#Why is the enola gay important to aviation history windows#
It was heavilyĪrmed with a gun turret in the nose and three rounded windows (blisters) for Boeing proposed theįour-engine Model 299, with its all-metal construction and a bombīay that could hold 4,800 pounds (2,177 kilograms) of bombs. Of 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour).
Pounds (907 kilograms) for at least 1,020 miles (1,642 kilometers) at a speed Requested bids for a multiengine bomber that could carry a bomb load of 2,000 Both planes helped the Allies win the war and define the reality of air power. Eventually, two American planes were designed that embodied the qualities of the perfect bomber–the Boeing B-17 and B-29. However, these older models were inadequate to carry out the theories of strategic bombing–they could neither travel far enough nor carry a heavy enough bomb load. Throughout the 1930s, new bomber aircraft emerged in all countries. This sign at the American Air Museum in England states that “the construction of bases for the 8th Air Force was part of the largest civil engineering programme ever undertaken in the UK.” B-17s and P-51 Mustangs were flown by the 355th Fighter Group of the 8th Air Force. The display commemorates the end of World War II, as well as the role of the Enola Gay in securing Japanese surrender. The Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber used in the atomic mission that destroyed Hiroshima, went on display Jat the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The Boeing B-29 “Super Fortress” of World War II. This sign is part of a B-17 exhibit at the American Air Museum dedicated to the memory of the 30,000 American airmen who lost their lives flying from British bases in the Second World War. The original B-17 Mary Alice assigned to the 615th Bomb Squadron of the 401st Bomb Group flew from Deenethorpe Airfield. B-17Gs “Bonnie B,” “Special Delivery,” and “Marie” are seen below as a Messerschmitt 109G and Focke Wulf FW 190 attack “Thunder Bird’s” element. The B-17G, 42-38050, “Thunder Bird” of the 303rd Bomb Group, based at Molesworth, England, is seen at 11:45 AM, August 15, 1944, over Trier, Germany, on its return to base from a mission to Weisbaden. This image is the 25-foot by 75-foot mural in the World War II Gallery of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. One wing gone, a B-29 falls in flames after a direct hit by enemy flak over Japan.Ĭrew of the Boeing B-17 Memphis Belle at an airbase in England during World War II. Standing directly behind him are (left-to-right): General of the Army Douglas MacArthur Nimitz, USN, signs the Instrument of Surrender as United States Representative, on board USS Missouri (BB-63), 2 September 1945.