A total of 462 land-based B-29 Superfortresses flew over the 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.
The flypast took place on 2 September 1945 as Japanese officials signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri. It formed part of the large Allied military presence surrounding the ceremony and demonstrated the scale of American air power in the Pacific.
Sources often mention two related figures: more than 800 U.S. military aircraft participated in the overall flypast, while 462 of those aircraft were land-based B-29 Superfortresses. The larger number therefore should not be mistaken for the B-29 total.
The B-29 had been central to the final air campaign against Japan. These heavy bombers conducted long-range missions from Pacific bases, including the atomic-bomb missions against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Their appearance at the surrender ceremony symbolized the war’s military conclusion.