![The well-known B-29 "Doc" [Credit: Brett Schauf - Visual Media Group]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/B-29-Brett-Schauf-Visual-Media-Group-1.jpg)
Doc, one of two airworthy Boeing B-29 Superfortresses left in the world, will be part of the scene at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in July.
“As AirVenture is the world’s largest annual gathering of warbirds, we’re very happy to be welcoming the B-29 Doc back to Oshkosh,” said Rick Larsen, EAA’s vice president of communities and member programs, and coordinator of AirVenture features and attractions, in a statement. “This B-29 is always a big favorite on Boeing Plaza when it appears in Oshkosh, especially as it is one of only two flying examples in the world of the legendary aircraft.”
As scheduled, Doc will take center stage for display at the annual event on July 24-26 at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH).
On July 20-23 Doc will be based at Appleton International Airport (KATW), approximately 20 miles north of Oshkosh, offering flight experiences. Information can be found here.
Origin Story of ‘Doc’
During World War II, the B-29 was designed to be a high-altitude heavy bomber with payload, range, and endurance significantly greater than the B-17. The B-29 featured technologically advanced pressurized crew compartments and remote-controlled gun turrets.
Doc rolled out of the Boeing factory in Wichita, Kansas, in March 1945. The aircraft, officially known as serial number 44-69972, was one of 3,970 B-29s built during the war and one of 1,644 constructed in Kansas. It was delivered to the Army Air Corps that spring.
The Superfortess was heavily utilized in the Pacific Theater. In August 1945 two B-29s were used to drop single atomic bombs on Japan, which led to its surrender and the end of WWII.
After the war many of the aircraft were repurposed and used for radar work, atmospheric research, and even as flying television transmitters.
Doc was so named because it was part of a squadron known as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” based in upstate New York at Griffiss Air Force Base. All the aircraft had nose art featuring the characters from the story as depicted by Walt Disney in the 1937 animated movie. Disney, who was a big supporter of aviation during the war, supplied images of the cartoon characters for squadron patches and nose art.
Doc was retired by the military in 1956 and sent to China Lake, California, where it was used by the Navy for target practice.
The aircraft sat baking in the California sun until 1987, when Tony Mazzolini, who served in the Air Force in the 1950s and had a soft spot for the B-29, started the effort to find a retired B-29 and restore it to airworthy status. Doc was still relatively intact.
Mazzolini’s business background, which included working at powerhouses such as General Electric and Continental Airlines, helped him navigate military channels to acquire the decommissioned aircraft and create a nonprofit organization to support the effort.
The aircraft was acquired from the government in 1998, dismantled, loaded onto flatbed trucks, and hauled back to Wichita. The restoration took 16 years and more than 450,000 volunteer hours.
In 2000 Doc returned to the skies and is owned and operated by Doc’s Friends Inc., a nonprofit based in Wichita that also boasts an interactive educational facility. One of the exhibits is a freestanding B-29 tunnel measuring 34 feet that was used in the aircraft to connect the pressurized compartments. According to those who work at the facility, racing through the tunnel is a popular activity for the younger visitors.
Doc travels around the country in the spring and summer selling rides.
