Hagarty's Hag Behind the Mask
B-29 Superfortress S/N 44-86408, formerly known as "Hagarty's Hag" has a case of dual identity, having worn the colors of sister aircraft "Straight Flush" since 2015.
Hagarty's Hag was delivered to the US Army Air Force on August 6, 1945; the same day the original Straight Flush was used as a weather reconnaissance plane for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
After transferring through various bombing units, Hagarty's Hag would arrive in Utah in 1953 where it was assigned to support chemical weapons testing at Dugway Proving Ground. The Hag would spend twenty years at Dugway before its retirement; ultimately being abandoned in-situ and left to rot, before it would be donated the Hill Aerospace Museum in 1983. The plane was restored as a static display outside the museum.
The original Straight Flush, after supporting the atomic weapons testing at Bikini Atoll; would eventually meet the scrapper in 1954. After the Hag's repaint into Straight Flush colors, it would remain on display outdoors until the expansion of indoor space at the museum has allowed the Hag a place indoors, albeit with the tips of its long wings removed. It is now on display alongside fellow World War II craft such as a B-17 and a P-51 Mustang. I have some older photos from 2013 showing the Hag outdoors wearing its original name: flic.kr/p/eqyxZi
Hagarty's Hag Behind the Mask
B-29 Superfortress S/N 44-86408, formerly known as "Hagarty's Hag" has a case of dual identity, having worn the colors of sister aircraft "Straight Flush" since 2015.
Hagarty's Hag was delivered to the US Army Air Force on August 6, 1945; the same day the original Straight Flush was used as a weather reconnaissance plane for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
After transferring through various bombing units, Hagarty's Hag would arrive in Utah in 1953 where it was assigned to support chemical weapons testing at Dugway Proving Ground. The Hag would spend twenty years at Dugway before its retirement; ultimately being abandoned in-situ and left to rot, before it would be donated the Hill Aerospace Museum in 1983. The plane was restored as a static display outside the museum.
The original Straight Flush, after supporting the atomic weapons testing at Bikini Atoll; would eventually meet the scrapper in 1954. After the Hag's repaint into Straight Flush colors, it would remain on display outdoors until the expansion of indoor space at the museum has allowed the Hag a place indoors, albeit with the tips of its long wings removed. It is now on display alongside fellow World War II craft such as a B-17 and a P-51 Mustang. I have some older photos from 2013 showing the Hag outdoors wearing its original name: flic.kr/p/eqyxZi