To the best of my knowledge/recollection, my grandfather, William E. Cooper, piloted this B-29, Fluffy Fuz IV (sometimes named "Fluffy Fuzz IV") on various missions with the 501st Group, 315th Bomb Wing, 41st Bombardment Squadron based in Guam in 1945-46. His crew (#816) "Giggy Wagon" did not see any combat missions as his first mission had been scheduled for August 18th, a few days after the war ended. After the war, they were involved with dropping food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan. From what I understand this plane was Brig. General Frank Armstrong's personal plane and seems to have later set the altitude record (with Major Ross, Ops. Off. of the 501st, as AC) for a B-29 in the postwar Marathon Project in May 1946 that tested B-29s for altitude and endurance. There are several different accounts listing different heights and I am not sure which is official.
There's a bit of a mystery about this plane. Both "Fluffy Fuz IV" and "Queen of the Neches" were listed as achieving record altitudes with different payloads on online accounts of the Marathon Project. However, an entry from the Internet Archive of the now-defunct B-29 site joebaugher.com lists the following information:
44-84065 [Serial #]
Bell-Atlanta B-29B-60-BA Superfortress
Built under licence by Bell Aircraft Company, Marietta, Atlanta, GA
Delivered to USAAF 21Jul45. Assigned to 16th Bomb Group, 315th Bomb Wing
Assigned to 501st Bomb Group, 315th Bomb Wing 23Mar46. Named Fluffy Fuzz IV
Set a record by carrying a payload of 2,000kg to 46,522 feet on May 13, 1946, then on the following day
took 5,000kg to 45,252 feet. During the flight one engine gave constant trouble and finally blew a cylinder;
a cabin fire broke out and was extinguished; trim tabs froze up and the turbo chargers plagued the pilots.
Assigned to 92nd Bomb Group. Named 'Queen of the Neches'
Reclaimed at Tinker AFB, OK 28Nov54
According to this both "Fluffy Fuz(z) IV" and "Queen of the Neches" seem to be names on the same plane/serial number, but does that mean the same plane broke three altitude records? Or is something mixed up?
If anyone knows anything more about the plane I would be grateful for the information. I will follow up with any more information I can find.
