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The B-29 is the very bomber that dropped nuclear bombs on Japan in 1945. It was restored in 2016 and can fly again.
Two US Army nuclear bombers flew together for the first time in nearly 50 years. This is reported by The War Zone.
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and the B-29 "Doc" are one of only two examples of two post-WWII-era aircraft on the same flight. In this way, the United States showed heredity, because the 509th Bombardment Wing now operates the B-2, and during the Second World War the unit used the B-29.
The event took place within the air show in the state of Missouri on July 13-14. There was no public announcement about the flight of the two bombers, so it came as a surprise to the visitors. The B-29 was billed as a static model to look at. The 509th Wing said it was the first time a B-2 and a B-29 had flown together at an air show.
In total, the 509th Bombardment Wing had 20 B-2s in service, but after the December 2022 incident, 19 aircraft remained. Spirit is now an important element of the US military's nuclear triad. However, at first this role was played by the B-29, which at the exhibition had the serial number 44-69972. From it, the author established that the aircraft entered service in March 1945 and now has the name Doc. Also, it was this plane that dropped the nuclear bomb on Japan in World War II. Fighters of the 509th joint group carried out the mission. The Doc was decommissioned in the mid-1950s, and was then occasionally used as a target during exercises. Later, volunteers from Kansas worked to get Doc back to heaven. They managed to do it and on July 17, 2016, the B-29 returned to the sky.
B-29 & B-2 flying in formation during Wings Over Whiteman! pic.twitter.com/0KNe3lxpdo
— Matthew Smith (@MatthewKCWX) July 13, 2024
