I took a tour of the Pentagon the other day, during which the tour guide asked who could name one of the bombers which dropped an atomic bomb in Japan, to which approximately four people out of the 25 person group replied "Enola Gay." When he followed up asking for the name of the other plane, no one knew.
The tour guide indicated that in 1.5yrs of tours (5 times a day, 5 days a week, 25 people per group) only 10 people knew that the other B-29 was the Bockscar. I was wondering if there was any reason the Enola Gay name has remained in the American consciousness more so than the Bockscar.
EDIT: I goofed in working the title, it should read Why is the "Enola Gay" B-29 (dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima) a well known name among the American public, but the "Bockscar" B-29 (dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki) not?
I think you have them switched in the title, Enola Gay dropped the Hiroshima bomb, while Bockscar was responsible for Nagasaki. There's a certain value in being "the first" to do something, which would result in Enola Gay being remembered for being the first to drop at atomic bomb, much as more people could tell you Neil Armstrong's name, compared to Buzz Aldrin's.
As an aside, Bockscar is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. Admission is free, and there are a number of excellent exhibits. Here is a museum link that features a number of pictures of the plane.
On a different note, if you are using "I suspect" or "probably" or "maybe" at the beginning of your answer, I encourage you to read an earlier post about what it means to give a good answer here. In particular the sections on "2. Am I essentially certain that what I know about it is true?" and "3. Am I prepared to go into real detail about this?" are relevant. I appreciate the enthusiasm in responding, but please be aware of the requirements for answering a question.
For the same reason no one remembers the names of the second astronauts to land on the moon. Or the silver medalists to any of Mark Spitz's golds. People tend to remember the first of things, but almost never the second.
It's entirely an issue of being first. In other words, there's nothing intrinsic to the Enola Gay that would make it more memorable than Bockscar. It's entirely that Hiroshima is more memorable than Nagasaki due to chronological order. Though Hiroshima is also a much bigger city than Nagasaki.Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, is also better remembered than Charles Sweeney, pilot of Bockscar. Some controversy surrounds Sweeney, his actions, and his recollections of the bombing. Tibbets, meanwhile, is very well thought of, was very willing to speak up and act publicly. This kind of behavior can lead to generating more attention for one mission and less for another mission.
On the other hand, the two bombs are Fat Man and Little Boy, and typically are mentioned together. Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, doesn't get talked about more than Fat Man, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki.