A B-29 Superfortress World War II bomber is parked at Syracuse Hancock International Airport on Monday, June 17, 2024. (Rick Moriarty, syracuse.com/TNS)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Tribune News Service) — A B-29 Superfortress from World War II — the type of plane that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan — flew into Syracuse on Monday for public tours and rides.
The bomber, along with a P-51 Mustang fighter and other World War II aircraft, came to Syracuse Hancock International Airport from around the country as part of the Commemorative Air Force’s AirPower History Tour.
The B-29 arrived at 11:40 a.m., doing a pass over the airport and then over downtown Syracuse before landing and parking on the tarmac in front of a hangar at 211 Tuskegee Road on the south side of the airport.
For information on the fees for the rides and to book one in advance, go to AirPowerTour.org.
The Commemorative Air Force is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving World War II planes in honor of the crews that flew them during the war and the workers who built them. The organization puts on 25 to 30 shows a year throughout the country.
The cockpit of a B-29 Superfortress World War II bomber parked at Syracuse Hancock International Airport on Monday, June 17, 2024. (Rick Moriarty, syracuse.com/TNS)
The B-29 owned by the organization was delivered to the Army Air Force in April 1945, four months before the war ended, and was not flown in combat. It was used after the war as a trainer until it was decommissioned in 1960.
The Commemorative Air Force acquired it in the mid-1970s and restored it. The pilots who fly it and the crews who maintain are volunteers.
“We’re nonprofit,” said Jacques Robitaille, tour leader for the group. “We receive no government funds. Our only revenue is from ride flights and gate admission.”
The B-29, the successor to the B-17 and B-24, was introduced late in the war and used primarily in the Pacific for raids on Japan. The bomber was state-of-the-art for its time featuring a computer-assisted fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets.
“The B-29 was the largest and most technically advanced aircraft of its time,” said Robitaille. “It was the next generation in aircraft design. It was designed to fly high and far.”
George Lucas based the greenhouse-style window of the Millennium Falcon in his Star Wars movies on the B-29′s cockpit.
What: AirPower History Tour
When: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 19, through Sunday, June 23.
Where: 211 Tuskegee Road, Syracuse.
Admission: Adults $20, Youth 11-17 $10, 10 and under free. Price includes cockpit tours.
Parking: $10 in the lot across from the hangar at 211 Tuskegee Road.
Rides: For information on fees for rides in the planes and to book a ride in advance, go to AirPowerTour.org.
©2024 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit syracuse.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
