B-29A 'Super Fortress' 44-61669 was manufactured at the Boeing plant in Renton Washington and delivered to the USAAF on May 5, 1945. The aircraft was quickly flown to the Pacific to join the 20th Air Force, 73rd Bomb Wing, 500th Bomb Group, 833rd Bomb Squadron on Saipan in the Marianas. Flying 11 combat missions against Japan, 44-61669 carried the name ÒFlagship 500Ó in the ball and spear insignia of the 500th Bomb Group. Its last active duty assignment was with the 581st Air Resupply Group at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1956 the aircraft was recovered from the Naval Test Center at China Lake, California and flown from Daggett Field, Barstow, to March in January 1981 by MARC (Military Aircraft Restoration Corporation). This aircraft is on loan from the National Museum of the USAF. [marchfield.org]
Photo by Craig Maas on Thursday, August 11, 1994 at the March Air Force Base, Riverside, CA.