Fat Man

Final assembly of both the Fat Man and Little Boy bombs took place on Tinian Island. Specially modified B-29s known as Silverplates were the only aircraft capable of carrying an atomic bomb. The bombs would be loaded from a pit under the aircraft. Two loading pits were constructed. These pits would allow the bombs to be raised into the bomt bay.

The pits were concrete lined and were about 20 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. A hydraulic lift was installed in the center of the bottom of the plo. The loading procedures were the same for each bomb.

Once the bomb was assembled, it was loaded onto a cradle which was mounted on a transport trailer. The loaded trailer was then towed to the loading pit and positioned across the pit.

The trailer was then rotated so that it was aligned with the long dimension of the pit. The trailer, with the bomb mounted on the cradle, was then lowered to the bottom of the pit using the hydraulic lift. The loading pins were removed separating the cradle from the trailer. The bomb and cradle were now ready to be loaded into the aircraft.

The aircraft was then positioned over the pit. This was accomplished on Tinian by backing the aircraft over the pit and centering it between the landing gears straddling the pit. Once the aircraft was positioned over the pit, the cradle and bomb were raised up into the bomb bay using the hydraulic lift. A shackle was then attached to the lug on the bomb and sway braces were installed to keep the bomb firmly mounted.

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