WWII nostaligia

[wgflatliner]

here's a pretty neat 'once in a lifetime' event.

if you know much about the history of WWII, then you should know the famous airplane Enola Gay. For those that don't know, it's the plane that dropped that A-bomb on Hiroshima.

If you're into history and stuff, this would be something you wouldn't wanna miss!

there's only 13 stops in the tour, which will be listed at the bottom of this.

Anyways, here's the info i received in a newsletter:

NASM Announces National Tour For Enola Gay

Famous Airplane Will Fly Again, Thanks To Extensive, Secret Renovation

The National Air and Space Museum made a surprising announcement Thursday. In honor of the 65th anniversary of the end of WWII, the NASM staff has been secretly preparing the B-29 Enola Gay to make her airworthy for a commemorative flight across the United States. The tour will begin in June and run through August. After the tour, the plane will be disassembled into large pieces that will be shipped by a special train from the final tour stop back to the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC. The announcement is being made to enable the warbird community as a whole to modify the airshow schedule so that other WWII aircraft will be able to participate in the historic event.

This will be a one-way trip that will be long-remembered by the warbird and historical community.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and NASM Director Gen. John R. Dailey, USMC (Ret),made the surprise joint announcement at a news conference at the Udvar-Hazy Center Thursday. The media release indicated Dailey would be talking about the building of another hangar at the Center to house more aerospace artifacts, such as the famous Memphis Belle. That B-17F was recently “recalled†by the USAF Museum from its previous home on Mud Island in Memphis, TN. But instead the media were surprised with the Enola Gay announcement.

The itinerary will take the famous B-29 to some thirteen airports from one coast to the other. Since the B-29 will not be carrying bombs (or an A-bomb like she did in August, 1945), she will be able to make trips of several hundred miles at a time as she works her way across the Nation. Some of the stops are at unlikely places, but because the time of the flight will correspond with part of the summer airshow season, towns that are not on the airshow circuit become logical choices for stops on the tour. The Enola Gay will spend between two and four days at each stop, depending upon the size of the crowds expected, and to give the crew time to rest and maybe do a little fine-tuning and/or tinkering with the B-29.

The stop at Omaha, NE will be special, because the Enola Gay, while designed by Boeing, was one of the 531 B-29 Superfortresses manufactured by the Glenn Martin Aircraft Company in Omaha. Col. Paul Tibbets, her chief pilot, picked her off the assembly line himself, and named her “Enola Gay,†in honor of his mother.

The stop at Salt Lake City, UT will include a special recognition of the crew of the Enola Gay, and every other B-29 crew in the 509th Composite Bomb Group. B-29 pilots trained for their top-secret bombing mission at Wendover Air Force Base (now closed), about 60 miles from Salt Lake City.

The anniversary tour was conceived when the Enola Gay was undergoing a complete restoration that began in the 1980s. Under the orders of the NASM administrators, everything on the Enola Gay was restored to airworthy condition. Wright R-3350 radial engines were test-run in the Garber facility one at a time in 2001, and NASM personnel explained to curious neighbors that the racket the whole neighborhood had heard a few nights in a row was caused by blown mufflers on a rented auxiliary generator that they had to use during a “wiring problemâ€. In all, the restoration crew kept the actual condition of the Enola Gay secret for over ten years.

Exxon Mobil and AeroShell will sponsor the national tour. Exxon has donated all of the fuel and AeroShell will donate the oil, and Enola Gay will need lots of both. "We're proud to be able to give America one more chance to see this flying piece of history," Dailey said. "If it wasn't for this airplane, America might not be the country she is today."

Itinerary:

Andrews Air Force Base in DC

Philadelphia, PA

Richmond, VA

Indianapolis, IN

Lawrence, KS.

Ft. Leavenworth, KS

Omaha, NE

Odessa, TX

Longmont, CO

Salt Lake City, UT

Davis/Woodland/ Winters, CA

Astoria, OR

Yakima, WA

[highway]

It has EVERYTHING to do with models!! I know this is "Model Cars", but there are probably a lot of us who build more than cars. I have an older issue of Monogram's B29 that INCLUDES both the Enola Gay and Boxcar markings! I just wish it would come somewhere closer to me, the closest I seen was Philly, which is about 300-350 miles away. I'd love to get some nice reference pictures for the model.

[Blake Rogers]

whoa man that sounds wicked wish i can see her

[38 Crush]

here's a pretty neat 'once in a lifetime' event.

if you know much about the history of WWII, then you should know the famous airplane Enola Gay. For those that don't know, it's the plane that dropped that A-bomb on Hiroshima.

If you're into history and stuff, this would be something you wouldn't wanna miss!

there's only 13 stops in the tour, which will be listed at the bottom of this.

Anyways, here's the info i received in a newsletter:

NASM Announces National Tour For Enola Gay

Famous Airplane Will Fly Again, Thanks To Extensive, Secret Renovation

The National Air and Space Museum made a surprising announcement Thursday. In honor of the 65th anniversary of the end of WWII, the NASM staff has been secretly preparing the B-29 Enola Gay to make her airworthy for a commemorative flight across the United States. The tour will begin in June and run through August. After the tour, the plane will be disassembled into large pieces that will be shipped by a special train from the final tour stop back to the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC. The announcement is being made to enable the warbird community as a whole to modify the airshow schedule so that other WWII aircraft will be able to participate in the historic event.

This will be a one-way trip that will be long-remembered by the warbird and historical community.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and NASM Director Gen. John R. Dailey, USMC (Ret),made the surprise joint announcement at a news conference at the Udvar-Hazy Center Thursday. The media release indicated Dailey would be talking about the building of another hangar at the Center to house more aerospace artifacts, such as the famous Memphis Belle. That B-17F was recently “recalled†by the USAF Museum from its previous home on Mud Island in Memphis, TN. But instead the media were surprised with the Enola Gay announcement.

The itinerary will take the famous B-29 to some thirteen airports from one coast to the other. Since the B-29 will not be carrying bombs (or an A-bomb like she did in August, 1945), she will be able to make trips of several hundred miles at a time as she works her way across the Nation. Some of the stops are at unlikely places, but because the time of the flight will correspond with part of the summer airshow season, towns that are not on the airshow circuit become logical choices for stops on the tour. The Enola Gay will spend between two and four days at each stop, depending upon the size of the crowds expected, and to give the crew time to rest and maybe do a little fine-tuning and/or tinkering with the B-29.

The stop at Omaha, NE will be special, because the Enola Gay, while designed by Boeing, was one of the 531 B-29 Superfortresses manufactured by the Glenn Martin Aircraft Company in Omaha. Col. Paul Tibbets, her chief pilot, picked her off the assembly line himself, and named her “Enola Gay,†in honor of his mother.

The stop at Salt Lake City, UT will include a special recognition of the crew of the Enola Gay, and every other B-29 crew in the 509th Composite Bomb Group. B-29 pilots trained for their top-secret bombing mission at Wendover Air Force Base (now closed), about 60 miles from Salt Lake City.

The anniversary tour was conceived when the Enola Gay was undergoing a complete restoration that began in the 1980s. Under the orders of the NASM administrators, everything on the Enola Gay was restored to airworthy condition. Wright R-3350 radial engines were test-run in the Garber facility one at a time in 2001, and NASM personnel explained to curious neighbors that the racket the whole neighborhood had heard a few nights in a row was caused by blown mufflers on a rented auxiliary generator that they had to use during a “wiring problemâ€. In all, the restoration crew kept the actual condition of the Enola Gay secret for over ten years.

Exxon Mobil and AeroShell will sponsor the national tour. Exxon has donated all of the fuel and AeroShell will donate the oil, and Enola Gay will need lots of both. "We're proud to be able to give America one more chance to see this flying piece of history," Dailey said. "If it wasn't for this airplane, America might not be the country she is today."

Itinerary:

Andrews Air Force Base in DC

Philadelphia, PA

Richmond, VA

Indianapolis, IN

Lawrence, KS.

Ft. Leavenworth, KS

Omaha, NE

Odessa, TX

Longmont, CO

Salt Lake City, UT

Davis/Woodland/ Winters, CA

Astoria, OR

Yakima, WA

How do we find out the dates she's going to be there.

38 Crush

[droogie]

What newsletter did that info appear in?

[LUKE'57]

That other B-29 was Bock's Car. Would you believe that my half century of model building was started by the B-29 and I have yet to finish one? I saw one of the old (new then LOL) Revell B-29s hanging up at the local hardware store back around '57 or so and asked my Dad for one to try to build. He was a great dad but a good ol' boy who knew more about Hudson Hornets than Hudson bombers and brought home an Aurora B-26 instead for my first try at modeling.

In all those years and all those hundreds of models I have still not finished a B-29. The closest I've come is beginnig the basic foiling of one of the Monogram 1/48 kits several years ago. I'd still like to do one someday but the closest I've been to a real one is the one that was in pieces at the Florence Air Museum in SC. Even the pieces were impressive!

[droogie]

Nice try. The original post is BS.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/e/Enola-Gay-Flying-Tour.htm

Edited April 25, 2010 by droogie

[Railfreak78]

I've been in the Mephis Belle and a few other great military planes/helicopters and have a huge fasination with war birds/bombers. I would love to see this amazing piece of history. Now I wish I still lived in WA. If any of you can see it please post pictures if it's ok with Gregg

[wgflatliner]

bah i've been april fooled

would still be cool to see this bird fly again though

[Scalefinishes]

April fools day is the mother of all non-holidays. It's worse than Halloween.

[Railfreak78]

@Mark

[Hornistfuller]

You want to know how this ties into cars? the foreward fuselage of the enola gay was manufactured in the packard plant in detroit. at least thats what i read in hemmings. so it is kind of carsish.

[Greg Cullinan]

Darn that sounded good. It was even coming to my town. Lol. The part about taking it apart to send it home didn't make sence since it was flying everywhere else.

[Harry P.]

I wonder how many Japanese folks would like to see the Enola Gay fly again...

[Wagoneer81]

I far prefer Halloween over April Fools Day! For one thing, it's the only day of the year when my appearance seems "normal"!!!

Yes, my Ogrish, Sasquatch-esque good looks have to agree with you there. Plus you get candy too... kinda makes up for being made a fool ... I would have liked to have seen this for real, especially since I'm only 1 1/2 hours from Indianapolis International Airport but I could see the logistical and security nightmare in the making.

Harry, a better question would be, "How many Japanese folks would like to see her crash and burn?" Hence, the security nightmare. She's really better off in her hangar, I think.

[Harry P.]

Harry, a better question would be, "How many Japanese folks would like to see her crash and burn?"

Yeah, kinda what I was getting at.

I'm not so sure an Enola Gay "tour" would be such a good idea, given what happened as a result of that plane's mission. Not exactly something to celebrate.

[Junkman]

We could as well renovate Bergen Belsen back to working order and use people who are glad the war has ended to show it's visitors what it was used for. Oh, wait a minute. That would possibly be me!

[highway]

We could as well renovate Bergen Belsen back to working order and use people who are glad the war has ended to show it's visitors what it was used for. Oh, wait a minute. That would possibly be me!

Huh??

[Wagoneer81]

Huh??

Bergen-Belsen was a WWII Concentration Camp that was located in Northern Germany. No, bringing her back to working order would definitely NOT be a good idea... I do see your point, Junkman. The Death-Camps are one of, if not the darkest period in human history. Understand me here, The only reason I would have like to have seen the Enola Gay fly again would be for the purpose of seeing an Old Warbird in the air once again. It was almost done with the Kee Bird, in Greenland several years ago but that ended badly... You're right Harry, for better or worse, it is what it is...

Edited April 26, 2010 by Wagoneer81

[Modelmartin]

Aside from issues of the sensibilities of flying the Enola Guy around, if it did crash you are losing a significant historical artifact that can not be replaced. It is best left on the ground.

[Ken]

I got sucked in as well. I guess it was more from a personal connection with the plane. My grandmother was an early pioneer of aviation in Mass. She was one of the first women (actually, I think she was the third) to get a pilot's license in that state. She flew out of Dennison airport, the same airport that one of the Enola Gay pilots flew out of. I can never remember if it was Col. Tibbets or the co-pilot. They also went to high school at the same high school my mother did. She has pictures in one of her yearbooks of them. Being the pioneer that she was opened a lot of doors to my grandmother and as a result, those doors were open to me as well. We got to go on a personal tour of Rhinebeck Aerodrome in northern New York state. We also got a personal tour of the Garber facility, which, at the time, was restoring the forward fuselage of the Enola Gay for display at a special exhibit in the NASM. When that exhibit opened, my grandmother took me back to the NASM to see it. She passed a few short years later. So, weirdly enough, the Enola Gay brings back fond memories of my Nana to me. To see it fly again would be incredible. I know to that if it did fly, where ever she is, Nana would be smiling at it.

On a side not, I have gotten to see and climb around 'FiFi' back when she was flying.

[Harry P.]

I agree with both Andy and Christian.

As an historic artifact, sure... ok to have the old bird on display somewhere, I suppose–as long as the accompanying plaque describes just exactly WHY the plane is historically significant (for better or worse). I mean, after all, it's not the plane's fault what happened.

But to polish it up and fly her around the country in some sort of misguided "tour?" Like Christian said, would it be appropriate to fire up Bergen-Belsen then, and relive a few of those memories, too?

[Jairus]

We could as well renovate Bergen Belsen back to working order and use people who are glad the war has ended to show it's visitors what it was used for. Oh, wait a minute. That would possibly be me!

That is just silly liberal rhetoric!

The two are mutually exclusive in that one was evil and the other good in order to STOP an evil!

The Enola Gay is just a WWII bomber. Historical significance aside all war machines were designed to kill or deter. Yet for the military historian and aircraft lover a restored fighter or bomber is the coolest thing to touch and see churning the air above! Has nothing to do with glorifying the killing it has to do with the sacrifice of young men who fought in the wars and the cool machinery they used to do that, regardless of who's side the machine was constructed for.

I personally find German and Japanese aircraft to be very cool and not the least bit offensive.

FYI the Germans have rebuilt and restored one of the death camps as a museum, though I cannot remember the name. The site is to REMIND all who visit the horrors that war and unbridled power can bring. To that end the museum has been a very successful reminder.

"Those who do not know their history are condemned to repeat it!" - General Santa Anna

[Harry P.]

I personally find German and Japanese aircraft to be very cool and not the least bit offensive.

It's not the plane itself that people would find offensive... it's the act that the plane was used for that many would find offensive.

Also, you have to remember... in any war there are always TWO sides–both who believe that they were on the "heroic" side... the "right" side of the conflict.

[my name is nobody]

I dont believe the act that the Enola Gay was used for is, or was offensive.

it was used just as it should have been. to deliver maximum destruction to a country that ATTACKED us.

We sure didnt start the war against the Japanese empire.

but those atomic bombs ended it.

Having had a few relatives die during that war, everywhere from Pearl Harbor,

to Iwo Jima, I'm thankful the United States dropped that big' ol bomb. twice.

and I'm sure some of my relatives living right now are thankful, too.

Because we could have lost alot more American lives if the invasion of japan had

happened on November 1 1945, as scheduled.

I sure hate revisionist who decide to rewrite history 65 years later,

and try to act as if the United States were to blame for WW II.

I never believed this story about the Enola Gay, knowing she is in pieces at the smithsonian institution.

I too, have had the privelige of seeing "FiFi" flying around at a few airshows,

courtesy of the Confederate Air Force. what a huge, impressive aircraft she is.