Some of the stops are at unlikely places, but because the time of the flight will correspond with part of the summer air show season, towns that are not on the air show circuit become logical choices for stops on the tour. Since the B-29 will not be carrying bombs (or an A-bomb like she did in August, 1945), she will be able to make trips of several hundred miles at a time as she works her way across the Nation. The itinerary will take the famous B-29 to some thirteen airports from one coast to the other. But instead the media were surprised with the Enola Gay announcement. That B-17F was recently “recalled†by the USAF Museum from its previous home on Mud Island in Memphis, TN. The media release indicated Dailey would be talking about the building of another hangar at the Center to house more aerospace artifacts, such as the famous Memphis Belle. Dailey, USMC (Ret), made the surprise joint announcement at a news conference at the Udvar-Hazy Center Thursday. This will be a one-way trip that will be long-remembered by the war bird and historical community.įAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and NASM Director Gen. The announcement is being made to enable the war bird community as a whole to modify the air show schedule so that other WWII aircraft will be able to participate in the historic event. After the tour, the plane will be disassembled into large pieces that will be shipped by a special train from the final tour stop back to the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC. The tour will begin in June and run through August.
In honor of the 65th anniversary of the end of WWII, the NASM staff has been secretly preparing the B-29 Enola Gay to make her airworthy for a commemorative flight across the United States. "NASM Announces National Tour For Enola Gay Famous Airplane Will Fly Again, Thanks To Extensive, Secret Renovation The National Air and Space Museum made a surprising announcement Thursday. Does anyone know if this is for real or what?