In the wake of Nazi Germany's quick victory over Poland in 1939, Major General Henry H. It was the largest commitment of resources to a single military aircraft up to that time.īackground photograph of B-29s in formation This complexity represented a significant gamble: unforeseen technical problems during flight testing could have endangered the B-29 development and production program, which eventually cost over $3 billion-$1 billion more than the Manhattan Project. The B-29 was the most technologically complex mass-production aircraft of World War II. Of the more than 3,700 B-29s built during the war, only 15, specially modified, were sent to the Pacific as potential atomic bombers The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was conceived, designed, and rushed into production as a very long-range conventional bomber.
Initiated in response to German victories in Europe during 19, the B-29 program eventually cost over 3 billion dollars-1 billion more that the Manhattan Project. The program to build it also represented the largest commitment of resources to a single military aircraft up to that time. Most of the rest formed the backbone of what was, by the spring of 1945, the most powerful and destructive bomber force of World War II. Of the total wartime production of over 2,000 aircraft, only 15 were sent to the Pacific as potential atomic bomb carriers before the war's end. This unit's mission was so secret that, with few exceptions, the nature of its weapons was concealed even from its members.Īlthough ultimately chosen to deliver the first atomic bombs, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress was conceived, designed, and rushed into production as a very long-range conventional bomber. Army Air Forces had modified its most advanced bomber, the B-29, and had created a new, special military unit for delivering atomic bombs. The beginning of the Enola Gay's mission was the culmination of over a year's work. Soon, at 2:45 a.m., the aircraft takes off. Groves is determined that this moment in history will not go unrecorded.
Movie cameramen and photographers surround the crew. Paul Tibbets, to expect "a little publicity," but Tibbets and his crew are surprised by the scene on the tarmac. Leslie Groves, the head of the Manhattan Project, had warned the Enola Gay's commander, Col. Bathed in floodlights, the B-29 Enola Gay awaits the start of its historic mission: to drop the first atomic bomb on Japan. Source: The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II by the Curators of the National Air and Space MuseumĪugust 6, 1945, 2:00 a.m., Tinian Island, the Central Pacific. This unit's mission was so secret that, with few exceptions, the nature of its weapons was concealed even from its members.
The beginning of the "Enola Gay's" mission was the culmination of over a year's work. Soon thereafter, at 2:45 a.m., the aircraft took off. Groves is determined that this is one moment in history that was not going to go unrecorded. Movie cameramen, photographers and reporters surround the crew. Paul Tibbets, to expect "a little publicity," but Tibbets and his crew are stunned by the scene on the tarmac. Leslie Groves, had warned the "Enola Gay's" commander, Col. Bathed in floodlights, the B-29 "Enola Gay" awaits take-off on an historic mission: dropping the first atomic bomb on Japan. Source: The entire first draft of the script can be found in Judgement at the Smithsonian (New York: Marlowe & Company, 1995)Īugust 6, 1945, 2:00 a.m., Tinian Island, the Central Pacific. UNIT 4: "ENOLA GAY": THE B-29 AND THE ATOMIC MISSIONS Enola Gay Exhibit, First Draft-Final Draft