Boeing B-29 Superfortress, "DOC", in Tulsa

[BLUEDOT37]

Back in October one of the only two flyable B-29s, DOC, made a weekend stopover at Tulsa International Airport so we moseyed by to check it out.

It was a beautiful day for it & some high wispy clouds briefly added some accents to the fall sky for a few of the pictures.

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Of the 3,970 manufactured between 1943 & 1946 twenty are on static displays & two, FIFI & DOC, are still flying.

DOC, made in 1944, was one of 1,620 made at the Boeing plant in Wichita Kansas. DOC never saw combat.

In the early 1950's, while it was based at Griffiss Air Force Base, in Rome, New York, it got its name when the squadron
named their B-29s after characters in the Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Preparations to transfer ownership & start restorations began in 1987. It wasn't until May 20, 2016 that DOC received an airworthiness certificate from the FAA to be flown & on July 17, 2016 DOC flew for the first time since 1956.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing and is most famous for dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat.

Amazingly, the B-29 Project's design and production cost $3 billion, exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the atomic bomb's Manhattan Project, making the program the most expensive of the WWII. (facts from Wikipedia)

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Here's a few of the pics. Click for higher resolution view.

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[biku324]

Much of the technology of B-29s was incorporated into the Russian Tu-95 Bear strategic bomber, still its primary nuclear delivery bomber. The Tu-95 has turboprop engines and swept wings, but exceeds B-29 combat speeds and payloads by about 25%.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

We know we can count on the Russians to stab us in the back if they get the chance, & they did even after he provided war aid.

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 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 engineered the American B-29s and used them as a pattern for the Tupolev Tu-4.

The Soviet Union's first intercontinental bomber, the 1949 Tu-85, is a scaled-up version of the Tu-4. (from Wikipedia)

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[Rudi]

Amazing machines. America put it's mind to win. The plane burned many Japanese cities. Then the A Bomb. I got to see and go on FIFI some years back. Incredible.

 

[swsig]

I got to go through a B-29 at an air show about 70 years ago. The only thing I remember was crawling through the tunnel above the bomb bay that connected the aft pressurized cabin to the forward one. Because there were lots of people making the tour, the tunnel was crowded. Unfortunately, some bozo at the exit end couldn't figure out how to get out (there was a drop from the tunnel down to the deck), and there were no AF personnel there to help. He hemmed and hawed and wouldn't move. There were people in front of me and behind me in the tunnel. I was in the middle, and couldn't move at all. I was not particularly claustrophobic, but I developed a good case of it that day. After a seeming eternity, and the complaints from the people stuck behind him, he finally tumbled out, and the line moved on. As I recall, exiting the tunnel wasn't particularly difficult, so I don't know what the guy's problem was. So here's a handy hint for Forum members: If you ever decide to tour a B-29, be sure the tunnel is clear before you enter it.
You're Welcome!

 

[DWalt]

We know we can count on the Russians to stab us in the back if they get the chance, & they did even after he provided war aid.

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 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 engineered the American B-29s and used them as a pattern for the Tupolev Tu-4.

The Soviet Union's first intercontinental bomber, the 1949 Tu-85, is a scaled-up version of the Tu-4. (from Wikipedia)

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Story was that the Russians made EXACT duplicates of the interned B-29s. Including even minor field repairs and mods made to the fuselages.

 

[Smith & Hammer]

Had the thrill of a lifetime dream come true and got a half hour ride in a B-17 (Madras Maiden) about five years ago. Being that there are only two B-29's sill in service limits anyone's chance of ride of a lifetime.

 

[VictorLouis]

What a gorgeous piece of yesteryear. I wonder who gets stuck with polishing the fuselage!

 

[Retired W4]

What a gorgeous piece of yesteryear. I wonder who gets stuck with polishing the fuselage!

I was thinking the same thing. That's a lot of polishing. They did a great job on Doc.

 

[swsig]

I know the B-29 seems like a large airplane, but for comparison, here is one alongside a B-36:

 

[hsguy]

I thought aviation buffs might enjoy this thread I posted several years age. An amazing thrill for me. B-17 Flight

 

[TX-Dennis]

CAF HQ was here before they moved to Dallas. Fifi was owned and operated by CAF at the time. After flying airshows around the country for years Fifi needed to be refurbished to keep her airworthy. I think they eventually traded her to a different museum in exchange for money to refurbish her just before they moved away, or maybe ownership is now shared with the other museum (I'm not sure). The actual refurbishment was done here. I got to crawl in and around Fifi a couple of times. Never flew on her, though.

 

[bobsguns]

I believe it was this B-29 that came into Nashville about 10 years ago.

I was there before the plane landed, standing behind a well-elderly gent in a wheelchair. A woman who was his grand-daughter was there with him.

As the plane landed, taxied into the gathering area, the elderly man stood up from his chair. As I was standing right behind him, I heard her ask him, "Do you know what that is?"

He quickly replied, Yes. That's a B-29. I used to fly those!"

I got to speak with the granddaughter after a while. She told the old guy had Alzheimer's & couldn't remember much at all. But by-god, he remembered his old plane!

I paid & did the walk-through tour. As I waited in line, underneath the wing, I noticed something. The plane was pouring out oil/hydraulic fluid! I mean just sitting there, it leaked like a sieve.

One thing I didn't know was that the guns were radar directed. The crew was only 4-5 guys, apparently.

I also got to tour a WW2 LST in Nashville. When compared to the LST I was on in 1979, it was tiny!

On the WW2 one, I wanted to go to the bridge & holler out, "Now here this, now hear this! Will Mr. Roberts please report to the Captain's cabin immediately!"

On a related note, while the WW2 ship was headed back to its home port of Evansville, IN, the skipper ran it aground somewhere.

I always wondered if he got "retired" after that?

 

[bigmtnman]

I was able to "tour" the other flying B-29 "Fifi" when it was here in Colorado a few years ago. I kept getting "chills" just being around it. Getting up into it was amazing.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Several times I have visited this one.

 

[Ματθιας]

I was curious as to what Bomb Wing and or Squadron was based at Griffiss AFB, so I looked and found nothing. Griffiss doesn't have a B-29 squadron listed on its wiki page.

It seems in the early '50s Griffiss was a Fighter Interceptor base. The 65th Recon Group was based there at the time but they don't have B-29s listed in its history, either.

According to Griffiss' wiki page, it didn't become a bomber base (SAC) until later in the 1950s when B-52s came along.

I'm mainly curious as to what the squadron patch looks like.

 

[biku324]

My late uncle was a fire control repairman on B-29 turrets and controls. He served in the 20th Army Air Force, 73 Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) on Saipan from start of operations through the end of the war.

 

[DWalt]

An interesting book I recently read that provides a new perspective on the B-29 and Curtis LeMay.
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Bomber-Mafia-Temptation-Longest-Second/dp/0316296619[/ame]

 

[Retired W4]

Several times I have visited this one.

I have seen Bockscar several times as well. The whole place is so amazing.

 

[Greyman50]

Years ago met , talked to and got autographs of the 2 most well known B-29 Pilots. Both were very “ normal guys” and talked to those interested. Been on several B-29s at air shows but pics are packed up. B-29 was the first “ modern A/C with pressurized crew compartments. A/C was pressurized on the way to target, depressurized once over enemy territory and then repressurized after bombing run and away from enemy territory unless A/C was shot up.