The Boeing B-29 was planned in the 1930s, the first making it's maiden flight in September 1942. The B-29 was reserved for the war in the Pacific area, where its great range of 3,700+ miles made it particularly suited for the long over-water flights required to attack the Japanese homeland from bases in China. It's flight ceiling was 33,600 ft, cruising speed 220 mph.

The B-29s undoubtedly hastened the end of WW2 in the Pacific.
On August 6th, 1945, the B-29 nicknamed 'Enola Gay' dropped the first atomic bomb, on Hiroshima, and three days later, B-29 'Bockscar' dropped the second, on Nagasaki. On the very next day, the Emperor of Japan announced unconditional surrender.

After the liberation of Weihsien Civil Asembly Centre, Shandong on 17 August, 1945, it was B-29s which flew frequent sorties from the US base on Okinawa to make parachute drops of vital food supplies for the camp.

As former camp internees will remember, it was truly scarey if you were in the middle of the drop site when a B-29 with bomb racks open roared overhead!