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Fat Man & Little Boy Loading Pits, Tinian Island, Northern Mariana Islands
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The atom bomb loading pitt on Tinian's North Field, where Little Boy and Fat Man were loaded aboard the Enola Gay. The pits were originally constructed to load the bombs, since they were too large to be loaded in the conventional manner. The B-29s were maneuvered over a pit with their bomb bay doors open to facilitate loading.
The stainless steel and glass interpretative covering was built in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. It contains a number of easels with large images of the bomb and bomb pit.
The 320th Troop Carrier Squadron was assigned to the 509th Composite Group. The Squadron acquired the nickname The Green Hornet Line. The 320th provided transportation of both troops and material. It was a Douglas C-54 Skymaster cargo plane of the 320th TCS which transported the Fat Man core and initiator.
The Fat Man plutonium core and its initiator left Kirtland Field for Tinian Island on July 26, 1945 in a C-54 transport plane. It arrived on Tinian on July 28. Also on July 28, three specially-modified B-29s flew from Kirtland Field carrying three Fat Man bomb assemblies each encased in an outer ballistic shell. They arrived at Tinian on August 2, 1945.
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