“The B-29 has as many bugs as the entomological department of the Smithsonian.” -Curtis LeMay, who commanded B-29 combat operations against Japan Two survive to this day and their names- Enola Gay and Bockscar-are inseparable from a pivotal and infamous chapter in human history, the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that contributed to ending the war by causing incomprehensible damage. Of the 65 planes so modified between 19, 53 served with the first nuclear weapons unit, the 509th Composite Group.
Nicknamed after the codeword for the project (a shortening of the original moniker “The Silver Plated Project”), B-29 Superfortress bombers in Silverplate configuration were the first planes ever to carry nuclear payloads. The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs
