Michael A. Stecker
mastecker@gmail.com

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B-29 "Enola Gay" diecast metal 1:144 scale model --front port side
wingspan: 12-inches
The Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945 it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare. The bomb, code-named "Little Boy", was targeted at the city of Hiroshima, Japan, and caused the destruction of about three quarters of the city. Enola Gay participated in the second nuclear attack as the weather reconnaissance aircraft for the primary target of Kokura. Clouds and drifting smoke resulted in Nagasaki, a secondary target, being bombed instead. The Enola Gay (Model number B-29-45-MO,[N 1] Serial number 44-86292, Victor number: 82 was built by the Glenn L. Martin Company at its bomber plant in Bellevue, Nebraska. The bomber was one of the first fifteen B-29s built to the "Silverplate" specification— of 65 eventually completed during and after World War II—giving them the primary ability to function as nuclear "weapon delivery" aircraft. These modifications included an extensively modified bomb bay with pneumatic doors and British bomb attachment and release systems, reversible pitch propellers that gave more braking power on landing, improved engines with fuel injection, better cooling and the removal of protective armor and gun turrets. On August 1, 1945 it was given the circle R tail markings of the 6th Bombardment Group as a security measure and had its Victor number changed to 82.

Specifications of real airplane:
Wingspan: 43 m (141 ft 3 in)
Length: 30.2 m (99 ft)
Height: 9 m (27 ft 9 in)
Weight, empty: 32,580 kg (71,826 lb)
Weight, gross: 63,504 kg (140,000 lb)
Top speed: 546 km/h (339 mph)
Engines: 4 Wright R-3350-57 Cyclone turbo-supercharged radials, 2,200 hp
Crew: 12 (Hiroshima mission)
Armament: two .50 caliber machine guns
Ordnance: Little Boy atomic bomb
Manufacturer: Martin Co., Omaha, Nebraska, 1945
A19500100000