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The 216th Army Air Forces Base Unit (AAF BU) (Special) provided base services at Wendover Army Airfield, where the 509th Composite Group was stationed during World War II. As such, it became involved in the Manhattan Project's program of testing bombs and aircraft under the codename Project W-47. ==History== By early 1944, the role of the United States Army Air Forces had moved away from defense and preparing new units. Some 90 per cent of the planned units had been activated, and three quarters of them had already deployed overseas. The Air Forces therefore shifted to the training of replacement aircrew and special projects like the Boeing B-29 Superfortress program. It was found that the existing system of units with fixed establishments was not sufficiently flexible for the Air Forces new roles, so in February 1944 Army Air Forces Headquarters ordered the units at each installation to be consolidated into Army Air Forces Base Units. The 216th Army Air Forces Base Unit was formed at Wendover Army Airfield in Utah, where it supported the 72d Fighter Wing, a formation responsible for training pilots of P-47 Thunderbolts. The base covered , and was the largest bombing and gunnery range in the world.〔(【引用サイトリンク】accessdate=18 February 2014 )〕 By September 1944, when Lieutenant Colonel Paul Tibbets visited Wendover for the first time, this training program was ending, and there was only one aircraft left. Tibbets had recently been selected to command the 509th Composite Group, although it had not yet been formed, and Wendover was one of three bases offered to him. He was shown around the base by Captain Thomas L. Karnes of the 216th Army Air Forces Base Unit.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=ArmyAirForces.com )〕 Tibbets was particularly impressed by Wendover's remoteness. He noted that the runway was long enough to handle the B-29, and the hangars and maintenance facilities were good. The only drawback in his mind was that the base housing was inadequate. Tibbets selected Wendover without examining the other two sites. Tibbets established his headquarters at Wendover in 8 September, and the 393d Bombardment Squadron followed three days later. The 509th Composite Group was not activated until 17 December. At this point, some 800 personnel were transferred to the new group from the 216th Army Air Forces Base Unit, including Karnes, who became the 509th Composite Group's adjutant. Wendover, codenamed "Kingman", became the Manhattan Project's Site K.〔 A new commander, Colonel Clifford J. Heflin, arrived in January 1945 to assume command of the 216th Army Air Forces Base Unit, and relieve Tibbets of some of his administrative burden. Like Tibbets, Heflin was a veteran pilot, having commanded the 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional) and the 492d Bombardment Group. As part of Operation Carpetbagger, this unit had air dropped agents, weapons and supplies to resistance fighters in German-occupied Europe.〔Dvorak. pp. 14–27〕 The 216th Army Air Forces Base Unit's special activities in support of the Manhattan Project were codenamed Project W-47. These were carried out by two special elements within the unit.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「216th Army Air Forces Base Unit」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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