This document provides details about two aircraft displayed at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: a Japanese Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko night fighter plane from World War II, and the B-29 Enola Gay that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. It includes background information on the design and combat history of the Gekko and technical specifications of both aircraft.

1. Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: View over World War Two
aviation wing, including Japanese planes and B-29 Enola
Gay
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia
article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy |
Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko (Moonlight) IRVING:
Originally designed as a three-seat, daylight escort fighter plane by the Nakajima Aeroplane
Company, Ltd., and flown in 1941, the IRVING was modified as a night fighter in May of 1943
and shot down two American B-17 bombers to prove its capability. The Gekko (meaning
moonlight) was redesigned to hold only two crewmen so that an upward firing gun could be
mounted where the observer once sat. Nearly five hundred J1N1 aircraft, including prototypes,
escort, reconnaissance, and night fighters were built during World War II. A sizeable number
were also used as Kamikaze aircraft in the Pacific. The few that survived the war were scrapped
by the Allies.
This J1N1 is the last remaining in the world. It was transported from Japan to the U.S. where it
was flight tested by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1946. The Gekko then flew to storage at Park
Ridge, IL, and was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. The restoration of this aircraft,
completed in 1983, took more than four years and 17,000 man-hours to accomplish.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Nakajima Hikoki K. K.
Date:
1942
Country of Origin:
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2. Japan
Dimensions:
Overall: 15ft 1 1/8in. x 41ft 11 15/16in., 10670.3lb., 55ft 9 5/16in. (460 x 1280cm, 4840kg,
1700cm)
Materials:
All-metal, monocoque construction airplane
Physical Description:
Twin-engine, conventional layout with tailwheel-type landing gear.
Armament: (2) 20 mm fixed upward firing cannon
Engines: (2) Nakajima Sakae 21 (NK1F, Ha35- 21) 14- cylinder air-cooled radial 1,130
horsepower (metric)
•••••
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
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
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3. 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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