The Historic Wendover Airfield is the most completely preserved WWII Army Air Force base remaining in the United States. The base operated from 1940 to 1969, and its remoteness — 120 miles from Salt Lake City in the middle of the salt desert — made it ideal for training programmes that required secrecy. The most significant of these was the 509th Composite Group, the unit that carried out the atomic bomb missions over Japan in August 1945.
The museum preserves the original operations building, the base chapel, barracks, and the hangar associated with the 509th. Exhibits cover the history of the base, the training of the Enola Gay crew under Colonel Paul Tibbets, and the wider air war in the Pacific. The physical presence of the empty desert around the preserved buildings adds considerably to the atmosphere. Outside, the runway is still used by light aircraft.
Open Thursday through Monday in summer; call ahead for off-season hours. Admission is free. Volunteers with personal histories connected to the base are often on hand.