09/03/2026
On September 3, 1948, one of the most historically significant B-29 Superfortresses ever built made its final flight.
The Great Artiste, B-29-40-MO 44-27353, was the only specially modified Silverplate B-29 to fly as part of the strike package on BOTH atomic bombings. On August 6, 1945, it accompanied Enola Gay to Hiroshima carrying instruments used to measure the effects of the atomic blast. Three days later, it performed the same role alongside Bockscar at Nagasaki.
Three years later, The Great Artiste was at Goose Bay, Labrador, for polar navigation training when it developed an engine problem shortly after takeoff. Returning to the field, the B-29 made a downwind landing, touched down well along the runway and overran the end onto an unfinished extension. The pilot reportedly ground-looped the bomber to avoid a tractor, and the resulting structural damage, particularly around a wing attachment, was severe enough that the aircraft would never fly again.
Today, an extraordinarily historic airplane would almost certainly be preserved. In 1948, however, thousands of surplus World War II aircraft remained and the historical significance of individual airframes was not always viewed as it is today. The Great Artiste remained at Goose Bay until it was scrapped there, with reclamation completed on September 27, 1949.
The B-29 displayed today at Whiteman Air Force Base as The Great Artiste is another Superfortress painted to represent 44-27353.
