Surviving Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bombers

Surviving B-29 Aircraft in the United States

As part of the World War II military buildup, 3,970 B-29s were built during production at four assembly plants across the United States.

The Superfortresses were built by Boeing at its Renton, Washington, and its Wichita, Kansas plants. Others were built by Bell Aircraft in Marietta and by the Glenn Martin Company in Omaha.

After World War II, many of the existing B-29 aircraft were sent for storage, and ultimately scrapping at aircraft storage and disposal facilities around the U.S. The remaining B-29s helped build the initial bomber inventory of the Strategic Air Command when it was formed in March of 1946. Many served during the Korean War and as aerial tankers during the 1950s.

Only 22 complete B-29 airframes are currently restored in the United States. Two of these are airworthy. We've had the privilege of seeing, and photographing, 17 of these during the last two years.

List of Complete Surviving B-29 Airframes In the U.S.

The twenty-two (22) B-29 aircraft listed below are on display in the United States and accessible to the public except where noted.

S/N	Name	Photo	Location	Status	City	ST
44-70016	Sentimental Journey		Pima Air and Space Museum, located next to Davis-Monthan AFB	Static Display	Tucson	AZ
44-61535	Raz'n Hell		Castle Air Museum next to the site of the former Castle AFB	Static Display	Atwater	CA
44-61669	Three Feathers / 4MARDIV		March Field Air Museum March ARB	Static Display	Riverside	CA
42-65281	Miss America 62		Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum at Travis Air Force Base No public access - check with the base	Static Display	Fairfield	CA
44-62022	Peachy		Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum	Static Display	Pueblo	CO
44-61975	Jack's Hack		New England Air Museum Bradley International Airport	Static Display	Windsor Locks	CT
42-93967	City of Lansford		Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park	Static Display	Cordele	GA
44-70113	Sweet Eloise		Dobbins Air Reserve Base Cobb Parkway Gatekeeper	Static Display	Marietta	GA
44-84053	Big Red		Museum of Aviation Robins AFB	Static Display	Warner Robins	GA
44-69972	Doc		Eisenhower National Airport	Airworthy	Wichita	KS
44-87627	Unnamed		Global Power Museum Barksdale AFB	Static Display	Bossier City	LA
44-61671	The Great Artiste		Whiteman AFB Spirit Gatekeeper No public access - check with the base	Static Display	Knob Noster	MO
44-84076	Lucky Lady		Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum	Static Display	Ashland	NE
45-21748	Unnamed		National Museum of Nuclear History	Static Display	Albuquerque	NM
44-27297	Bockscar		National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB	Static Display	Dayton	OH
44-27343	Tinker's Heritage		Charles B. Hall Airpark Tinker Air Force Base	Static Display	Oklahoma City	OK
44-87779	Legal Eagle II		South Dakota Air and Space Museum Ellsworth AFB	Static Display	Rapid City	SD
44-62070	FiFi		Vintage Flying Museum at Meacham Field	Airworthy	Fort Worth	TX
44-62220	Joltin' Josie		USAF History & Traditions Museum Lackland AFB No public access - check with the base	Static Display	San Antonio	TX
44-86408	Straight Flush		Hill Aerospace Museum Hill AFB	Static Display	Ogden	UT
44-86292	Enola Gay		Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center	Static Display	Dulles Airport	VA
44-69729	T-Square 54		Museum of Flight's Aviation Pavilion	Static Display	Seattle	WA

Other Surviving B-29s

Another surviving B-29A is on display at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, UK. It's Hawg Wild, S/N 44-61748, is located indoors at the American Air Museum, part of the Imperial War Museum.

Also B-29 S/N 45-21739 is on static display at the KAI Aerospace Museum in Sacheon, South Korea.

Two other airframes are dismantled and in storage: 44-70049 at the Fantasy of Flight Museum in California, and 45-21787 at the Fantasy of Flight Museum in Polk City, Florida.

At Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska is the sunken remains of B-29 S/N 44-62214, known as the "Lady of the Lake". Read more at the Eielson AFB website

A Tupelov Tu-4, a copy of the B-29, is on static display at the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy near Moscow in Russia. It was reversed-engineered from three early model B-29s.

Map of Surviving B-29 Superfortress Aircraft

click for a larger, interactive map

Shown to the right is a map of the surviving B-29 Superfortress airframes in the United States.

Click on the map for a larger, interactive version.

The First Surviving B-29 to Achieve Flight Status: FiFi

One B-29 that continues to fly is "FiFi", maintained and operated by the B-29/B-24 Wing of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF).

The CAF had located the plane in 1971 at China Lake, and after long discussions with the Air Force and Navy, led by Dallas businessman and WWII Army Air Force veteran Vic N. Agather, the plane was rescued from the scrap yard. Ownership passed to the CAF on March 23, 1971.

about FiFi on this website

Doc: A Second B-29 Returns to Flight Status

Work has also been underway for several years to return a second B-29 to flying status.

The Superfortress known as "Doc" Serial Number 44-69972 has had extensive restoration done on it by volunteers at the Boeing plant in Wichita, Kansas where it was originally built in 1944.

"Doc" was one of a squadron of eight planes named as one of the dwarfs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story.

B-29 Superfortress "Doc" at McConnell AFB Open House Photo by the U.S. Air Force

After the Korean War, it was flown to China Lake, California, for use as a bombing target. It became part of the United States Aviation Museum, Inyokern, CA, from 1998 - 2000.

It was later disassembled and moved by truck in March 2007 to the Kansas Aviation Museum for restoration.

In March of 2013, it was announced that a new non-profit group, Doc’s Friends, has taken ownership of the airplane and will support the effort to refurbish the vintage airplane. The airplane was then moved from a storage hangar to active hangar space donated by Boeing where volunteers resumed restoration work.

Doc received its airworthiness certificate in the spring of 2016, and made its successful return to flight on July 17, 2016, in Wichita, Kansas.

about Doc on this website

 

Partial List of B-29s Saved from the Aberdeen Proving Ground

Many of the B-29 Superfortresses restored and on display today were saved from China Lake, California and the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, two of the final storage locations for Superfortresses. Many in storage were destined for target practice. Among those rescued from Aberdeen:

• B-29A-55-BN "Jack's Hack", S/N 44-61975, now on display at the New England Air Museum
• B-29 "Big Red" S/N 44-84053 moved in 1983 to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia (formerly known as "Bonnie Lee")
• B-29 "Tinker's Heritage", S/N 44-27343 on display at the Charles B. Hall Airpark at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma City
• B-29A-40-BN "The Great Artiste", S/N 44-61671, gatekeeper at Whiteman AFB, Missouri
• B-29-80-BW "Sweet Eloise", S/N 44-70113, on display at the main gate of Dobbins ARB, Georgia
• B-29 S/N 44-87627 at the Global Power Museum at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana

B-29 Superfortress "Kee Bird" in flight Photo by the U.S. Air Force

B-29 Kee Bird: A Survivor from 1947 until 1995

Kee Bird was a USAAF B-29-95-BW Superfortress, S/N 45-21768, of the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron. During a secret Cold War spying mission over the north pole, the plane made an emergency landing in northwest Greenland on February 21, 1947. The crew survived the crash and were later rescued.

The B-29 was left abandoned and untouched until 1994 when a privately funded recovery mission began to restore the plane to flying status. Engines and tires were replaced, and the plane successfully taxied for takeoff on May 21, 1995. However, a fire erupted and engulfed the fuselage in flames. The project, nearly a success, was ended.

The remains of Kee Bird were left on the ice shelf, eventually to sink to the bottom of the lake. The story of the project was later told on NOVA in the 1997 episode "B-29 Frozen in Time".

B-29 Superfortress "Kee Bird"

 

The B-29 in Lake Mead

A RB-29A Superfortress, S/N 45-21847, crashed into Lake Mead in Nevada on July 21, 1948, while on a high-altitude atmospheric research flight. The crew of five survived the crash, but the plane was lost in the depths of the lake.

The remains of the plane were discovered by divers in August of 2002. In June 2003, archeologists from the National Park Service Submerged Resources Center mapped and documented the wreck for management and educational purposes. The B-29 remains at the bottom of the lake today.

 

B-29 Survivors in the U.S. - Photos by the Airlines-Online Reporters

B-29 Superfortress "Bockscar" S/N 44-27297 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio The atomic bomb "Fat Man" was dropped by Bockscar on Nagasaki, Japan in August of 1945 click for more photos of Bockscar

B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay" S/N 44-86292 at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington, D.C. The atomic bomb "Little Boy" was dropped by the Enola Gay on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945 click for more photos of the Enola Gay

B-29 Superfortress "Sentimental Journey" S/N 44-70016 at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona click for more photos of Sentimental Journey

B-29 Superfortress "Three Feathers", S/N 44-61669, at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, CA click for more photos of Three Feathers

Left front fuselage view of the B-29TB Superfortress "Lucky Lady", S/N 44-84076, restored and on display at the Strategic Air Command and Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska click for more photos of Lucky Lady

B-29A Superfortress "Jack's Hack" S/N 44-61975 at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT click for more photos of Jack's Hack

B-29A Superfortress "Raz'n Hell" at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California Composite aircraft built from three airframes: B-29-75-BW 44-70064 ; B-29A-35-BN 44-61535 (the original Raz'n Hell); and B-29-50-BA 44-84084. displayed as S/N 44-61535 click for more photos of Raz'n Hell

B-29 Superfortress S/N 45-21748 at the National Museum of Nuclear History in Albuquerque, New Mexico click for more photos

B-29 Superfortress "Tinker's Heritage" S/N 427343 at the Charles B. Hall Airpark at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma click for more photos of Tinker's Heritage

Boeing B-29 Superfortress S/N 487627, Buzz Number BF-627, at the Global Power Museum click for more photos of B-29 Superfortress 44-87627

B-29 Superfortress "Straight Flush" S/N 44-86408 at the Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden, Utah click for more photos of Straight Flush

B-29 Superfortress "Peachy" S/N 44-62022 at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Colorado click for more photos of Peachy

B-29 Superfortress "Legal Eagle II", S/N 484112, Buzz Number BF-112 South Dakota Air & Space Museum, Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota click for more photos of Legal Eagle II

B-29 Superfortress, S/N 44-84053, "Big Red", at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, Warner-Robins, Georgia click for more photos of Big Red

Boeing B-29 Superfortress "T-Square 54" at the Museum of Flight in Seattle click for more about T-Square 54

 

B-29 Survivors Outside the U.S.

B-29 S/N 45-21739 B-29 S/N 45-21739 is on static display at the KAI Aerospace Museum in Sacheon, South Korea.

B-29 S/N 45-21739 This B-29A is on display at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, UK. It's Hawg Wild, S/N 44-61748, is located indoors at the American Air Museum, part of the Imperial War Museum.

B-29 S/N 44-62214 At Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska is the sunken remains of B-29 S/N 44-62214, known as the "Lady of the Lake". Read more at the Eielson AFB website

A B-29 Copy: Tu-4 A Tupelov Tu-4, a copy of the B-29, is on static display at the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy near Moscow in Russia. It was reversed-engineered from three early model B-29s.

 

YouTube Video of Surviving B-29 Superfortress Bombers in the U.S. Today

More about the B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Development and Production	B-29 in WWII & Korea	B-29 Variants	B-29 Survivors	B-29 FiFi	B-29 Photos