A total of 462 U.S. B-29 Superfortress bombers joined the flypast over USS Missouri after Japan’s surrender.
The aircraft passed over Tokyo Bay during the formal surrender ceremony on September 2, 1945. Their appearance demonstrated the scale of American air power that had operated across the Pacific and over the Japanese home islands.
Sources often describe the larger flypast as involving more than 800 U.S. military aircraft. That total included carrier aircraft and other land-based planes. The specific figure of 462 refers to the B-29 Superfortress bombers within the formation.
The B-29 had played a central role in the final air campaign against Japan. It was the heavy bomber used in the atomic missions against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although the surrender-day flypast itself was a display rather than a bombing operation.