| National origin:- United States |
| Role:- Strategic bomber, Heavy bomber |
| Manufacturer:- Boeing |
| Designer:- the Boeing Company |
| First flight:- 21st September 1942 |
| Introduction:- 8th May 1944 |
| Produced:- 1943-1946 |
| Status:- Retired |
| Number built:- 3,970 |
| Primary users:- United States Army Air Force; United States Air Force; Royal Air Force |
| Variants:- Boeing KB-29 Superfortress; XB-39 Superfortress; Boeing XB-44 Superfortress; Boeing B-50 Superfortress |
| Developed into:- Boeing 377 Stratocruiser; Tupolev Tu-4 |
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat.
One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 was designed with state-of-the-art technology, which included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets. The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $45 billion today), far exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project, made the B-29 program the most expensive of the war. The B-29's advanced design allowed it to remain in service in various roles throughout the 1950s. The type was retired in the early 1960s, after 3,970 of them had been built. A few were also used as flying television transmitters by the Stratovision company. The Royal Air Force flew the B-29 as the Washington until 1954.
