There was also the 58th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, which supervised the Silverplate atomic-capable 509th Composite Group.

Had the president ordered an atomic attack in 1947 or 1948, the 509th Composite Bomb Group would have needed five or six days to obtain the bombs from the Atomic Energy Commission and arrive at the base it would attack from.

Major Gen. Uzal Girard Ent, who had led the August, 1943, raid on the Romanian oil refineries in Ploesti, chose Col. Paul Tibbets to lead the 509th Composite Group, asking him to organize and lead a combat force to deliver a new type of explosive device that is so powerful, its full potential was unknown.

On April 27 he was selected by General Henry H. Arnold as the prime candidate to command the 509th Composite Group, although he was not informed of the selection until September 1.

Tibbets briefly commanded the 393rd Bomb Squadron during his tenure in the 509th Composite Group.

It was from Tinian that the bombers from the 509th Composite Group carrying the atomic bombs Little Boy and Fat Man were launched against Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The bomb components were delivered to the island by the USS Indianapolis and aircraft of the 509th Composite Group.

The Eighth Air Force was specifically charged with the atomic mission, however only the 509th Composite Group at Roswell AAF had modified B-29s with the capability to drop nuclear weapons.

The W-47 Project had been the wartime operation established at Wendover Army Air Base to train the 509th Composite Group to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In keeping with Kirtland Field ’ s mission to assist Sandia Base ’ s Z Division with the marriage of bombs and aircraft, the 509th Composite Group ’ s Flight Test Section was transferred to Kirtland.

In early 1947, the AMC established Kirtland Field ’ s mission as the USAAF nuclear weapons facility, a continuation of the wartime Wendover Army Air Base ( 509th Composite Group )– Manhattan Project operations.

* 830th Bombardment Squadron ( 1 June 1949-21 August 1949 ) ( B-50D )( TDY From the 509th Composite Group Walker AFB, New Mexico )

In November 1945 the 509th Composite Group left Tinian and was reassigned to Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, taking the Atomic Bomb delivery capability of PACUSA to the United States.

During the summer of 1945, the 509th Composite Group was transferring from its Second Air Force training base at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, the group landed at Mather prior to embarking on its trans-Pacific movement to Tinian ( in the Marianas Island chain ).

It, along with the 509th Composite Group at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, was all there was of Strategic Air Command at that time.

The Straight Flush was one of seven B-29s of the 393rd Bomb Squadron of the 509th Composite Group that took part in the Hiroshima mission, which was the culmination of ten months of training during World War II.

The 20 AF 509th Composite Group conducted the Atomic Bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.

: See: 509th Composite Group for expanded history

The 509th Composite Group was deployed overseas in the spring of 1945.

The 509th Composite Group was a completely self-sufficient unit, with its own engineer, material, and troop squadrons as well as its own military police unit.

Since the Manhattan project was carried out in an atmosphere of high secrecy, the vast majority of the officers and men of the 509th Composite Group were completely ignorant of its intended mission.

* December 9: 509th Composite Group of USAAF constituted to deliver the bomb

* 509th Operations Group ( Tail Code: WM-carried on main landing doors of tailless B-2 ) B-2 Spirit ; T-38 Talon

* 509th Maintenance Group

* 509th Mission Support Group

* 509th Medical Group

The 509th Force Support Squadron is a part of the * 509th Mission Support Group at Whiteman AFB Missouri

The 509th Airdrome Group, Clovis Detachment took over day-to-day responsibilities for the airfield on 16 December 1947.

On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field ( RAAF ) public information officer Walter Haut in Roswell, New Mexico, issued a press release stating that personnel from the field's 509th Bomb Group had recovered a crashed " flying disk " from a ranch near Roswell, sparking intense media interest.

: 509th Bombardment Group

509th Bombardment Group assigned as subordinate unit.

For the next three years, he commanded the 509th Bombardment Group at Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico.

The first US Army Combat Jump was near Oran, Algeria, in North Africa on November 8, 1942 conducted by elements of the 509th Parachute Infantry.

This badge was awarded to the battalion commander on 15 November 1942 by the 3rd Zouaves ' regimental commander, and is worn today by all members of the 509th Infantry.

An additional drop on the night of September 14 – 15 of the 2nd Battalion 509th PIR to destroy a key bridge at Avellino, to disrupt German motorized movements, was badly dispersed and failed to destroy the bridge before the Germans withdrew to the north.

Called the " 1st Airborne Task Force ", the force was composed of the 1st Special Services Forces, British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade, the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, the 509th and 551st Parachute Infantry Battalions, the glider-borne 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion, and supporting units.

Torch was the first major airborne assault carried out by the U. S. The U. S. 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment flew all the way from Britain, over Spain, intending to drop near Oran and capture airfields at Tafraoui and La Senia respectively and south of Oran.

The 43rd ARS, along with the 509th ARS at Walker AFB, New Mexico, was the first dedicated air refueling unit in history.

A United States Army Air Force bombing range, used by elements of the 509th Bomb Wing out of Kirtland Army Air Field, later Kirtland Air Force Base, was located here during and after World War II.

On September 1, 1944, he was assigned to command the project at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, that became the 509th CG, in connection with the Manhattan Project.

The jump into North Africa, which was made up of the men of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion ( PIB ), resulted in its men being scattered to places such as Algeria, Gibraltar, and Morocco when they ran into bad weather and got lost.

The 509th Parachute Battalion was held in reserve and it never saw action.

Mills became forever a part of major league history, when in 1983 he was Nolan Ryan's 3, 509th career strikeout victim, lifting Ryan past Walter Johnson as the all-time strikeout leader.

This force was rounded out with the addition of the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion, and the 2 / 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

The 509th was ordered formed on 9 September 1943, taking most of its personnel from Panzer-Regiment 204 of the disbanded 22.