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Historic World’s First Atomic Bombing Unit USAAF 509th Composite Group A-2 Flight Jacket Identified to Lieutenant Colonel Walter M. Staub Present at Operation Crossroads - This identified USAAF A-2 jacket was worn by Lieutenant Colonel Walter Mitchell Staub (1922-1999) who had a front row seat to the dawning of the atomic age. Staub was a pilot and meteorologist for the USAAF/ USAF. He served four years in World War II, two years in the Korean War and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1963. He was assigned to the 509th Composite Group, the world’s first atomic bombing unit. The 509th was created during World War II specifically for the operational deployment of nuclear weapons. This is the unit responsible for the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.
After the war the 509th returned to the United States, headquartered at Roswell Army Airfield, New Mexico. This is the same airfield where in 1947 gained international headlines
for the announcement and later retraction of a recovered alien spacecraft, an incident that continues to ignite a spirited debate. When the Strategic Air Command was formed
in March 1946, the 509th was one of the ten original bombardment groups. Also in 1946, the 509th was assigned to Operation Crossroads, the first major nuclear weapon tests
conducted by the United States since Trinity at the Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. These tests were designed to determine the effect nuclear weapons had on naval warships.
As a meteorologist, Staub was assigned to monitor weather conditions; finding the
perfect day for a nuclear test. The Manhattan Project may have resulted in the ultimate doomsday device, but the weather was still the weather. Weather determined if a
mission was a go or no go, and that still rang true during Operation Crossroads. Perhaps a period newspaper which lists than Lt. Staub as one of the meteorologists assigned
to the nuclear tests summarized the importance of weather to Operation Crossroads best: “Weather is the multi-million dollar gamble in Operations Crossroads but every possible means except the old fashioned almanac will be used to select the day on which the atomic bomb will be dropped on a fleet of more than 60 ships in Bikini
atoll. There is a possibility that July’s stormy weather could cancel out all the months of planning and preparation by the joint Army and Navy task force for meteorologists
are gambling on having one ‘perfect’ day in the first 20 days of the month when all conditions will be decisive factors in the success of the experiment.” Bikini’s
remoteness and protected anchorage offered a suitable location for atomic weapons testing, but the weather was far from ideal. Staub and his colleagues were essential
to the success of the tests as they constantly monitored weather conditions, such as wind patterns to avoid blow back of radioactive material. Staub’s A-2 jacket is a size
38, was manufactured by J.A. Dubow Mfg. Co. and has a Talon zipper. Staub’s leather name tag is sewn to the left chest and is handwritten on the lining near the data
label. The left sleeve carries a painted USAAF insignia. The unmistakable and large 509th Composite Group, 58th Bombardment Wing patch is sewn to the left chest
under Staub’s leather name tag. Includes a copy of Staub’s World War II registration card, obituary, and several other related primary sources (copies) which provide
details to Staub’s military career.
CONDITION: Very good with overall wear especially to the cuffs and waist band.
Overall stitching to the 509th patch remains tight. This is a rare identified A-2 flight jacket for the famed 509th Composite Group that is worthy of the finest
collection. Lieutenant Colonel Walter M. Staub, the man who wore this jacket, saw the beginning of the atomic age. Its historical significance cannot be overstated.
Estimate: 10,000 - 16,000