509th Operations Group

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 509th Composite Group


caption= 509th Composite Group insignia patch
dates= December 17 1944
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Army Air Forces
type= Composite bombardment group
role= Nuclear Weapon Bombardment
size= 1767 personnel, 15 B-29 and 5 C-54 aircraft
command_structure= 313th Bomb Wing
Twentieth Air Force
current_commander=
garrison= North Field, Tinian, Mariana Islands
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto= Defensor Vindex- Defender Avenger (Approved 10 Jul 1952)
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=


* World War II: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
(1945)
anniversaries= The 509th Composite Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War and as the 509th Operations Group, is a current unit of the United States Air Force. It was tasked with developing and employing a combat delivery system for the Atomic bomb and conducted the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.

The group later became a medium bombardment group of the Strategic Air Command, as the combat component of the 509th Bomb Wing, before being inactivated in 1952. Its lineage, honors, and history were also bestowed on the like-numbered wing in 1947.

After more than forty years of inactivation, the group was activated again as part of the 509th Bomb Wing and designated the 509th Operations Group, conducting the combat and training operations of the B-2 Spirit bomber.

Organization of the 509th Composite Group

=Wartime command organization cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = | url = http://www.mphpa.org/classic/CG/509th-Yearbook/Pages-1/509YB_Gallery_02.htm
title = 509 CG Pictorial Album Commanding Officers| format = | work = | publisher = The Atomic Heritage Foundation| accessdate = 5 May| accessyear = 2007] =

¹The 320th Troop Carrier Squadron was activated on December 17, 1944, and ²disbanded August 19, 1946.

Component support organizations

Special Mission 16, Secondary target Nagasaki, August 9, 1945 [Campbell, "The Silverplate Bombers", 32.]

While the Nagasaki mission was in progress, two B-29's of the 509th took off from Tinian to return to Wendover. Lt.Col. Classen, the deputy group commander, in the unnamed victor 94 and crew B-6 in "Jabit III", together with their ground crews, were sent back to stage for the possibility of transporting further bomb assemblies to Tinian. [Campbell, "The Silverplate Bombers", 195.] However the plutonium cores were still at Site Y, and on August 13 Gen. Groves ordered that all shipments of material be stopped. His order reached Los Alamos in time to keep the third bomb from being shipped. [Campbell, "The Silverplate Bombers", 39.] The first Atomic War lasted 9 days, August 6 through August 15, 1945.

After the Nagasaki mission the group continued combat operations, making another series of pumpkin bomb attacks (12 dropped) on August 14. With the announcement of the Japanese surrender, however, the 509th CG flew three further training missions involving 31 sorties on August 18, 20, and 22, then stood down from operations. The group flew a total of 210 operational sorties from June 30 to August 22, and aborted four additional flights, with only one aircraft failure to take off. 140 involved the dropping of live ordnance. [Campbell, "The Silverplate Bombers", 26.] 62 sorties received combat credits for missions flown (49 pumpkin bomb and 13 atomic bomb sorties). [Campbell, "The Silverplate Bombers", 104.]

Post-World War II history

In November 1945 the 509th Composite Group left Tinian and relocated to Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico. The eight Silverplate bombers that had been delivered to Wendover in August also joined the group. Col. William H. Blanchard replaced Col. Tibbets as group commander on January 22, 1946, and also became the first commander of the 509th Bomb Wing.

The Group was assigned to Strategic Air Command on March 21, 1946, being one of the first eleven organizations assigned to SAC. At the time SAC was formed, the 509th Composite Group was the only unit to have experience with nuclear weapons and thus is regarded by many historians as the foundation on which SAC was built. In April 1946 many of the group's aircraft deployed to Kwajalein as part of Operation Crossroads, a series of atomic bomb tests. The remainder became the core of two new squadrons activated as part of the group, the 715th Bomb Squadron and the 830th Bomb Squadron.

On July 10, 1946, the group was renamed the 509th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and the 320th TCS was disbanded. With the creation of the United States Air Force as a separate service, the group became the combat component of the 509th Bomb Wing on November 17, 1947, although it was not operational until September 14, 1948, when Col. John D. Ryan was named commander.

The group was redesignated as a medium bomb group in 1948 as part of the Strategic Air Command, and acquired an aerial refueling mission with the assignment of KB-29s. Its 27 operational Silverplate B-29s (the 309th had ultimately received 53 of the 65 produced) were transferred in 1949 to the 97th Bomb Wing at Biggs Air Force Base, El Paso, Texas, when the group converted to B-50 Superfortresses.

Its squadrons were removed on February 1, 1951, and assigned directly to the wing, effectively ending its operations. The 509th was inactivated on June 16, 1952 as part of a SAC (and later Air Force-wide) phase-out of groups.

Campaigns

"World War II:"
*Air Offensive, Japan
*Eastern Mandates
*Western Pacific

Honors

Department of the Air Force Special Order GB-294, dated 2 September 1999, awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (with Valor) to the 509th Composite Group for outstanding achievement in combat for the period 1 July 1945 to 14 August 1945. [Campbell, "The Silverplate Bombers", 221, Chapter 8 note 8.]

Insignia

In addition to the official insignia the 509th Bomb Wing for B-2 stealth bomber test flights, based in Roswell, New Mexico, sported an informal insignia involving an alien, the legend "To Serve Man" (referring to a famous Twilight Zone episode) and the legend "Gustatus Similis Pullus" or "Tastes Like Chicken" (referring to the possible taste of long pig). [ [http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/03/31/science/0401-PATCH_2.html Esprit de Corps, New York Times, April 2, 2008] ] [ [http://www.ufoinfo.com/news/balthaser0402.shtml "509th Bomb Wing Insignia", by Dennis G. Balthaser, February 2, 2004] ]

History of the 509th Operations Group, USAF

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 509th Operations Group


caption= 509th Operations Group
dates= July 15, 1993
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Air Force
type= Wing Operations Group
role= B-2 Combat and Training Operations
size= 4 squadrons
command_structure= Air Combat Command
current_commander=
garrison= Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto= Defensor Vindex
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=
anniversaries=

The group was redesignated 509th Operations Group on March 12, 1993, and activated on July 15 as the flying component of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The 509th is equipped with all 20 of the USAF's B-2 Spirit bombers and its 394th CTS also uses T-38 Talon trainers.

Organization

The 509th OG consists of four component squadrons: cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = | url = http://www.whiteman.af.mil/organizations/index.shtml
title = 509 Bomb Wing Organization| format = | work = | publisher = 509th Bomb Wing| accessdate = 28 Jul | accessyear = 2006]

*393d Bomb Squadron :The 393rd BS ("Tigers"), a traditional squadron of the 509th, was activated as a B-2 squadron on August 27, 1993.
*13th Bomb Squadron :Activated as the 325th Bomb Squadron on January 6, 1998, the squadron was re-designated the 13th BS by Air Combat Command on September 23, 2005. The 13th BS ("Grim Reapers") had previously been a squadron of the 7th Operations Group, flying B-1B Lancers.
*394th Combat Training Squadron:A Flying Training Unit (FTU), the 394th CTS conducts all flying training connected with the B-2.
*509th Operations Support Squadron :A non-flying squadron, the 509th OSS ("Hawks") controls all airfield activities at Whiteman.

References

ee also

*Enola Gay
*Paul Tibbets
*Project Alberta
*Pumpkin bomb
*Silverplate
* 313th Air Division

External Links

* [http://www.whiteman.af.mil/organizations/index.shtml 509th Operations Group Official Site]
* [http://www.mphpa.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 The Atomic Heritage Foundation] The former Children of the Manhattan Project site apparently is defunct, and its data can be found at the "MPHPA Classic" menu button.