A Summary of the Mission of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, “Ladybird”
By Wade H. Wolfe
The B-29 was a complex piece of equipment, the largest military aircraft in the world at that time, faster than the B-24, and with more sophisticated equipment, necessitating a fairly lengthy process of crew training and integration before a combat deployment.
There were a number of factors that were hindering the training and combat deployment of crews and planes, most important of which was the newly developed Wright R-3350 engines. Engine fires were not uncommon, and a number of planes were known to be lost. However, the manufacturer of the engines overcame this problem by design modifications. The size and complexity of the aircraft, along with the accelerated crew-training period, often resulted in the loss of aircraft. I was an eyewitness to one of these crashes at Smoky Hill Army Air Base in the fall of 1943.
In December of 1943, at Marietta, Georgia, I was assigned to a B-29 air crew under the command of Col. Paul W. Tibbets. We immediately proceeded to the Air Force’s Proving Ground at Eglin Field, Florida, to take up the task of performing a variety of tests on the B-29. By late spring of 1944, this nucleus of experienced men, under the command of Col. Tibbets, had grown to three score or more, which made up both air and ground crews.
Problems were still being encountered at the combat crew-training bases, and Tibbets felt that something needed to be done to reduce delays and losses that were occurring. His plan was to train two women to fly a B-29 and tour the training bases to demonstrate that risks of flying the big b6mber could be reduced to tolerable levels. Tibbets selected two very capable pilots, D. D. Moorman and Dora Dougherty, the only ladies privileged to fly the Superfortress. They were members of the Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilots, known as WASPs during World War II. Their assignment was to ferry planes from factory to air bases. Prior to flying the B-29, their flying experience had been limited to two-engine aircraft.
The training of Moorman and Dougherty was accomplished on two separate aircraft, one under the instruction of Col. Tibbets, and the other instructed by Lt. Love. Following a few weeks of intensive training, the women proved themselves capable of flying the B-29, and CAA certification for this size aircraft was issued.
The plane selected for the demonstration tour was appropriately named “Ladybird,” Army Air Forces serial number 42-6453. Just prior to departure for the tour on June 27, 1944, the crew posed for the Eglin Field Base photographer. Crew members, left to right: Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets, D. D. Moorman, Dora Dougherty, Cpl. Raymond Gallagher, Sgt. Don Duzenbury, S/Sgt. Floyd A. Lemly, Sgt. Wade H. Wolfe, Sgt. Henry Ellis.