Editing Enola Gay (section)

==Subsequent history==
[[File:Enola Gay Storage Smithsonian.jpg|thumb|Cockpit section of ''Enola Gay'' in the Smithsonian storage facility at [[Suitland, Maryland|Suitland]], 1987]]

On 6 November 1945, Lewis flew the ''Enola Gay'' back to the United States, arriving at the 509th's new base at [[Walker Air Force Base|Roswell Army Air Field]], [[New Mexico]], on 8 November. On 29 April 1946, ''Enola Gay'' left Roswell as part of the [[Operation Crossroads]] [[nuclear weapons tests]] in the Pacific. It flew to [[Kwajalein Atoll]] on 1 May. It was not chosen to make the test drop at [[Bikini Atoll]] and left Kwajalein on 1 July, the date of the test, reaching [[Travis Air Force Base|Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Field]], California, the next day.{{sfn|Campbell|2005|p=193}}

The decision was made to preserve the ''Enola Gay'', and on 24 July 1946, the aircraft was flown to [[Davis–Monthan Air Force Base]], [[Tucson, Arizona]], in preparation for storage. On 30 August 1946, the title to the aircraft was transferred to the [[Smithsonian Institution]] and the ''Enola Gay'' was removed from the USAAF inventory.{{sfn|Campbell|2005|p=193}} From 1946 to 1961, the ''Enola Gay'' was put into temporary storage at a number of locations. It was at Davis-Monthan from 1 September 1946 until 3 July 1949, when it was flown to [[O'Hare International Airport|Orchard Place Air Field]], [[Park Ridge, Illinois]], by Tibbets for acceptance by the Smithsonian. It was moved to [[Pyote Air Force Base]], Texas, on 12 January 1952, and then to [[Andrews Air Force Base]], Maryland, on 2 December 1953,{{sfn|Polmar|2004|p=66}} because the Smithsonian had no storage space for the aircraft.<ref name="An Exhibit Denied" />

It was hoped that the Air Force would guard the plane, but, lacking hangar space, it was left outdoors on a remote part of the air base, exposed to the elements. Souvenir hunters broke in and removed parts. Insects and birds then gained access to the aircraft. [[Paul E. Garber]] of the Smithsonian Institution became concerned about the ''Enola Gay''{{'}}s condition,<ref name="An Exhibit Denied">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/harwit-exhibit.html |access-date=13 April 2013 |title=An Exhibit Denied: Lobbying the History of Enola Gay |last=Harwit |first=Martin |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=17 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617173814/http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/harwit-exhibit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and on 10 August 1960, Smithsonian staff began dismantling the aircraft. The components were transported to the Smithsonian storage facility at [[Suitland, Maryland]], on 21 July 1961.{{sfn|Polmar|2004|p=66}}

The ''Enola Gay'' remained at Suitland for many years. By the early 1980s, two veterans of the 509th, Don Rehl and his former navigator in the 509th, Frank B. Stewart, began lobbying for the aircraft to be restored and put on display. They enlisted Tibbets and Senator [[Barry Goldwater]] in their campaign. In 1983, [[Walter J. Boyne]], a former [[B-52]] pilot with the [[Strategic Air Command]], became director of the National Air and Space Museum, and he made the ''Enola Gay''{{'}}s restoration a priority.<ref name="An Exhibit Denied" /> Looking at the aircraft, Tibbets recalled, was a "sad meeting. [My] fond memories, and I don't mean the dropping of the bomb, were the numerous occasions I flew the airplane&nbsp;... I pushed it very, very hard and it never failed me&nbsp;... It was probably the most beautiful piece of machinery that any pilot ever flew."<ref name="An Exhibit Denied" />