From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
B-29 Superfotress |
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. The name “Superfortress” was derived from its well-known predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress.
The B-29 (Boeing 341/345) was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II. Unlike many other bombers, the B-29 remained in service long after the war ended. By the time it was retired in the 1960s, some 3,900 planes had been built. Currently 25 confirmed B-29s are preserved at various museums worldwide.
Airworthy aircraft
- B-29A-60-BN 44-62070 Fifi (N529B)
Belonging to the Commemorative Air Force is the only airworthy B-29 in the world at present. (NB: Fifi has been grounded since 2006 because of problems with all four engines. It is not known when – or if – she will return to flight status.)
Exhibited aircraft
A number of B-29s which were used operationally in the Second World War and Korean War survive in museums in the United States:
- B-29-35-MO 44-27297 Bockscar
B-29-35-MO 44-27297 “Bockscar” |
A “Silverplate” (A-Bomb Carrier) conversion. 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group. On 9 August 1945 dropped the “Fat Man” Plutonium Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Stored for many years and now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
- B-29-60-BN 44-62022 Peachy
The Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum’s B-29A Peachy is named in honor of all the crews who fought in the Pacific Theater. A B-29 by that name was piloted by a native of Pueblo, Lt. Robert T. Haver, who gave it his pet name for a younger sister. The original Peachy flew 35 combat missions into enemy territory from Tinian Island, central Pacific chain of the Mariana’s. This aircraft was donated to the museum in 1976 by the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake CA; and in 2005 it was moved indoors.
- B-29-60-BW 44-69729 T-Square-54
No. 54 was assigned to the 875th Bomb Squadron, 498th Bomb Group, 73rd Bomb Wing and completed thirty-seven bombing missions. Converted to KB-29 (aerial refueling tanker) in June 1949. In 1986 it was extracted out of the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and transported to Lowry AFB’s Lowry Heritage Museum (LHM); now Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. It went through its inital level of restoration in 1987 with LHM’s volunteers and was readied for its rebirth and rededication of Lowry AFB’s 50th anniversary, 2 October 1987. It was restored to its 1944 markings with the “T Square 54” on its vertical stabilizer. In 1995 the USAF Museum transferred T-Sq-54 to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. After another level of restoration and change in its markings, it was displayed again 1996.
- B-29-70-BW 44-69972 Doc
A Korean War veteran which has been used as a radar trainer and ballistic missile target. The airframe was acquired by the United States Aviation Museum for restoration to flight status. After a great deal of work at the Boeing plant in Wichita, Kansas where it was originally built, the aircraft was moved in March 2007 to the Kansas Aviation Museum.
- B-29-75-BW 44-70016 Sentimental Journey
Originally flew with the 330th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force from Guam, now displayed at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
- B-29-80-BW 44-70113
Flew with the 73rd Bomb Wing 20th Air Force. Decommissioned in 1956 and stored until the Marietta B29 Association sponsored restoration in 1994. Now on display at Dobbins AFB, Georgia.
- B-29-45-MO 44-86292 Enola Gay
B-29-45-MO 44-86292 Enola Gay |
A “Silverplate” (A-Bomb Carrier) conversion. 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group. On 6 August 1945 dropped “Little Boy” Uranium Atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. For many years was in storage at Paul Garber facility at National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. recently re-assembled after lengthy restoration and displayed at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport.
- B-29-55-MO 44-86408 Haggerty’s Hag
Delivered to USAAF the day the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima, Japan. Later used to collect radioactive samples during postwar atomic tests, now on display at Hill Air Force Base Museum, Utah.
- P2B-1S BuNo 84029
Formerly B-29-95-BW 45-21787 “Fertile Myrtle” which carried the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket research aircraft was donated to an aviation museum in Oakland, California in 1984. It was sold to the Kermit Weeks Fantasy of Flight Museum, Miami, Florida, and is on the US Civil register as N29KW. There may be an attempt to restore this plane to flying condition, using as parts some airframes acquired from the US Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California.
Other displayed aircraft
| Model | S/N | History | Markings | Display Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B-29-70BW | 44-69972 | ex-TB-29 ex-ADC 4713th REF -1st RCS ex-ADC 4750th Tow Target squadron N69972 |
Doc | Boeing Aircraft Company Wichita, Kansas |
| B-29-75BW | 44-70064 | Composite airframe | Razi’n Hell | Castle AFB, Atwater, California |
| B-29-80BW | 44-87627 | ex-TB-29 | BF-627 | 8th Air Force Museum, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana |
| B-29-90BW | 44-87779 | ex-KB-29B 6th BG / 20th AF |
Circle-R Legal Eagle II |
South Dakota Air and Space Museum Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South Dakota |
| B-29-90BW | 45-21739 | Korean Aerospace Industry Aerospace Museum Sacheon AFB, Korea |
||
| B-29-97BW | 45-21748 | Duke Of Albuquerque | National Atomic Museum, New Mexico | |
| B-29-25MO | 42-65281 | ex-WB-29 6th BG / 20th AF |
Circle P Miss America 62 |
Travis AFB, California |
| B-29-40MO | 44-27343 | ex-F-13A ex-513RWS ex-57 SRW |
Tinker’s Heritage | Tinker AFB, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| B-29-55MO | 44-86402 | YKB-29J | Aircraft Industries Museum, Louisville, Kentucky | |
| B-29A-15BN | 42-93967 | ex-F-13A 19th BG, 5th AF (Korea) |
City of Lansford | Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park Cordelle, Georgia |
| B-29A-35BN | 44-61535 | Composite airframe | Raz’n Hell | Castle AFB California |
| B-29A-40BN | 44-61669 | 500th BG, 20th AF 11 combat missions N3299F |
Z 49 Flagship 500 |
March AFB, Riverside, California |
| B-29A-40BN | 44-61671 | replica of 509th CG Silverplate bomber | 89 The Great Artiste |
Whitman AFB Knob Noster, Missouri |
| B-29A-45BN | 44-61739 | Robins AFB, Georgia | ||
| B-29A-45BN | 44-61748 | ex-TB-29A 501st BG / 20th AF G-BHDK |
Diamond-Y Its Hawg Wild |
The American Air Museum Imperial War Museum Duxford, England |
| B-29A-55BN | 44-61975 | 468th BG / 20th AF | Triangle-I 55 Jack’s Hack |
New England Air Museum Windsor Locks, Connecticut |
| B-29A-65BN | 44-62139 | 19th BG / 5th AF (Korea) | Command Decision | USAFM Dayton, Ohio |
| B-29A-70BN | 44-62220 | 498th BG / 20th AF | T-Square-5 Joltin Josie |
USAF History & Traditions Museum Lackland AFB, San Antonio Texas |
| B-29B-55BA | 44-84053 | Big Red | Museum Of Aviation, Robins AFB Georgia |
|
| B-29B-60BA | 44-84076 | ex-2nd AF ex-SAC 97th BG ex-SAC 28th BG |
076 Man O War |
Strategic Air And Space Museum Omaha, Nebraska |
References
- Bowers, Peter M. (1999). Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Stillwater, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 0-933424-79-5.
- Deakin, John (2002-06-24). “Superfortress!“. Pelican’s Perch (56). Retrieved on 2006-01-15.
- Futrell RF, Greenhalgh WH, Grubb C, Hasselwander GE, Jakob RF, and Ravenstein CA (1976). The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia – Aces and aerial victories, 1965-1973. ISBN 0-8987-5884-X.
- Hess, William N. (1998). Big Bombers of WW II.
- Higham, Robin; Williams, Carol (editors) (1975). Flying combat aircraft of USAAF-USAF (Volume 1). Air Force Historical Foundation.. ISBN 0-8138-0325-X.
- Johnson, Robert E. “Why the Boeing B-29 Bomber, and Why the Wright R-3350 Engine?” American Aviation Historical Society Journal 1988 33(3): 174-189. ISSN 0002-7553
- LeMay, Curtis; Yenne, Bill (1988). Super Fortress. Berkley Books. ISBN 0-425-11880-0.
- Mann, Robert A. (2004). The B-29 Superfortress: A Comprehensive Registry of the Planes and Their Missions. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-1787-0.
- Pace, Steve (2003). Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, United Kingdom: Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-581-6.
- Vander Meulen, Jacob (1995). Building the B-29. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1-56098-609-3). (The economic aspect of the B-29 program)
- Wheeler, Keith (1982). Bombers over Japan. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Time-Life Books. ISBN 0-8094-3429-6.
- “Boeing B-29 Superfortress.” Encyclopedia of American Aircraft. Accessed on October 26, 2004.
- “Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bockscar.National Museum of the United States Air Force. Accessed on May 24, 2007.
External links
- 330th.org, 20th AF, 314th BW, 330th BG history and first-hand accounts
- B-29 “DOC” Restoration Project, the restoration of Doc
- National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian page on Enola Gay
- Preserved Aircraft, status of preserved B-29’s
- Warbirds Resource Group, specifications and photos
- Pelican’s Perch #56:Superfortress!, Article wrote by John Deakin, one of the pilots who regularly fly the world’s only remaining flyable B-29
- WarbirdsRegistry.org B-29/B-50, Listing of surviving B-29’s
- B-29.org, history and first-hand accounts
- New England Air Museum’s B-29 “Jack’s Hack”
- Annotated bibliography on the B-29 from the Alsos Digital Library
- T-Square-54: The Last B-29 website by Tom Mathewson
- Museum of Flight
- China Lake Alumi Website by China Lake Museum Foundation, desert photos of aircraft under web sections: B-29s #1 and B-29s #2.
- US Naval Air Warefare Center Weapons Division
- FAA’s B-29’s