The B-29 Superfortress bomber has been the airplane of choice for several of the most important aerial missions in military history. An incredibly versatile aircraft, the B-29 was developed for use in the European theater, but found its true calling as a vehicle in the Pacific theater, coating the Far East with both conventional and incendiary bombs, mines, and even nuclear armaments. On August 6th, 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, while three days later the B-29 Bockscar sent the “Fat Man” hurtling toward Nagasaki. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Great Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on both missions.

     The item presented here is a one-of-a-kind B-29 operating manual signed by 50 atomic bomb crew members in blue marker. These men were a part of the 509th Composite Group, an elite combat group dedicated to the operational deployment of nuclear weapons. Each of these veterans played a role in either the Hiroshima, Nagasaki or both. This would make a pinnacle of any collection. The signatures include Paul Tibbets, Morris Jeppson, CW Albury (signed twice), Dutch Van Kirk, Fred Olivi (signed twice), Herman Zahn, William Rowe, Donald Cole, George Brabenec (signed three times), John Kuharek (signed three times), Donald Real, Richard Nolan, Ira Weatherly, Jack Bivans (signed twice), Francis Thornhill, Hugh Ferguson, Richard Anselme (signed twice), Raymond Biel, William Orren, Richard Cannon (signed twice), Maurice Clark, Lee Palmert (signed twice), James Bryant, Alfred Lewandowski, Ray Allen, Thomas Costa, William Easton, Clyde Bysom, Leonard Godfrey, John Downey (signed twice), Jim Price, George Cohen, Robert Petrolli, Elbert Smith, Gilbert Dickman, Kenneth Eidnes, Jacob Bontekoe, Jack Widowsky (signed twice), Russell Gackenbach, Robert Stock, Ray Gallagher, and Bill Hulse. This item is accompanied by a LOA from PSA/DNA (AB13898).

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