One of the unexpected surprises of our Utah-Idaho trip, we toured the historic airfield at Wendover, Utah. At one time, it was among the busiest air bases in the country.

We stopped by because it became home to the secret squadron tasked with training to drop the atomic bomb—an important objective in our quest to see the major sites of the Manhattan Project.

The museum was worth a visit, but not a must-do. Instead, I’d recommend the “behind the scenes tour,” which is the same price but loads more interesting. I won’t get into all the details here, but the base was responsible for a number of important facets of the last phase of the Manhattan Project: successfully preparing to actually drop the bomb.

The museum

A spacious hall with wooden flooring and a large American flag hanging in the center, surrounded by industrial-style architecture.

An informational display discusses the Manhattan Project at Wendover Airfield, featuring historical photos and text about the 509th Composite Group's role.

A bomb is displayed in a glass case within a hall featuring an American flag and various informational plaques.

A set of white buildings with a tall, red and white observation tower stands under a clear blue sky.

A sign encourages visitors to keep what they hear and see at the location private, emphasizing discretion.

A framed newspaper front page titled Salt Tablet features headlines about atomic bomb crew training at Wendover.

The airfield tour

This tour was a bus tour to various important buildings on the edge of the tarmac. We toured a large hanger, a fire station that had once been the bombardier training facility, and the vault building where the all-important Norden Bombsights were securely stored.

The best part of the tour was that each of the participants was given a “role.” Jen, for instance, was the navigator and I was the bombardier; others were the pilot, co-pilot, gunner, etc. Then throughout the tour, the docent would explain each of our roles and even have us role-play particular aspects of the mission.

A large industrial building with weathered white walls, multiple rows of windows, and a number 2 displayed above the entrance stands against a clear blue sky.

A vintage U.S. Air Force jet is displayed in a large hangar.

The Enola Gay Hanger

Of course the highlight of tour, for us, was the Enola Gay hanger, which was being used by some young cadets at the time of our visit. Tibbet’s office was on the second floor on the south side of the building; they’re currently renovating it. We also visited the bomb pits where they loaded the bombs onto the B-29s (we saw the corresponding ones in Tinian).

A white and blue bus is parked in front of a large, green industrial warehouse under a clear blue sky.

A group of people, some in uniform, are gathered in a large aircraft hangar with several planes inside.

A long, green industrial building with numerous windows stands under a clear blue sky on a barren, expansive lot.

A concrete pit with a metal ladder and pipe is situated in a barren, flat landscape with mountains in the distance.

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