| Boeing B-29-50-BW Superfortress serial number 42-24812 in flight over Wichita, Kansas, factory soon after delivery the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) on November 1, 1944. This aircraft was assigned to the 313th Bomb Wing, 504th Bomb Group, 421st Bomb Squadron, and flown by Major A. Sidney Hale (December 18, 1916 – March 31, 1974). Hale named 42-24812 “Miss Su-Su” after his daughter Susan. “Miss Susu” acted as lead pathfinder plane, with stripes on her tail for formation identification. During the 18th mission, Hale’s crew encountered Japanese fighters. Gun computers on B-29s were notoriously slow in tracking targets, so the gunners on Miss Su-Su asked for a gun test. 500-pound (227 kilogram) were stacked next to the test stand. On May 15, 1945, another B-29, fully loaded with bombs, crashed on takeoff and its payload exploded.The crew inside saw that the other B-29 was about to crash and evacuated their aircraft. The bombs next to Miss Su-Su sympathetically detonated, severing the tail from the parked aircraft; the wing was ripped apart, the fuselage was caved in. The aircraft was written off. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2164.jpg |
| Image Size | 447.88 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3131 x 2400 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Arny Air Force |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Kansas |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Museum of the United States Air Force |
| Record Number | 021001-O-9999G-003 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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