Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: south hangar panorama, which includes Vought OS2U-three Kingfisher seaplane, B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, amongst other people

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: south hangar panorama, which includes Vought OS2U-three Kingfisher seaplane, B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, amongst other people

A couple of nice prototype manufacturing business images I found:

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: south hangar panorama, which includes Vought OS2U-three Kingfisher seaplane, B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, among other individuals

Image by Chris Devers
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Vought OS2U-three Kingfisher:

The Kingfisher was the U.S. Navy’s principal ship-primarily based, scout and observation aircraft throughout Globe War II. Revolutionary spot welding methods gave it a smooth, non-buckling fuselage structure. Deflector plate flaps that hung from the wing’s trailing edge and spoiler-augmented ailerons functioned like extra flaps to let slower landing speeds. Most OS2Us operated in the Pacific, exactly where they rescued several downed airmen, which includes Globe War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker and the crew of his B-17 Flying Fortress.

In March 1942, this airplane was assigned to the battleship USS Indiana. It later underwent a six-month overhaul in California, returned to Pearl Harbor, and rejoined the Indiana in March 1944. Lt. j.g. Rollin M. Batten Jr. was awarded the Navy Cross for generating a daring rescue in this airplane under heavy enemy fire on July four, 1944.

Transferred from the United States Navy.

Manufacturer:
Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division

Date:
1937

Nation of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
General: 15ft 1 1/8in. x 33ft 9 1/2in., 4122.6lb., 36ft 1 1/16in. (460 x 1030cm, 1870kg, 1100cm)

Materials:
Wings covered with fabric aft of the principal spar

Physical Description:
Two-seat monoplane, deflector plate flaps hung from the trailing edge of the wing, ailerons drooped at low airspeeds to function like additional flaps, spoilers.

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress &quotEnola Gay&quot:

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the first bomber to property its crew in pressurized compartments. Though designed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 discovered its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a range of aerial weapons: traditional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, this Martin-constructed B-29-45-MO dropped the 1st atomic weapon utilised in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. 3 days later, Bockscar (on show at the U.S. Air Force Museum close to Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Great Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on both missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Nation of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
General: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft six five/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Materials:
Polished all round aluminum finish

Physical Description:
4-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and high-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish general, common late-World War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial number on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black &quotEnola Gay&quot in black, block letters on decrease left nose.

1960 Borgward Isabella Coupé (02)

Image by Georg Sander
The Borgward Isabella is a medium sized two door saloon that was manufactured by the Bremen based auto-manufacturer Carl F. W. Borgward GmbH among 1954 and 1962. Initially the car was badged, like its predecessor, as the Hansa 1500, but within the firm it was identified from the starting by the code name, Isabella (following Carl Borgward’s wife), and automobiles developed after 1957 bore the ‘Isabella’ name, inscribed eye catchingly within the rhombus at the centre of the front grill: in retrospect the car produced from 1954 is identified as the Isabella to differentiate it from the (initial) Hansa 1500/1800 which the company produced among 1949 and 1954.

Regardless of its aspirational positioning in the marketplace, the Isabella had a smaller engine (and was marginally shorter) than its immediate predecessor. Late in 1952 the firm had launched their six cylinder Hansa 2400 model. The bigger automobile by no means identified many purchasers but in 1954 it created industrial sense to hold the two models from competing too straight with a single another.

Initial sales volumes have been not maintained. Responding to a sales decline of nearly a third between 1955 and 1956, Carl Borgward decided to produce a more beautiful Isabella with a shortened roof line. The Borgward Isabella Coupé was created, and the four hand built prototypes were well received by the press. Borgward gave one particular of these prototypes to his wife, Elizabeth, who would continue to drive it into the 1980s. Commercial production of the coupé, powered by the more strong TS version of the engine first seen in the cabriolet, commenced in January 1957. The coupe seems to have accomplished it is marketing and advertising objective of further distancing the Isabella’s image from similarly sized competitors from Opel and Ford.

(Wikipedia)

– – –

Die Borgward Isabella ist ein Mittelklassewagen der Carl F. W. Borgward G.m.b.H. in Bremen-Sebaldsbrück, das erfolgreichste Modell der Borgward-Gruppe, das ab ten. Juni 1954 zunächst unter dem Namen „Hansa 1500“ vom Band lief.

Der spätere Name „Isabella“ war nicht das Ergebnis von Marktuntersuchungen, sondern eine spontane Eingebung von Carl F. W. Borgward selbst. Gefragt, was man auf die noch streng geheimen Vorserien-Modelle schreiben solle, wenn sie Probefahrten im öffentlichen Verkehr machen, soll Borgward geantwortet haben: „Das ist mir egal schreibt meinetwegen Isabella drauf.&quot

Ab 1957 war der ursprüngliche Tarnname im Borgward-Rhombus des Kühlergrills zu lesen.

Die moderne Konzeption und die gefällige Erscheinung des Hansa 1500 (Isabella) wurden bei der Vorstellung 1954 enthusiastisch begrüßt. Der Wagen traf den Publikumsgeschmack und war vom ersten Tag an ein Verkaufserfolg. Der Wagen war nach einer Entwicklungszeit von nur zehn Monaten anfangs mit zahlreichen Kinderkrankheiten behaftet, die jedoch nach und nach abgestellt wurden.

Als 1956 der Absatz der Isabella gegenüber 1955 um fast ein Drittel zurückgegangen war, entschloss sich Carl Borgward, ein „schönes Auto“ mit verkürztem Dach zu bauen. Daraufhin entstand das Borgward Isabella Coupé, von dem zunächst vier Prototypen in die Öffentlichkeit gelangten und das Interesse der Presse weckten. Einen dieser handgefertigten Prototypen schenkte Borgward seiner Frau Elisabeth, die ihn bis in die 1980er Jahre fuhr.

Die Serienproduktion des Coupés (mit dem TS-Motor) begann im Januar 1957. Karl Deutsch in Köln wandelte auch dieses Modell in ein Cabriolet um, das aber den Schriftzug „Coupé“ am Heck behielt. Die Coupé-Cabriolets kosteten zwischen 15.600 und 17.000 DM.

(Wikipedia)

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay” panorama

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay” panorama

Check out these precision machined components companies images:

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay” panorama

Image by Chris Devers
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed P-38J-10-LO Lightning:

In the P-38 Lockheed engineer Clarence &quotKelly&quot Johnson and his team of designers produced 1 of the most productive twin-engine fighters ever flown by any nation. From 1942 to 1945, U. S. Army Air Forces pilots flew P-38s over Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific, and from the frozen Aleutian Islands to the sun-baked deserts of North Africa. Lightning pilots in the Pacific theater downed a lot more Japanese aircraft than pilots flying any other Allied warplane.

Maj. Richard I. Bong, America’s top fighter ace, flew this P-38J-10-LO on April 16, 1945, at Wright Field, Ohio, to evaluate an experimental approach of interconnecting the movement of the throttle and propeller manage levers. Nevertheless, his appropriate engine exploded in flight just before he could conduct the experiment.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Lockheed Aircraft Firm

Date:
1943

Nation of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
All round: 390 x 1170cm, 6345kg, 1580cm (12ft 9 9/16in. x 38ft 4 five/8in., 13988.2lb., 51ft 10 1/16in.)

Materials:
All-metal

Physical Description:
Twin-tail boom and twin-engine fighter tricycle landing gear.

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress &quotEnola Gay&quot:

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of Globe War II and the very first bomber to home its crew in pressurized compartments. Despite the fact that developed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 identified its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a selection of aerial weapons: traditional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August six, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the initial atomic weapon utilized in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. 3 days later, Bockscar (on show at the U.S. Air Force Museum close to Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Great Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on each missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Nation of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
General: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Materials:
Polished all round aluminum finish

Physical Description:
4-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and high-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish general, common late-Planet War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial number on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black &quotEnola Gay&quot in black, block letters on reduce left nose.

Touring Numet Machining Methods, Inc. in Orange

Image by CT Senate Democrats
State Senator Gayle S. Slossberg tours Numet Machining Methods in Orange with Joseph Sartori, Numet’s Vice President of Operations. Numet is a manufacturer of precision machined components, and was capable to produce and retain jobs thanks to its participation in Connecticut’s Small Organization Express System and the Connecticut Insurance Reinvestment Fund. (October two, 2013)

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay” (view into nose cockpit)

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay” (view into nose cockpit)

Some cool precision machining business pictures:

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay” (view into nose cockpit)

Image by Chris Devers
See far more pictures of this, and the Wikipedia report.

Information, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress &quotEnola Gay&quot:

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of Globe War II and the initial bomber to property its crew in pressurized compartments. Even though developed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 located its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a variety of aerial weapons: standard bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August six, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the first atomic weapon utilized in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. 3 days later, Bockscar (on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance climate reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Fantastic Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on both missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Nation of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
Overall: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Components:
Polished overall aluminum finish

Physical Description:
4-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and higher-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish general, normal late-Globe War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial quantity on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black &quotEnola Gay&quot in black, block letters on lower left nose.

Long Description:
Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated, propeller-driven, bomber to fly in the course of Globe War II, and the first bomber to home its crew in pressurized compartments. Boeing installed really sophisticated armament, propulsion, and avionics systems into the Superfortress. For the duration of the war in the Pacific Theater, the B-29 delivered the 1st nuclear weapons employed in combat. On August six, 1945, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., in command of the Superfortress Enola Gay, dropped a extremely enriched uranium, explosion-sort, &quotgun-fired,&quot atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Significant Charles W. Sweeney piloted the B-29 Bockscar and dropped a hugely enriched plutonium, implosion-variety atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese accepted Allied terms for unconditional surrender.

In the late 1930s, U. S. Army Air Corps leaders recognized the want for really extended-range bombers that exceeded the overall performance of the B-17 Flying Fortress. Several years of preliminary research paralleled a continuous fight against these who saw restricted utility in developing such an high-priced and unproven aircraft but the Air Corps issued a requirement for the new bomber in February 1940. It described an airplane that could carry a maximum bomb load of 909 kg (two,000 lb) at a speed of 644 kph (400 mph) a distance of at least eight,050 km (5,000 miles). Boeing, Consolidated, Douglas, and Lockheed responded with design and style proposals. The Army was impressed with the Boeing design and issued a contract for two flyable prototypes in September 1940. In April 1941, the Army issued another contract for 250 aircraft plus spare parts equivalent to an additional 25 bombers, eight months just before Pearl Harbor and nearly a year-and-a-half ahead of the 1st Superfortress would fly.

Amongst the design’s innovations was a lengthy, narrow, higher-aspect ratio wing equipped with large Fowler-sort flaps. This wing style permitted the B-29 to fly very quickly at higher altitudes but maintained comfortable handling traits throughout takeoff and landing. Far more revolutionary was the size and sophistication of the pressurized sections of the fuselage: the flight deck forward of the wing, the gunner’s compartment aft of the wing, and the tail gunner’s station. For the crew, flying at intense altitudes became a lot more comfortable as pressure and temperature could be regulated. To shield the Superfortress, Boeing created a remote-controlled, defensive weapons technique. Engineers placed 5 gun turrets on the fuselage: a turret above and behind the cockpit that housed two .50 caliber machine guns (4 guns in later versions), and an additional turret aft close to the vertical tail equipped with two machine guns plus two much more turrets beneath the fuselage, each equipped with two .50 caliber guns. One particular of these turrets fired from behind the nose gear and the other hung additional back near the tail. Yet another two .50 caliber machine guns and a 20-mm cannon (in early versions of the B-29) have been fitted in the tail beneath the rudder. Gunners operated these turrets by remote handle–a correct innovation. They aimed the guns making use of computerized sights, and every single gunner could take manage of two or more turrets to concentrate firepower on a single target.

Boeing also equipped the B-29 with advanced radar equipment and avionics. Depending on the variety of mission, a B-29 carried the AN/APQ-13 or AN/APQ-7 Eagle radar program to aid bombing and navigation. These systems have been precise adequate to permit bombing via cloud layers that totally obscured the target. The B-29B was equipped with the AN/APG-15B airborne radar gun sighting system mounted in the tail, insuring accurate defense against enemy fighters attacking at night. B-29s also routinely carried as several as twenty different varieties of radios and navigation devices.

The 1st XB-29 took off at Boeing Field in Seattle on September 21, 1942. By the end of the year the second aircraft was prepared for flight. Fourteen service-test YB-29s followed as production began to accelerate. Constructing this sophisticated bomber essential huge logistics. Boeing built new B-29 plants at Renton, Washington, and Wichita, Kansas, whilst Bell built a new plant at Marietta, Georgia, and Martin constructed 1 in Omaha, Nebraska. Both Curtiss-Wright and the Dodge automobile firm vastly expanded their manufacturing capacity to develop the bomber’s powerful and complicated Curtiss-Wright R-3350 turbo supercharged engines. The system required thousands of sub-contractors but with extraordinary work, it all came collectively, in spite of main teething troubles. By April 1944, the initial operational B-29s of the newly formed 20th Air Force started to touch down on dusty airfields in India. By May possibly, 130 B-29s were operational. In June, 1944, less than two years soon after the initial flight of the XB-29, the U. S. Army Air Forces (AAF) flew its 1st B-29 combat mission against targets in Bangkok, Thailand. This mission (longest of the war to date) known as for 100 B-29s but only 80 reached the target area. The AAF lost no aircraft to enemy action but bombing final results had been mediocre. The very first bombing mission against the Japanese main islands considering that Lt. Col. &quotJimmy&quot Doolittle’s raid against Tokyo in April 1942, occurred on June 15, again with poor outcomes. This was also the initial mission launched from airbases in China.

With the fall of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam in the Mariana Islands chain in August 1944, the AAF acquired airbases that lay a number of hundred miles closer to mainland Japan. Late in 1944, the AAF moved the XXI Bomber Command, flying B-29s, to the Marianas and the unit started bombing Japan in December. Even so, they employed higher-altitude, precision, bombing tactics that yielded poor results. The high altitude winds had been so powerful that bombing computer systems could not compensate and the weather was so poor that rarely was visual target acquisition feasible at high altitudes. In March 1945, Significant General Curtis E. LeMay ordered the group to abandon these tactics and strike instead at night, from low altitude, using incendiary bombs. These firebombing raids, carried out by hundreds of B-29s, devastated much of Japan’s industrial and economic infrastructure. But Japan fought on. Late in 1944, AAF leaders chosen the Martin assembly line to create a squadron of B-29s codenamed SILVERPLATE. Martin modified these Superfortresses by removing all gun turrets except for the tail position, removing armor plate, installing Curtiss electric propellers, and modifying the bomb bay to accommodate either the &quotFat Man&quot or &quotLittle Boy&quot versions of the atomic bomb. The AAF assigned 15 Silverplate ships to the 509th Composite Group commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets. As the Group Commander, Tibbets had no specific aircraft assigned to him as did the mission pilots. He was entitled to fly any aircraft at any time. He named the B-29 that he flew on 6 August Enola Gay after his mother. In the early morning hours, just prior to the August 6th mission, Tibbets had a young Army Air Forces maintenance man, Private Nelson Miller, paint the name just under the pilot’s window.

Enola Gay is a model B-29-45-MO, serial quantity 44-86292. The AAF accepted this aircraft on June 14, 1945, from the Martin plant at Omaha (Situated at what is these days Offut AFB close to Bellevue), Nebraska. Right after the war, Army Air Forces crews flew the airplane for the duration of the Operation Crossroads atomic test system in the Pacific, even though it dropped no nuclear devices during these tests, and then delivered it to Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona, for storage. Later, the U. S. Air Force flew the bomber to Park Ridge, Illinois, then transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution on July 4, 1949. Though in Smithsonian custody, the aircraft remained stored at Pyote Air Force Base, Texas, in between January 1952 and December 1953. The airplane’s final flight ended on December 2 when the Enola Gay touched down at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. The bomber remained at Andrews in outdoor storage till August 1960. By then, concerned about the bomber deteriorating outdoors, the Smithsonian sent collections employees to disassemble the Superfortress and move it indoors to the Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

The staff at Garber began working to preserve and restore Enola Gay in December 1984. This was the largest restoration project ever undertaken at the National Air and Space Museum and the specialists anticipated the operate would require from seven to nine years to total. The project truly lasted nearly two decades and, when completed, had taken about 300,000 perform-hours to full. The B-29 is now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay” panorama

Image by Chris Devers
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed P-38J-ten-LO Lightning :

In the P-38 Lockheed engineer Clarence &quotKelly&quot Johnson and his group of designers created one of the most effective twin-engine fighters ever flown by any nation. From 1942 to 1945, U. S. Army Air Forces pilots flew P-38s more than Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific, and from the frozen Aleutian Islands to the sun-baked deserts of North Africa. Lightning pilots in the Pacific theater downed far more Japanese aircraft than pilots flying any other Allied warplane.

Maj. Richard I. Bong, America’s major fighter ace, flew this P-38J-10-LO on April 16, 1945, at Wright Field, Ohio, to evaluate an experimental technique of interconnecting the movement of the throttle and propeller handle levers. However, his proper engine exploded in flight before he could conduct the experiment.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Lockheed Aircraft Business

Date:
1943

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
Overall: 390 x 1170cm, 6345kg, 1580cm (12ft 9 9/16in. x 38ft 4 five/8in., 13988.2lb., 51ft ten 1/16in.)

Materials:
All-metal

Physical Description:
Twin-tail boom and twin-engine fighter tricycle landing gear.

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress &quotEnola Gay&quot:

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the initial bomber to residence its crew in pressurized compartments. Even though created to fight in the European theater, the B-29 identified its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a selection of aerial weapons: conventional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, this Martin-constructed B-29-45-MO dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. 3 days later, Bockscar (on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum close to Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance climate reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Wonderful Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on each missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
Overall: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Supplies:
Polished all round aluminum finish

Physical Description:
4-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and higher-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish general, normal late-Globe War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial quantity on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black &quotEnola Gay&quot in black, block letters on reduce left nose.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, with Lockheed P-38J-ten-LO Lightning

A few nice machined elements companies images I located:

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, with Lockheed P-38J-ten-LO Lightning

Image by Chris Devers
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed P-38J-10-LO Lightning :

In the P-38 Lockheed engineer Clarence &quotKelly&quot Johnson and his team of designers created one particular of the most effective twin-engine fighters ever flown by any nation. From 1942 to 1945, U. S. Army Air Forces pilots flew P-38s more than Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific, and from the frozen Aleutian Islands to the sun-baked deserts of North Africa. Lightning pilots in the Pacific theater downed more Japanese aircraft than pilots flying any other Allied warplane.

Maj. Richard I. Bong, America’s major fighter ace, flew this P-38J-ten-LO on April 16, 1945, at Wright Field, Ohio, to evaluate an experimental method of interconnecting the movement of the throttle and propeller manage levers. Nevertheless, his proper engine exploded in flight prior to he could conduct the experiment.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Lockheed Aircraft Firm

Date:
1943

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
All round: 390 x 1170cm, 6345kg, 1580cm (12ft 9 9/16in. x 38ft four five/8in., 13988.2lb., 51ft ten 1/16in.)

Materials:
All-metal

Physical Description:
Twin-tail boom and twin-engine fighter tricycle landing gear.

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress &quotEnola Gay&quot:

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Though made to fight in the European theater, the B-29 located its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a assortment of aerial weapons: conventional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the first atomic weapon employed in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. 3 days later, Bockscar (on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Wonderful Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on each missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
General: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 five/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Supplies:
Polished overall aluminum finish

Physical Description:
Four-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and high-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish general, standard late-Planet War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial number on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black &quotEnola Gay&quot in black, block letters on reduced left nose.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: View of south hangar, such as B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, a glimpse of the Air France Concorde, and several others

Image by Chris Devers
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress &quotEnola Gay&quot:

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the very first bomber to residence its crew in pressurized compartments. Despite the fact that made to fight in the European theater, the B-29 located its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a selection of aerial weapons: standard bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, this Martin-constructed B-29-45-MO dropped the initial atomic weapon utilized in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. 3 days later, Bockscar (on show at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance climate reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Fantastic Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on each missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Nation of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
All round: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft six five/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Materials:
Polished all round aluminum finish

Physical Description:
4-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and higher-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish all round, common late-Planet War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial quantity on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black &quotEnola Gay&quot in black, block letters on decrease left nose.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC, with Northrop P-61C Black Widow, B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, and SR-71 Blackbird in the background

Image by Chris Devers
See far more pictures of this, and the Wikipedia article.

Specifics, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy | Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC:

Hawker Chief Designer Sydney Camm’s Hurricane ranks with the most critical aircraft styles in military aviation history. Designed in the late 1930s, when monoplanes have been deemed unstable and too radical to be effective, the Hurricane was the initial British monoplane fighter and the first British fighter to exceed 483 kilometers (300 miles) per hour in level flight. Hurricane pilots fought the Luftwaffe and helped win the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940.

This Mark IIC was constructed at the Langley factory, close to what is now Heathrow Airport, early in 1944. It served as a coaching aircraft in the course of the Planet War II in the Royal Air Force’s 41 OTU.

Donated by the Royal Air Force Museum

Manufacturer:
Hawker Aircraft Ltd.

Date:
1944

Nation of Origin:
United Kingdom

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 12.2 m (40 ft)
Length: 9.eight m (32 ft 3 in)
Height: 4 m (13 ft)
Weight, empty: 2,624 kg (five,785 lb)
Weight, gross: three,951 kg (eight,710 lb)
Prime speed:538 km/h (334 mph)
Engine:Rolls-Royce Merlin XX, liquid-cooled in-line V, 1,300 hp
Armament:4 20 mm Hispano cannons
Ordnance:two 250-lb or two 500-lb bombs or eight three-in rockets

Materials:
Fuselage: Steel tube with aircraft spruce forms and fabric, aluminum cowling
Wings: Stressed Skin Aluminum
Horizontal Stablizer: Anxiety Skin aluminum
Rudder: fabric covered aluminum
Control Surfaces: fabric covered aluminum

Physical Description:
Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC single seat, low wing monoplane ground attack fighter enclosed cockpit steel tube fuselage with aircraft spruce forms and fabric, aluminum cowling, stressed skin aluminum wings and horizontal stablizer, fabric covered aluminum rudder and manage surfaces grey green camoflage best surface paint scheme with dove grey underside red and blue national roundel on upper wing surface and red, white, and blue roundel reduce wing surface red, white, blue, and yellow roundel fuselage sides red, white and blue tail flash Rolls-Royce Merlin XX, liquid cooled V-12, 1,280 horsepower engine Armament, 4: 20mm Hispano cannons.

• • • • •

See a lot more photographs of this, and the Wikipedia report.

Information, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy | Northrop P-61C Black Widow:

The P-61 Black Widow was the very first U.S. aircraft designed to find and destroy enemy aircraft at evening and in undesirable weather, a feat made feasible by the use of on-board radar. The prototype first flew in 1942. P-61 combat operations began just after D-Day, June six, 1944, when Black Widows flew deep into German airspace, bombing and strafing trains and road targeted traffic. Operations in the Pacific started at about the identical time. By the end of Globe War II, Black Widows had seen combat in each theater and had destroyed 127 enemy aircraft and 18 German V-1 buzz bombs.

The Museum’s Black Widow, a P-61C-1-NO, was delivered to the Army Air Forces in July 1945. It participated in cold-climate tests, high-altitude drop tests, and in the National Thunderstorm Project, for which the prime turret was removed to make room for thunderstorm monitoring equipment.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Northrop Aircraft Inc.

Date:
1943

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
All round: 450 x 1500cm, 10637kg, 2000cm (14ft 9 3/16in. x 49ft 2 9/16in., 23450.3lb., 65ft 7 three/8in.)

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress &quotEnola Gay&quot:

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the first bomber to home its crew in pressurized compartments. Although developed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a selection of aerial weapons: traditional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, this Martin-constructed B-29-45-MO dropped the initial atomic weapon utilised in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Bockscar (on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance climate reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Great Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on each missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
General: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Components:
Polished general aluminum finish

Physical Description:
4-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and high-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish all round, common late-Globe War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial number on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black &quotEnola Gay&quot in black, block letters on lower left nose.

• • • • •

See more pictures of this, and the Wikipedia post.

Specifics, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:

No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in a lot more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world’s quickest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird’s performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technologies developments throughout the Cold War.

This Blackbird accrued about two,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its final flight, March six, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging three,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight’s conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane more than to the Smithsonian.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation

Designer:
Clarence L. &quotKelly&quot Johnson

Date:
1964

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
General: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)
Other: 18ft five 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (five.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)

Supplies:
Titanium

Physical Description:
Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-sort material) to lessen radar cross-section Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: south hangar panorama, which includes B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat, among other people

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: south hangar panorama, which includes B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat, among other people

Check out these precision manufacturing business pictures:

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: south hangar panorama, such as B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat, among other folks

Image by Chris Devers
See much more photos of this, and the Wikipedia report.

Particulars, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy | Boeing B-29 Superfortress &quotEnola Gay&quot:

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of Planet War II and the 1st bomber to residence its crew in pressurized compartments. Although developed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a assortment of aerial weapons: traditional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the very first atomic weapon employed in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. 3 days later, Bockscar (on show at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance climate reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Excellent Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on both missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Nation of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
All round: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Components:
Polished all round aluminum finish

Physical Description:
4-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and higher-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish general, standard late-Globe War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial quantity on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black &quotEnola Gay&quot in black, block letters on reduced left nose.

• • • • •

See much more photos of this, and the Wikipedia write-up.

Particulars, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy | Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat:

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was originally conceived as an sophisticated version of the U.S. Navy’s then present front-line fighter, the F4F Wildcat (see NASM collection). The Wildcat’s intended replacement, the Vought F4U Corsair (see NASM collection), first flown in 1940, was showing excellent guarantee, but development was slowed by troubles, such as the crash of the prototype.

The National Air and Space Museum’s F6F-three Hellcat, BuNo. 41834, was built at Grumman’s Bethpage, New York, factory in February 1944 under contract NOA-(S)846. It was delivered to the Navy on February 7, and arrived in San Diego, California, on the 18th. It was assigned to Fighter Squadron 15 (VF-15) on USS Hornet (CV12) bound for Hawaii. On arrival, it was assigned to VF-3 where it sustained harm in a wheels-up landing at NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii. Right after repair, it was assigned to VF-83 where it was employed in a instruction part until February 21, 1945. Soon after many transfers 41834 was converted to an F6F-3K target drone with the installation of sophisticated radio-control equipment. It was painted red with a pink tail that carried the number 14. Its mission was to be employed in Operation Crossroads – the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. It flew on June 24, 1946, with a pilot, on a practice flight and was launched, unmanned, quickly after the initial bomb test. Instrumentation on board and photographic plates taped to the control stick obtained information on radioactivity. Three far more manned flights preceded the final unmanned flight on July 25, 1946, which evaluated the 1st underwater explosion. Records indicate that exposure of this aircraft to the radioactive cloud was minimal and residual radiation is negligible.

F6F-3K 41834 was transferred to NAS Norfolk and logged its last flight on March 25, 1947, with a total of 430.two flying hours. It was assigned to the National Air Museum on November 3, 1948, and remained at Norfolk till October 4, 1960, when it was moved by barge to Washington and placed in storage. In 1976 this Hellcat was loaned to the USS Yorktown Museum at Charleston, South Carolina. A superficial restoration was performed at the museum, but because of the harsh atmosphere and its poor situation the Hellcat was returned to NASM on March 16, 1982. In 1983, it was sent to Grumman Aerospace where a team of volunteers totally restored the aircraft. In 1985, it was shipped back to the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland, and place in storage. NASM’s F6F-3 Hellcat is scheduled to be displayed in the new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy center at Dulles International Airport in Virginia in 2004.

Transferred from the United States Navy.

Manufacturer:
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation

Date:
1943

Nation of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
All round: 338 x 1021cm, 4092kg, 1304cm (11ft 1 1/16in. x 33ft five 15/16in., 9021.2lb., 42ft 9 3/8in.)

Physical Description:
Heavy armor plate, reinforced empennage, R-2800-10W engine, spring tabs on the ailerons (enhanced maneuverability), could carry rockets as effectively as bombs.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: View of south hangar, including B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, a glimpse of the Air France Concorde, and many others

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: View of south hangar, including B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, a glimpse of the Air France Concorde, and many others

Some cool manufacturer of precision machined components China images:

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: View of south hangar, including B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, a glimpse of the Air France Concorde, and many others

Image by Chris Devers
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay":

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Although designed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a variety of aerial weapons: conventional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Bockscar (on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Great Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on both missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
Overall: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Materials:
Polished overall aluminum finish

Physical Description:
Four-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and high-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish overall, standard late-World War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial number on vertical fin; 509th Composite Group markings painted in black; "Enola Gay" in black, block letters on lower left nose.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: British Hawker Hurricane, with P-38 Lightning and B-29 Enola Gay behind it

Image by Chris Devers
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC:

Hawker Chief Designer Sydney Camm’s Hurricane ranks with the most important aircraft designs in military aviation history. Designed in the late 1930s, when monoplanes were considered unstable and too radical to be successful, the Hurricane was the first British monoplane fighter and the first British fighter to exceed 483 kilometers (300 miles) per hour in level flight. Hurricane pilots fought the Luftwaffe and helped win the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940.

This Mark IIC was built at the Langley factory, near what is now Heathrow Airport, early in 1944. It served as a training aircraft during the World War II in the Royal Air Force’s 41 OTU.

Donated by the Royal Air Force Museum

Manufacturer:
Hawker Aircraft Ltd.

Date:
1944

Country of Origin:
United Kingdom

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 12.2 m (40 ft)
Length: 9.8 m (32 ft 3 in)
Height: 4 m (13 ft)
Weight, empty: 2,624 kg (5,785 lb)
Weight, gross: 3,951 kg (8,710 lb)
Top speed:538 km/h (334 mph)
Engine:Rolls-Royce Merlin XX, liquid-cooled in-line V, 1,300 hp
Armament:four 20 mm Hispano cannons
Ordnance:two 250-lb or two 500-lb bombs or eight 3-in rockets

Materials:
Fuselage: Steel tube with aircraft spruce forms and fabric, aluminum cowling
Wings: Stressed Skin Aluminum
Horizontal Stablizer: Stress Skin aluminum
Rudder: fabric covered aluminum
Control Surfaces: fabric covered aluminum

Physical Description:
Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC single seat, low wing monoplane ground attack fighter; enclosed cockpit; steel tube fuselage with aircraft spruce forms and fabric, aluminum cowling, stressed skin aluminum wings and horizontal stablizer, fabric covered aluminum rudder and control surfaces; grey green camoflage top surface paint scheme with dove grey underside; red and blue national roundel on upper wing surface and red, white, and blue roundel lower wing surface; red, white, blue, and yellow roundel fuselage sides; red, white and blue tail flash; Rolls-Royce Merlin XX, liquid cooled V-12, 1,280 horsepower engine; Armament, 4: 20mm Hispano cannons.

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay":

Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Although designed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a variety of aerial weapons: conventional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Bockscar (on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Great Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on both missions.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.
Martin Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Date:
1945

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
Overall: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)

Materials:
Polished overall aluminum finish

Physical Description:
Four-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and high-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish overall, standard late-World War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial number on vertical fin; 509th Composite Group markings painted in black; "Enola Gay" in black, block letters on lower left nose.

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed P-38J-10-LO Lightning:

In the P-38 Lockheed engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson and his team of designers created one of the most successful twin-engine fighters ever flown by any nation. From 1942 to 1945, U. S. Army Air Forces pilots flew P-38s over Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific, and from the frozen Aleutian Islands to the sun-baked deserts of North Africa. Lightning pilots in the Pacific theater downed more Japanese aircraft than pilots flying any other Allied warplane.

Maj. Richard I. Bong, America’s leading fighter ace, flew this P-38J-10-LO on April 16, 1945, at Wright Field, Ohio, to evaluate an experimental method of interconnecting the movement of the throttle and propeller control levers. However, his right engine exploded in flight before he could conduct the experiment.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:
Lockheed Aircraft Company

Date:
1943

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Dimensions:
Overall: 390 x 1170cm, 6345kg, 1580cm (12ft 9 9/16in. x 38ft 4 5/8in., 13988.2lb., 51ft 10 1/16in.)

Materials:
All-metal

Physical Description:
Twin-tail boom and twin-engine fighter; tricycle landing gear.