World War II
The 509th Bomb Wing is one of the most famous units in the United States Air Force. It began in World War II as the 509th Composite Group. It was formed for only one mission - to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Led by Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., the group trained hard for its unique task. On Aug. 6, 1945, the 509th fulfilled its destiny when the B-29 "Enola Gay" piloted by Colonel Tibbets dropped the first atomic bomb and destroyed Hiroshima, Japan. On Aug. 9, 1945, the group once again visited the Japanese mainland and unleashed the atomic inferno on another city, Nagasaki. Within days, the Japanese sued for peace and World War II ended.
Initial SAC Bomb Group
The 509th Composite Group returned to the United States in late 1945, as part of the 15th Air Force. The 15th was the first combat wing assigned to the newly formed Strategic Air Command. It had ten bomb groups but only two - the 509th and the 93rd - continued operations into the new command. (See Original Bomb Groups). The 509th Composite Group settled into Roswell Army Air Base, N.M. The 509th was the only organization in the entire world to have experience with nuclear weapons. Many regard it as the core of the Strategic Air Command, the powerful nuclear bomber force that evolved during the 1950's and 1960's
Operation Crossroads
In August 1946, the now-called 509th Bombardment Group again traveled to the Pacific where it participated in Operation Crossroads. During this special maneuver, the group dropped an atomic bomb on an armada of obsolete and captured naval vessels moored off the Bikini Atoll.
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http://www.strategic-air-command.com/wings/0509bw.htm
