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Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:11 pm

This has been making the e-mail circuit but in case you haven't seen it it is pretty cool. It is a 360+ degree panorama view from the pilots seat of the most famous B-29.

http://www.davidpalermo.com/data/slideshow/4/index.html

A lot of folks complain about NASM and their restoration staff. To me this is a true restoration and the whole restoration staff deserves a hearty well done. They fixed up, cleaned up and truly restored what was there instead of replacing everything. This is one of the few surviving B-29's that has its original upholstery in place. To me this sure looks good. The early B-17's had the interior done in the same solid (non quilted) material. I wish more museums could put this kind of attention and care into the preservation and restoration of rare and original artifacts. Well done NASM!

As they say it is only original once. Many of the post war mods have been removed from the Enola Gay during her restoration to bring her back to the condition and configuration she was in just after they landed from the Hiroshima mission. A couple of items have been removed and added since the panorama shots in the link above were taken. Thanks to a few dedicated folks like Bernie Poppert and Mike Hans the Enola Gay will hopefully continue to get back to her August 6th configuration.

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:31 pm

FANTASTIC!!! Thanks for sharing this Taigh.

Zack

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:32 pm

Almost makes one want to make the jump to lightspeed, doesn't it? :D

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 6:37 pm

Wow that's great! Almost feels like you're in there!

I almost laughed at the many different shades of green used; that should give modeler's and the color police a seizure!

thanks for the link

greg v.

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:46 pm

Great picture of a great restoration. Thanks for posting!

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:48 pm

That is some great stuff!

Tim

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:08 pm

I didn't realize the armor plate for the pilots was kept in. I figured it would have been removed for weight purposes.

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:24 pm

Okay, I give up - where's the armor at?

THANKS, Taigh!

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:10 pm

The armor plate is the vertical wall behind the pilots' seats.

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Mon Dec 13, 2010 11:53 pm

That is very cool. If you notice, those pictures were taken before the museum was ever opened. Note the lack of planes, plastic wrapping around some of the planes, and construction material to the side.

For several of the aircraft, for me, notably the Boeing 307, the NASM has panoramic pictures of the cockpit on the information placards in front of the planes.

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:49 am

That is indeed very cool !! Just finished watching the Dive Detectives searching for artifacts on and around the waters of Tinian. Lots of stuff that they just pushed off the cliffs. Thanks for posting !!

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:04 am

Makes you wonder just how tight the cabin was when you had the top and bottom turrets fitted. Anybody have pictures of that?

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:20 am

hahnej wrote:Makes you wonder just how tight the cabin was when you had the top and bottom turrets fitted. Anybody have pictures of that?



I have never seen a good photo looking backwards. There is one photo that shows a little bit of the upper turret where the bottom is level with the FE's throttles. The nav table had a hinged portion so you could squeeze by. When I give cockpit tours of FIFI, I try to explain to the people how cramped it was in there. The radioman had it the worse with no window to look out of.

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:28 am

Hawg Wild at Duxford has some amazing interior shots.., shows just how tight it was with the turrets.., barely a squeeze to get the radio and navigator in there.

http://s110605900.websitehome.co.uk/b-29/b29frame.htm

Re: Cool perspective on the cockpit of the Enola Gay

Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:33 am

b29flteng wrote:The armor plate is the vertical wall behind the pilots' seats.


Don't forget the armoured glass in front of the pilot and co-pilot! Those must have weighed over 100 lbs each!
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