r335041

Another "Silverplate" B-29 (B-29-40-MO), USAAF Ser. No. 44-27354, named "Big Stink." It later would be re-named "Dave's Dream" (in the memory of bombardier Dave Stemple, killed in the crash of a B-29 [USAAF Ser. No. 42-65387]). On July 1, 1946, this B-29 (now as "Dave's Dream") would drop a "Fat Man"-type atomic bomb used in Test Able of Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stink_(aircraft) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads

A "Silverplate" B-29 (B-29-40-MO), USAAF Ser. No. 44-27353, "The Great Artiste," belonging to the atomic 393rd Bomb Squadron of the 509th Composite Group on Tinian. The Great Artiste was the only aircraft to fly as part of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb missions. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Artiste

Martin-Omaha manufactured "Silverplate" B-29 (B-29-35-MO, later modified to B-29-36-MO), USAAF Ser. 44-27296, named "Some Punkins" (ex- "Some Pumpkins"), built as part of the atomic bomb effort. Note the "Fat Man" mission markings, representing the number of times this aircraft bombed Japan with high-explosive bombs shaped like the plutonium-implosion device dropped by "Bockscar" (USAAF Ser. No. 44-27297) over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. These high-explosive versions of the "Fat Man" nuclear device were known as "Pumpkin Bombs," hence this aircraft's name. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Punkins en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverplate en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_bomb