Registration/Date:
History:
This
B-29,
S/N
44-86408
"Haggerty's
Hag,"
was
one
of
the
531
B-29s
manufactured
by
the
Glen
L.
Martin
Company
in
Omaha,
Nebraska.
It
was
delivered
to
the
USAAF
on 6
August
1945,
the
same
day
that
one
of
its
older
B-29
siblings
was
dropping
an
atomic
bomb
on
Hiroshima,
Japan.
Later
that
month
it
was
assigned
to
the
4141st
Base
Unit
at
Pyote
Field,
Texas.
In
May
1946
the
plane
was
transferred
to
the
4121st
Base
Unit
at
Kelly
Field,
Texas.
In
June
1948
the
aircraft
went
to
the
97th
Bombardment
Group
of
the
Strategic
Air
Command,
stationed
at
Biggs
AFB,
Texas.
One
year
later
it
was
sent
to
the
4002nd
Base
Services
Squadron,
Strategic
Air
Command,
at
Campbell
Field,
Kentucky.
In
October
1949
it
travelled
to
the
43rd
Bombardment
Group
(SAC)
at
Davis-Monthan
AFB,
Arizona.
The
9th
Bombardment
Wing
at
Fairfield
AFB,
California,
received
the
plane
in
August
1950
and
it
moved
with
them
to
Travis
AFB,
California,
in
February
1953.
It
was
transferred
to
the
Wright
Development
Center,
Wright-Patterson
AFB,
Ohio,
in
May
1953.
The
aircraft
was
assigned
to
the
6750th
Chemical
and
Ordnance
Test
Group,
Air
Research
and
Development
Command,
at
Hill
AFB,
Utah,
in
June
1953.
It
was
relocated
to
Dugway
Proving
Grounds,
Utah,
for
chemical
munitions
testing.
In
November
1953
it
was
finally
dropped
from
the
USAF
inventory
while
at
Michaels
Army
Air
Field,
Dugway
Proving
Grounds.
There
the
plane
would
rest
for
the
next
30
years,
used
as a
ground
test
vehicle
for
testing
various
types
of
chemical
warfare
agents.
On 7
July
1982
Russell
C.
Sneddon,
Director
of
the
Hill
AFB
Heritage
Program,
traveled
to
Dugway
to
meet
with
its
Commander,
Col.
George
A.
Carruth.
Sneddon
hand-delivered
a
letter
expressing
the
Heritage
Program's
desire
to
obtain
the
old
B-29
for
the
Hill
AFB
Heritage
Museum
and
Air
Park.
Col.
Carruth
said
he
was
willing
to
release
the
aircraft,
but
another
museum
at
Fairchild
AFB,
Washington,
had
already
contacted
him
with
a
request
for
the
plane.
He
also
informed
Sneddon
that
before
anyone
could
leave
with
the
B-29
it
needed
to
be
checked
for
possible
chemical
contamination,
which
would
cost
about
$6,500.
Sneddon
immediately
contacted
the
Director
of
the
USAF
Museum
at
Wright-Patterson
AFB,
Ohio,
and
requested
that
the
B-29
be
given
to
Hill
AFB
for
restoration
and
display.
The
request
was
granted
on
17
August
1982
and
plans
were
immediately
formulated
for
performing
the
required
chemical
tests
and
recovering
the
old
bomber.
In
the
Fall
of
1983
members
of
the
2952nd
Combat
Logistics
Support
Squadron
from
Hill
AFB
disassembled
and
moved
the
old
B-29
by
truck
from
Dugway
to
Hill
Aerospace
Museum
for
restoration
and
display.
It
was
laid
out
in
the
open
near
the
site
of
the
present
museum
buildings
and
a
team
of
volunteers
and
USAF
personnel
went
to
work
rebuilding
the
old
warbird,
under
the
leadership
of
Mel
Blanscett,
a
former
B-29
flight
test
engineer
from
Hill
AFB
with
thousands
of
hours
experience
in
the
B-29.
Blanscett
also
had
years
of
experience
as a
leader
of
Rapid
Area
Maintenance
(RAM)
Teams,
which
performed
major
overhaul
and
restoration
of
USAF
aircraft
in
remote
locations
around
the
world,
including
the
Philippines,
Thailand,
Vietnam,
and
Laos.
By
1986
the
aircraft
was
completely
reassembled
and
external
restoration
was
mostly
finished,
allowing
work
to
begin
on
the
internal
restoration.
For
the
next
eleven
years
Blanscett
worked
mostly
alone
on
the
restoration
of
the
B-29
as a
volunteer
with
the
museum.
Mel
passed
away
in
the
summer
of
1997. |
