 The decision was made to preserve the Enola Gay , and on 24 July 1946 , the aircraft was flown to Davis @-@ Monthan Air Force Base , 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 . 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 Orchard Place Air Field , Park Ridge , Illinois , by Tibbets for acceptance by the Smithsonian . It was moved to <unk> Air Force Base , Texas , on 12 January 1952 , and then to Andrews Air Force Base , Maryland , on 2 December 1953 , because the Smithsonian had no storage space for the aircraft . 
