DULLES, Va. (AP) - The Smithsonian Institution unveiled a restored Enola Gay on Monday, making the B-29 bomber that helped end World War II the centerpiece of the new annex to the Air and Space Museum.
The restoration, the result of 300,000 hours of work over nearly 20 years, made the B-29 bomber look as it did on Aug. 6, 1945 when it dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
Over the years, some parts of the Enola Gay were replaced in normal use and others were lost or taken by collectors, said Dik Daso, the Smithsonian's curator of modern military aircraft.
The Enola Gay has been restored so completely that it would probably start if fueled, officials said. But because components are so old it, wouldn't be flight worthy. Curators restored each part to the way it looked on ``mission day,'' down to particular radio tubes used at the time, Daso said.
The plane will be available for public viewing on Dec. 15, when the Udvar-Hazy Center opens near Washington Dulles International Airport.
Museum officials avoided the controversy that grounded a 1995 exhibit, which discussed the effects of the bomb on the Japanese people.
Hideki Yui of Japan Broadcasting Corp., one of many Japanese media members attending Monday's event, said there is a lot of interest in Japan in the new exhibit.
``Japanese survivors want to focus attention more to the damage of the atomic bomb,'' he said.
The museum's interest in avoiding the subject is understandable, he said, because the U.S. Military and Congress oppose it.
The center will house 200 aircraft and 135 large space artifacts that can't be displayed at the Air And Space Museum in Washington because of their size, museum director Gen. Jack Dailey said. The museum in Washington holds only about 10 percent of the Air and Space collection, he said.
Visitors will see the outside of the Enola Gay, which will be propped 8 feet off the ground to leave room to display other aircraft under its 141-foot wingspan, Dailey said.
Visitors won't be allowed inside the aircraft, but the plane has been photographed from 144 angles, allowing the Smithsonian to create a virtual tour of the interior.
The exhibit focuses on the restoration process and the technical advances of the B-29 bomber in its time.
Daso said it's important for Americans to see the plane and realize its importance.
``This airplane is part of our history and part of who we are,'' he said.

I'm not sure 'Pilgrimage' is the right word but I would love to see her.  It's a pity that the public isn't allowed on her, I'll have to write a book and get permission that way.

Will

Block capitals.  Word - finger space - word.

It's easy LOL.

I have that dyslexia thingy(sorry X) (dyspraxia? ? ?) that affects writing and only truely became able to write when they gave me a keyboard and a Sarah to point out my (numerous) typo's!

Will

I'm sure we saw the Enola Gay on a visit to the NASM at Washington DC some years ago. It was in sections & only the fuselage was on display.

oh yeah they really are great.

It took me 3 hours to write out my english essay in acceptable presentation terms. Lucky I get to do most of it on keyboard. At least no one can copy my notes cause no one else can read em

On a very related note, Bocks car, which did its mission three days after the Enola Gay, is located in Dayton Ohio and is in fine shape now......

I saw it in the Air Force Museum a few yrs back, when I was there for a modelling weekend on the runways of Wright-Patterson............

Because of the possibility of opinions being 'passionate' and the likelihood of a 'hot argument', the entire subject of whether or not the decision to use the 'bomb' was justified (be it morally, militarily, legally or spiritually), is best left alone.

Suffice to say though, I'm sure the decisions were made with great care and consideration, given the climate of the day, the cost of the alternatives and the terrible need that must have existed in everyones mind to, once again, bring peace and safety back to so much of the world and the peoples of so many countries.

I have my opinion, which is based on much study and personal knowledge of the horror of human conflict, but I know that, through experience, there is no changing anothers views, whether they be for or agaianst. So it's best left alone (as has been done by the Museum organisers).       

Will. I believe the fire that destroyed B-29 "Kee Bird" was caused by a temporary APU in the rear fuselage breaking loose from its mounting. They used it for heating the aircraft interior due to the extreme cold. It was left running while taxying. This was nothing to do with the main power plants or fuel lines.