26, 1961 and is now on permanent display in the World War II gallery.
The Bockscar was flown to the museum on Sept. The Enola Gay has been in the Smithsonian collection since 1949. There is no story about the B-29 or World War II that you cannot tell with this particular airplane. Originally delivered to the United States Army Air Forces on 19 March, 1945 at a cost of $639,000, the name 'Bockscar' was a pun on the name of aircraft commander Captain Frederick C. The B-29 is an extraordinarily important aircraft from a design and manufacturing point of view, and from a general combat operational perspective in World War II.
machine guns, one 20mm cannon in a tail turret, and up to 20,000 pounds of bombs, Silverplate B-29s retained only the tail turret and had their armor removed to save weight so the heavy atomic bombs could be carried over longer distances. machine guns in remote controlled turrets, two. Bockscar was also one of 15 'Silverplate' B-29s with extensive modifications which allowed them to carry nuclear weapons. The B-29 had a cruising speed of 220mph and a maximum speed of 357mph.
Bockscar was part of the same squadron as the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb. 9, 1945, just three days after the atomic attack against Hiroshima, Japan. 'Bockscar', piloted Major Charles Sweeney, dropped the 'Fat Man' atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug.
