The ship’s captain did not know what it was, only that if the ship went down, he must ensure that it was loaded into one of the available lifeboats. The mystery deepened July 26, when the cruiser Indianapolis arrived with a special cargo. The 509th, secretive and strange, was not popular with the other groups on Tinian. When they did fly, they dropped practice munitions called “pumpkins” because of their color (orange, for visibility) and unusual shape (resembling an atomic bomb). Its crews did not fly regular bombing missions. It had only one bomb squadron, and was self-contained with its own transport aircraft, maintenance, military police, and engineers. It was a different kind of group in several ways. The 509th had been on Tinian a little more than a month, operating from tightly guarded facilities at North Field. Despite the certainty of defeat, Japan refused to surrender and the war dragged on with mounting casualties on both sides. Through the summer of 1945, the Japanese home islands were reeling from massive firebomb attacks by B-29s flying from Guam, Tinian, and Saipan in the Marianas chain. It was the world’s first atomic bomb, and Special Mission No. The weapon had a name as well: “Little Boy,” even though it was 12 feet long and weighed more than 9,000 pounds.
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