On 06 August 1945, during the final stages of WWII the world’s first atom bomb nicknamed ‘Little Boy’, was dropped by American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, over Hiroshima city. Approximately 80,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast and 35,000 injured.
Another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki city, killing nearly 40,000 people. A few days later, Japan announced its surrender.
The Enola Gay remained in service for several years before being given to the Smithsonian Institution on July 3, 1949. It was later disassembled and stored in Maryland. In 1984 work began on restoring the aircraft, which was in dire need of repair. Exposure to the elements had damaged the plane, and it had been vandalized. In addition, birds had built nests in various compartments. The project ultimately spanned some 20 years. In 1995 a portion of the plane served as the centrepiece of a controversial exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C. The exhibit had originally been scheduled to include artifacts from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and highlight the debate over the decision to use the bomb. Amid fierce opposition, however, the original plans were canceled, and a much scaled-back version was staged. In 2003 the fully restored Enola Gay was put on display at the NASM’s Steven F. Udar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
Credit : Britannica
Picture Credit : Google
