In August 1945, North Field launched the two bombers that carried out the first and only wartime use of nuclear weapons in human history. The dropping of atomic bombs "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" on Japan effectively ended the war and spared American troops from a bloody and costly invasion of the Japanese mainland to force the empire's surrender.

Frank Kendall, the US Air Force Secretary, said that the likelihood of war with China in the Pacific was "increasing and will continue to do so."