Boeing B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was, at its introduction, the most advanced bomber in the world, featuring pressurised crew compartments that let it fly higher and more comfortably than earlier bombers. It was the aircraft that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, bringing the Second World War to its end. Remote-controlled gun turrets, aimed from inside the pressurised cabin, were a major technical advance over earlier bombers' exposed gun positions. Its design later formed the basis for early commercial airliners and Cold War-era reconnaissance and refuelling aircraft.
Did you know?
The B-29 program cost more than $3 billion — more than the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bombs it carried — the costliest weapon of WWII.
Specifications
| Length | 30.2 m (99 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 43.1 m (141 ft) |
| Height | 8.5 m (28 ft) |
| Persons on board | 11 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 63.9 t |
| Range | 3,000 NM (5,556 km) |
| Maximum speed | 310 kt (574 km/h) |
| Stall speed | 91 kt (169 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 31,850 ft (9,708 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 25,000 ft (7,620 m) |
| Rate of climb | 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s) |
| Engines | 4x Wright R-3350 |
| Units built | 3,970 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Boeing B-29 Superfortress starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Boeing, the B-29 Superfortress family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
Browse all aircraft types, or learn to tell Airbus from Boeing.