EAA vice president of advocacy and safety Sean Elliott and EAA Aviation Museum programs coordinator Chris Henry will be presenting about Boeing B-29 Superfortress Doc on Thursday, February 20, at 7 p.m. as part of the EAA Aviation Museum Aviation Adventure Speaker Series.
The four-engine B-29, which entered service in 1944, played an enormous role in the United States’ strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific Theater toward the conclusion of World War II and is widely known as the aircraft type that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945 and forced Japan’s surrender.
Chris will speak about the history of the Superfortress, from development to its combat history, and its significance in helping the Allies defeat Japan in World War II.
“A lot of people think of the B-29 as this weapon that came along at the end of the war, ended the war, and that was it. After the B-17 was rolled out in 1935, the U.S. Army Air Corps was already talking to Boeing in 1938 [about a longer-range bomber],” Chris explained. “They identified that the B-17 was going to work out in Europe, but it might not have the range to hit targets it would need to hit if a war broke out in the Pacific. Boeing, on their own dime, started investigating a ‘superbomber.’”
Boeing’s “superbomber” prototype was known as the XB-29, and after the Army Air Corps reviewed its design, along with competing proposals submitted by Consolidated Aircraft, Douglas, and Lockheed, an order was put in for B-29 production models in 1941. The XB-29 prototype first flew in 1942. Manufacturing the B-29 proved to be a challenging process and the aircraft experienced many mechanical problems, specifically with its engines. The Superfortress would eventually enter service in 1944 and proved valuable for bombing strategic targets throughout the Pacific Theater, led an incendiary bombing raid of Tokyo in 1945, and would carry the atomic bomb later that year.
Meanwhile, Sean, who is type-rated in numerous warbirds, including the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, will talk about flying the B-29, which he’s had the opportunity to do in recently restored Doc, based out of Wichita, Kansas. Sean initially started flying Doc in 2017 just after it was restored to flying status and has accumulated around 30 hours in it over the past couple years.
“During Chris’ history thread, I’d like to carefully insert some key attributes of what it’s like to fly the airplane,” Sean said. “Early on, I’ll talk about my experiences transitioning from my favorite old sweater, the B-17, to the B-29. Back in the day, for a young airman, the B-29 was a very high-tech, sophisticated airplane and there are differences. I want to talk about what those differences are and what it’s like to learn and what it’s like to fly. It’s not a B-17, but yet there are a lot of similarities to a B-17. I want to relate that element of what these guys went through in 1944 and 1945. They had come from B-17s and they knew B-17s well and they had to transition to this brand-new, high-tech, monstrous airplane called the B-29.”
As a pilot of one of the world’s two remaining airworthy B-29s, with the other being the Commemorative Air Force’s FIFI, Sean said it has been an honor to be involved with Doc.
“It’s a tremendous privilege and an honor to represent the legacy of the greatest generation and what that airplane means to this country. To be able to fly it and share it with people all over the country? It’s a massive privilege and honor. You never lose sight of that. You’re always in awe to fly this iconic airplane. It’s the airplane that literally ended the war. There are no words that can describe what an immense privilege it is.”
Thursday’s event is free for EAA members and just $5 for nonmembers.