We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon Part 4, Chapter 25 Summary

Final Assembly

The Pilot

  • Paul Tibbets, a fighter pilot, gets a phone call from his concerned dad because a bunch of feds have been asking questions about him. What'd he do to deserve this kind of treatment?
  • Then he gets summoned to General Ent's office in Colorado. Now Tibbets is pretty confused.
  • Tibbets is interrogated by Army Counter-Intelligence, and then he's brought to meet Dr. Norman Ramsey, a professor of physics, who begins telling him all about atomic energy.
  • Even though they still haven't actually built an atomic bomb, Oppie knows that it will have to be delivered via airplane by a pilot with special training. Hence: Tibbets.
  • Tibbets has to devise a plan for how to safely deliver the still-hypothetical weapon.
  • Tibbets assembles a hand-picked crew to train, and they are known as the 509th Composite Group.