#11, B-29 Superfortress: Ended World War II
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was the most technologically advanced aircraft of World War II, and it's not even close. Pressurized crew compartments, remote-controlled gun turrets, a central fire control computer, and the ability to operate at 30,000 feet made it a generation ahead of every other bomber in any air force. It cost $3 billion to develop, more than the Manhattan Project's $2 billion, making it the most expensive weapons program of the war.
B-29s firebombed Japan's industrial cities into ashes, destroying 178 square miles of urban area and killing more people than the atomic bombs. Then on August 6 and August 9, 1945, two B-29s named Enola Gay and Bockscar dropped atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the deadliest conflict in human history. No single aircraft type has ever had a greater impact on the outcome of a war. The B-29 also flew combat in Korea and spawned the KC-97 tanker and C-97 transport, extending its military legacy well into the Cold War era.
