509th Operations Group The 509th Operations Group ( 509 OG ) is the flying component of the United States Air Force 509th Bomb Wing ( 509 BW ) , assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base , Missouri . It is equipped with all 20 of the USAF ' s B - 2 Spirit stealth bombers . Its 394th CTS also uses T - 38 Talon trainers . The 509 OG traces its history to the World War II 509th Composite Group ( 509 CG ) , which conducted the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , Japan , in August 1945 . Redesignated the 509th Bombardment Group , Very Heavy in 1946 , the group was one of the original ten bombardment groups of Strategic Air Command . The unit was also the host organization at Roswell Army Airfield , New Mexico in July 1947 during the alleged Roswell UFO Incident . The 509th Bombardment Group was inactivated in 1952 . In 1993 , the unit was reactivated as the 509 OG , as part of the Objective Wing organization implementation of the 509th Bomb Wing . Units . The 509th OG consists of four component squadrons : Insignia . In addition to its official insignia , during B - 2 stealth bomber test flights , some members of the 509th Bomb Wing procured an unofficial insignia involving an alien , the legend " To Serve Man " ( referring to a famous Twilight Zone episode ) , and the inscription " Gustatus Similis Pullus " ( Dog Latin for " Tastes Like Chicken " ) . A second variation carried the term " Classified Test Flight " instead of the " Twilight Zone " reference , and both harkened to the 509th ' s connection to the " Roswell UFO incident " . History . World War II . The historical roots of the 509th OG begin on 17 December 1944 when the 509th Composite Group was formed at Wendover Field , Utah under Second Air Force . The 509th was formed with one mission in mind : to drop the Atomic Bomb . The group deployed to the Western Pacific in May 1945 and was assigned to the Twentieth Air Force 313th Bombardment Wing , stationed at North Field , Tinian , in the Mariana Islands . Operations of the group , however , were controlled by Headquarters , USAAF with the 313th Bomb Wing providing logistical support . The 509th CG made history on 6 August 1945 , when the B - 29 Superfortress " Enola Gay , " piloted by Colonel Paul W . Tibbets , Jr . , dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima , Japan . The B - 29 " Bockscar , " piloted by Major Charles Sweeney visited the Japanese mainland on 9 August 1945 and dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki . Cold War . In November 1945 , the group returned to the United States and was assigned to Roswell Army Air Base , New Mexico . For a brief period of time from January to March 1946 the 509th was assigned to the 58th Bomb Wing at Fort Worth AAF , Texas , before returning to Roswell . The Group was assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946 , being one of the first eleven organizations assigned to SAC . At the time SAC was formed , the 509th Composite Group was the only unit to have experience with nuclear weapons and thus is regarded by many historians as the foundation on which SAC was built . In April 1946 many of the group ' s aircraft deployed to Kwajalein as part of Operation Crossroads , a series of atomic bomb tests . The remainder became the core of two new squadrons activated as part of the group , the 715th Bomb Squadron and the 830th Bomb Squadron . On 10 July 1946 , the group was renamed the 509th Bombardment Group ( Very Heavy ) and the 320th TCS was disbanded . With the creation of the United States Air Force as a separate service , the group became the combat component of the 509th Bomb Wing on 17 November 1947 , although it was not operational until 14 September 1948 , when Col . John D . Ryan was named commander . As a result of postwar reductions only the 509th was equipped for the delivery of atomic bombs . The group was redesignated as a medium bomb group in 1948 as part of the Strategic Air Command , and acquired an aerial refueling mission with the assignment of KB - 29 s . Its 27 operational Silverplate B - 29s ( the 309th had ultimately received 53 of the 65 produced ) were transferred in 1949 to the 97th Bomb Wing at Biggs Air Force Base , El Paso , Texas , when the group converted to B - 50D Superfortress es . The B - 50D was the last derivative of the B - 29 family and designed specifically for the atomic bombing mission . It was one of the last piston - engined bombers built , having a top speed just short of 400 mph ( 644 km / h ) , faster than many World War II - era propeller - powered fighters still in service at the time . During the Korean War , the 509th remained in the United States as President Harry S . Truman wasn ' t willing to risk extensive use of the USAF strategic bomber force , which was being used as a deterrent for possible Soviet aggression in Europe . Its squadrons were removed on 1 February 1951 , and assigned directly to the wing , effectively ending its operations . The 509th was inactivated on 16 June 1952 as part of a SAC ( and later Air Force - wide ) phase - out of groups with the adoption of the Tri - Deputate organization . Modern era . The 509th Bomb Group was redesignated as the 509th Operations Group and activated on 12 March 1993 as part of the 509th Bomb Wing ' s reorganization under the USAF Objective Wing plan . All flying squadrons , as well as an Operational Support Squadron ( OSS ) were assigned to the 509th OG . The first B - 2 Spirit stealth bomber arrived and was assigned to the 509th on 17 December 1993 ( the date was the 49th anniversary of the activation of the 509th Composite Group and the 90th of the Wright brothers ' flight ) . On 17 September 1996 , three 509th B - 2s dropped three inert GBU - 36 weapons , the highly accurate Global Positioning System - Aided Munitions ( GAM ) which used the GPS - Aided Targeting System ( GATS ) . The B - 2s made the drops at the Nellis AFB , Nevada , bombing range . Range officials , inspecting the area after the releases , were astonished to find that the GBU - 36s had fallen seven , four , and four feet , respectively , from the target . A month later , the 509th repeated this impressive feat — only this time , they used live weapons . On 8 October 1996 , three B - 2s revisited the Nellis range and released 16 2 , 000 lb . class GBU - 36 bombs from an altitude of 40 , 000 feet . Again , amazed range personnel discovered all sixteen projectiles hit close enough to their targets to be confirmed as 16 kills . The results so impressed USAF Chief of Staff General Ronald Fogleman that he announced at a mid - December press conference the 509th and the B - 2 would reach limited ( conventional ) operational capability on 1 January 1997 . Operation Allied Force . The B - 2 first saw combat 23 March 1999 , during NATO operations in Serbia and Kosovo , the first sustained offensive combat air offensive conducted solely from U . S . soil . Over a period of two months , the 509th generated 49 B - 2 sorties flown roundtrip from Missouri to targets in Southeastern Europe . Although the B - 2s accounted for only 1 percent of all NATO sorties , the aircraft ' s all - weather , precision capability allowed it to deliver 11 percent of the munitions used in the air campaign . The missions lasted an average of 29 hours , demonstrating the global reach of the B - 2 . On the night of 7 – 8 May 1999 , during the Kosovo War B - 2s flying out of Whiteman attacked the Belgrade embassy of the People ' s Republic of China , killing three and causing heavy damage . Although a strike was authorized against a target called ' Belgrade Warehouse 1 ' , the CIA - provided coordinates pinpointed the embassy ' s location . Neither the aircrew nor the US Air Force were found to have any responsibility for the affair . Operation Enduring Freedom . Following the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington , D . C . on 11 September 2001 , the 509th quickly transitioned to a wartime mode by joining forces with the 314th Airlift Wing , Little Rock AFB , Arkansas , and the Missouri Air National Guard ' s 139th Airlift Wing , St . Joseph , Missouri , to send Missouri Task Force - 1 to assist rescue efforts at the World Trade Center . In October 2001 , the B - 2 led America ' s strike force in Afghanistan , hitting the first targets in the country to " kick down the door " for the air campaign which followed . The bombers again flew from Missouri to their targets before landing at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to exchange crews while the engines continued to run . The combat missions lasted more than 40 hours , with the aircraft operating continuously for more than 70 hours without incident before returning to Whiteman . After twice proving its ability to fly combat missions from Missouri , the wing stepped up efforts to deploy the B - 2 from forward locations . By late 2002 , the Air Force had completed special shelters for the aircraft at Diego Garcia . The shelters provided a controlled climate similar to the facilities at Whiteman for specialized work on the aircraft skin in order to maintain its stealth characteristics . This ability to sustain operations from a forward location added a new dimension of flexibility to potential air campaigns . Operation Iraqi Freedom . The new shelters were put to use when the B - 2 bombers again led a coalition air strike against the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein , on 21 March 2003 . The famous " shock and awe " campaign saw unprecedented use of precision - guided munitions by the B - 2 in an effort to minimize collateral damage and destroy key targets . The campaign also marked another milestone for the 509th , as B - 2s flew combat missions from both Whiteman and a forward deployed location simultaneously . Only a decade after delivery , the B - 2 was now a proven weapons system , a veteran of three campaigns and first - ever forward deployment . In recognition of the maturity of the system and the unit , the Air Force declared the B - 2 fully operational capable . Since 2003 , the B - 2 ' s forward presence has become a reality and proved the aircraft can deliver combat airpower , any time and any place . The deployment to Guam , which began in February 2005 , provided a continuous bomber presence in the Asia Pacific region and augmented Pacific Command ' s establishment of a deterrent force . The 80 - day tour , the longest in the bomber ' s 13 - year history , also marked the first B - 2 deployment since the aircraft was declared fully operational .