Page 13 - Demo

Nuclear Weapons of the Atomic AgeAtomic Bomb Test, July 1, 1946The cachet on this cover is for the 58th Bomb Wing of the 509th Composite Group, which was part of the B-29 bomber fleet that operated out of Tinian, and flew the atomic-bombing missions to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This cover was cancelled later, on the day of the Able atomic-bomb test during Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll. Per the return address, the sender, Anson Brown, was a member of the Air Photo Unit 1.52, which consisted of eight B-29s that were modified to accommodate a wide range of photographic equipment. They were part of the 29-plane fleet assigned to capture still and motion images of the Able blast. Altogether, there were 157 motionpicture and 106 still cameras, and approximately 3,700 feet of film was exposed in ten seconds%u2014from 5 seconds before detonation to five seconds after detonation. Eastman and Fastex hi-speed cameras recorded the detonation at the rate of 1000 frames-per-second. Air Photo Unit 1.52 was disbanded on October 1, 1946. Below are some of the B-29s making up the 509th Composite Group.