Editing Boeing B-29 Superfortress (section)

==Operational history==

===World War II===
{{see also|Air raids on Japan}}
[[File:AAF-V-map5t.jpg|thumb|Radius of operations for B-29 bases]]
[[File:Boeing B-29 Superfortress.jpg|thumb|Boeing B-29 Superfortress]]
[[File:16thbg-b-29.jpg|thumb|B-29 of the [[16th Bombardment Group]] during World War II in 1944]]
[[File:Enola Gay2.jpg|thumb|''[[Enola Gay]]'', a [[Silverplate]] version of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress landing after delivering [[Little Boy]] over [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Hiroshima]]]]

In September 1941, the [[United States Army Air Forces]]' (AAF) plans for war against Germany and Japan proposed basing the B-29 in Egypt for operations against Germany, as British airbases were likely to be overcrowded.<ref name="AAFWW2 v1p145-9">Craven and Cate Vol. 1 1983, pp. 145–149.</ref><ref name="AAFWW2 v2p6">Craven and Cate Vol. 2 1983, p. 6.</ref> Air Force planning throughout 1942 and early 1943 continued to have the B-29 deployed initially against Germany, transferring to the Pacific only after the end of the war in Europe. By the end of 1943, plans had changed, partly due to production delays, and the B-29 was dedicated to the Pacific Theater.<ref name="AAFWW v5p11-2">Craven and Cate Vol. 5 1983, pp. 11–12.</ref> A new plan implemented at the direction of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] as a promise to China, called [[Operation Matterhorn]], deployed the B-29 units to attack Japan from four forward bases in [[Guangxi|southern China]], with five main bases in [[India]], and to attack other targets in the region from China and India as needed.<ref name="iapr22 p144-5">Willis 2007, pp. 144–145.</ref> The [[Chengdu]] region was eventually chosen over the [[Guilin]] region to avoid having to raise, equip, and train 50 Chinese divisions to protect the advanced bases from Japanese ground attack.<ref name="AAFWW2 v5p18-22">Craven and Cate Vol. 5 1983, pp. 18–22.</ref> The [[XX Bomber Command]], initially intended to be two combat wings of four groups each, was reduced to a single wing of four groups because of the lack of availability of aircraft, automatically limiting the effectiveness of any attacks from China.

This was an extremely costly scheme, as there was no overland connection available between India and China, and all supplies had to be flown over the [[Himalayas]], either by transport aircraft or by B-29s themselves, with some aircraft being stripped of armor and guns and used to deliver fuel. B-29s started to arrive in India in early April 1944. The first B-29 flight to airfields in China (over the Himalayas, or "[[The Hump]]") took place on 24 April 1944. The [[Bombing of Bangkok in World War II#First B-29 Superfortress combat mission|first B-29 combat mission]] was flown on 5 June 1944, with 77 out of 98 B-29s launched from India bombing the railroad shops in [[Bangkok]] and elsewhere in [[Thailand]]. Five B-29s were lost during the mission, none to hostile fire.<ref name="iapr22 p144-5"/><ref name="Peacock1 p87">Peacock ''Air International'' August 1989, p. 87.</ref>

====Forward base in China====
On 5 June 1944, B-29s raided [[Bombing of Bangkok in World War II|Bangkok]], in what is reported as a test before being deployed against the [[Japanese home islands]]. Sources do not report from where they launched and vary as to the numbers involved—77, 98, and 114 being claimed. Targets were [[Memorial Bridge, Bangkok|Bangkok's Memorial Bridge]] and a major power plant. Bombs fell over two kilometers away, damaged no civilian structures, but destroyed some [[tram]] lines, and destroyed both a Japanese military hospital and the [[Japanese secret police]] headquarters.<ref name="Duncan Stearn">Stearn, Duncan. [http://www.pattayamail.com/513/columns.shtml#hd6 "The air war over Thailand, 1941–1945; Part Two, The Allies attack Thailand, 1942–1945"]. ''Pattaya Mail''. Volume XI, Issue 21, 30 May – 5 June 2003. Retrieved 18 February 2012.</ref> On 15 June 1944, 68 B-29s took off from bases around Chengdu, 47 B-29s [[Bombing of Yawata (June 1944)|bombed the Imperial Iron and Steel Works]] at [[Yahata, Fukuoka|Yawata]], [[Fukuoka Prefecture]], [[Japan]]. This was the first attack on Japanese islands since the [[Doolittle raid]] in April 1942.<ref name="AAFWW2 v5p100">Craven and Cate Vol. 5 1983, p. 100.</ref> The first B-29 combat losses occurred during this raid, with one B-29 destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters after an emergency landing in China,<ref name="AAFWW2 v5 p101">Craven and Cate Vol. 5 1983, p. 101.</ref> one lost to anti-aircraft fire over Yawata, and another, the ''Stockett's Rocket'' (after Capt. Marvin M. Stockett, Aircraft Commander) B-29-1-BW 42-6261,{{efn|reference=The suffix −1-BW indicates that this B-29 was from the first production batch of B-29s manufactured at the Boeing, Wichita plant. Other suffixes are BA = Bell, [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]; BN = Boeing, [[Renton, Washington]]; MO = Martin, [[Omaha, Nebraska]].<ref>[http://www.warbird-central.com/american/bombers/B-29/B-29_serials.html "List of B-29 and B-50 production"]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723185246/http://www.warbird-central.com/american/bombers/B-29/B-29_serials.html |date=23 July 2008 }} ''warbird-central.com''. Retrieved: 16 June 2008.</ref>}} disappeared after takeoff from Chakulia, India, over the Himalayas (12 KIA, 11 crew and one passenger).<ref>Source: 20th Bomb Group Assn</ref> This raid, which did little damage to the target, with only one bomb striking the target factory complex,<ref name="iapr22 p145">Willis 2007, p. 145.</ref> nearly exhausted fuel stocks at the Chengdu B-29 bases, resulting in a slow-down of operations until the fuel stockpiles could be replenished.<ref name="AAFWW2 v5p101,3">Craven and Cate Vol. 5 1983, pp. 101, 103.</ref> Starting in July, the raids against Japan from Chinese airfields continued at relatively low intensity. Japan was bombed on:
{{div col}}
* 7 July 1944 (14 B-29s)
* 29 July (70+)
* 10 August (24)
* 20 August (61)<ref>The tactic of using aircraft to ram American B-29s was first recorded on the raid of 20 August 1944 on the steel factories at Yawata. Sergeant Shigeo Nobe of the 4th ''Sentai'' intentionally flew his [[Kawasaki Ki-45]] into a B-29. Debris from the explosion severely damaged another B-29, which also went down. Lost were Colonel Robert Clinksale's B-29-10-BW 42-6334 ''Gertrude C'' and Captain Ornell Stauffer's B-29-15-BW 42-6368 ''Calamity Sue'', both from the 486th BG. See: [http://home.att.net/~sallyann6/b29/56years-4408.html "Pacific War Chronology: August 1944"]. ''att.net''. Retrieved: 12 June 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402225313/http://home.att.net/~sallyann6/b29/56years-4408.html |date=2 April 2010 }}. Several B-29s were destroyed in this manner in the ensuing months. Although the term "[[Kamikaze]]" is often used to refer to the pilots conducting these attacks, the word was not used by the Japanese military. See: [http://www.tokkotai.or.jp/ "Japanese website dedicated to the ''Tokkotai'' JAAF and JNAF"]. ''tokkotai.or.jp''. Retrieved 7 June 2008.</ref>
* 8 September (90)
* 26 September (83)
* 25 October (59)
* 12 November (29)
* 21 November (61)
* 19 December (36)
* 6 January 1945 (49)
{{div col end}}

B-29s were withdrawn from airfields in China by the end of January 1945. Throughout the prior period, B-29 raids were also launched from China and India against many other targets throughout [[Southeast Asia]], including a [[Bombing of Singapore (1944–1945)|series of raids on Singapore]] and Thailand. On 2 November 1944, 55 B-29s raided Bangkok's [[Bang Sue District|Bang Sue]] marshaling yards in the largest raid of the war. Seven [[Royal Thai Air Force|RTAF]] [[Nakajima Ki-43]] ''Hayabusa''s from Foong Bin (Air Group) 16 and 14 IJAAF Ki-43s attempted intercept. RTAF Flt Lt Therdsak Worrasap attacked a B-29, damaging it, but was shot down by return fire. One B-29 was lost, possibly the one damaged by Flt Lt Therdsak.{{efn|The biggest raid on Bangkok during the war occurred on 2 November 1944, when the marshaling yards at Bang Sue were raided by 55 B-29s ...<ref>Forsgren, Jan. [http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/jan_forsgren/j-aircraft_royal_thai.htm "Japanese Aircraft In Royal Thai Air Force and Royal Thai Navy Service During WWII"]. ''Japanese Aircraft, Ships, & Historical Research'', 21 July 2004. Retrieved: 18 February 2012.</ref>}} On 14 April 1945, a second B-29 raid on Bangkok destroyed two key power plants and was the last major attack conducted against Thai targets.<ref name="Duncan Stearn"/> The B-29 effort was gradually shifted to the new bases in the [[Mariana Islands]] in the [[Central Pacific Area|Central Pacific]], with the last B-29 combat mission from India flown on 29 March 1945.

[[File:B-29 Bomber on a long range mission in late 1945.jpg|thumb|B-29A-30-BN, ''42-94106'', on a long-range mission]]

====New Mariana Islands air bases====
In addition to the logistical problems associated with operations from China, the B-29 could reach only a limited part of Japan while flying from Chinese bases. The solution to this problem was to capture the [[Mariana Islands]], which would bring targets such as [[Tokyo]], about {{convert|1500|mi|km|abbr=on}} north of the Marianas within range of B-29 attacks. The Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed in December 1943 to seize the Marianas.<ref name="iapr22 p145-6">Willis 2007, pp. 145–146.</ref>

US forces [[Battle of Saipan|invaded Saipan]] on 15 June 1944. Despite a Japanese naval counterattack which led to the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]] and heavy fighting on land, Saipan was secured by 9 July.<ref name="iapr22 p146">Willis 2007, p. 146.</ref> Operations followed against [[Battle of Guam (1944)|Guam]] and [[Battle of Tinian|Tinian]], with all three islands secured by August.<ref name="Oxford p718">Dear and Foot 1995, p. 718.</ref>

Naval construction battalions ([[Seabees]]) began at once to construct air bases suitable for the B-29, commencing even before the end of ground fighting.<ref name="iapr22 p146"/> In all, five major airfields were built: two on the flat island of [[Tinian]], one on [[Saipan]], and two on [[Guam]]. Each was large enough to eventually accommodate a bomb wing consisting of four bomb groups, giving a total of 180 B-29s per airfield.<ref name="Peacock1 p87"/> These bases could be supplied by ship and, unlike the bases in China, were not vulnerable to attack by Japanese ground forces.

The bases became the launch sites for the large B-29 raids against Japan in the final year of the war. The first B-29 arrived on Saipan on 12 October 1944, and the first combat mission was launched from there on 28 October 1944, with 14 B-29s attacking the [[Chuuk Atoll|Truk]] atoll. The 73rd Bomb Wing launched the first mission against Japan from bases in the Marianas, on 24 November 1944, sending 111 B-29s to attack [[Tokyo]]. For this first attack on the Japanese capital since the [[Doolittle Raid]] in April 1942, [[73rd Bomb Wing]] wing commander [[Brigadier General]] [[Emmett O'Donnell Jr.]] acted as mission command pilot in B-29 ''[[Dauntless Dotty]]''.

The campaign of incendiary raids started with the bombardment of [[Kobe]] on 4 February 1945, then peaked early with the most destructive bombing raid in history (even when the later ''Silverplate''-flown nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are considered)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/bombings-worse-nagasaki-hiroshima/ |title=Bombings Worse than Nagasaki and Hiroshima |author=Laurence M. Vance |date=14 August 2009 |work=The Future of Freedom Foundation |access-date=8 August 2011}}</ref> [[Operation Meetinghouse|on the night of 9–10 March 1945]] on Tokyo. From then on, the raids intensified, being launched regularly until the end of the war. The attacks succeeded in devastating most large Japanese cities (with the exception of Kyoto and four that were reserved for nuclear attacks), and gravely damaged Japan's war industries. Although less publicly appreciated, the mining of Japanese ports and shipping routes ([[Operation Starvation]]) carried out by B-29s from April 1945 reduced Japan's ability to support its population and move its troops.

====Nuclear weapons====
The most famous B-29s were the [[Silverplate]] series, being extensively modified to carry nuclear weapons. Early consideration was given to using the British [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]] as a nuclear bomber, as this would require less modification.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/project-silverplate|title=Project Silverplate|website=Atomic Heritage Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Groves |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Groves |title=Now it Can be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1962 |isbn=0-306-70738-1 |oclc=537684 |pages=254–255}}</ref> However, the superior range and high-altitude performance of the B-29 made it a much better choice, and after the B-29 began to be modified in November 1943 for carrying the atomic bomb, the suggestion for using the Lancaster never came up again.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/first-atomic-bombs-black-lancasters | title=Black Lancasters: The story of heavy British bomber and first atomic bombs | date=22 February 2023 }}</ref><ref>McKinstry, Leo "LANCASTER: The Second World War's Greatest Bomber", John Murray Publishers 2009, page 495</ref>

The most significant modification was the enlargement of the bomb bay enabling each aircraft to carry either the Thinman or Fatman weapons. These Silverplate bombers differed from other B-29s then in service by having [[fuel injection]] and [[Variable-pitch propeller (aeronautics)|reversible props]]. Also, to make a lighter aircraft, the Silverplate B-29s were stripped of all guns, except for those on the tail. Pilot Charles Sweeney credits the reversible props for saving ''Bockscar'' after making an emergency landing on Okinawa following the Nagasaki bombing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Commager |first1=Henry Steele |last2=Miller |first2=Donald L. |title=The Story of World War II: Revised, expanded, and updated |date=2010 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4391-2822-0 |page=637 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=43Nk5lzO_oIC&pg=PA637 |language=en |quote=But Sweeney muscled the plane under control with the help of its specially installed reversible propellers.}}</ref>

[[File:Bockscar and a nuclear weapon painted to resemble the Fat Man bomb.jpg|thumb|''Bockscar'' and a post war Mk III nuclear weapon painted to resemble the Fat Man bomb]]

''[[Enola Gay]]'', flown by [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Paul Tibbets]], dropped the first bomb, called [[Little Boy]], on [[Hiroshima]] on 6 August 1945.<ref name="OSTI.GOV Hiroshima">{{Cite web | title=Manhattan Project: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, August 6, 1945 | website=OSTI.GOV | date = 1945 | url=https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Events/1945/hiroshima.htm | access-date = 2021-11-23 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326051651/https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Events/1945/hiroshima.htm | archivedate = 2021-03-26}}</ref> ''Enola Gay'' is fully restored and on display at the Smithsonian's [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center]], outside Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C. ''[[Bockscar]]'', piloted by [[Major (United States)|Major]] [[Charles W. Sweeney]], dropped the second bomb, called [[Fat Man]], on [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]] three days later.<ref name="The New York Times 2004">{{cite web | title=Pilot on Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Mission Dies at 84 | website=The New York Times | date=2004-07-18 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/18/national/pilot-on-nagasaki-atomic-bomb-mission-dies-at-84.html | access-date=2021-11-23 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314192403/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/18/national/pilot-on-nagasaki-atomic-bomb-mission-dies-at-84.html | archivedate=2021-03-14}}</ref>  ''Bockscar'' is on display at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]].<ref name="National Museum of the US Air Force 1945">{{cite web | title=Boeing B-29 Superfortress | website=[[National Museum of the United States Air Force]] | date=1945-08-09 | url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196252/boeing-b-29-superfortress/ | access-date=2021-11-23 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603140406/https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196252/boeing-b-29-superfortress/ | archivedate=2021-06-03}}</ref>

Following the surrender of Japan, called [[Victory over Japan Day|V-J Day]], B-29s were used for other purposes. A number supplied [[Prisoner of war|POWs]] with food and other necessities by dropping barrels of rations on Japanese POW camps. In September 1945, a long-distance flight was undertaken for public relations purposes: Generals [[Barney M. Giles]], [[Curtis LeMay]], and [[Emmett O'Donnell Jr.]] piloted three specially modified B-29s from [[Chitose Air Base]] in [[Hokkaidō]] to [[Chicago Midway International Airport|Chicago Municipal Airport]], continuing to [[Washington, D.C.]], the farthest nonstop distance ({{convert|6400|mi|km|disp=or|sp=us}}) to that date flown by U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft and the [[1945 Japan–Washington flight|first-ever nonstop flight from Japan to Chicago]].{{efn|"The straight line distance between Chitose Japanese Air Self Defense Force and Chicago, Chicago Midway Airport is approximately 5,839 miles or 9,397 kilometres."<ref>[http://www.findlocalweather.com/forecast.php?forecast=pass&pass=distances&dpp=0&pands1x=RJCJ&pands2x=KMDW&Find+distance=How+far+is+it%3F "How Far Is It?"] ''Findlocalweather.com''. Retrieved: 8 June 2009.</ref>}}<ref name="Potts">Potts, J. Ivan, Jr. [http://www.40thbombgroup.org/DCFlight.pdf "Chapter: The Japan to Washington Flight."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217194704/http://www.40thbombgroup.org/DCFlight.pdf |date=17 February 2012 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=md-mHAAACAAJ ''Remembrance of War: The Experiences of a B-29 Pilot in World War II.''] Shelbyville, Tennessee: J.I. Potts & Associates, 1995. Retrieved: 8 June 2009.</ref> Two months later, Colonel Clarence S. Irvine commanded another modified B-29, ''Pacusan Dreamboat'', in a world-record-breaking long-distance flight from Guam to Washington, D.C., traveling {{convert|7,916|mi|km}} in 35 hours,<ref name=milestones>[http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/milestones.asp?dec=1940&sd=01/01/1940&ed=12/31/1949 "Monday, January 01, 1940 – Saturday, December 31, 1949."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020162322/http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/milestones.asp?dec=1940&sd=01%2F01%2F1940&ed=12%2F31%2F1949 |date=20 October 2012 }} ''History Milestones (US Air Force).'' Retrieved: 21 October 2010.</ref> with a gross takeoff weight of {{convert|155000|lb|kg}}.<ref name=SetRecords>Mayo, Weyland. [http://b-29s-over-korea.com/B-29s-SetRecords/B-29s-SetRecords.html "B-29s Set Speed, Altitude, Distance Records."] ''b-29s-over-korea.com.'' Retrieved: 21 October 2010.</ref> Almost a year later, in October 1946, the same B-29 flew {{convert|9422|mi|km}} nonstop from Oahu, Hawaii, to Cairo, Egypt, in less than 40 hours, demonstrating the possibility of routing airlines over the polar ice cap.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Popular Science|author=Bonnier Corporation|title=Inside The Dreamboat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA91|date=December 1946|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|page=91}}</ref>

====B-29s in Europe and Australia====
[[File:Boeing B-29A Washington B.1 WF502 90 Sqn Hooton 20.09.52 edited-2.jpg|thumb|Royal Air Force Washington B.1 of [[No. 90 Squadron RAF]] based at [[RAF Marham]]]]

Although considered for other theaters, and briefly evaluated in the UK, the B-29 was exclusively used in World War II in the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theatre]]. The use of YB-29-BW ''41-36393'', the so-named ''Hobo Queen'', one of the service test aircraft flown around several British airfields in early 1944,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://457thbombgroupassoc.org/b-29-superfortress-visit-to-glatton/|title=B-29 Superfortress visit to Glatton|date=29 May 2019}}</ref> was part of a "disinformation" program from its mention in an American-published [[:de:Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten|''Sternenbanner'']] German-language propaganda leaflet from [[Leap Year Day]] in 1944, meant to be circulated within the Reich,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://384thbombgroup.com/WinJack3/wwII-sternenbanner_1.html|title=Der Sternenbanner_1 (Photo 1)|website=384thbombgroup.com}}</ref> with the intent to deceive the Germans into believing that the B-29 would be deployed to Europe.<ref name="Bowers Boeing p323"/>

American post-war military assistance programs loaned the RAF 87 Superfortresses, to equip eight [[RAF Bomber Command]] squadrons. The aircraft was known as the '''Washington B.1''' in RAF service and served from March 1950 until the last bombers were returned in March 1954.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wynn |first1=Humphrey |title=The Bomber Role 1945-1970 |url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/units/air-historical-branch/regional-studies-post-coldwar-narratives/the-bomber-role-1945-1970/ |publisher=Air Historical Branch, UK Ministry of Defence |access-date=31 October 2023 |pages=3–5}}</ref> Deployment was restricted to long-range training for strategic attacks against the Soviet Union, which was beyond the range of the RAF's [[Avro Lincoln]]s. The phase-out was occasioned by deliveries of the [[English Electric Canberra]] bombers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Agenda for Seventh NATO C–E Board Meeting |url=https://archives.nato.int/agenda-for-seventh-nato-c-e-board-meeting |publisher=[[NATO]] |pages=4–5 |date=17 March 1959}}</ref>

Three Washingtons modified for [[Signals intelligence#Electronic signals intelligence|ELINT]] duties and a standard bomber version used for support by [[No. 192 Squadron RAF]] were decommissioned in 1958, being replaced by [[de Havilland Comet]] aircraft.

Two British Washington B.1 aircraft were transferred to the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF) in 1952.<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Stewart|title=Military Aircraft of Australia|date=1994|publisher=Aerospace Publications|location=Weston Creek, Australia|isbn=978-1875671083|pages=216}}</ref> They were attached to the [[Aircraft Research and Development Unit RAAF|Aircraft Research and Development Unit]] and used in trials conducted on behalf of the British [[Ministry of Supply]].<ref name="Wilson" /> Both aircraft were placed in storage in 1956 and were sold for scrap in 1957.<ref name="RAAF Aircraft">[http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/aircraft/series2/A76.htm "A76: Boeing Washington."] ''RAAF Museum.'' Retrieved: 28 January 2012.</ref>

===Soviet Tupolev Tu-4===
{{Main|Tupolev Tu-4}}
[[File:Tupolev Tu-4 01 red (10255123433).jpg|thumb|Tupolev Tu-4 at [[Central Air Force Museum|Monino]] museum]]
At the end of WWII, Soviet development of modern four-engine heavy bombers lagged behind the West. The [[Petlyakov Pe-8]]—the sole heavy bomber operated by the [[Soviet Air Forces]]—first flew in 1936. Intended to replace the obsolete [[Tupolev TB-3]], only 93 Pe-8s were built by the end of WWII. During 1944 and 1945, four B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory after bombing raids on Japanese Manchuria and Japan. In accordance with [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact|Soviet neutrality in the Pacific War]], the bombers were interned by the Soviets despite American requests for their return. Rather than return the aircraft, the Soviets [[reverse engineering|reverse engineered]] the American B-29s and used them as a pattern for the [[Tupolev Tu-4]].<ref name=Monino/>

On 31 July 1944, ''Ramp Tramp'' ([[United States military aircraft serials|serial number]] 42-6256), of the United States Army Air Forces [[462d Strategic Aerospace Wing|462nd (Very Heavy) Bomb Group]] was diverted to [[Vladivostok]], [[Russia]], after an engine failed and the propeller could not be [[Propeller (aircraft)#Feathering|feathered]].{{efn|The drag of the windmilling propeller critically reduced the range of the B-29. Because of this "Ramp Tramp" was unable to reach home base at [[Chengdu]], China, and the pilot opted to head for Vladivostok.{{cn|date=August 2023}} }} This B-29 was part of a 100-aircraft raid against the Japanese Showa steel mill in [[Anshan]], [[Manchuria]].<ref name=Monino>[http://www.moninoaviation.com/40a.html "Tu-4 "Bull" and ''Ramp Tramp''."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218234551/http://moninoaviation.com/40a.html |date=18 February 2009 }} ''Monino Aviation''. Retrieved: 1 November 2009.</ref> On 20 August 1944, ''Cait Paomat'' (42-93829), flying from Chengdu, was damaged by anti-aircraft gunfire during a raid on the Yawata Iron Works. Due to the damage it sustained, the crew elected to divert to the Soviet Union. The aircraft crashed in the foothills of [[Sikhote-Alin]] mountain range east of [[Khabarovsk]] after the crew bailed out.

On 11 November 1944, during a night raid on Omura in Kyushu, Japan, the ''General H. H. Arnold Special'' (42-6365) was damaged and forced to divert to Vladivostok in the Soviet Union. The crew was interned.<ref name=ColdWar /> On 21 November 1944, ''Ding How'' (42-6358) was damaged during a raid on an aircraft factory at Omura and was also forced to divert to Vladivostok.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Made in the U.S.S.R. |first=Von |last=Hardesty |date=March 2001|magazine= Smithsonian |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/made-in-the-ussr-38442437/ |access-date=8 December 2024}}</ref>

The interned crews of these four B-29s were allowed to escape into American-occupied Iran in January 1945, but none of the B-29s were returned after Stalin ordered the [[Tupolev]] [[OKB]] to examine and copy the B-29 and produce a design ready for quantity production as soon as possible.<ref name=ColdWar>Lednicer, David. [http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/res12e522/ColdWar.html "Intrusions, Overflights, Shootdowns and Defections During the Cold War and Thereafter".] David Lednicer, 16 April 2011. Retrieved: 31 July 2011.</ref>{{efn|''Ramp Tramp'' was also used during 1948–49 as a drop ship for underwing launching of 346P glider. The 346P was a development of the German [[DFS 346]] rocket-powered aircraft. The complete wing and engines of ''Cait Paomat'' were later incorporated into the sole [[Tupolev Tu-70]] transport aircraft.{{cn|date=August 2023}} }}

Because aluminum in the USSR was supplied in different gauges from that available in the US (metric vs imperial),<ref name=Monino/> the entire aircraft had to be extensively re-engineered. In addition, Tupolev substituted his own favored airfoil sections for those used by Boeing, with the Soviets themselves already having their own [[Wright R-1820]]-derived 18 cylinder radial engine, the [[Shvetsov ASh-73]] of comparable power and displacement to the B-29's Duplex Cyclone radials available to power their design. In 1947, the Soviets debuted both the Tupolev Tu-4 ([[NATO]] ASCC code named Bull), and the [[Tupolev Tu-70]] transport variant. The Soviets used tail-gunner positions similar to the B-29 in many later bombers and transports.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rb-29.net/HTML/03RelatedStories/03.03shortstories/03.03.10contss.htm |title=Russian B-29 Clone – The TU-4 Story. |access-date=2 November 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080809222956/http://www.rb-29.net/HTML/03RelatedStories/03.03shortstories/03.03.10contss.htm |archive-date=9 August 2008  }} ''B-29.net''. Retrieved: 20 July 2011.</ref>{{efn| The Soviets interned another B-29 when, on 29 August 1945, a Soviet Air Force Yak-9 damaged a B-29 dropping supplies to a POW camp in Korea, and forced it to land at Konan (now [[Hŭngnam]]), North Korea. The 13-man crew of the B-29 was not injured in the attack and was released after being interned for 13 days.<ref>Streifer, Bill and Irek Sabitov. [http://www.my-jia.com/The_Flight_of_the_Hog_Wild/ "The Flight of the Hog Wild B-29 (WWII): The day the world went cold."] ''Jia Educational Products, Inc.'', 2011. Retrieved: 28 November 2011.</ref>}}

===Transition to USAF===
Production of the B-29 was phased out after WWII, with the last example completed by Boeing's Renton factory on 28 May 1946. Many aircraft went into storage, being declared excess inventory, and were ultimately scrapped as surplus. Others remained in the active inventory and equipped the [[Strategic Air Command]] when it formed on 21 March 1946.<ref name="Peacock2 p141">Peacock ''Air International'' September 1989, p. 141.</ref><ref>[http://www.boeing.com/history/products/b-29-superfortress.page "Boeing B-29."] ''Boeing.'' Retrieved: 5 August 2010.</ref> In particular, the "Silverplate" modified aircraft of the 509th Composite Group remained the only aircraft capable of delivering the atomic bomb, and so the unit was involved in the [[Operation Crossroads]] series of tests, with B-29 [[Big Stink (B-29)|''Dave's Dream'']] dropping a Fat Man bomb in Test ''Able'' on 1 July 1946.<ref name="Peacock2 p141"/>

Some B-29s, fitted with filtered air sampling scoops, were used to monitor above-ground nuclear weapons testing by the US and the USSR by sampling airborne radioactive [[Nuclear fallout|contamination]]. The USAF also used the aircraft for long-range weather reconnaissance (WB-29), for [[signals intelligence]] gathering (EB-29) and photographic reconnaissance (RB-29).

===Korean War and postwar service===
[[File:B-29-44-61813-shotdown.jpg|thumb|[[Boeing B-29 Superfortress variants#RB-29J (RB-29, FB-29J, F-13, F-13A)|Photo-reconnaissance B-29]] that crashed on final approach to [[Iruma Air Base]], Japan, after an attack by [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|several MIG-15's]] over the [[Yalu River]]. Five crew died. The tail gunner shot down a MiG, and the remaining Migs were engaged by their P-51 escort (9 November 1950).<ref>[http://www.rb-29.net/html/29wfw.htm "William F. (Bill) Welch — 31st and 91st SRS Recollections"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622040317/http://www.rb-29.net/HTML/29wfw.htm |date=22 June 2016 }} ''rb-29.net''. Retrieved: 18 May 2015.</ref>]]
[[File:B-29 307th BG bombing target in Korea c1951.jpg|thumb|A [[307th Bomb Wing|307th Bomb Group]] B-29 bombing a target in Korea, {{circa|1951}}]]

The B-29 was used in 1950–1953 in the [[Korean War]]. At first, the bomber was used in normal strategic day-bombing missions, although North Korea's few strategic targets and industries were quickly destroyed. More importantly, in 1950 numbers of Soviet [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15]] jet fighters appeared over Korea, and after the loss of 28 aircraft, future B-29 raids were restricted to night missions, largely in a supply-interdiction role.

The B-29 dropped the {{cvt|1000|lb|kg|adj=on}} VB-3 "Razon" (a range-controllable version of the earlier [[Azon]] guided ordnance device)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196093/vb-3-razon-bomb/https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196093/vb-3-razon-bomb/|title=VB-3 Razon Bomb|website=National Museum of the United States Air Force}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and the {{cvt|12000|lb|kg}} VB-13 "[[ASM-A-1 Tarzon|Tarzon]]" [[MCLOS]] radio-controlled bombs<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196092/vb-13-tarzon-bomb/https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196092/vb-13-tarzon-bomb/|title=VB-13 Tarzon Bomb|website=National Museum of the United States Air Force}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> in Korea, mostly for demolishing major bridges, like the ones across the [[Yalu River]], and for attacks on dams. The aircraft also was used for numerous leaflet drops in North Korea, such as those for [[Operation Moolah]].<ref>''United States Air Force operations in the Korean conflict, 1 July 1952 – 27 July 1953.'' Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: USAF Historical Division, 1956, p. 62.</ref>

A Superfortress of the [[91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron]] flew the last B-29 mission of the war on 27 July 1953.

Over the course of the war, B-29s flew 20,000 sorties and dropped 200,000 tonnes (220,000 tons) of bombs. B-29 gunners were credited with shooting down 27 enemy aircraft.<ref name="Futrell">Futrell et al. 1976.</ref> In turn 78 B-29s were lost; 57 B-29 and reconnaissance variants were lost in action and 21 were non-combat losses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alternatewars.com/BBOW/Stats/USAF_Losses_Korea.htm|title=USAF Losses in Korea|website=www.alternatewars.com}}</ref>

Soviet records show that one MiG-15 jet fighter was shot down by a B-29 during the war. This occurred on 6 December 1950, when a B-29 shot down Lieutenant N. Serikov.<ref>{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604071241/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_315.shtml | url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_315.shtml | archive-date=4 June 2013 | title=The Pains of the Post-War V-VS and the Birth of the Soviet Jet Flight | publisher=Korean War Database | url-status=usurped | access-date=3 May 2020 }}</ref>

With the arrival of the mammoth [[Convair B-36]], the B-29 was reclassified as a medium bomber by the Air Force. The later [[Boeing B-50 Superfortress|B-50 Superfortress]] variant (initially designated [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress variants#B-29|B-29D]]) was able to handle auxiliary roles such as [[air-sea rescue]], electronic intelligence gathering, [[Aerial refueling|air-to-air refueling]], and [[weather reconnaissance]].

The B-50D was replaced in its primary role during the early 1950s by the [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet]], which in turn was replaced by the [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]]. The final active-duty KB-50 and WB-50 variants were phased out in the mid-1960s, with the final example retired in 1965. A total of 3,970 B-29s were built.