Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Alternative Label #1: Enola Gay

Post your museum label here as a comment by end of day, Wednesday, February 26.

10 comments:

  1. Title: 1945 Boeing B-29 bomber plane Enola Gay

    This beautiful plane holds a dark part of history for the United States. This is the plane that dropped a bomb on Japan destroying two cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although this plane housed the atomic bomb that caused massive devastation, it is an essential part of our country’s history especially since the war ended after the event. For this reason, however, the Enola Gay is to remain housed in the Annex for the rest of it’s days. Yes, it is valuable to our history, but displaying it elsewhere would make it seem as though the United States is completely disregarding the thousands of lives lost.

    -Alexa Wirth

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  2. Enola Gay B-29 Bomber

    The Enola Gay air craft flew on bombing missions in World War 2 by Colonel Paul Tibbets.The aircraft is named after the pilots mother. It was the first plane of it's kind to house the crew in a pressurized cockpit. On August 6,1945, Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Bockscar, a similar looking plane, dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. The Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft during the second bombing. You can go see the Enola Gay at the Annex where it is on display in a controversial exhibit.

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  3. This is the Enola Gay ~ a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber built in the 1940s. This design was the first to have a pressurized cabin and should be known for its technological achievements but it is better known to the world as the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan near the end of WWII, on August 6th, 1945. The Enola Gay also participated in a second atomic attack on Nagasaki, Japan. We display this aircraft at this annex, rather than at the National Air & Space Museum because of the controversy involved in the destruction caused by the dropping of the bomb. Japanese officials determined that 69% of Hiroshima's buildings were destroyed & another 6 -7% damaged. 70 - 80,000 people were killed and another 70,000 injured. Only 20,000 of those killed were soldiers. The U.S. claims that the damage was not that great but there was, obviously, a great loss of civilian life and we can't glorify this aircraft because of this fact.

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  4. Named after the aircraft commander's mother, the Enola Gay was the first U.S Air Force plane to drop an atomic bomb upon an opposing country. This 1945 bombing resulted in the desecration and destruction of the Japanese city, Hiroshima. The restored Enola Gay aircraft was going to be displayed alongside the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museums 1995 exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The exhibit left many of its patrons feeling as though the aircraft's technological achievements were dramatically overshadowed by the huge number of Japanese fatalities caused by the bombing of Hiroshima. Due to the controversial subject matter and acts of vandalism directed at the plane through the years, the Enola Gay is now housed in the Annex instead of the Main Smithsonian Museum complex,.

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  5. Enola Gay: The Plane that Changed the World

    Serving as a reminder to one of the planet’s darkest days, the Enola Gay rests here fully restored in an annex hangar to the National Air & Space Museum. Due to the aircraft’s horrific past, it is no longer displayed in the main museum. This Boeing B-29 Bomber is responsible for delivering the worlds first atomic bomb on the unsuspecting city of Hiroshima, Japan at exactly 8:15am August 6, 1945. The bomb leveled more than 2/3 of the city, and took the lives of over 60,000 people. Along with the Nagasaki bombing (which the Enola Gay was also part of) this is often viewed as the event that ended WWII.

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    1. I think this is a good clear example of an unbiased label, Eric. I think it's interesting how it is purely informational. Good job!

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  6. The Enola Gay: A Marvelous Advancement of the Time

    The Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 built in May of 1945. This plane was built as a fortress and was the first plane to house its crew in pressurized compartments. While the Enola Gay flew many missions it is best known as the plane that dropped the nuclear warhead “Little Boy” onto Hiroshima, Japan during WWII, killing thousands of civilians. The same amount died due to radiation poisoning within five years. After the war the Enola Gay operated out of the Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico for a short time before being transferred to the Smithsonian. By 1961 the Enola Gay had been disassembled and placed in storage. Today, the Enola Gay has been reassembled and polished to its original condition. While it is not part of a current display, this historical artifact still serves as a reminder of the amazing technological advancements in aeronautical sciences, and the devastation that can occur in a matter of moments. History contains achievements and devastation, none of which can be erased through the destruction of an artifact. While waiting for a time when the Enola Gay can be on display without offending any nationality, it will be safely sheltered in the annex of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

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  7. The Enola Gay is the Boeing B-29 bomber that served during the war and during the final stages of World War II, which then dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. It is controversial if the Enola Gay should remain housed at the Smithson Annex hidden from the public eye or exhibited for the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II or even to be part of the permanent exhibition. Advocates for the exhibition state the importance of the historical power this aircraft has and the direct connection it had to this devastating event in history. One must consider that the Enola Gay was also a magnificent technological achievement and although the use of the technological achievement is not to be proud of, it is significant marker in nuclear history as well as a symbol for veterans. The hiding of the Enola Gay not only takes away the right to learn and make one own’s interpretation about the aircraft as well as the historical event connected with it but also distorts the historical truth. By keeping the historical artifact off exhibition it looks as if the country pretends the dropping of the first atomic bomb had never occurred and millions of lives were not taken. On the contrary however, if the aircraft was on display it would display a sense of pride and so would also be a target of vandalism by protesters due to the strong sentiments that arise.

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  8. Stephanie Campbell
    Art History 480
    02/26/2014

    Alternative Label: Enola Gay

    The Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29, built in 1945, though the schematic plans had been designed in 1940. The name of this superfortress originates from the name of the pilot’s mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. On August 6th, 1945, the U.S. government issued a nuclear bomb be dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, completed by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. The bomb, Little Boy, estimated the death of approximately 140,000 Japanese citizens. The Enola Gay has remained at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, not on display, to prevent vandalism and other damage. Though this aircraft carried the cause of thousands of deaths in WWII, it is a very significant piece of our American History, and it should be understood that this was an act of war that cannot be changed, even with the destruction of such an object.

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    1. I'm sorry, I completely forgot to post on Wednesday!! Sally just reminded me!

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