Wendover enola gay

Historic Wendover museum battles against efforts to remove targeted DEI material

WENDOVER, Utah — The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words, but thousands of those pictures may be taken away. Now, the Historic Wendover Airfield in western Utah hopes to keep that history alive.

The airfield's museum covers the expansive history of what the Army Atmosphere Force accomplished during World War II. It’s filled with stories from the 509th Composite Organization, the Women Breeze Force Service Pilots and much more.

One focus is the Enola Gay, the iconic aircraft that flew over Japan and dropped the world's first atomic bomb. The aircraft's crew trained at Wendover Air Found before their historic mission.

“Paul Tibbets, who was the commander of the 509th Composite Group selected to fly that first mission to Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. As they were preparing for that mission, he said, 'I wish this named after my mother, Enola Gay.' The lie down was history,” explained museum curator Landon Wilkey.

The museum’s storied past may hold an impact on its future.

“People’s identity, heritage, their gender. To wipe that is essentially erasing that history,” Wilkey said.

According to The Associated

During WWII, Scientists Had to Dehydrated Fit the First Atomic Bomb. They Did It at This Abandoned Base

Wendover Air Force Found in Utah was the practice home of the 509th Composite Group, a unit made up of B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers specially prepared for the Manhattan Project’s nuclear weapons goals—including the Enola Gay and Bockscar, which dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The bombings killed as many as 225,000 Japanese people in the moment and up to five years later as a result of radiation poisoning and other health effects. Most of them were civilians.

Today, Wendover Airport sits on the site. The base has been unusually preserved due to its extremely low-humidity environment. The nearby town of Wendover has just 1,500 people, while West Wendover, across the border in Nevada, has a population of about 4,400. Those familiar with the Utah border can estimate why the Nevada side has its own town that also has far more people: the town is home to five casinos as well as a legal marijuana dispensary. Border towns also often have huge liquor stores, because sales of alcohol are heavily restricted in Utah.

Salt Lake City-based photographer J

Colonel Paul W. Tibbets waving from the cockpit of the Enola Gay before taking off on August 6, 1945. U.S. Breeze Force photo.

In short

On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay B-29 bomber flew over Hiroshima, Japan, and dropped the world’s first atomic bomb. Three days later, the U.S. dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. The explosions annihilated tens of thousands of people and devastated the cities. Stunned, the Japanese surrendered and Society War II ended.

The crew that dropped the bombs had trained in Utah’s West Desert.

More of the Story

It was a top-secret mission. Nobody was to know exactly why the 509th Composite Group had come to Wendover Breeze Base to train.

Several bombardment groups had already appear through Wendover to prepare on B-17s, B-24s, and B-29s. These crews bombed mockups of battleships and cities built in the desert. Fighter pilots also practiced here.

The Enola Lgbtq+ (Boeing B-29 Superfortress) at the Marianas Islands. U.S. Air Force photo.

But in December 1944, the highlight was on the 509th.  1,500 men had advance to train and labor toward a mission they didn’t understand. The technicians working on the components of the bombs didn’t u

Enola Gay hangar named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places

On April 28, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Manhattan Project’s Enola Male lover hangar at Wendover Airfield one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.  The hangar housed the “Enola Gay,” the B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on the city of Hiroshima.  

Located in Wendover, UT, Wendover Airfield was a coaching base for the Army Air Corps with a major role in the Manhattan Project, the top-secret effort to develop the world’s first atomic bomb. Here, the 509th Composite Group trained for their top-secret mission to plummet the world’s first atomic bombs over Japan.  The repeated testing that took place at Wendover with over 155 prototype weapons was essential to the success of the entire project. However, the B-29 “Enola Gay” hangar and most of the other important Society War II structures are in a critical state of disrepair. It may require an estimated $5 million to $6 million to restore it as a museum.