Editing Enola Gay (section)

===Early history===
The ''Enola Gay'' (Model number B-29-45-MO,{{refn|The ''block number'' was a one- to three-digit number, followed by a two-letter code that represented the aircraft built to the same engineering specification. The two-letter code represented the plant at which the aircraft was built, in this case, Martin in Omaha. This was combined with the aircraft model designation (B-29) to form the ''model number''{{sfn|Mann|2004|p=100}}|group=N}} Serial number 44-86292, [[USAAF unit identification aircraft markings#XXI Bomber Command|Victor number]] 82) was built by the [[Glenn L. Martin Company]] (later part of [[Lockheed Martin]]) at its [[Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant|bomber plant]] in [[Bellevue, Nebraska]], located at Offutt Field, now [[Offutt Air Force Base]]. The bomber was one of the first fifteen [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29]]s 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 and better cooling,{{sfn|Campbell|2005|pp=14–15}}<ref name="AirIll">March, Peter R. "Enola Gay Restored". ''Aircraft Illustrated'', October 2003.</ref> and the removal of protective armor and gun turrets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aviationexplorer.com/B-29_Enola_Gay_Superfortress_Bomber.html |title=Boeing B-29 Enola Gay Superfortress bomber, Aircraft history, facts and pictures |publisher=aviationexplorer.com |access-date=4 August 2010 |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422073225/http://www.aviationexplorer.com/B-29_Enola_Gay_Superfortress_Bomber.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Enola Gay (plane).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|''Enola Gay'' after the Hiroshima mission, entering [[hardstand]]. It is in its 6th Bombardment Group livery, with [[USAAF unit identification aircraft markings|victor number]] 82 visible on fuselage just forward of the tail fin.]]

''Enola Gay'' was personally selected by [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Paul Tibbets|Paul W. Tibbets Jr.]], the commander of the [[509th Composite Group]], on 9 May 1945, while still on the [[assembly line]]. The aircraft was accepted by the [[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) on 18 May 1945 and assigned to the [[393d Bomb Squadron|393d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy]], 509th Composite Group. Crew B-9, commanded by [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] [[Robert A. Lewis]], took delivery of the bomber and flew it from Omaha to the 509th base at [[Wendover Army Air Field]], [[Utah]], on 14 June 1945.{{sfn|Campbell|2005|pp=191–192}}

Thirteen days later, the aircraft left Wendover for [[Guam]], where it received a bomb-bay modification, and flew to [[North Field (Tinian)|North Field]], [[Tinian]], on 6 July. It was initially given the Victor (squadron-assigned identification) number 12, but on 1 August, was given the [[USAAF unit identification aircraft markings#XXI Bomber Command|circle R tail markings]] of the [[6th Operations Group|6th Bombardment Group]] as a security measure and had its Victor number changed to 82 to avoid misidentification with actual 6th Bombardment Group aircraft.{{sfn|Campbell|2005|pp=191–192}} During July, the bomber made eight practice or training flights and flew two missions, on 24 and 26 July, to drop [[pumpkin bomb]]s on industrial targets at [[Kobe]] and [[Nagoya]]. ''Enola Gay'' was used on 31 July on a rehearsal flight for the actual mission.{{sfn|Campbell|2005|p=117}}

The partially assembled [[Little Boy]] [[gun-type fission weapon]] L-11, weighing {{convert|10000|lb}}, was contained inside a {{convert|41 x 47 x 138|in|cm|adj=on}} wooden crate that was secured to the deck of the {{USS|Indianapolis|CA-35|6}}. Unlike the six [[uranium-235]] target discs, which were later flown to Tinian on three separate aircraft arriving 28 and 29 July, the assembled projectile with the nine uranium-235 rings installed was shipped in a single lead-lined steel container weighing {{convert|300|lb}} that was locked to brackets welded to the deck of [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]] [[Charles B. McVay III]]'s quarters.{{refn|The atomic bombs were euphemistically known as the "gadgets", a tag given to them by scientists at the [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos]] test facility.{{sfn|Hoddeson|Henriksen|Meade|Westfall|1993|p=2}}|group=N}} Both the L-11 and projectile were dropped off at Tinian on 26 July 1945.{{sfn|Hoddeson|Henriksen|Meade|Westfall|1993|p=258}}