The last B-29 in squadron use retired from service in September 1960. On this day in 1945, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped atomic bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima, Japan. The name of the bomber itself was chosen by its pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets, who named it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets (18931983), who had been named. The B-29 saw military service again in Korea between 19, battling new adversaries: jet fighters and electronic weapons. Shortly thereafter, Japan surrendered.Īfter the war, B-29s were adapted for several functions, including in-flight refueling, antisubmarine patrol, weather reconnaissance and rescue duty. Three days later a second B-29, Bockscar, dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. 6, 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. As many as 1,000 Superfortresses at a time bombed Tokyo, destroying large parts of the city. Production ended in 1946.ī-29s were primarily used in the Pacific theater during World War II. built 668 of the giant bombers in Georgia, and the Glenn L. The earliest B-29s were built before testing was finished, so the Army established modification centers where last-minute changes could be made without slowing expanding assembly lines.īoeing built a total of 2,766 B-29s at plants in Wichita, Kan., (previously the Stearman Aircraft Co., merged with Boeing in 1934) and in Renton, Wash. The Soviet-built copy of the B-29 was called the Tupolev Tu-4. Modifications led to the B-29D, upgraded to the B-50, and the RB-29 photoreconnaissance aircraft. The B-29 used the high-speed Boeing 117 airfoil, and its larger Fowler flaps added to the wing area as they increased lift. The B-29 was also the world’s heaviest production plane because of increases in range, bomb load and defensive requirements. The tail gunner had a separate pressurized area that could only be entered or left at altitudes that did not require pressurization. Two crew areas, fore and aft, were pressurized and connected by a long tube over the bomb bays, allowing crew members to crawl between them.
One of the most technologically advanced airplanes of World War II, the B-29 had many new features, including guns that could be fired by remote control. Boeing submitted the proposal for the B-29 long-range heavy bomber to the Army in 1940, before the United States entered World War II.