A Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the most advanced heavy bomber of World War II, sits on the ramp at a Pacific island airbase. Introduced in 1944, the pressurized, long-range B-29 carried out the strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese home islands from bases in the Mariana Islands, and later delivered the atomic bombs that ended the war in August 1945. The aircraft shown here, marked '44' on its tail and fuselage, exemplifies the massive American air power buildup in the final year of the Pacific war. Project: 218459