509th

When SAC began operations, the 509th was the only group capable of delivering the A-bomb, having delivered two weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Strategic Air Command: People Aircraft and Missiles 2nd Edition Polmar, Norman & Laur, Timothy 1990

Even before the radar officer called the 509th base commander, Col. William Blanchard, reporting that radar indicated the crash of an unidentified aircraft to the north and west of Roswell, the CIC dispatch team had already mobilized to deploy an immediate-response crash-and-retrieval team to locate and secure the crash site.

Recently Uploaded Slideshows saurabhsardesai 2009

On August 4, Tibbets presided over a briefing with seven combat crews, stating only that the 509th would drop a bomb “of unimaginable destructive force.”

Whirlwind Barrett Tillman 2010

Thus, following thirty-eight “pumpkin” sorties over Japan, the 509th was alerted for its first special mission.

Whirlwind Barrett Tillman 2010

Most of the things in the book about the 509th Bomb Group are outright wrong.

James Cameron Options Last Train to Hiroshima | /Film 2010

The 509th Composite Group comprised one bomb squadron and a transport squadron; with auxiliary units the roster only totaled 1,767 men.

Whirlwind Barrett Tillman 2010

Activated at remote, windy Wendover, Utah, in December 1944, the 509th was created to deliver “special weapons” against Germany and Japan.

Whirlwind Barrett Tillman 2010

The 509th received B-29s specially modified to carry atom bombs, though none of the fliers yet knew of their ordnance.

Whirlwind Barrett Tillman 2010

In a virulent press release, the 509th Composite Group said it was "incensed" about parts of the book, calling it "rife with errors."

Author admits he was duped by a source while researching book on the Hiroshima bombing 2010

Actually the 509th was sharpening its aim with five-ton “pumpkin bombs” of the same shape as the atomic weapons.

Whirlwind Barrett Tillman 2010