WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — For the first time in decades, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress known as “Doc” has taken to the skies.
The Wichita-built bomber lifted off from a McConnell Air Force Base runway Sunday morning after a more than 16-year volunteer restoration effort.
Airborne! First time since 1956 #DocFirstFlight pic.twitter.com/jvf8D7aTAa
— Doc’s Friends (@DocsFriends) July 17, 2016
The B-29 is best known as the bomber type that dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War II in the Pacific.
The Wichita Eagle reports (http://j.mp/29EBke8 ) that the plane came to Wichita in pieces in 2000 to what was then Boeing Wichita, which made space available at the factory for the bomber’s restoration.
Success! The world’s second flying B-29 Superfortress #DocFirstFlight pic.twitter.com/kQGtxobJrw
— Doc’s Friends (@DocsFriends) July 17, 2016
Since last fall, the restoration effort reached a number of milestones, including a fundraising campaign that netted about $160,000.