Kenneth Bonner Wolfe (12 August 1898 – 20 September 1971) was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force who was responsible for the development and early operations of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber.

He was the Air Corps representative at the Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California, from June 1937 to March 1939, after which he returned to Wright Field as assistant chief, of the production engineering section.

The B-29 made its first flight on 21 September 1942, but the project was set back when one of the three prototypes crashed on 18 February 1943, killing over thirty people, including test pilot Edmund T.

To get around the lack of B-29s, Wolfe trained his men on Martin B-26 Marauder and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.

To direct his training program, Wolfe obtained Brigadier General LaVerne G. Saunders, who had commanded the 11th Bombardment Group in the Guadalcanal campaign.

[11] Arnold pressed for more raids on Japan, but Wolfe was hamstrung by the logistical difficulties of operating from the bases in China.

While it seemed like Wolfe, with his engineering background and thorough knowledge of the B-29, had been an excellent choice for getting the B-29 into service, Arnold felt he lacked the attributes required to lead it in combat.

He returned to Wright Field as the head of the Materiel Command,[2][13] with his primary tasks being to expedite improvements to the B-29 and increase its rate of production.

[2][5][16] After his retirement from the Air Force, Wolfe became president of the Oerlikon Tool and Arms Corporation of America.

[5] Wolfe died at his home in Solana Beach, California, on 20 September 1971, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.