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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 509th Composite Group | 2/7 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/509th_Composite_Group | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:04:33.596552+00:00 | kb-cron |
The 390th Air Service Group was created as the command echelon for the 603rd Air Engineering Squadron, the 1027th Air Material Squadron, and its own Headquarters and Base Services Squadron, but when these units became independent operationally, it acted as the basic support unit for the entire 509th Composite Group in providing quarters, rations, medical care, postal service and other functions. The 603rd Air Engineering Squadron was unique in that it provided depot-level B-29 maintenance in the field, obviating the necessity of sending aircraft back to the United States for major repairs. On Tinian the 603rd Air Engineering Squadron was assigned to the 313th Bombardment Wing's "C" and "D" Service Centers, where it performed provided depot-level ("third echelon") maintenance for the entire 313th Bombardment Wing when it was not engaged in 509th activities. The 393d Bombardment Squadron's maintenance section was re-organized as a "combat line maintenance" section (also called PLM, or "production line maintenance," a technique developed by the Air Transport Command in India for "Hump" aircraft) to maximize use of personnel for first and second echelon maintenance.
=== Overseas movement === With the addition of the 1st Ordnance Squadron to its roster, the 509th Composite Group had an authorized strength of 225 officers and 1,542 enlisted men, almost all of whom deployed to Tinian. The 320th Troop Carrier Squadron kept its base of operations at Wendover. In addition to its authorized strength, the 509th had attached to it on Tinian 51 civilian and military personnel of Project Alberta, and two representatives from Washington, D.C., the deputy director of the Manhattan Project, Brigadier General Thomas Farrell, and Rear Admiral William R. Purnell of the Military Policy Committee.
The 509th's personnel and equipment were subject to a high level of security. En route to Tinian on 4 June 1945, the B-29 that became The Great Artiste made an intermediate stop at Mather Field, near Sacramento, California. The commanding general of the base allegedly attempted to enter the aircraft to inspect it and was warned by a plane guard who aimed his carbine at the general's chest that he could not do so. A similar incident occurred to a Project Alberta courier, 2nd Lieutenant William A. King. King was escorting the plutonium core of the Fat Man implosion bomb to Tinian, strapped to the floor of one of the 509th's C-54s. On 26 July 1945 it made a refueling stop at Hickam Field, Hawaii. The commander of a combat unit returning to the United States learned that the Skymaster had only one passenger and attempted to enter the C-54 to requisition it as transport for his men. He was prevented from doing so by King, who aimed a .45 caliber automatic pistol at the colonel. The 509th transferred four of its 14 training Silverplate B-29s to the 216th AAF Base Unit in February 1945. In April the third modification increment of Silverplates, which would be their combat aircraft, began coming off the Martin-Omaha assembly line. These "fly-away" aircraft were equipped with fuel-injected engines, Curtiss Electric reversible-pitch propellers, pneumatic actuators for rapid opening and closing of bomb bay doors and other improvements. The remaining 17 Silverplate B-29s were placed in storage. Each bombardier completed at least 50 practice drops of inert pumpkin bombs before Tibbets declared his group combat-ready. The ground support echelon of the 509th Composite Group, consisting of 44 officers and 815 enlisted men commanded by Major George W. Westcott of the Headquarters Squadron, received movement orders and moved by rail on 26 April 1945 to its port of embarkation at Seattle, Washington. On 6 May the support elements sailed on the SS Cape Victory for the Marianas, while group materiel was shipped on the SS Emile Berliner. The Cape Victory made brief port calls at Honolulu and Eniwetok but the passengers were not permitted to leave the dock area. An advance party of the air echelon, consisting of 29 officers and 61 enlisted men commanded by Group Intelligence Officer (S-2) Lieutenant Colonel Hazen Payette, flew by C-54 to North Field, Tinian, between 15 and 22 May. It was joined by the ground echelon on 29 May 1945, marking the group's official change of station. Project Alberta's "Destination Team" also sent most of its members to Tinian to supervise the assembly, loading, and dropping of the bombs under the administrative title of 1st Technical Services Detachment, Miscellaneous War Department Group.
=== Equipment and crews ===