Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: south hangar panorama, including B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay”, Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat, among others
Image by Chris Devers
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Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy | 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.
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Details, 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 advanced version of the U.S. Navy’s then current 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 great promise, but development was slowed by problems, including the crash of the prototype.
The National Air and Space Museum’s F6F-3 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 damage in a wheels-up landing at NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii. After repair, it was assigned to VF-83 where it was used in a training role until February 21, 1945. After numerous 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 used 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, soon after the first bomb test. Instrumentation on board and photographic plates taped to the control stick obtained data on radioactivity. Three more manned flights preceded the final unmanned flight on July 25, 1946, which evaluated the first 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 430.2 flying hours. It was assigned to the National Air Museum on November 3, 1948, and remained at Norfolk until 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 environment and its poor condition the Hellcat was returned to NASM on March 16, 1982. In 1983, it was sent to Grumman Aerospace where a team of volunteers completely restored the aircraft. In 1985, it was shipped back to the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland, and put 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
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 338 x 1021cm, 4092kg, 1304cm (11ft 1 1/16in. x 33ft 5 15/16in., 9021.2lb., 42ft 9 3/8in.)
Physical Description:
Heavy armor plate, reinforced empennage, R-2800-10W engine, spring tabs on the ailerons (increased maneuverability), could carry rockets as well as bombs.
As a cash-strapped nation recovers from the effects of the recent, devastating economic hardships, more and more businesses have started advocating the need to turn to overseas exportation of their products. While this includes common commercial and agricultural products, another important product is domestically produced technology; a perfect example of this is aerospace technology. After all, the United States is foremost in aerospace technology, and this would immediately put it ahead in the market.
One party that will benefit from the proposal to sell aerospace technology overseas would be the aerospace technicians and engineers who found themselves out of jobs, as the economic crisis prompted aeronautical companies to lay off numerous employees to help stay afloat. Selling aerospace technology will definitely revitalize the aerospace industry, which will lead to more jobs and thus inject more money into the economy.
The creation of an even larger export market for aerospace technology will also help gain new interest in the field. This would greatly accelerate aerospace research for new developments and help pave the way for a new aerospace renaissance. The selling of aerospace technology would also help spread aerospace development all over the world, which would benefit humankind as a whole.
Actually, the concept of selling aerospace technology overseas is not a new one. Companies today sell different pieces of aerospace technology, such as plane parts, to different countries all over the world. Even by-products of the development of aerospace technology can turn quite a profit when integrated elsewhere. Certain materials, developed for use in planes and space vehicles, transform industries when used in the manufacture of more terrestrial products. However, the express selling of aerospace technology overseas is restricted by certain laws.
U.S. export laws are quite specific in regulating the import and export of aerospace technology. They are even stricter when it comes to selling any piece of technology overseas. Current U.S. laws actually treat any foreign national who gains access to controlled technologies as a company engaged in the export of technology to foreign markets. When dealing with technological exports, one has to go to the Bureau of Industry and Security under the Department of Commerce. This bureau controls the import and export of technological products. Here, one will classify the type of technological item being exported or sold to a foreign market. Export controlled items are those with actual or potential military applications or economic protection issues, and aerospace technology certainly has those.
In order for there to be a clear path for the selling of aerospace technology overseas, businesses need to engage with specialists in the field of overseas exporting. The legislation governing the export of technology was put in place by the State Department for the security of the United States, and export firms understand this. Today, the Bureau of Industry and Security can actually grant licenses to individuals or foreign industries who wish to import controlled technology. It is just a matter of classifying the specific technology being exported and detailing its intended use.
Elymat Industries Inc. is a professional export outsourcing company. Serving the Military Aerospace Industry for 35 years, we specialize in obtaining US State Department and Commerce Department licenses to ship these products overseas.http://www.elymat.com/
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