The pumpkin bombs were in length and in maximum diameter. They weighed , consisting of for the shell, for the tail assembly, and of Composition B filler. The shells were made of steel plate and the tail assemblies from aluminum plate. Combat missions Combat missions were flown by the 509th Composite Group on 20, 23, 26 and 29 July and 8 and 14 August 1945, using the bombs against individual targets in Japanese cities. A total of 49 bombs were dropped on 14 targets, one bomb was jettisoned into the ocean, and two were aboard aircraft that aborted their missions. Mission parameters and protocols were similar to those of the actual atomic bomb missions, and all targets were located in the vicinity of the cities designated for atomic attack. The bombs were released at an altitude of and the aircraft then went into the sharp turn required on a nuclear mission. After the war, the Strategic Bombing Survey concluded that the pumpkin bombs were "a reasonably effective weapon against Japanese plants when direct hits were scored on vital areas, or when the near miss was sufficiently close to important buildings to cause severe structural damage." Notes References World War II aerial bombs of the United States History of the Manhattan Project Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Nuclear warfare