# Who (if anyone) was the Enola Gay named after? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2008, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698 "2008-11-02T08:27:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/1 "2008-11-02T08:27:20Z")
My google-fu just isn’t cutting it… I can find bajillions of references to the (in)famous bomber, but none seem to indicate whom it was named after. (OK, I only looked at about 1/2 a bajillion…) So was there a real Enola Gay and if so who was she and what did she do to get the plane named after her? Regards FML ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/2 "2008-11-02T08:28:37Z")
From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enola_Gay): “The B-29 was named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Paul Tibbets”. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/3 "2008-11-02T10:23:02Z")
Related question; who was the mother named after? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/4 "2008-11-02T10:28:30Z")
I notice that “Enola” is “Alone” spelled backwards. I wonder if that is relevant. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/5 "2008-11-02T10:37:05Z")
Tibbets would not have known what the plane would be used for when he named it, so his Mom shouldn’t have been too mad about being associated with such an infamous event. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/6 "2008-11-02T10:39:17Z")
ACtually he knew when he got the plane, he named it so it would be unique. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/7 "2008-11-02T10:55:08Z")
Shouldn’t the plane that dropped the bomb have been Neccessary Evil, really? I’m sure Mrs Tibbet would have rather been associated with filming the devastation, than creating it! And what kind of person names a deliverer of 80,000 deaths after his dear old mom? ---
**Author:** ![Sky\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Sky\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sky_King)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/8 "2008-11-02T12:40:23Z")
I think it’s important to look at it in context. My dad was in the group of soldiers preparing for the invasion of Japan and they were expecting to take something like a million casualties. I’m sure Tibbets believed he was doing the right thing and named in honor of his mom. War just isn’t nice. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/9 "2008-11-02T12:42:59Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Related question; who was the mother named after? From Tibbets’s memoirs: > [@](#): > > I had always understood that her melodious first name was of Indian origin. But I learned in later years that she derived her name, Enola Gay, from a character in a novel her father was reading shortly before she was born. Google Books isn’t throwing up any 19th century references to such a character. Tibbets was quite clear that he was aware of the historical significance the plane’s name would come to have when he chose it. His explanation says little more than it was to mark his mother’s faith in his chosen career. And, as **AK84** noted, that it was unusual. [QUOTE=ivan astikov] And what kind of person names a deliverer of 80,000 deaths after his dear old mom? [/QUOTE] Whatever anyone else’s personal views on the matter might be, Tibbets himself was never one to express or apparently feel remorse for what he’d done. In the absense of evidence to the contrary, I’d guess his mother took much the same attitude. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/10 "2008-11-02T13:11:36Z")
> [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](#): > > My google-fu just isn’t cutting it… I can find bajillions of references to the (in)famous bomber, but none seem to indicate whom it was named after. (OK, I only looked at about 1/2 a bajillion…) > > So was there a real Enola Gay and if so who was she and what did she do to get the plane named after her? > > Regards > FML Dude, I hate to harsh on you, but you must have the worst Google skills on the planet. It’s in the first paragraph of the Wikipedia article. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/11 "2008-11-02T13:16:26Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > Google Books isn’t throwing up any 19th century references to such a character. There’s a character ‘Enola’ in _Enola, or Her Fatal Mistake_ (1886), by Mary Young Ridenbaugh. I can’t find a synopsis of the book to check on the Gay part, though. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/12 "2008-11-02T14:39:17Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > Dude, I hate to harsh on you, Then why do it? **Gfactor** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/13 "2008-11-02T16:03:12Z")
I don’t have much to add that hasn’t already been said, but here is [some more Enola Gay info](http://www.theenolagay.com/plane.html) if anyone is interested. It also just seemed wrong for me to not participate in this thread. I think Enola Straight owes us a post here too. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/14 "2008-11-02T16:25:15Z")
Re: naming of B-29’s–I’m reading a Doper-recommended book, Bringing The Thunder, and the author touches briefly on the topic: > [@](#): > > Bomber command had decreed that each airplane was to be named after a U.S. city. There had been complaints from the media…the difficulty of relating a heroic accomplishment by the crew of _The Vicious Virgin_…_The Hairy Horndogs_…_The Saltpeter Resistors_. There was another reason…Eleanor Roosevelt had complained to FDR about the vulgarity of the names… So, maybe Tibbets’ hometown was already taken by another crew. Or maybe he didn’t think _The Quincy_ sounded very threatening. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/15 "2008-11-02T18:44:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Bomber command had decreed that each airplane was to be named after a U.S. city. There had been complaints from the media…the difficulty of relating a heroic accomplishment by the crew of The Vicious Virgin…The Hairy Horndogs…The Saltpeter Resistors. There was another reason…Eleanor Roosevelt had complained to FDR about the vulgarity of the names… Did they have a problem with _Ruptured Duck_? ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/16 "2008-11-02T20:55:54Z")
Marginally related hijack: Is it ok to rename airplanes? I know it is considered bad luck for boats. Was Enola Gay the original name to comply with whatever standards were required of a plane that was going to get so much press or was it renamed? (and yeah, when they dropped that bomb, it was meant to end the war, nothing about innocent victims. That is a more modern thought, right or wrong. It would have been an honor for anyone, I am sure) ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/17 "2008-11-02T21:03:42Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > (and yeah, when they dropped that bomb, it was meant to end the war, nothing about innocent victims. That is a more modern thought, right or wrong. It would have been an honor for anyone, I am sure) Surely, there were people at the time who also thought it was wrong. We are not reaching across _that_ great a chasm of history here. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/18 "2008-11-02T21:25:47Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Surely, there were people at the time who also thought it was wrong. We are not reaching across _that_ great a chasm of history here. Very true, although I suspect that the US Air Force did not choose someone from that group to fly the plane that would drop the bomb. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/19 "2008-11-02T23:07:39Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Was Enola Gay the original name to comply with whatever standards were required of a plane that was going to get so much press or was it renamed? Tibbets claimed to have picked the particular plane out of the production line at the factory in Omaha and there’s no real reason to doubt this. He then names it. There is some confusion in the literature because some of the initial routine flights were piloted by one of his deputies and this has led to the suggestion that Tibbets commandeered the plane at a relatively late stage and renames it. But Tibbets’s story has the ring of truth about it, particularly because he was the one person who was privy to the significance from the start. Whereas everyone else junior to him doesn’t find out until the last few hours, so their accounts of the preceding events are potentially more coloured by backfilling. Offhand, I seem to remember there is testimony that the name isn’t actually painted on until right before the mission, but this may be tied up with that confusion. [QUOTE=Chez Guevara] There’s a character ‘Enola’ in Enola, or Her Fatal Mistake (1886), by Mary Young Ridenbaugh. I can’t find a synopsis of the book to check on the Gay part, though. [/QUOTE] Ah, promising - I was trying the full “Enola Gay”. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698/20 "2008-11-02T23:23:05Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Surely, there were people at the time who also thought it was wrong. We are not reaching across _that_ great a chasm of history here. Yes, there were, though they were a distinct minority of voices at the time. Aside from the “Chicago revolt” amongst the scientists ahead of deployment, there was at least a range of editorial opinions in the press after the fact at the time. As far as representative numbers are concerned, I’d be most inclined to trust the Gallup poll done in September 1945: 69% approved of the bombings, 17% disagreed and 14% were undecided. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-was-the-enola-gay-named-after/470698.md?page=2)