of the ""Enola Gay"" when it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Upon the death of fellow crewman Morris Jeppson on March 30, 2010, Van Kirk became the last surviving member of the ""Enola Gay"" crew. Van Kirk was born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, and joined the Army Air Force Aviation Cadet Program October 1941. On 1 April 1942, he received both his commission and navigator wings and transferred to the"
"it as a place of protest or destruction. In accordance with his wishes, his body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered over the English Channel; he had flown over the Channel many times during the war. Paul Tibbets Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. (23 February 1915 – 1 November 2007) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the pilot who flew the B-29 Superfortress known as the ""Enola Gay"" (named after his mother) when it dropped Little Boy, the first of two atomic bombs used in warfare, on the Japanese city of"
"Paul Tibbets Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. (23 February 1915 – 1 November 2007) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the pilot who flew the B-29 Superfortress known as the ""Enola Gay"" (named after his mother) when it dropped Little Boy, the first of two atomic bombs used in warfare, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Tibbets enlisted in the United States Army in 1937 and qualified as a pilot in 1938. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he flew anti-submarine patrols over the Atlantic. In February 1942, he became the"
"Smithsonian Institution. The Enola Gay was taken out of storage and flown to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland on December 2, 1953, for preservation at the National Air and Space Museum. It was the last time the Enola Gay flew. Two other notable aircraft put in storage at Pyote was the B-17D ""Swoose"" (arrived 18 January 1952 - Departed December 1953) which was the only B-17 to survive the bombing of Clark Air Base on 8 December 1941 and manage to escape from the Philippines, and the XB-42 Mixmaster, a one-of-a-kind aircraft. Beginning in 1950, the demands for B-29s to"
"Robert A. Lewis Robert Alvin Lewis (October 18, 1917 – June 18, 1983) was a United States Army Air Forces officer serving in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. He was the co-pilot of the ""Enola Gay"", the B-29 Superfortress bomber which dropped the atomic bomb Little Boy on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Lewis grew up in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, and attended Ridgefield Park High School, graduating in 1937. During World War II, he had to wait after enlisting to be processed into the USAAF Officer Candidate School (OCS). Lewis went on to"
"piloted by Major Charles W. Sweeney, flew to Iwo Jima, where emergency procedures for loading the bomb onto a standby aircraft were practiced. This rehearsal was repeated on 31 July, but this time L-6 was reloaded onto a different B-29, ""Enola Gay"", piloted by Tibbets, and the bomb was test dropped near Tinian. L-11 was the assembly used for the Hiroshima bomb. Parsons, the ""Enola Gay""s weaponeer, was concerned about the possibility of an accidental detonation if the plane crashed on takeoff, so he decided not to load the four cordite powder bags into the gun breech until the aircraft"
"Morris R. Jeppson Morris Richard Jeppson (June 23, 1922 – March 30, 2010) was a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He served as assistant weaponeer on the ""Enola Gay"", which dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Jeppson was born in Logan, Utah, and studied physics at the University of Nevada, Reno. After enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942 at the age of 19 and basic training in Florida, he received electrical engineering training at Yale University, Harvard University and"
"Thomas Ferebee Thomas Wilson Ferebee (November 9, 1918 – March 16, 2000) was the bombardier aboard the B-29 Superfortress, ""Enola Gay"", which dropped the atomic bomb, ""Little Boy"", on Hiroshima in 1945. Thomas Wilson Ferebee was born on a farm outside Mocksville, North Carolina, as the third of eleven children. In 1935, at age 17, he attended Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC. Talented in athletics since childhood, he earned awards in track, basketball, and football. After training for a small position with the Boston Red Sox and not making the team, he joined the Army. A knee injury kept"
"the ""Enola Gay"" to Hiroshima Japan on the first atomic bomb mission). In the leading aircraft of the second flight, ""Yankee Doodle"", flew General Ira C. Eaker, the commanding general of the Eighth Air Force Bomber Command. The 97th BG conducted a total of 14 missions from Polebrook, attacking airfields, marshalling yards, industries, naval installations, and other targets in France and the Low Countries. The group sortied 247 aircraft, dropped 395 tons of bombs on Nazi-controlled territory, and lost 14 aircraft. On 21 October 1942, the 97th Bomb Group was transferred to the Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean theatre"
"Gifts from Enola Gifts From Enola was a four-piece instrumental post-rock band from Harrisonburg, Virginia. Their music is characterized with a strong riff-orientated guitar sound along with the soft-loud approach prevalent in some post-rock. They have released three full length albums and a split album. In July 2010, the band released their self-titled third full-length album. The name supposedly references the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop a nuclear bomb. Gifts From Enola was formed by friends Andrew Barnes and Nate Dominy while they were in their freshman year of college in late 2005. After starting to perform and"
"who donated his collection of military documents and objects to the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. Thomas Ferebee Thomas Wilson Ferebee (November 9, 1918 – March 16, 2000) was the bombardier aboard the B-29 Superfortress, ""Enola Gay"", which dropped the atomic bomb, ""Little Boy"", on Hiroshima in 1945. Thomas Wilson Ferebee was born on a farm outside Mocksville, North Carolina, as the third of eleven children. In 1935, at age 17, he attended Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC. Talented in athletics since childhood, he earned awards in track, basketball, and football. After training for a small position"
"important mission in the history of military aviation. On August 6, 1945 he piloted his plane, the ""Enola Gay"", to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The end of the 1930s and the concern over the war in Europe would change Western Military Academy's enrollment concerns. Western Military Academy kept detailed service records of her graduates during the First and Second World Wars. The most definitive of the World War I records, as highlighted in ""History of Western Military Academy, Alton, Il 1879–1971"" by Robert Scott, shows that of the 402 WMA graduates after 1909, 295 or 73%"
"scrapped, and 12 were lost in accidents (including four of the Tinian bombers). The pair of historic weapons delivery aircraft, named ""Enola Gay"" and ""Bockscar"", are today displayed in museums. The only other United States Air Force combat unit to use the Silverplate B-29 was the 97th Bombardment Wing at Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas. In mid-1949 it received 27 of the aircraft from the 509th Bombardment Wing when the latter transitioned to B-50D bombers. The re-equipment of the 97th Bombardment Wing was part of an expansion of the atomic strike force to ten wings during 1949."
"George Benedict Zabelka George B. Zabelka, a Catholic chaplain with the U.S. Army Air Force, was stationed on Tinian Island in the South Pacific in 1945, where he was assigned to 509th Composite Group. This is the unit of the crews of ""Enola Gay"" and ""Bockscar"" (aka Bock’s Car and Bocks Car), that dropped the Atomic Bombs (”Little Boy” and “Fat Man”) on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His duties included saying Mass on Sunday and during the week, hearing confessions, talking with the soldiers, and other typical duties of a wartime chaplain. Zabelka was also very much a soldier and once"
"Nagoya. ""Enola Gay"" was used on 31 July on a rehearsal flight for the actual mission. The partially assembled Little Boy gun-type fission weapon L-11, weighing , was contained inside a × × wooden crate that was secured to the deck of the . Unlike the six uranium-235 target discs, which were later flown to Tinian on three separate aircraft arriving 28 and 29 July, the assembled projectile with the nine uranium-235 rings installed was shipped in a single lead-lined steel container weighing that was locked to brackets welded to the deck of Captain Charles B. McVay III's quarters. Both"
"in France. The mission included 18 bombers - 12 to attack the yards and six to fly a diversion along the coast. The lead aircraft of the group, ""Butcher Shop"", was piloted by the group commander, Colonel Frank A. Armstrong, and squadron commander, Major Paul W. Tibbets, who later flew the ""Enola Gay"" to Hiroshima, Japan, on the first atomic bombing mission. In the lead aircraft of the second attacking flight, ""Yankee Doodle"", flew General Ira C. Eaker, the commanding general of the Eighth Air Force Bomber Command. The RAF supplied a heavy fighter escort: four squadrons of Spitfires escorted"
"it was decided to load the four cordite powder bags into the gun breech to arm the bomb in flight. ""Enola Gay"" took off at 02:45, overweight and near maximum gross weight. Arming of the bomb began eight minutes into the flight and took 25 minutes. Parsons, as the ""weaponeer"", was in command of the mission. Parsons and his assistant, Second Lieutenant Morris R. Jeppson of the 1st Ordnance Squadron, made their way into the bomb bay of the ""Enola Gay"" along the narrow catwalk on the port side. Jeppson held a flashlight while Parsons disconnected the primer wires, removed"
"tail identifiers were borrowed. Victor numbers 82, 89, 90, and 91 (including the ""Enola Gay"") carried the markings of the 6th Bombardment Group (Circle R); Victors 71, 72, 73, and 84 those of the 497th Bombardment Group (large ""A""); Victors 77, 85, 86, and 88 those of the 444th Bombardment Group (triangle N); and Victors 83, 94, and 95 those of the 39th Bombardment Group (square P). Although all of the B-29s were named as shown, the only nose art applied to the aircraft before the atomic bomb missions was that of ""Enola Gay"". With the exceptions of Victors 71"
"arming the bomb in flight with Farrell, who agreed that it might be a good idea. Farrell asked Parsons if he knew how to perform this task. ""No sir, I don't"", Parsons conceded, ""but I've got all afternoon to learn."" The night before the mission, Parsons repeatedly practiced inserting the powder charge and detonator in the bomb in the poor visibility and cramped conditions of the bomb bay. Parsons participated in the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, flying on the ""Enola Gay"" as weaponeer and Senior Military Technical Observer. Shortly after takeoff, he clambered into the bomb bay"