ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The aircraft is known as the Superfortress.
“It helped end the war in Japan,” said Josh Wells, CEO of B-29 DOC.
This B-29 bomber is taking visitors on a flight back to the days of World War II. It is on display at Lehigh Valley International Airport through Sunday.
“It honors that greatest generation and connects the current generation with their grandparents, parents who may have built and designed these airplanes,” said Wells.
Wells oversees the plane. He said it was able to fly at high altitudes and was the first all-electric bomber. This is one of two B-29s in the world that can still fly.
“When you’re actually able to come out and see a World War II relic and climb up inside, it makes that history come alive.”
On any given mission, there would be around six people in the cockpit. Some missions would last up to 14 hours.
“It was technologically the most advanced aircraft in the war,” said Franklin Berry, a volunteer with B-29 DOC.
Susan Larkin-Gilius is among those checking out the plane. She said she did not know much about her dad’s time in the war until she made a discovery.
“His flight bag was brought out of the attic, and in the flight bag he had written a diary about all of his flights and bombing runs and POW drops in Japan,” said Larkin-Gilius.
She said her family has been following where B-29s were in the area, and now she is finally getting the chance to see a plane like the one her Dad flew in up close.
“We’ve been following them, and this is the closest they’ve been, so we wanted to see the B-29,” said Larkin-Gilius.