In December 1991, the potential for controversy of such an exhibit on WWII weighed heavily on the NASM advisory board. Correll, editor of the Air Force Magazine, calling the exhibit a “strident attack on airpower in World War I” by characterizing the military aircraft as “instrument of death.” Still, Harwit pushed for a follow-up with an exhibition on World War II that would include the Enola Gay. This exhibition created some discomfort, with editors of the Wall Street Journal calling the curators “revisionist social scientists” and John T.
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Committee member Admiral Noel Gayler believed that any exhibition of the Enola Gay would imply “that we are celebrating the first and so far the only use of nuclear weapons against human beings.” Heeding this warning, the committee tabled the discussion and decided to first test the waters with a sixteen-month series of talks, panels, and exhibits on “Strategic Bombings in World War II.” Meanwhile the proposed annex did not receive necessary funding until 1999, from a private donation.Īt the same time, Harwit continued with his new vision for NASM with exhibitions such as “Legend, Memory and the Great War in the Air,” which was designed to clarify the myths that had arisen regarding World War I. This proposal, however, was met with some opposition in the Research Advisory Committee’s meeting on October 1988. They decided to exhibit the Enola Gay at the annex, with an accompanying message about the dangers of strategic bombing and escalation. The Enola Gay had recently finished being renovated and the museum had been concerned about transportation and reassemble fees therefore, the proposed annex appeared to be a fitting location.
This proposed annex would solve the hassle of disassemble and reassemble larger aircrafts. In 1977, NASM had begun discussing the need for bigger buildings to house larger modern aircrafts, and in 1980, the museum had surveyed candidates for the future annex and decided upon the Dulles Airport. This vision included his conscious decision to display the Enola Gay.Īt first, the Enola Gay was planned to be displayed at an annex NASM facility near Washington Dulles International Airport. He wanted the museum to be a “public conscience” that would discuss topics “under public debate,” Linenthal described. His vision for the museum diverged from previous directors. In 1987, NASM hired Martin Harwit as their new director. Linenthal, who was on the advisory board of the Enola Gay exhibit. However, the museum felt “ambivalence about the plane’s eventual display,” described historian Edward T. Restoration efforts by the Smithsonian started on December 5, 1984. The veterans formed “the Committee for the Restoration and Proud Display of the Enola Gay” to raise funds.
Their motivations, at this time, stemmed primarily from the poor condition of the aircraft. In the 1980s, members of the 509 th Composite Group asked for a proper restoration of the aircraft. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage facility for NASM. In 1961, the Enola Gay was fully disassembled and moved to the Paul E. There its wings began to rust and vandals even damaged the plane. Notably, from 1953 to 1960, its home was Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. A fiery controversy ensued that demonstrated the competing historical narratives regarding the decision to drop the bomb.įollowing World War II, the Enola Gay had been moved around from location to location. For the 50 th anniversary of the end of World War II, the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) proposed an exhibition that would include displaying the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that was used to drop the bomb on Hiroshima.