1945 Japan – Washington flight The 1945 Japan – Washington flight was a record - breaking air voyage made by three specially modified Boeing B - 29 Superfortress es on September 18 – 19 , 1945 , from the northern Japan ese island of Hokkaidō to Chicago in the Midwestern United States , continuing to Washington , D . C . The flight was made by three United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) generals and other airmen returning to the United States from their overseas duty after World War II . At that date , it involved the heaviest load carried by an American aircraft ( 144 , 000 lb , 65 , 300 kg ) , the longest nonstop flight made by the USAAF ( 5 , 840 mi , 9 , 400 km ) , and the first nonstop flight from Japan to the United States . However the flight did not break the then - world distance record established by the Royal Air Force in 1938 . Originally intending to fly nonstop to Washington , D . C . , the airmen encountered unexpected headwind s over Alaska Territory and Canada , and they predicted that two of the aircraft would not have enough fuel to take them the full distance . All three B - 29s landed in Chicago instead , refueled , and continued to Washington , where each crewman was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross , including the three pilots : Generals Barney M . Giles , Emmett O ' Donnell , Jr . and Curtis LeMay . The USAAF distance record did not last long : two months later , another American aircrew flew a B - 29 from Guam to Washington , D . C . a distance of 7 , 916 miles ( 12 , 740 km ) , breaking the world record . Nevertheless , the Japan to Washington flight pioneered a route similar to that used by later airliners . Importantly for the airmen , America was able to demonstrate the reach of airpower in light of the nascent Cold War . Preparation . Three B - 29s based on Guam , which had spotless mission records and no mechanical difficulties , were selected for the mission . In a ten - day process that continued as a typhoon raged off Okinawa , the aircraft were stripped of unnecessary equipment such as armor and gun turret s , and the resulting empty spaces in the fuselage were faired over with smooth metal to minimize parasitic drag . Blister - type bubble windows were replaced with flat ones , painted group markings were removed , and the aluminum aircraft skin polished to a high luster , all in order to achieve the least possible drag . Twentieth Air Force markings were painted on each vertical rudder . The bomb bay in each aircraft was fitted with five 600 - gallon ( 2 , 300 L ) fuel tanks ; added to the normal B - 29 fuel tanks , this made a total of 10 , 000 gallons ( 38 , 000 L ) of fuel capacity , as much as a railroad tank car . Filled with fuel and 12 men , each ship weighed — it would be the greatest overload attempted on a B - 29 at that time . When the aircraft were ready , they flew to Iwo Jima and stopped for the night . There they were loaded with as much fuel as they could hold . It was known that the intended air base in Hokkaidō did not have enough avgas to fill all three B - 29s for the long - distance flight , meaning that at Hokkaidō they could only top off the fuel tanks to make up for the amount used to fly from Iwo Jima . On September 15 , the three aircraft left Iwo Jima , flying north past Okinawa , where the typhoon had blown itself out . They continued to Hokkaidō where the approach involved some apprehension . The Japanese air base had been judged by Colonel William " Butch " Blanchard as suitable for B - 29s , with a runway that was long enough and was near sea level for maximum lift in the densest possible air , but it was not known whether it could hold such heavily laden bombers without the concrete cracking . LeMay sent Douglas C - 54 Skymaster s filled with 55 - gallon ( 210 L ) drums of avgas to Sapporo — the crewmen would have to top off their tanks by hand . The Japanese air base that would serve as the launching point was called Mizutani at Chitose locally , and Sapporo Air Base by the Americans . Today it is the Japan Ground Self - Defense Force Camp Higashi - Chitose . It was built at the southern part of Japan ' s northern island Hokkaidō , near the city of Sapporo , as the base for long - range flights to attack the U . S . — one - way suicide trips made by four - engine bombers — a function that it never served . The three B - 29s landed safely , and LeMay stepped from his aircraft to be greeted by approximately 30 Japanese soldiers and the base commander , who saluted for some time before realizing that LeMay had no intention of returning the salute . With that treatment setting the tone for U . S . – Japan relations in the area , the airmen made certain to wear side arm s as they walked around downtown Sapporo on the evenings of September 16 and 17 . LeMay later said that the 3 , 000 Japanese sailors manning the air base were " polite " and posed no threat . Aircraft and men . The commander of the first aircraft was Lieutenant General Barney M . Giles , Deputy Commander of the United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific . His aircraft carried the only weather officer making the long - distance voyage . One of the crewmen was Captain Kermit Beahan , bombardier aboard " Bockscar " . Others included Lieutenant Bill Dolan , who served as one of the pilots . The second aircraft ' s commander was Major General Curtis LeMay , Chief of Staff of the Strategic Air Forces . First Lieutenant J . Ivan Potts served as one of the pilots , as did Lieutenant Colonel William C . Kingsbury — the two had been a flight team in the 25th Bombardment Squadron ( Very Heavy ) of the 58th Bombardment Wing , Very Heavy , based on Tinian , and were good friends . Colonel William H . Blanchard , Chief of Staff of the Twentieth Air Force , joined the crew at Guam after personally inspecting Sapporo Air Base a few days earlier . Others on the crew from the 25th BS included Sergeant Jerome A . School , Sergeant Richard P . Fischer and Sergeant B . T . Freeman , the latter two removed at Guam when LeMay and Blanchard joined . Two men were from the 44th Bomber Squadron : First Lieutenant John C . Eiland and Staff Sergeant Frank Klas Jr . The remainder of the crew was Flight Engineer Captain William W . Townes ( 45th Bomber Squadron ) , First Lieutenant Stephen T . Jones ( 24th Bomber Squadron ) , Major John F . Wedding ( 468th Bomb Group ) and Captain Theodore R . Finder ( 40th Bomb Group Headquarters ) . The crew chief was Master Sergeant Henry J . Rutowski . Number 2 was construction number 44 - 70015 , a B - 29 - 75 built five months earlier in Wichita , Kansas , as part of the so - called Battle of Kansas — the push to produce great air fleets of B - 29s . Number 2 , dubbed " Marianna Belle " by its combat crew , made the cut because it did not consume more than the normal amount of fuel and oil in carrying out its missions , which were marked by top mechanical reliability . Number 3 was commanded by Brigadier General Emmett O ' Donnell , Jr . who was ending his service as commander of the 73d Bombardment Wing , Very Heavy . Flight . The airmen drew up a " great circle " ( shortest distance on the surface of a globe ) flight plan that used the jet stream as a tailwind to help them get farther with less fuel , though the tailwind was not absolutely required . The plan was for each aircraft to make its own way over the Kamchatka Peninsula at the eastern edge of the Soviet Union , then over the Bering Sea to Nome , Alaska , and continue over Fairbanks , over the Canadian Rockies and much of Canada , over the Great Lakes , then on to Washington , D . C . near the Atlantic coast — a total of taking 26 hours in the air . This distance would not have broken the world ' s distance record then held by two Royal Air Force Vickers Wellesley aircraft that had flown from Ismaïlia , Egypt , to Darwin , Australia , in 1938 , covering , but it was considered a good public relations stunt , good for the USAAF and the generals ' images . On September 18 , the airmen woke up very early to make final preparations . A weather observation aircraft took off an hour before the first B - 29 to report the latest meteorological conditions along the path ahead . Dumbo and Super Dumbo aircraft ( B - 17s and B - 29s rigged for air - sea rescue ) stood by , on alert . With the airfield lit by truck headlamps , Number 1 commanded by Giles was first to take off , a little after 6 : 00 local time , as dawn began to glow in the east . Next , LeMay ' s ship took off at 6 : 15 am , 4 : 15 pm Eastern War Time in Washington , with Lieutenant Colonel Kingsbury at the throttles and First Lieutenant Potts at the controls . O ' Donnell ' s Number 3 took off a few minutes later . The heavily loaded machines required every bit of the concrete runway to get airborne — and some of the gravel beyond — reaching before lifting from the ground . All three bombers were expected to be in Washington by 5 pm the next day . Two or three hours into the flight , the weather officer aboard Giles ' Number 1 observed slight headwinds . Giles " threatened to throw him overboard unless he did something about it . " Five hours out of Japan , the airmen in Number 2 were over Kamchatka when they were met by three Bell P - 63 Kingcobra fighters wearing the red star insignia of the Soviet Air Force . The Soviet fighter pilots inspected the unarmed B - 29 at close range and then performed aerobatic maneuvers for the Americans . The three dipped their wings in salute and left the Superfortress to continue its journey . After Kamchatka , LeMay and Blanchard replaced Kingsbury and Potts at the controls . Over the Bering Sea , the three B - 29s maintained radio contact with each other , communicating positions hourly as they navigated independently . Near the Arctic Circle , the magnetic compasses fluctuated wildly , and the fliers ignored them , relying instead on the radio compass . In Number 2 , the radio compass stopped working as well , but it resumed working later in the flight . Wearing fur - lined flight suits did not prevent the men from feeling the extreme cold of high altitude . Pilots rotated duty so that none would get too tired . Weather continued to be a great concern , and was frequently checked . The aircraft left the Bering Sea behind , encountering North America at Nome after about 13 hours of flight . From Nome to Fairbanks , the Northern Lights were clearly visible to the crews . Even though the B - 29 pressurization systems were working , the outside air temperature of at an altitude of about was not counteracted by the heating systems " which seemed to have completely broken down . " Weather problems . At Fairbanks , the three B - 29s encountered significant headwinds ; more than the " slight " headwinds observed up to this time . They had expected tailwinds from the jet stream , yet could complete the distance without them , but headwinds meant that Washington might be too far . At 7 am Eastern War Time , aircraft Number 2 was over Northway , Alaska , and navigator Bill Townes determined that they were behind schedule . He said later , " When I reported that fact to General LeMay , he looked at me as if he thought it was my fault , so I retreated behind my bulkhead to check my figures . " Later , the airmen learned that the typhoon near Okinawa the week before had greatly affected the jet stream . Seventeen hours after lifting off at sunrise in Japan , the men began to see the sun rise again over the Yukon — it was a very short day for them , and none had been able to sleep for the excitement of the trip , the stimulant benzedrine , and the penetrating cold . Crossing into Canada , the headwinds grew stronger still , and a load of hard rime ice and clear ice was visible on the wings . Though the B - 29s had been delivered to the war front complete with deicing equipment , such gear had been removed months before to reduce weight and therefore increase combat range and speed . The ice load picked up in the night would have to be endured until it melted off at lower altitudes . Near Regina , Saskatchewan , the fliers made their first decision regarding early stops for fuel . One proposed solution was for Giles to land in Minneapolis , O ' Donnell to land in Detroit , and LeMay ( who had enough fuel ) to continue as before to Washington . Giles radioed this plan to the War Department : " Have been bucking headwinds for past nine hours . Predicted plans for Fairbanks to States did not materialize . Giles and O ' Donnell plan to land at Minneapolis and Detroit due to fuel . Plane Number Two , commanded by LeMay , believes he is able to get to Washington . " However , soon after this , Giles determined that Chicago Municipal Airport was the only airport large enough to accommodate the B - 29s ; he directed O ' Donnell to land there with him . LeMay sent word by radio to the War Department that he was heading for Washington . In New York , newspapers put this plan in headlines : " Two B - 29s will land to refuel as third roars on to Capitol " . All three aircraft approached Chicago , and LeMay contacted the War Department again by radio . O ' Donnell landed at 5 : 43 pm Eastern War Time , with Giles about 45 minutes behind . Just past Chicago LeMay was informed by the War Department that weather was " marginal " in Washington and that he was now ordered to refuel in Chicago . Giles landed at 6 : 30 and LeMay at 6 : 43 pm . LeMay ' s elapsed flight time was 27 hours and 28 minutes . The straight - line distance they had flown over the globe was about 5 , 840 miles ( 9 , 400 km ) . While the aircraft were refueled , newspaper reporters asked questions of Giles and of Captain Kermit Beahan , who as bombardier aboard " Bockscar " , visually targeted Nagasaki in order to drop the second atomic bomb . The other crewmen drank coffee and waited . When refueling was completed , they took off directly for Washington . Reception . From Chicago to Washington , D . C . the flight was uneventful . The " silvery sky giants , manned by their blue ribbon crews " flew over National Airport ( now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport ) in formation at 9 : 30 pm and landed . The generals and crews stepped from their aircraft , LeMay waiting until he was smoking one of his signature cigars . Along with senior USAAF staff and reporters , wives and family were at the airport to greet the airmen , as well as a crowd of onlookers . Photographs were taken at the airport , then the airmen were whisked off to the Statler Hotel , now the Capital Hilton . In the lobby , the weary , grimy and stubble - bearded men were besieged for autograph s . Some of them stayed up later to hear supper - club singer Hildegarde in the grand showroom , others went to bed to catch up on sleep . The next morning , a news conference was held in the grand showroom . Giles emphasized the importance of the route as an indication of the future , both for civil and military aircraft . He warned : " Now that we have proved that we can do it , we must now remember that any future enemy will also be able to do it " . LeMay declared that he wanted a second chance to prove that the B - 29 was capable of flying 6 , 500 miles nonstop . He said , " When we took off at Hokkaido we had a little headwind and expected it . However , all our information indicated that once we passed Fairbanks it would drop . We didn ' t need a tailwind . All we needed was a nice normal wind to arrive on schedule . The buffeting headwind averaged 70 mph " ( 110 km / h ) . After the reporters were finished , Giles presented all the airmen with the Distinguished Flying Cross . Giles told the men that each one could keep his personal military equipment as a memento of the flight , including parachutes . They were offered free rides home on military aircraft . Potts refused the parachute and the ride , telling Giles , " Thank you , general , I think I ' ll take the train ! " Other B - 29 crewmen still in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II did not pay much attention to the record - breaking flight . Harry Changnon of the 40th Bomb Group on Tinian said " most of us in the 40th knew little about the trip in September 1945 as we were busy preparing to fly our 45 B - 29s home in October " . Two months later on November 19 – 20 , Colonel Clarence S . Irvine and Lieutenant Colonel G . R . Stanley flew a long - distance testbed B - 29 named " Pacusan Dreamboat " to a world ' s distance record of 7 , 916 miles ( 12 , 740 km ) flying nonstop and unrefueled from Guam to Washington , D . C . , taking 35 hours and 5 minutes . Their aircraft ' s gross weight was greater , at .