A total of 462 B-29 Superfortresses took part in the flypast over Japan’s surrender ceremony.
The aircraft flew over Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, as Japanese representatives signed the surrender aboard USS Missouri. The formation was part of a much larger aerial display that included more than 800 American aircraft.
B-29 Superfortresses had been central to the United States’ strategic bombing campaign against Japan. The type also carried the atomic bombs used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although the aircraft in the surrender flypast were part of a ceremonial display rather than an attack.
The figures are easy to mix up: 462 refers specifically to B-29s, while more than 800 refers to the total number of American aircraft in the flypast. The display underscored Allied air power at the moment Japan formally capitulated.