Researched 2026-10-11 from the sources listed below. Airframes move between hangars, workshops and loans: check with IWM Duxford before travelling to see this one.
The airframe in brief
| Serial / registration | 44-61748 |
|---|---|
| Type | Boeing B-29A Superfortress |
| Built | Boeing Renton |
| Unit | 371st BS, 307th BG, Kadena |
| Missions | 105 over North Korea |
| Target range | China Lake, 1956-79 |
| Ferry reg | G-BHDK |
| Arrived | 2 March 1980 |
| Status | On display |
| Where | IWM Duxford, Cambridge |
The story of 44-61748
44-61748 was built by Boeing at Renton as a B-29A. In March 1952 it joined the 371st Bombardment Squadron of the 307th Bombardment Group at Kadena, Okinawa. Its crew named it It's Hawg Wild, and it flew 105 missions over North Korea before the July 1953 armistice.
In November 1956 it was sent to the Naval weapons range at China Lake, California, to serve as a target. It stayed on the range for 23 years.
In 1979 the US Navy released it to the Imperial War Museum. A team made it fit to fly and in November 1979 ferried it from China Lake to Tucson, Arizona, for more work. Registered G-BHDK for the transatlantic delivery, it left Tucson on 17 February 1980. It crossed the Atlantic in stages and reached Duxford on 2 March 1980.
IWM restored it fully for static display in its original name and serial. In May 2002 it was taken out of the American Air Museum while that building was refitted, and it later returned. It now stands in the American Air Museum beside B-52D 56-0689.
Seeing 44-61748 today
Displayed in the American Air Museum alongside the B-52 and SR-71. You see it from floor level; it cannot be boarded.
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| IWM DuxfordCambridge, Cambridgeshire | £29 | 146 | Concorde 101 (G-AXDN), the pre-production development aircraft and the fastest Concorde of them all at Mach 2.23 — plus an SR-71A… |
Also known as: It's Hawg Wild · G-BHDK · 461748 · Duxford B-29