 Landing After Bombing Hiroshima
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Aug. 20, 2003 — Enola Gay, the airplane that dropped the first atomic bomb over Japan in 1945, has been restored for display at an annex of the U.S. Air and Space Museum outside Washington, D.C., despite protests from victims and war veterans.
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was officially received Monday, the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum said in a statement. It is located at the south end of Washington Dulles International Airport.
The 760,000-square-foot Steven Udvar-Hazy Center will formally open its doors to the public Dec. 15.
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The atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killing 66,000 Japanese and wounding 69,000 others, many of whom died later from their injuries.
A second bomb exploded Aug. 9 over Nagasaki, killing 40,000 and wounding 25,000 more.
Including victims of radiation exposure, about 230,000 total people were killed. The bombings forced Japan's surrender Aug. 14.
It is the first time the Enola Gay has been completely assembled since 1960. The restoration, financed with private donations, was begun in 1984 and required 300,000 hours of work.
The bombings remain controversial. In 1995, the Air and Space Museum cancelled one exposition that included part of the fuselage of the Enola Gay on the 50th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.
Pilot Paul Tibbets dubbed the bomber "Enola Gay" in honor of his mother. He led a crew of 12 on the mission of dropping the bomb, dubbed "Little Boy," from an altitude of 31,600 feet at 8:16 a.m. in Hiroshima.
Survivors of the Hiroshima bombing in western Japan lashed out Wednesday at the planned public display of the Enola Gay.
"For us, the Enola Gay just equals the atomic bomb," said Sunao Tsuboi, the 78-year-old director general of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-Bomb Sufferers Organization.
"Displaying the plane is not only an insult to us but also glorifies the bombing," said Tsuboi, who has burn scars on his head and face from the explosion and is suffering from cancer believed to be caused by radiation exposure.
The museum came under fire as U.S. war veterans claimed the planned exhibition focused excessively on Japanese victims and ignored the fact that the bombing effectively forced Japan's surrender, ending World War II.
Museum Director Jack Dailey reportedly said the museum had no intention of repeating the controversy, adding that the display was part of its effort to highlight the development of air and space technology in U.S. history.
But survivors were not convinced.
"It was obviously a living-body test that killed children, adults, the elders and women indiscriminately," said Akito Suemune, 76, director general of the Hiroshima Council Against A and H Bombs.
"We don't believe the display is for the purpose of technology," said Suemune, who was 18 when "Little Boy" was dropped.
The two survivors' groups have already sent protest messages to the museum, and Hiroshima City is considering following suit.
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