The 509th Composite Group was a World War II unit of the US Army Air Corps. It was assigned to operational deployment of nuclear weapons. The 509th CG conducted the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively.
After the Second World War, the 509th Composite Group was one of the original ten USAAF bombardment groups assigned to Strategic Air Command on March 21, 1946. It was equipped with specially-configured B-29 Superfortress modified to deliver atomic Bombs. On July 10, 1946, the Composite Group was redesignated the 509th Bombardment Group. Because the flying squadrons of the group consisted of both bomber and transport aircraft, the group was designated as a "composite" rather than a "bombardment" unit.
The 509th Composite Group was formed on December 9, 1944, at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah. The commander was Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, who had been assigned to organize and command a combat group to develop the means of delivering an atomic weapon by airplane against targets in Germany and Japan. The 509th CG was created based on the 393rd Bomb Squadron, a unit of B-29 Superfortresses from the 504th Bomb Group, which had been sent to Wendover, Utah, to be converted into the Composite Group.
[...] War II. Having trained as a pilot in the US Army Air Corps, Charles Albury was selected to join the 509th Composite Group in 1943. The 509th Composite Group also included Col. Paul Tibbets, who would later command the [...]