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The XB-29, Boeing Model 345, was the first accepted
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...
is a WWII era long range, strategic heavy bomber that was produced in many experimental and production models.
XB-29
: ''Section source: Baugher''
The XB-29, Boeing Model 345, was the first accepted prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
or experimental model delivered to the Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
, incorporating a number of improvements on the design originally submitted, including more and larger guns and self-sealing fuel tanks. Two aircraft were ordered in August 1940, and a third was ordered in December. A mockup
In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at leas ...
was completed in the spring of 1941, and it first flew on September 21, 1942.
Testing was conducted on the XB-29 until February 18, 1943, when the second prototype crashed. The flight was conducted by Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
's chief test pilot, Edmund T. "Eddie" Allen on a two-hour powerplant performance test. The accident happened when leaking fuel from a filler cap in the wing leading edge ran down inside