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134-504: Sandia Base was located at about 35° 02' 25" N, 106° 32' 59" W at an elevation 5,394 feet (1,644 m) above sea level. It was in the southeast quadrant of Albuquerque, bounded roughly by Louisiana Boulevard SE and Kirtland Air Force Base on the west, and Eubank Avenue SE and the Sandia Mountains on the east, and Isleta Pueblo lands on the south. There were security gates on Gibson Avenue SE and Wyoming Boulevard SE. The base

268-551: A B-29 Superfortress base in support of the incendiary bombing raids on Japan. In March 1945, Kirtland Field was converted into a Superfortress base in a matter of only 45 days after its assignment to the Second Air Force . The Second Air Force, operating under the Continental Air Forces , concentrated on training for heavy and very heavy bombers during the war. Kirtland Field was one of six stations in

402-638: A Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling plane collided in mid-air over the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain. This event is referred to as the Palomares incident . Three of four missing nuclear weapons were found on land near the fishing village of Palomares in Spain . The fourth was found in the sea after a lengthy search. The second incident occurred in 1968 when a B-52 bomber crashed near Thule, Greenland . Three weapons were recovered;

536-564: A USAAF Provisional B-24 Liberator Pilot Transition School designed to train airplane commanders. Transition training was the final step after successful completion of Primary, Basic, and Advanced Flying training. The Bombardier School, for the most part, furnished facilities and maintenance, and personnel from two squadrons, that had been part of the Bombardier School, were put to work in the B-24 school. Officer pilots were selected for

670-524: A compromise, the Sandstone detonations all took place shortly before dawn. The detonations in the United States' Sandstone series are listed below: The X-Ray nuclear device used a levitated composite core. It was detonated on Enjebi just before sunrise at 06:17 on April 15, 1948, with a yield of 37 kilotons. The efficiency of utilization of the plutonium was about 35%; that of the uranium-235

804-565: A fourth is believed to remain in the ocean. Always on the itinerary of key political figures, Sandia Base hosted President John F. Kennedy on December 7, 1962. On April 17, 1966, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey toured facilities at Sandia Base. In 1971, DASA was redesignated Defense Nuclear Agency. The field activities remained at Sandia Base, which was merged into Kirtland Air Force Base. Defense Nuclear Agency returned to its roots by being renamed Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA) without further change of mission or functions in 1996. DSWA

938-704: A half-dozen pilots aboard, two flying, two practicing dead reckoning and celestial navigation, and two making practice bomb runs. The 19th Bombardment Group transferred to active duty in September 1941. It was replaced by the AAC Ferrying Command Specialized Four Engine school. The school operated under the Army Air Corps Ferrying Command , which had been established in late May 1941 and charged with transporting aircraft overseas for delivery to

1072-414: A helicopter to check on the cable winch which was to collect samples. It also lowered boats to test radioactivity levels in the lagoon. B-17 pilotless drone aircraft were flown through the clouds, and a drone light tank was used to recover soil samples from the crater. Unfortunately, it became bogged and had to be towed out ten days later. The Yoke nuclear device used a levitated all-uranium-235 core. It

1206-536: A hydraulic lift was installed. On 16 July 1945, at Kirtland Field, two B-29 Superfortress observation planes had set out early in the morning with instructions from Oppenheimer to steer a course at least 15 miles west of the atomic detonation point, Trinity Site . Because of thunderstorms, the planes dropped from 23,000 to 18,000 feet before circling the Trinity Site during the first atomic bomb detonation . While "The Gadget" underwent field-testing at Trinity,

1340-572: A level in 1945, when only between 4 and 6 kilograms (8.8 and 13.2 lb) was produced per month. A Fat Man core required about 6.2 kilograms (14 lb) of plutonium, of which 21% fissioned. Plutonium production fell off during 1946 due to swelling of the reactors' graphite neutron moderators . This is known as the Wigner effect , after its discoverer, the Manhattan Project scientist Eugene Wigner . These reactors were also required for

1474-461: A major range located between the neighboring village, Los Lunas and the Rio Puerco. Contracts for day and night bombing targets on the ranges were let during January 1942, and access roads to the targets were constructed. Bomb ranges numbered 2,450 square miles on ranch and Indian reservation land by the end of 1942. At that time, a total of 24 targets, simulated cities and warships, were in use on

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1608-622: A profound effect. Practically every component of the old weapons was rendered obsolete. Even before the third test had been carried out, Bradbury had halted production of the old cores, and ordered that all effort was to be concentrated on the Mark 4 nuclear bomb , which would become the first mass-produced nuclear weapon. The more efficient use of fissionable material would increase the nuclear stockpile from 56 bombs in June 1948 to 169 in June 1949. The Mark III bombs were withdrawn from service in 1950. At

1742-524: A regiment of mechanics and served as an inspector of aviation facilities. Recalled from retirement in 1941 at age 65, he was oldest military pilot in the Air Corps. Colonel Kirtland died of a heart attack on 2 May 1941 at Moffett Field , California. Kirtland Air Force Base has dramatically changed since its establishment as a U.S. Army airfield in 1941. It has evolved from a hastily constructed training and testing facility necessitated by World War II , to

1876-481: A significant USAF center for R&D. What began as a 2,000-acre air base has grown into a 51,800-plus-acre facility. Kirtland Air Force Base's beginnings stem from three private airfields of 1928 to 1939 and are similar to that of other installations choosing to adapt existing runways and hangars for military use. In 1928, two Santa Fe Railroad employees working with the town of Albuquerque , graded two runways on East Mesa with one approximately 5,300 feet long and

2010-690: Is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico , urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport . The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland . The military and the international airport share the same runways, making ABQ a joint civil-military airport. Kirtland AFB is the largest installation in Air Force Global Strike Command and sixth largest in

2144-579: Is also located at Kirtland AFB. Additionally the 150th Special Operations Wing of the New Mexico Air National Guard , an Air Combat Command (ACC)-gained unit, is also garrisoned at Kirtland. Kirtland Air Force Base was named for Colonel Roy C. Kirtland (1874–1941) in February 1942. Colonel Kirtland learned to fly in 1911 in one of the first Wright airplanes at Dayton, Ohio . During World War I , he organized and commanded

2278-576: The 16th Bombardment Operational Training Wing program. Other locations were Alamogordo Army Airfield and Clovis Army Airfield in New Mexico; Biggs Army Airfield and Pyote Army Airfield in Texas; and Davis-Monthan Army Airfield in Arizona. Perhaps one of the most important functions Kirtland Field served during World War II was as a transportation center for the needs of scientists developing

2412-911: The B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator . In addition to pilot training, the Albuquerque Army Air Base provided bombardier training at its Advanced Flying School. During this period, the facility was under the Flying Training Command and the Air Training Command. In addition to the main airfield, several auxiliary airfields were used to support the flying school: The 19th Bombardment Group arrived at Albuquerque AAB from March Field , California, in April 1941, shortly after

2546-592: The Civil Aeronautics Administration licensed for public use were sold to the public, with prices ranging from $ 100 for a PT-17 Stearman to $ 90,000 for a C-54 Skymaster . North American Aviation bought back a large number of their AT-6s, overhauled and resold them to customers including the Dutch and Chinese governments. The remaining 1,151 aircraft were put up for bid in the fall of 1946. The Denver contracting firm that successfully bid on

2680-591: The Denver Post ran a story that claimed the military was building a secret base consisting of huge caverns for atomic weapons defense purposes. The Post said the new base was in the Manzano Mountains southeast of Sandia Base. The military responded by issuing a statement that operations and construction near Sandia Base were top-secret. In fact, however, the AFSWP was building one of several bases around

2814-649: The Department of Defense and Department of Energy . The NWC is composed of two wings–the 377th Air Base Wing and 498th Nuclear Systems Wing –along with ten groups and seven squadrons. Kirtland is home to the 58th Special Operations Wing (58 SOW), an Air Education and Training Command (AETC) unit that provides formal aircraft type/model/series training. The 58 SOW operates the HC-130J , MC-130J, UH-1N Huey , HH-60G Pave Hawk and CV-22 Osprey aircraft. Headquarters, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center

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2948-602: The Eniwetok Proving Ground in the Pacific's Marshall Islands . Operation Crossroads was the first of many atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in the early Cold War years. The Kirtland Field Narrative Histories do not make specific reference to participation in Operation Crossroads by groups at Kirtland Field, but this is most likely due to the high security that the operation garnered. With

3082-465: The Fat Man plutonium core and its initiator were driven down to Albuquerque. They left Kirtland Field on 26 July and were flown in a C-54 Skymaster to Tinian, where they arrived 28 July. Such was Kirtland Field's last important role in the U.S. defeat of Japan, thereby ending World War II. However, it was not its last connection with the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, which largely would determine

3216-854: The Manhattan Project , which created a network of production facilities, and the weapons research and design laboratory at the Los Alamos National Laboratory . Two types of bombs were developed: the Mark 1 Little Boy , a gun-type fission weapon using uranium-235 , and the Mark 3 Fat Man , an implosion-type nuclear weapon using plutonium . These weapons were not far removed from their laboratory origins. A great deal of work remained to improve ease of assembly, safety, reliability and storage before they were ready for production. There were also many improvements to their performance that had been suggested or recommended during

3350-949: The Naval Research Laboratory , the Naval Ordnance Laboratory , Argonne National Laboratory , the Aberdeen Proving Ground , the Atomic Energy Commission, Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier , and other agencies. Each dealt with a different aspect of the tests. The Naval Ordnance Laboratory handled the blast measurement tests, while the Naval Research Laboratory conducted the radiation measurement experiments, and Argonne National Laboratory did gamma ray measurements. Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier were contractors hired to design and install

3484-528: The Norden bombsight , which was also an automatic pilot that flew the aircraft as bombs were released over the target. Classroom instruction at the Albuquerque base was held at night and training missions were flown during the day to bombsights around Albuquerque. Servicemen and WPA workers were tasked with laying out bombing ranges for training. These were located west and southwest of Albuquerque, including

3618-779: The Royal Air Force . The students were training to ferry Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers, (the aircraft used at the Four-Engine School) and other multi-engine aircraft to the RAF in Great Britain . TWA chose Albuquerque for the school's location because of its 10,000-foot runway, which could accommodate B-24s, as well as its fair weather. The students were trained in pilot skills, instrument flying, meteorology, radio, briefing, and general transition. TWA pilots and ground crews were readily available as instructors;

3752-885: The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory administered by the United States, the United Nations Security Council was notified of the upcoming tests on December 2. The atoll was inhabited by the dri-Enewetak, who lived on Aomon, and the dri-Enjebi, who lived on Bijire. Their original homes had been on Enewetak and Enjebi, but they had been moved during the war to make way for military bases. The population, about 140 in number, had been temporarily relocated to Meck Island during Operation Crossroads. This time, Ujelang Atoll , an uninhabited atoll 124 nautical miles (230 km; 143 mi) southwest of Enewetak,

3886-475: The atomic bomb in Los Alamos. The Manhattan Project personnel in Los Alamos first became aware of the value of the location of the air base during the process of converting the atomic bomb into a practical airborne weapon. Because Kirtland Field was the closest large airport, its runways and bombloading pit supported the atomic bomb program during 1944 and 1945. It also became an important staging ground for

4020-445: The "Sandia Pioneers," to oversee the bomb fabrication efforts. Dorland also established a nuclear weapons training school at Sandia Base. The Pioneers learned and practiced how to assemble atomic bombs and how to load them onto aircraft for long range missions. The aircraft used for these practice missions were Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers similar to the ones that flew the first atomic missions over Japan in 1945. The Pioneers and

4154-496: The 1217th and 1218th Composite Service Platoons, the 18th Engineer Construction Company and 1219th Signal Service Platoon; Companies D and E of the 2nd Engineer Special Brigade 's 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment ; the 461st Transportation Amphibious Truck Company; 854th Transportation Port Company; 401st CIC Detachment; and the Naval Shore Base Detachment. As in Operation Crossroads, each detonation

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4288-413: The 19th Bombardment Group. The 3rd Air Base Squadron, also assigned to the 19th Bombardment Group, was the first to arrive on base. Headquarters, materiel, quartermaster, ordnance, and signal detachments accompanied it. On 10 April, the squadrons began operations. Because B-17s were in short supply, the pilots trained on Douglas B-18 Bolos and Northrop A-17s , as well as Stearman PT-17 biplanes. Under

4422-421: The 509th Bombardment Group (successor to the 509th Composite Group that flew the 1945 missions) flew the practice missions from Kirtland AFB to Wendover, Utah . The 509th was stationed at Walker Air Force Base near Roswell, New Mexico . On April 12, 1950, a B-29 from the 509th Bombardment Group crashed at Sandia Base shortly after takeoff. Thirteen crewmen were killed. The military imposed strict security over

4556-483: The 58th Bombardment Wing. Aircraft being maintained by the 58th Bombardment Wing included five B-29 Superfortresses and C-45 Expeditors , two C-47s , B-25 Mitchells and L-5s, and a C-46 Commando , AT-11 Kansan , F-80 Shooting Star , F-61 Black Widow , and F-59 Airacomet . Prior to the new Ground Training Program, which began officially on 24 June 1946, some training was carried out by individual units, primarily physical engineering, bombardiering, and armament. With

4690-704: The 9th Materiel Squadron, and the 92nd Quartermaster Battalion arrived the week after the Pearl Harbor Attack , followed shortly by the 383rd and 384th School Squadrons and the 459th Ordnance Company. The director of the school, Colonel John P. Ryan, was praised for rapidly organizing the nation's first permanent bombardier training school. Instructors, maintenance personnel, and cadets arrived so quickly that base operations such as engineering and supply had to be operated out of pyramidal tents lacking heat and protection from blowing sand. Other problems included lack of aircraft parking space and adequate lighting near

4824-602: The AEC commissioners felt that the news would leak out, and the United States would look secretive. It was therefore decided to make a last minute announcement. There was no announcement of the purpose of the tests, and only cursory press releases. On 18 May, after the series was over, Hull held a press conference in Hawaii, but only permitted the media to quote from written statements. Enjebi, Aomon, and Runit Islands were cleared of vegetation and graded level to make it easier to install

4958-618: The Albuquerque base school graduated 7 March 1942. By 1945, Albuquerque's flying training field had turned out 5,719 bombardiers and 1,750 regular pilots for the B-24 bomber alone. The 51st class to complete the bombardier training course included 143 bombardiers. Chiang Kai-shek pilots and bombardiers received training from Kirtland Field instructors. And film actor Jimmy Stewart was stationed at Kirtland Field briefly, beginning in August 1942, assisting bombardier cadet training by flying bombers on training missions. Bombardier and pilot training

5092-465: The Atomic Energy Commission. General Groves was placed in charge, and reported directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Concerned about the postwar status of the nation's nuclear stockpile, Groves had already dispatched Col. Gilbert M. Dorland to Sandia Base to evaluate the engineering efforts being made there. Dorland eventually assembled a group of about sixty young Army officers, later nicknamed

5226-558: The German Vergeltungswaffe (V-1) rocket. The proximity fuze, a weapon that was later dubbed by the media as the second most important one developed during the war. By war's end, nearly 50,000 acres had been acquired for the NMPG, this acreage is to the south of the runway and main base that today makes up the greatest portion of Kirtland AFB. With the end of World War II, the base again became Albuquerque Army Air Field and

5360-578: The Los Alamos National Laboratory, known as J Division, was created specifically to manage nuclear testing. An Atomic Energy Commission group (Task Group 7.1) was responsible for preparing and detonating the nuclear weapons, and conducting the experiments. It consisted of some 283 scientists and technicians responsible for nuclear tests from J Division, the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project ,

5494-431: The Manhattan Project's Z Division relocated from Los Alamos to continue top-secret work development of atomic weapons. The New Mexico Proving Grounds (NMPG) was constructed concurrently with the development of the Albuquerque Army Air Base and the activities at the old Oxnard Field. It was built to the south to serve as the base for testing the top-secret proximity fuze , a device that played an important role in defeat of

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5628-529: The Midwest and California ; which positioned Albuquerque as an important transcontinental airfield. WAE soon moved to the West Mesa Airport and was joined by TAT as the two airlines merged to become Trans World Airlines (TWA). This new facility, also private, became known as Albuquerque Airport, and the first, which was renamed Oxnard Field , also continued to service general aviation needs. In

5762-579: The Oxnard Field property for military use, with subsequent transfer to the federal government. Construction of Albuquerque Army Air Base began in January 1941 and was completed in August 1941. Albuquerque Army Air Base received its first military aircraft in March, and on 1 April 1941, a lone B-18 bomber, landed on the north–south runway. With the assignment of five pilots to the aircraft, the day marked

5896-448: The U.S. Army Air Corps (AAC), proposed to Congress that money be spent on a strong air defense. It soon became a national priority to secure airfields and bombing and gunnery ranges. An effort was also being made in cooperation with the WPA and Civil Aeronautics Authority to build up civilian airports of value to national defense efforts (Tagg 1998). Albuquerque city leaders began to examine

6030-694: The United States Air Force. The base occupies 51,558 acres and employs over 23,000 people, including more than 4,200 active duty and 1,000 Guard, plus 3,200 part-time Reserve personnel. In 2000, Kirtland AFB's economic impact on the City of Albuquerque was over $ 2.7 billion. Kirtland is the home of the Air Force Materiel Command 's Nuclear Weapons Center (NWC). The NWC's responsibilities include acquisition, modernization and sustainment of nuclear system programs for both

6164-552: The aircraft parking ramp. New construction projects began early in 1942, adding offices and housing quarters, ordnance storage, a photography lab, flightline buildings, and maintenance hangars. The base undertook paving and lighting of aircraft parking spaces, and scheduled the building of additional runways and taxiways. Students began training on twin-engine Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan bomber trainers. By January 1942, there were 50 aircraft on base, in addition to 28 B-18A Bolo bombers used for training. Eventually, about 150 AT-11s served

6298-513: The armed forces having only a supporting role. The purpose of the Sandstone tests was also different: they were primarily tests of new bomb designs rather than of the effects of nuclear weapons. Three tests were carried out in April and May 1948 by Joint Task Force 7, with a work force of 10,366 personnel, of whom 9,890 were military. The successful testing of the new cores in the Operation Sandstone tests rendered every component of

6432-659: The arrival of 45 women on base. WAAC quarters built at Kirtland Field included barracks, a day room, beauty shop, and supply room. A WAAC open house for the new post was held in August 1943 and several hundred men with their wives and families attended. Initially, most WAACs and WACs worked as file clerks, typists, stenographers, or motor pool drivers. Gradually, their jobs grew more technical as positions were created for weather forecasters, parachute riggers, radio operators and repair specialists, sheet metal workers, bombsight maintenance specialists, control tower operators, and cryptographers. In August 1943, Kirtland Field became host to

6566-580: The atmospheric test series at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands . The Sandstone test series was successful, but logistics, weather, security, and safety suggested the need for a continental test site. Thus, AFSWP conducted a top secret study, named Project Nutmeg, to search for such a site. In 1950, AFSWP concluded that a site on the Air Force's Las Vegas Bombing and Gunnery Range in Nevada

6700-505: The base was activated. Its purpose was to train air and ground crews for reconnaissance and bombing duty on Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" before deployment to Clark Field in the Philippine Islands . The 19th Bombardment Group became the most famous bomber unit of World War II for its part in the strategic campaign against Japan. The 30th, 32nd, and 93rd Bombardment Squadrons and the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron were assigned to

6834-671: The base was called the Eagle Nest Flight Center. Using Link Trainers and B-24 training aircraft, the TWA instructors trained more than 1,100 pilots and crewmen during the eight months the company operated the school. On 7 February 1942, the U.S. Army transferred the training function from TWA back to the USAAF, and the school was redesignated the Combat Crew Training School. The Air Corps Ferrying Command

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6968-419: The base's fate in the postwar economy. To the east of the air base, at Oxnard Field, the U.S. Army also acquired 1,100 acres of land to develop a school for aircraft mechanics. An Air Depot Training Station, it was unofficially referred to as " Sandia Base ". After various other incarnations—as a convalescent center and aircraft burial ground—Sandia Base became the precursor to Sandia National Laboratories when

7102-430: The base, and Highland High School in southeast Albuquerque. Sandia Base had an officers club, an NCO club, a commissary, a base exchange, a movie theater, a swimming pool, a library, and a teen club. Sandia Base also had a club for civilian employees. There were two chapels, a hospital, and a pre-school on the base. On July 1, 1971, Sandia Base and Manzano Base were merged into Kirtland Air Force Base , their neighbor to

7236-501: The base. Housing for military families existed in three areas of Sandia Base. In the southwest corner of the base was an area of Wherry housing, known as Zia Park. On the northwest side of the base was an area of Capehart housing, known as Pershing Park. This area stretched from Wyoming Boulevard almost to the Gibson Avenue gate. East of Wyoming Boulevard was an area of Capehart housing, known informally as "The Loops," because

7370-405: The command of Lt. Colonel Eugene Eubank, the 19th Bombardment Group focused on precision, high-altitude, and formation flying. They also flew mock attacks on New Mexico villages and ranches. Eubank was known for being a taskmaster, demanding that his pilots gain extensive cockpit experience and that the men cross-train as navigators and bombardiers. As such, it was purported that every B-17 flight had

7504-422: The country that would be used for nuclear weapons storage. The AFSWP code-named the base "Site Able." Construction of Site Able was delayed by a strike in which laborers demanded a 25-cent per hour increase in their minimum wage of $ 1.75 per hour. On February 22, 1952, the now-completed Site Able was renamed Manzano Base and turned over to the operational control of the Air Force. The Denver Post story apparently

7638-530: The crash site. The official version of the crash stated that the B-29 was on a routine "navigation training flight." The Air Force said the B-29 had taken off from Walker AFB and had landed at Kirtland AFB to "refuel." At Sandia Base, the Pioneers worked with Sandia Laboratory and the AEC to perfect the design, assembly, storage, and delivery of atomic weapons. In 1948, the Pioneers supported Operation Sandstone ,

7772-443: The development of an all-uranium-235 core. By January 1948 the national stockpile contained 50 cores, of which 36 were composite Christy cores, nine were plutonium Christy cores, and five were composite levitated cores. Testing the new levitated, composite and uranium-235 cores would require at least three test firings. More efficient weapons would require less efficient initiators. This meant that less polonium would be required. At

7906-549: The difficulty was in housing the students because base quarters were not finished. Consequently, they doubled up in the barracks. The first contingent of B-24 trainees arrived in Albuquerque on 19 June 1941. The facility was officially titled the Air Corps Ferrying Command Four-Engine Transition School but was unofficially referred to as the "Four-Engine School" or "Jack Frye School"—for the president of TWA. Its location on

8040-483: The end of 1928. The airfield soon drew business from private flyers, as well as Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) and Western Air Express (WAE), commercial airlines that set up operations at the new airport. The city's viability as a crossroad of air traffic in the Southwest was confirmed by this early success. As the 1920s closed, the two airlines initiated competitive passenger, mail, and cargo service between

8174-715: The engineering part of nuclear weapons development. Thus, in 1949, AT&T 's manufacturing arm, Western Electric , accepted the management role on a no-profit, no-fee basis. Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Electric, was formed to manage the lab. AT&T maintained the contract until 1993 when Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin ) took over. The largest organization at Sandia Base, it became Sandia National Laboratories in 1979. It now operates facilities in Albuquerque and Livermore, California . The organization continues to expand into new areas of research, such as renewable energy sources. In August, 1947,

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8308-679: The exact history of this site is in question. KAFB personnel thought this site was used during WWII, as a possible tear gas training site. There were two schools on the base. Sandia Base Elementary School was on Wyoming Boulevard between Pershing Park and the Loops; Wherry Elementary School was located in Zia Park. Both schools were, and still are, operated by the Albuquerque Public Schools system. Older children from Sandia Base attended Van Buren Junior High School, just outside

8442-446: The fall of 1941, Major General Arnold moved the military's bombardier school from Louisiana to Albuquerque for two reasons—good weather and the availability of vacant land on which to build bombing ranges. It was proclaimed the "World’s First Bombardier School", and on 24 December 1941 it was officially designated an Army Air Forces Advanced Flying School under the USAAF Western Flying Training Command. The 56th and 88th School Squadrons,

8576-622: The ferrying of men and material to various field sites. From Kirtland Field, Manhattan Project scientists were flown back and forth to Wendover Army Air Base for testing in a disguised "Green Hornet" aircraft. Members of the USAAF made similar trips from Wendover through Albuquerque to Los Alamos. A special Manhattan Engineer District, Military Police unit was located at Kirtland Field to guard facilities used to load Los Alamos–assembled ordnance and test shapes on Silverplate aircraft. The loading pit constructed at Kirtland Field, although primitive and manually operated, operated until December 1945, when

8710-562: The first of six original National Stockpile Sites (NSS) (for nuclear weapons). The other original NSS installations similar to Manzano were: Site Baker at Killeen Base, adjacent to Gray Air Force Base and Fort Hood , Texas; Site Charlie at Campbell Air Force Base and adjacent to Fort Campbell (Tennessee and Kentucky); Site Dog at Bossier Base, adjacent to Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana; Lake Mead Base, adjacent to Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada; and Medina Base , adjacent to Lackland Air Force Base , Texas. On July 1, 1971, Manzano Base

8844-438: The flash and blast as similar to the previous two tests, but this time the base of the condensation cloud was at 2,000 feet (610 m), which gave the observers an unobstructed view of the fireball, which therefore appeared to be brighter and last longer than the other two. Looks were deceiving: its levitated uranium-235 core produced a yield of 18 kilotons. The procedures used in the previous tests were repeated, but this time

8978-404: The focus on atomic weapons, in early December 1946, Kirtland Field was again transferred, this time to the Air Materiel Command (AMC), specifically the Directorate, Research and Development, HQ, AMC. AMC was responsible for all USAF R&D, including atomic weapons. The transfer took place due to Kirtland Field's close proximity to Sandia Base and the Z Division. The AMC mission at Kirtland Field

9112-463: The ground 4.5 miles south of the Kirtland control tower and 0.3 miles west of the Sandia Base reservation. The weapon was completely destroyed by the detonation of its high explosive material, creating a crater 12 feet deep and 25 feet in diameter. Radioactive contamination at the crater lip amounted to 0.5 milliroentgen . Because of the presence of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and its successors, Sandia Base had military personnel of all of

9246-470: The installation under SAC, and there was a return of personnel. Shortly thereafter, an "S-2 Section" was established on base and became responsible for the security of Kirtland Field and the "W-47 Project". The W-47 Project had been the wartime operation established at Wendover Army Air Base to train the 509th Composite Group to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki . In keeping with Kirtland Field's mission to assist Sandia Base's Z Division with

9380-502: The largest nuclear detonation up to that time, but it was considered inefficient and wasteful of the fissile material. Zebra, the third test, and the last of the Sandstone series, was detonated on Runit just before sunrise at 06:04 on May 15, 1948. This test was characterized by AEC Chairman David Lilienthal as the "hardest and most important" test of the three. By using one of the B-class initiators, it demonstrated that these could still be used with confidence. The observers perceived

9514-400: The marriage of bombs and aircraft, the 509th Composite Group's Flight Test Section was transferred to Kirtland. As these arrangements were taking place, a new subgroup of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos was being organized. Titled the Z Division for its chief, Dr. Jerrold Zacharias , a Los Alamos scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the new group's mission

9648-401: The men who had carried out the procedure for Yoke was then also found to have burns on his hands and was hospitalized too, but was discharged on 28 May. Once again the drone tank gave trouble, and bogged in the crater, but the soil samples were retrieved by the backup drone tank. Both tanks were subsequently dumped in the ocean. The successful testing of the new cores in the Sandstone tests had

9782-491: The mid-1930s, Mayor Tingley, other city officials, and TWA management began to conceive of a municipal airport, the next necessary step in confirming Albuquerque's status as a "Crossroads of the Southwest." With the help of President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds, construction on a new airport was begun four miles west of Oxnard Field and completed in 1939, on the cusp of World War II . In January 1939, Major General Henry "Hap" Arnold, who became chief of

9916-474: The nation. A serious short-term problem was retaining personnel, particularly at Los Alamos where many scientists and technicians were eager to return to civilian pursuits. The solutions to the challenges led directly to the transformation of Albuquerque's old Oxnard Field into the nation's principal nuclear weapons installation. Atomic Bomb engineering was carried out by the Z Division, named for its director, Dr. Jerrold R. Zacharias from Los Alamos. Z Division

10050-481: The neutrons its fission produces. On the other hand, the slower reaction of uranium-235 permits the assembly of super-critical masses, making it theoretically possible to produce weapons with high yields. By July 1945, Oppenheimer and Groves were considering using both materials in a composite core containing 3.25 kilograms (7.2 lb) of plutonium and 6.5 kilograms (14 lb) of uranium-235. The composite cores became available in 1946. Los Alamos' priority then became

10184-449: The new program came a push for development of a comprehensive organization, with training in navigation, bombing, personnel equipment, chemical warfare, physical training, synthetic training, and use of the gunnery range. A primary mission for Kirtland Field was recorded in the September 1946 narrative history: "[To] provide aerial and ground functioning testing facilities and conduct functional tests on all equipment and materiel related to

10318-400: The new school from advanced twin-engine training schools. Instruction covered day and night navigation and instrument flying, formation and altitude flying, comprehensive ground schoolwork, engineering, radio, meteorology, weather flying, first aid and oxygen training, as well as a course on the duties of an airplane commander. A school for navigation was also established at Kirtland Field in

10452-544: The nuclear components for the bombs and the active materials were being sent piecemeal to Tinian . Shortly before the bomb testing at the Trinity site, components of Little Boy were driven from Los Alamos to Kirtland Field and then flown to San Francisco . This included some of the U-235 . From San Francisco, they were transported to Hunters Point to board the cruiser USS  Indianapolis , bound for Tinian. Following that,

10586-738: The official opening of Albuquerque Army Air Base. The first buildings on the installation were simple wood-frame structures constructed quickly in order to fulfill the country's urgent need for trained pilots to fight the war. Most of the buildings were Theater of Operations construction while some were of the Mobilization type. The Mobilization type buildings included the station hospital, theater, chapel, and Link training buildings. During World War II there were three levels of pilot training: The Albuquerque Army Air Base provided advanced flying training in "AT" (advanced trainer) trainer aircraft and transition training in combat-ready aircraft, primarily

10720-463: The old weapons obsolete. Even before the third test had been carried out, production of the old cores was halted, and all effort concentrated on the new Mark 4 nuclear bomb , which would become the first mass-produced nuclear weapon. More efficient use of fissionable material as a result of Operation Sandstone would increase the U.S. nuclear stockpile from 56 bombs in June 1948 to 169 in June 1949. Nuclear weapons were developed during World War II by

10854-487: The other just under 4,000 feet. Albuquerque Airport was wholly a private venture, irrespective of the town's involvement. Immediately following construction of the airport, other individuals and promoters became interested in Albuquerque as a crossroads location for southwestern air traffic. James G. Oxnard, a New York entrepreneur, bought Franklin's interest in Albuquerque Airport, expanding the facility toward

10988-702: The possibility of an air base locating on the mesa, and through extensive negotiations with the AAC, succeeded in their efforts when the Army established an air base on the East Mesa in 1939. As of late 1939, Army and Navy pilots began using Oxnard Field for refueling and maintenance for a variety of military flights. Later that same year, the Army Air Corps leased 2,000 acres neighboring Albuquerque Airport, four miles west of Oxnard Field. The Army eventually condemned

11122-440: The production (by irradiation of bismuth-209 ) of polonium-210 , which was used in the initiators , a critical component of the nuclear weapons. Some 62 kilograms (137 lb) of bismuth-209 had to be irradiated for 100 days to produce 600 curies of polonium-210, a little over 132 milligrams (2.04 gr). Because polonium-210 has a half-life of only 138 days, at least one reactor had to be kept running. The oldest unit, B pile,

11256-413: The ranges. Bombardier school was 12 to 18 weeks during which a student dropped approximately 160 bombs; precise records were kept of hits and misses. The elimination rate for trainees was 12 percent, and upon graduation, a new bombardier was transferred to an operational training unit and trained for overseas duty. Albuquerque was an operational training facility, and the first class of 61 bombardiers from

11390-427: The required instrumentation, and a causeway was built between Aomon and Bijire so the instrument cables could be run from the test tower on Aomon to the control station on Bijire. The detonations were ordered so that later test areas would suffer minimal fallout from the earlier shots. The Army component, Task Group 7.2, was responsible for construction work. It consisted of the 1220th Provisional Engineer Battalion, with

11524-638: The rest of Z Division completed its move to Sandia Base. That same month, Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson and Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal established the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) to assume all of the military functions of the Manhattan Engineering District. The ASWP took over the Albuquerque base. Z Division and AFSWP brought to Sandia Base the strict secrecy which had prevailed at Los Alamos. In 1947, amid much public speculation about what

11658-429: The school. The USAAF established a new minimum proficiency standard for bombardier trainees in 1943. Trainees were required to hit their targets during at least 22 percent of their drops. Practice combat flying missions required continuous evasive action within a 10-mile radius of the intended target. The final approach was required to be straight, level and taking no longer than 60 seconds. The school taught bombardiers

11792-426: The services, as well as Department of Defense civilian employees. Sandia Lab brought more civilians to the base community. Although most of the base was restricted, the rest of the base resembled other U.S. military installations in the world. By the 1950s, there were places for several thousand military family members to live, shop, attend school, recreate, and worship. The Army was in charge of running these parts of

11926-479: The small stockpile of atomic weapons parts. In the years after the war, Sandia Base boundaries would vastly expand to include the thousands of acres owned by the NMPG, which occupied much of the East Mesa. Base operations began to increase in June 1946 with the organization of a full-scale Ground Training Program and the arrival of the Special Ordnance Squadron and Special Transport Flight of

12060-436: The spherical symmetry of the implosion. The Theoretical Division at Los Alamos, known as T Division, had run computer calculations on the levitated core as early as March 1945. The use of the levitated core had been proposed during the planning for Operation Crossroads, but it had been decided instead to use the existing solid core "Christy" design. This was named after its designer, Robert Christy . For Sandstone, however, it

12194-405: The streets were circular and had names such as 10th Loop, 11th Loop, etc. Zia Park was once thought to house chemical warfare training; however, the only evidence suggesting chemical warfare training as reported by Kirtland AFB personnel is an old hand drawn map identifying this area as a chemical warfare training area. No other recorded maps have identified this area as a chemical training area, so

12328-485: The summer of 1943. The six-week navigation training course extended bombardier cadets’ schooling from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, qualifying them to serve as navigators as well. The navigation instructors were often recent combat veterans; the school combined regular bombardier missions to targets throughout New Mexico with navigational missions. A month later, headquarters of the 38th Flying Training Wing relocated from Roswell Army Airfield , New Mexico to Kirtland Field. One of

12462-422: The surplus planes sold some of the engines for commercial air transports, but by the end of the year, the remaining surplus planes were "chopped into sections and melted into ingots in a constantly burning smelter". This storage and recycling effort was the last of Albuquerque Army Air Field's wartime contributions. Kirtland AAB was put on a temporary inactive basis on 31 December 1945. When World War II ended, it

12596-489: The tamper, there would be an air gap between the tamper and the core, which would be suspended inside on wires. This would allow the tamper to gain more momentum before striking the core. The principle was similar to swinging a hammer at a nail versus putting the hammerhead directly on the nail and pushing as hard as possible. In order for this to work outside the laboratory, the wires had to be strong enough to withstand being dropped from an aircraft, but thin enough to not disturb

12730-407: The technique of bomb sighting. Bombardiers were required to crawl down shafts that gave way to the "bubble," from which they had bird's-eye views of the ground below. The bombardier's job was to feed the bombsight the needed information, air speed, wind speed, wind direction, altitude, and the angle of drift. As the aircraft approached the target, the pilot turned the aircraft over to the bombardier and

12864-594: The tests. They readily agreed that they would be scientific in nature, with Los Alamos supplying the technical direction and the armed forces providing supplies and logistical support. The cost of the tests, around $ 20 million, was divided between the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission. Lieutenant General John E. Hull was designated as test commander. Rear Admiral William S. Parsons and Major General William E. Kepner reprised their Operation Crossroads roles as deputy commanders. Joint Task Force 7

12998-652: The time of Sandstone, the national stockpile of polonium-beryllium initiators consisted of 50 A-Class initiators, with more than 25 curies of polonium, and 13 B-Class initiators with 12 to 25 curies. During Sandstone, at least one test would be conducted with a B-Class initiator. The tests were authorized by President Harry S. Truman on June 27, 1947. The Atomic Energy Commission's Director of Military Applications, Brigadier General James McCormack and his deputy, Captain James S. Russell , met with Bradbury and John Henry Manley at Los Alamos on July 9 to make arrangements for

13132-489: The timing and firing systems. Seven experimental weapon assemblies and six cores were delivered to San Pedro, California , and loaded on the weapon assembly ship USS  Curtiss , in February 1948, but the Atomic Energy Commission only gave permission for the expenditure of three cores in the tests. The naval forces were organized as Task Group 7.3. It consisted of: Source: Berkhouse et al , Operation Sandstone , p. 40 In September 1947, Hull, Russell, who

13266-693: The use of special weapons and radioactive materials". Between late 1946 and early 1947, after the Atomic Energy Act creating the Atomic Energy Commission was passed, the AFSWP was established with Sandia Base as an installation under its control. A special engineering battalion was also created to aid in the assembly and maintenance of atomic bombs at Sandia Base. In July and August 1946, Kirtland Field and Sandia Base personnel took part in Operation Crossroads at

13400-555: The war that had not been possible under the pressure of wartime development. Norris Bradbury , who replaced Robert Oppenheimer as director at Los Alamos, felt that "we had, to put it bluntly, lousy bombs." Plutonium was produced by irradiating uranium-238 in three 250 MW nuclear reactors at the Hanford site . In theory they could produce 0.91 grams (0.032 oz) of plutonium per megawatt-day, or about 20 kilograms (44 lb) per month. In practice, production never approached such

13534-478: The west. The merger was concurrent with the change of DASA into the Defense Nuclear Agency. The Air Force took over host responsibilities for the nation's military nuclear weapons program. 35°2′25″N 106°32′59″W  /  35.04028°N 106.54972°W  / 35.04028; -106.54972 Kirtland Air Force Base Kirtland Air Force Base ( IATA : ABQ , ICAO : KABQ )

13668-453: The winch cable snagged, and the test samples had to be retrieved by a jeep, exposing its crew to more radiation. The Los Alamos personnel assigned to remove the filters from the B-17 drones had apparently carried out the procedure on X-Ray and Yoke without problems, but this time three of them suffered radiation burns on their hands serious enough to be hospitalized and need skin grafting . One of

13802-616: The wings under the Western Flying Training Command, the 38th held jurisdiction not only over Kirtland Field but also the Hobbs, Roswell, and Carlsbad Army Air Fields; Williams Field, Arizona; and Victorville Air Field, California. The wing relocated to Williams Field, Arizona, in February 1945 due to Kirtland Field's conversion to a Superfortress base under the Second Air Force. Kirtland Field served as

13936-646: Was "to provide flight services for the Manhattan [Engineering] District at Sandia and Los Alamos in atomic bomb testing". In early 1947, the AMC established Kirtland Field's mission as the USAAF nuclear weapons facility, a continuation of the wartime Wendover Army Air Base ( 509th Composite Group )– Manhattan Project operations. Kirtland's role in the testing and evaluation of atomic weapons increased in 1947 when Kirtland Army Air Field, became Kirtland Air Force Base . Operation Sandstone Operation Sandstone

14070-440: Was 25% or more. This was somewhat higher than Los Alamos' prediction. Observers watching from ships in the lagoon saw a brilliant flash and felt the radiant heat. A condensation cloud 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) in diameter quickly enveloped the fireball, which glowed within the cloud. It took 45 to 50 seconds for the thunderous roar of the explosion to reach the observers. About 20 minutes later, Bairoko launched

14204-555: Was a series of nuclear weapon tests in 1948. It was the third series of American tests, following Trinity in 1945 and Crossroads in 1946, and preceding Ranger . Like the Crossroads tests, the Sandstone tests were carried out at the Pacific Proving Grounds , although at Enewetak Atoll rather than Bikini Atoll . They differed from Crossroads in that they were conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission , with

14338-519: Was abolished, effective October 1, 1998, with functions transferred to the newly established Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). After the move to Sandia Base, Los Alamos Laboratory's Z Division grew to almost 500 people, and became a separate branch of Los Alamos on April 1, 1948. Named Sandia Laboratory , the organization continued to grow to approximately 1000 employees by mid-1948. The University of California , long-time manager of Los Alamos, indicated that it no longer desired to be involved in

14472-535: Was activated as a unit of the 58th Bombardment Wing and the host of Kirtland Field on 1 February 1946. At that time, there were fewer than 300 officers and enlisted men at the field. Because there were so few personnel on hand, morale was low and workloads were strenuous for the installation throughout the early Cold War period. On 21 March 1946, Strategic Air Command (SAC) was activated and on 31 March 1946, SAC's Fifteenth Air Force assumed operation of Kirtland Field. The 58th Bombardment Wing remained in command of

14606-459: Was affected by fallout, but were not required. Unlike the Crossroads tests, which were conducted in the media spotlight, the Sandstone tests were carried out with minimal publicity. On April 15, there was still discussion in Washington about whether or not there should be any public announcement of the tests at all. Hull opposed making any announcement until after the series was completed, but

14740-409: Was conceived as an ordnance design, testing, and assembly arm. However, space was at a premium at Los Alamos. Additionally, members of Z Division needed to work closely with the military. Groves also decided as part of an effort to retain personnel to focus the laboratory more on weapons development by relocating various weapons production and assembly activities away from Los Alamos. Thus, the decision

14874-451: Was correct insofar as it described the general nature of the base. What appeared to be secure bunkers were visible to people (mostly military personnel) who went to a recreational camping area nearby known as Coyote Canyon. The military, however, never officially confirmed the nature of the activities at Manzano Base. At one point, a military spokesman said that Manzano Base had nothing to do with Sandia Base. Manzano has since been identified as

15008-420: Was created on the site formerly occupied by Oxnard Field , once the major Albuquerque airport. A competing airport took most of the local traffic in the 1930s. The U.S. Army bought the field after 1939. Leslie Groves and Robert Oppenheimer faced the challenges of turning a war-driven, short-term bomb design effort into a stable peacetime operation in charge of producing and maintaining a nuclear stockpile for

15142-437: Was decided that at least two of the three tests would use levitated cores. The motivation behind the composite core was to make better use of the available fissionable material. The use of uranium-235 in an implosion weapon instead of the inefficient gun type Little Boy was an obvious development. However, while plutonium was more expensive and harder to produce than uranium-235, it fissions faster, because it makes better use of

15276-641: Was designated test director on October 14, and Joint Task Force 7's scientific director, Darol K. Froman from the Los Alamos Laboratories, set out with a group of scientists and military officers to examine various proposed test sites in the Pacific. Enewetak Atoll was chosen as the test site on October 11. The island was remote, but with a good harbor and an airstrip. It also had ocean currents and trade winds that would carry fallout out to sea, an important consideration in view of what had happened at Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads. As

15410-517: Was detonated on Aomon just before sunrise on May 1, 1948, at 06:09, a day late due to unfavorable winds. The observers saw a similar flash and felt the same heat as the X-Ray blast, but the 6-nautical-mile (11 km; 6.9 mi) wide condensation cloud was larger, and the sound of the explosion more forceful. One observer likened it to the sound of "a paper bag which is forcefully burst in a small room". They were correct: its yield of 49 kilotons made it

15544-577: Was eliminated as a necessary qualification for candidates. On 30 June, the War Department opened the program to any man between 18 and 36 who could meet the physical and mental requirements, including civilians as well as officers and enlisted men. At Kirtland Field, the Glider Replacement Center operated until February 1943. In May 1943, a Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) contingent was established at Kirtland Field with

15678-553: Was formally activated on October 18, 1947. As its commander, Hull was answerable to both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Atomic Energy Commission. Joint Task Force 7 consisted of 10,366 personnel, 9,890 of them military. Its headquarters consisted of about 175 men, of whom 96 were on board the USS ; Mount McKinley . The rest were accommodated on the USS ; Albemarle , Curtiss and Bairoko . A special division of

15812-568: Was given its own code name, taken from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet . All used modified Mark III assemblies, and were detonated from 200-foot (61 m) towers. The timing of the detonations was a matter of compromise. The gamma ray measurement experiments required darkness, but the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress drones that would sample the clouds needed daylight to control them. As

15946-499: Was going on at Sandia Base, the military would only say that the activities at Sandia Base were secret under the Atomic Energy Act. When Secretary of the Army Kenneth Claiborne Royall visited Sandia Base in 1948, he falsely announced that "guided missile" development was underway at the base. AFSWP was given responsibility for discharging all military functions relating to atomic energy in coordination with

16080-412: Was merged, along with Sandia Base, into Kirtland Air Force Base. On March 8, 1950, a fire of undetermined origin swept through the stockade at Sandia Base, killing fourteen prisoners. Several officers and military firefighters were seriously injured. On May 22, 1957, a B-36 ferrying a nuclear weapon from Biggs AFB to Kirtland AFB dropped a nuclear weapon on approach to Kirtland AFB. The weapon impacted

16214-615: Was not clear whether Kirtland Field would be closed or become a permanent USAF facility. The transformation of the Air Depot Training Station into Sandia Base, home to Sandia Laboratory and the AFSWP, kept the facility open and ultimately determined its fate. Kirtland Field was renamed Kirtland AFB, and it became the USAF's main facility for integrating new weapons designs produced by Sandia Laboratory with operational USAF aircraft and equipment. On 1 February 1946, Kirtland

16348-689: Was not the only focus at Kirtland Field between 1942 and 1945. In 1943, the USAAF Flying Training Command merged with the Technical Training Command in an effort to save manpower. The new command, the Air Training Command , became responsible for all training from classification center through pilot and technical schools. In 1943, Kirtland Field facilities expanded to support existing bombardier training plus other training missions. This expansion

16482-475: Was only enough for one of the very wasteful Little Boys. A Fat Man was 17.5 times as efficient as a Little Boy, but a ton of uranium ore could yield eight times as much uranium-235 as plutonium, and on a per-gram basis, plutonium cost somewhere between four and eight times as much to produce as uranium-235, which at this time cost around $ 26 per gram. The objectives of the Sandstone series of tests were to: Levitation meant that instead of being immediately inside

16616-549: Was redesignated the Defense Atomic Support Agency (DASA), the Sandia Base was designated Headquarters Field Command, DASA. Over the next dozen years, Field Command was headed by Army, Navy, and Air Force officers. Sandia Base personnel were dispatched to assist in two major incidents involving the loss and recovery of nuclear weapons in the 1960s. In 1966, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber and

16750-629: Was redesignated the Army Air Forces Ferrying Command in March 1942, a month after the AAC transferred the school from TWA training back to the military. The command was then redesignated the Air Transport Command in July 1942—the same month that the school was transferred from Albuquerque to Smyrna Army Airfield , Tennessee. With the departure of the 19th Bombardment Group from Albuquerque Army Air Base in

16884-413: Was selected as a relocation site. A Naval Construction Battalion group arrived there on November 22 to build accommodation and amenities. The military authorities met with the local chiefs on December 3, and they agreed to the relocation, which was carried out by USS  King County by December 20. An LST and four Douglas C-54 Skymaster aircraft were placed on standby to evacuate Ujelan in case it

17018-1218: Was sequentially renamed the Naval Air Special Weapons Facility (NASWF) in August 1952, the Naval Nuclear Ordnance Evaluation Unit (NNOEU) in 1958, and the Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility (NWEF) in March 1961. Before the NWEF ceased flight test operations in September 1992, nuclear compatibility and safety certification had been completed for 76 versions of 32 different Navy nuclear-capable fighter and attack aircraft. Following accidents aboard USS  Oriskany in 1966 and Forrestal in 1967, NWEF applied nuclear safety protocols to develop procedures to safely stow, handle, transport, assemble, disassemble, preload, load, unload, arm, dearm, rearm, and deliver non-nuclear aviation ordnance including bombs , torpedoes , naval mines , missiles and conventional stores from sonobuoys to Air-Delivered Seismic Intrusion Detectors (ADSID). In 1959, because AFSWP

17152-437: Was taken to move Z Division to the old Oxnard Field. Already at the close of the war, the engineering group of Z Division had begun consolidating weapons assembly functions there. Z Division was initially located at Wendover Field, Utah but moved to Oxnard Field , New Mexico, in September 1945 to be closer to Los Alamos. By 1946, the site was being referred to as "Sandia Base" after the nearby Sandia Mountains . In January 1947,

17286-403: Was the result of the merging of the two training commands. Expanded training at Kirtland Field included a ground school for glider pilots—called the Glider Replacement Center, which was established in July 1942. The center served as a temporary training area for glider pilots awaiting vacancies at glider schools. The Army Air Forces glider-training program had expanded, and prior flight training

17420-675: Was the right place. President Truman approved the location, known as Frenchman Flat . The first post-war continental atomic test was conducted on January 27, 1951. A weapon assembled at Sandia Base was dropped from a Boeing B-50 Superfortress ("D" model) bomber in the successful "Able" shot. Thereafter, some 927 atmospheric and underground nuclear tests occurred at what is now known as the Nevada Test Site . These tests were supported by AFSWP and its successors from Sandia Base and its successor. A United States Naval Air Detachment of eleven aircraft assigned to Sandia Base in June 1949

17554-621: Was therefore closed down so that it would be available in the future. Investigation of the problem would take most of 1946 before a fix was found. Uranium-235 was derived from enrichment of natural uranium at the Y-12 plant and K-25 site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Improvements in the processes and procedures of the electromagnetic and gaseous isotope separation between October 1945 and June 1946 led to an increase in production to around 69 kilograms (152 lb) of uranium-235 per month, which

17688-454: Was to manage the engineering design, production, assembly, and field-testing of the non-nuclear components associated with nuclear bombs. Construction began on guard, storage, administrative, and laboratory facilities for the Z Division. Because the airfield was still receiving surplus warplanes, the U.S. Army constructed a fenced area for classified activities. They employed security measures including tanks, guard towers, and watch dogs to protect

17822-576: Was transferred to the Fourth Air Force for use as a flight test center. Kirtland Field was returning to B-29 Superfortress activity as the flight-testing headquarters for the 58th Bombardment Wing , which had been stationed at Roswell Army Airfield , New Mexico under the Fourth Air Force. This B-29 unit would assist the Z Division at Sandia Base with flight-testing new atomic weapons designs. The 428th AAF Base Unit (Flight Test)

17956-598: Was used by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation —later called the War Assets Administration . Old or surplus aircraft were to be sold or demolished at the site. Albuquerque Army Air Field received some 2,250 old or surplus aircraft, such as obsolete B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, and smaller aircraft like AT-6 Texan trainers, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters. Aircraft that

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