A successful test of the 'Fat Man' took place on Jsouth of Wendover at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico. The base was given the code name 'Kingman' and the assignment to assemble, modify and flight test prototype bombs was named 'Project W-47'.Īs the design progressed, Project W-47 personnel assembled more and more complex versions of the 'Little Boy' and the 'Fat Man' bombs. Wendover's Role in the Manhattan Project, the Development of the Atomic Bomb, and B-29 Trainingīy 1944 development of the atomic bomb was under way as part of the Manhattan Project, and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress was selected to deliver the weapon. Wendover Army Air Base was activated in 1942 as a B-17 and B-24 heavy bomber training base. The crew of B-29 'Enola Gay' at Wendover FieldĬongress appropriated funds for Wendover Field in 1940 for the acquisition of land for bombing and gunnery ranges, and the Army Air Corp started construction of buildings on the site.
