aviation

T

he Boeing B-29 Superfortress is

forever associated with the atomic

bomb drops on Hiroshima and

Nagasaki. But there’s much more to

this World War Two aircraft than that – when

you get to view the B-29 in person – as I did in

August – you discover all kinds of 73-year-old

technical innovations that make your jaw drop.

Unfortunately, of the nearly 4,000 B-29

Superfortress aircraft built in the 1940s, only

two are airworthy today. One of them is the

Commemorative Air Force’s 44-62070 FIFI

(NX529B), and the other is Doc’s Friends’

44-69972 Doc (N69972).

FIFI’S STORY

Part of a restored World War Two  eet

operated by the CAF – a Texas-based

non-pro t group that preserves and shows

historic aircraft at airshows – 44-62070 was

delivered to the US Army Air Force in 1945.

She never saw combat; serving instead for a

short time as a support aircraft before going

into temporary storage.

FIFI was brought back into service in

1953. She  ew for  ve years before being
      sent to the US Navy Naval Weapons
      Center and bombing range at China
      Lake in California. After surviving years
      as a gunnery target, the attention of
      vandals and the weather, the bomber
      was purchased by CAF member Colonel
      Victor Agather in 1971 for restoration and
      operation by this volunteer group. Agather
      named her FIFI in honour of his wife.
      (Doc also served as a China Lake target,

before being rescued by the Doc’s Friends

restoration group.)

CAF members spent nine weeks getting

FIFI sufficiently airworthy to  y from China

Lake to the group’s then-headquarters in

Harlingen, Texas – from there it took three

years of serious restoration and around

$3m to bring the bomber up to display

standard. Since then, the CAF has taken

FIFI to many airshows.

Compared with a standard international

airport, Gatineau-Ottawa Executive

Airport is a relatively small and thus a

very accessible facility. So when I drove

up on a sunny August day in 2018, I didn’t

have to look too hard to  nd FIFI – her

vast wingspan (141ft 3in/43.06m) was

dominating the aircraft parking area.

The Commemorative

Air Force’s B-29A

FIFI is one of only two

Superfortresses fl ying

in the world. James

Careless caught up with

the bomber in Gatineau,

Quebec, during her

annual fund-raising

tour of North America.

Careless

UP CLOSE

AND PERSONAL

WITH FIFI

30 Aviation News incorporating Jets November 2018