I am an ex B-29 Tail Gunner:
Early one morning we were preflighting our Boeing B-29 "before Day light" and in the distance we saw a white flash occur on the horizon. It was so bright every thing looked as though it was made of chalk. Our first thought was someone had (bought the farm) since it was my squadron taking off. Of course we all were concered as to who could it be that was so unlucky. We immediately started engines and took off on the same runway as the bright flash seemed to be . But no airplane was lost that day. I wonder what the bright flash could have been. In August 1945 we found out...rf





The Boeing B-29 was designed in 1940 as an eventual replacement for the B-17 and B-24. The first one built made its maiden flight on September 21, 1942. In December 1943 it was decided not to use the B-29 in the European Theater, thereby permitting the airplane to be sent to the Pacific area where its great range made it particularly suited for the long over-water flight required to attack the Japanese homeland from bases in China. During the last two months of 1944, B-29s began operating against Japan from the islands of Saipan, Guam and Tinian.
With the advent of the conflict in Korea in June 1950, the B-29 was once again thrust into battle. For the next several years it was effectively used for attacking targets in North Korea.
The B-29 on display, named "Bockscar," was flown to the U.S. Air Force Museum on September 26, 1961. It is the airplane from which the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
SPECIFICATIONS Span: 141 ft. 3 in. Length: 99 ft. 0 in. Height: 27 ft. 9 in. Weight: 133,500 lbs. max. Armament: Eight or ten .50-cal. machine guns in remote controlled turrets plus two .50-cal. machine guns and one 20mm cannon in tail; 20,000 lbs. of bombs Engines: Four Wright R-3350s of 2,200 hp. ea. Cost: $639,000 Serial Number: 44-27297
PERFORMANCE Maximum speed: 357 mph. Cruising speed: 220 mph. Range: 3,700 miles Service Ceiling: 33,600 ft.