Tag Archives: Atomic Snapshot

Atomic Snapshots: Atomic Bomb Loading Pits

Wendover Airfield Loading Pits
Wendover Airfield Loading Pits
Wendover Airfield Loading Pits

Out on a far section of Wendover Airfield, you’ll find what remains of the loading pits for the Silverplate B-29 Superfortress bombers. The size of the atomic bombs were such that they couldn’t be loaded in a traditional manner into the bombers because of their height. As such, the training bombs at Wendover (called pumpkin bombs which were the same dimensions and weight) were lowered into the pits. The bombers were then maneuvered over the pit, and the bomb was raised on a hydraulic jack into the bomber.

The full access tour at Historic Wendover Airbase (usually offered twice each year) takes visitors out to the bomb pits to see what remains. These same pits were replicated on Tinian for deployment during World War II and the culmination of the Manhattan Project.

Below is a video (no sound, courtesy the Atomic Heritage Foundation) showing the atomic bomb loading pits on Tinian along with the loading of Little Boy into Enola Gay and Fat Man into Bockscar.

Loading Little Boy and Fat Man into the Silverplate B-29s from the loading pits on Tinian. Courtesy of the Atomic Heritage Foundation.

Atomic Snapshot: Weldon Spring

Weldon Springs Interpretive Site
Weldon Springs Interpretive Site

About 30 miles west of St. Louis, Missouri, is the Weldon Spring Site and Interpretive Center operated by the Office of Legacy Management of the U.S. Department of Energy.

TNT in St. Charles County
Weldon Spring Site display

The U.S. government acquired 17,232 acres of rural land, displacing 576 residents and three towns to establish the Weldon Spring Ordnance Works supporting World War II efforts for manufacturing TNT and DNT. From 1956 – 1967, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission constructed the Weldon Spring Uranium Feed Materials Plant to convert uranium ore concentrates to pure uranium oxides and compounds. Obviously, by 1987, with production ceasing, the DOE was left with a massive Superfund cleanup site.

Weldon Spring disposal cell stairway
Weldon Spring panoramic view
Weldon Spring Disposal Cell

The outstanding feature of the Weldon Spring Site is the 41 acre, 75 foot tall engineered disposal cell structure designed to contain the site’s waste. Now a public park with walking trails, bird watching, mountain biking, and native, restored prairie, the disposal cell stairway takes you to the top of the mound with a panoramic view of the area with historical markers.