Martin modified these Superfortresses by removing all gun turrets except for the tail position, removing armor plate, and installing Curtiss electric propellers. Martin Company assembly line to produce a squadron of B-29s codenamed ' Silverplate'. Late in 1944, Army Air Forces leaders selected the Glenn L.
As many as 1,000 Superfortresses at a time bombed Tokyo, destroying large parts of the city. A month later, B-29s flying from Chengdu, China struck Yawata, Japan in the first raid on the Japanese home islands since the Doolittle Raid in 1942.ĭuring the last two months of 1944, B-29s began operating against Japan from the islands of Saipan, Guam and Tinian. Flying from India, B-29s first saw combat on June 5, 1944, when 98 planes struck Bangkok.
The first B-29s arrived at Allied airfields in India and China in April 1944. Army Air Forces leadership committed the Superfortress to Asia, where its great range made it particularly suited for the long over-water flights against the Japanese homeland from bases in China. Designed as a high-altitude daytime bomber, the B-29 flew more low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing missions. In wartime, the B-29 was capable of flight up to 31,850 feet at speeds of 350 mph. A total of only about 22 complete B-29 airframes are currently on display in the United States. Of the 3,970 B-29s built, few have been preserved, restored, and put on static display.
