As the bombs were developed and the bomb length was reduced to roughly 10 feet for both the fission and fusion bombs, flight testing of the Silverplate aircraft and dropping of 'shapes' required further developments that would result in a fleet of special aircraft that would not only deliver the two weapons to Japan, but would continue after the war as the first dedicated fleet of atomic bombers as part of the 509th Composite Group.
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The aircraft’s mission has been chronicled in movies, TV shows and even a 1980s anti-war song by the British New Wave group. It was looking like the Avro Lancaster would become America's atomic delivery aircraft until the Chief of the USAAF, Hap Arnold, heard of this and dictated that the B-29 would be the weapon carrier.ĭuring the B-29's wartime production run, a number of aircraft were diverted to Boeing/Wichita for conversion into Silverplate aircraft. The Enola Gay is remembered today as being the aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan nearly seventy-five years ago, and its infamous flight has been the subject of much debate. The B-29 was also unsuitable as it had two 12 foot bomb bays divided by the wing main spar box. The B-24 appeared to be a candidate but the Navy had failed to convert the aircraft to accommodate a torpedo in the bomb bay, so an atomic bomb wasn't going to work any better. Lets take a brief look at the origins, history, and record of this other iconic B-29. Unlike her sister, Bockscar had a bit more of a difficult time in her atomic mission. Except for Enola Gay, none of the 393d’s B-29s had. Early requirements estimated a weapon that would be 17 feet long and weigh over 10,000 pounds. The Bockscar was one of the first fifteen modified B-29s that were delivered with the Enola Gay. The Bockscar(Nagasaki Atomic Bombing) Bockscar, sometimes called Bocks Car, is the name of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber that dropped a Fat Man nuclear weapon over the Japanese city of Nagasaki during World War II in the second and last nuclear attack in history. Dubbed 'Silverplate', the search was on for a suitable aircraft. Like Tibbets, Ferebee never expressed regret for his role in the bombing, saying 'it was a job that had to be done.' Thomas Ferebee - Wikipedia Years later, Ferebee said he never felt guilty about dropping the bomb but felt regret about the death toll. Even as the Manhattan Project moved forward, a parallel program was launched to find a bomber which could deliver an atomic bomb should the folks at Los Alamos succeed. Thomas Wilson Ferebee was the Bombardier aboard the Enola Gay. Germany was working on their own atomic weapon which led to some famous bombing raids to delay their program.
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As displayed today at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Bockscar wears the proper nose art applied after the 9 August 1945 mission to. Most folks remember the 'Manhattan Project' which was the super-secret program to develop the first atomic bomb. Bockscar remained in storage, but with the correct nose art applied, at Davis Monthan until 26 September 1961, when the bomber was flown to Wright Patterson Air Force Base (AFB) in Dayton.