Manhattan Project: Photographs of the First Atomic Bombs being Prepared on Tinian Island

Manhattan Project: Photographs of the First Atomic Bombs being Prepared on Tinian Island

This series consists of photographs documenting the preparation and loading of the first two atomic bombs, "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" at the base of the 509th Composite Group at Tinian Island in the Marianas. Included are views of the bomb loading pits, personnel writing messages on the bombs, and views of the B-29 "Enola Gay" landing at the base after dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

The photographs were produced by the 509th Composite Group Photographic Laboratory (the photographer is not identified). Nearly all of the photographs contain captions.

The records were created to document the activities regarding atomic bomb preparations. These photographs came from formerly classified textual records in Record Group 77, known as the "Tinian Files" at the National Archives. Most photographs have been declassified, but some are still classified and unavailable for research.


1945-08 Photograph of Little Boy Unit Being Hoisted Into Bomb Bay of Enola Gay with Commander A. F. Birch Behind Unit



1945-08 Unit in Bomb Bay of B-29 with S. Dike Standing in Pit Looking up into Bomb Bay to Examine Fit of Unit