Before the first Boeing B-29 Superfortress ever flew, 1,650 aircraft were on order by the USAAF. Despite mechanical and electronic problems, the Superfortress acquitted itself well in the Pacific war. Monday morning, 6 August 1945 an ordinary looking B-29 named the Enola Gay flew over the city of Hiroshima, Japan at 31,600 feet and released the world's first atomic bomb on a major city. Read more on our updated page on the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.

    The Fight for the Sky, narrated by Ronald Reagan, is a film commissioned by the US government to highlight the victories of the Allied air forces over Europe prior to the Normandy invasion. The film depicts Allied airmen at their base in East Anglia, called to strike deep into Germany's industrial Ruhr valley. Captured German footage is also shown to prove that the enemy was just as determined to stop the attacks as the Allies were to carry them out.

Aviation History Online Museum
January 27, 2023. All rights reserved.