B-29 Superfortress

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B-29 Superfortress
B-29.jpg
Primary function N/A
Primary contractor N/A
Unit cost N/A
Models N/A
Date entered service N/A
Countries in use N/A
Specifications
Wingspan N/A
Length 99 feet 0 inches
Height 29 feet 7 inches
Weight N/A
Ceiling N/A
Speed N/A
Range 3,700 miles
Propulsion N/A
Thrust N/A
Crew 10 (12 in the B-50)
Armament N/A
Payload N/A


The B-29 Superfortress was a long-range heavy bomber first placed into service in World War II in the Pacific theater of that war. The most famous missions that this aircraft ever performed were the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. After the war, the B-29 was the first bomber used by the Strategic Air Command.

Development

The United States Army Air Forces recognized the need for a very high altitude, long-range bomber late in the 1930s.[1] In February of 1940, the Army issued a specification for a bomber that could carry 2,000 bombs at 400 mph for at least 5000 miles.[1][2][3]

Four aircraft builders submitted proposals to the army. Boeing, with its Model 345, won the contest.[1][4]

Model 345 boasted many features that Boeing had had under development since 1934, among them:

  • A long, narrow, high-aspect-ratio wing with Fowler flaps for increased lift. This allowed for much heavier base and take-off weights.[4]
  • Three pressurized crew areas: flight deck, gunner's compartment, and tail gunner's station.[1][4] The first two of these were connected by a long tube over the bomb bays;[2] the tail gunner's station remained isolated, and ingress and egress were possible only on the ground or at an altitude that did not require pressurization.[4][2]
  • Remote-control gun turrets, and a sighting system that allowed one gunner to control two or more turrets at once to concentrate on a single target.[1]
  • Advanced radar systems for aid in navigation, targeting, and air-to-air defense.[1]

Boeing itself built 2766 B-29s at its plants in Wichita, Kansas, and Renton, Washington. Two other aircraft builders, in addition to Boeing, would take part in building B-29s. They were Bell Aircraft (668 B-29s) and the Glenn L. Martin Company (536 aircraft).[4] The total cost of the program was $3 billion US.[5]

Two XB-29s were built, and the first of these was delivered on September 21, 1942. Fourteen YB-29 service-test planes were delivered beginning in 1943. Finally, in April of 1944, the first 130 operational B-29s began to arrive in India for the Twentieth Air Force.

Deployment

Conventional Bombing of Japan

The first missions of the B-29 took place beginning in June 5, 1944. Here the B-29 groups tried to duplicate the results of daylight precision bombing that had produced such good results in Europe. But their results were very poor, though combat losses were minimal at first. Even when the AAF acquired bases much closer to Japan with the capture of several strategic islands in the Mariana chain, results did not improve.[1][2][3][5]

Then-Major General Curtis LeMay then gave a series of seemingly draconian orders: to strip out the guns and ammunition, ground the gunnery crews, and fly all missions at low altitudes. It was a fearsome gamble, but it paid off in increased bombing accuracy and lower casualties in men and aircraft.[6]

In March of 1945, General LeMay changed the orders again. From then on, the B-29s flew low-altitude (5,000 feet) night strikes with incendiary bombs.[1][2] LeMay reasoned that because the Japanese economy depended largely on cottage industries spread out over a large number of cities (and because many of the buildings in Japanese cities were still built of wood), massive incendiary bombing would be more effective than precision high-explosive bombing. The results were devastating against Japanese industry and infrastructure.[1][2] By April of 1945, the Japanese could no longer build engines for their aircraft. The incendiary campaign continued into August of 1945.[2][3][6]

The Atomic Bomb Missions

Late in 1944, the AAF ordered a special batch of fifteen modified B-29s, called "Silverplate" models. These planes had no gun turrets except for the tail turret, no armor plate, and new Curtiss electric propellers. These planes were specifically designed to carry one of the two atomic bombs from the Manhattan Project: either Little Boy or Fat Man.[1]

The 509th Composite Group, Colonel Paul Tibbetts commanding, took possession of these aircraft for the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ten of these aircraft are known to have taken part in what became Special Missions 13 and 16 against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The most famous of these, of course, was Enola Gay,[4] which dropped Little Boy on Hiroshima, and Bockscar,[4] which dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki.[1][3] (The other aircraft performed weather reconnaissance, blast measurement, and strike photography duties in connection with these missions.)[7]

The destruction of Hiroshima took place on August 6, 1945. The Japanese did not respond to this, perhaps because the Japanese high command did not fully appreciate the magnitude of a disaster that had virtually cut off all communications from one of Japan's largest cities. Then on August 9, 1945, came the destruction of Nagasaki. On that day the Soviet Union formally declared war on Japan and launched an invasion of Japanese-occupied Manchuria in China. The Emperor of Japan then instructed his government to surrender unconditionally.[2][6][5]

Strategic Air Command

In 1946, the Strategic Air Command acquired many of the B-29s still in service. However, these planes were largely antiquated and had seen heavy use during the war. Boeing responded to SAC's need, first with the B-29D, a much-improved model that the new Air Force redesignated as the B-50. This aircraft had 59 percent more power than the original B-29, along with better aerodynamic surfaces, larger flaps, faster-retracting landing gear, and improved hydraulic control systems. It also sported a higher tail that could fold during storage, and a stronger, lighter wing. It also had twelve guns (the original B-29 had ten) and required a crew of twelve. In all, Boeing built 371 B-50s, including 79 B-50As.[8]

B-29 and B-50 squadrons saw intensive action during the Korean War, this time against jet fighter/interceptors using electronic weaponry.[4] Losses were correspondingly much heavier. The last B-50s (actually KB-50D tankers) were retired from active service in 1965.[8][3]

Flight test

B-29 and x-1.jpg

A specially modified B-29 served as the launch aircraft for the X-1, the plane in which then-Captain Charles Yeager achieved the first supersonic flight.[3]

Post-retirement disposition

Very few B-29s survive today, primarily because the Air Force was late in declaring the B-29 to be war surplus.[2] The researchers at AcePilots.com have identified sixteen B-29s that they know have survived and remain on display today.

The Enola Gay has been fully restored and is on diaplay at the Paul E. Garber facility of the National Air and Space Museum.[1] The Bockscar, likewise, is on display at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as part of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.[9]

In July of 1948, a B-29A, on a climate research mission, crashed into Lake Mead, California. All five aboard the plane got out safely. The plane sank to the bottom of the lake, where it lay for 53 years until divers were able to spot it again.[10]

On May 21, 1995, efforts to recover a B-29 that had landed on a frozen lake in Greenland were abandoned after the aircraft caught fire and burned.[2]

Soviet copy

Late in 1944, three B-29s made emergency landings in Vladivostok, USSR. The Soviets detained the crews, then quietly allowed them to escape--but not with their aircraft. Then in 1947, the Soviets demostrated their newest bomber: the Tu-4, an exact replica of the B-29. With this aircraft, the US-Soviet arms race might be said to have begun.[2][3]

The B-29 in Popular Culture

  • The motion picture Test Pilot (1938) featured an aircraft similar in many respects to the B-29 (though not specifically identified as such) undergoing speed and load trials. This is a truly remarkable example of art anticipating life, especially considering that the first XB-29 was still years away from its maiden flight.
  • The film Dive Bomber (1941) alluded to many of the advanced features under development in the between-wars period that the film covered, including pressurized crew compartments and pressure suits for pilots. Because the B-29 had pressurized flight deck and gunnery spaces, this film can also be said to have anticipated one of the B-29's key features.
  • The film Command Decision (1949) made repeated allusions to "a B-29 command" in the Pacific theater being an assignment presenting a good opportunity for the holder of such a command either to advance professionally or to demonstrate the utility of the fortress-like bombers of that era.

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Willie, S., and Lee, R.E. "Boeing B-29." National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, 2004. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Authors unknown. "Boeing B-29 Superfortress." AcePilots.com. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Baugher, Joseph. Boeing B-29 Superfortress. May 29, 1998. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Authors unknown. "Boeing B-29 Superfortress." Boeing Group, product history section. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lewis, P. "The B-29 Superfortress." University of San Diego, 1995. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Swinhart, Earl. "Boeing B-29 Superfortress." Aviation-history.com. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  7. Wagoner, Sally Ann. "The B-29 Then and Now." 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Authors unknown. "B-50 Bomber." Boeing Group, product history section. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  9. Authors unknown. "Fact Sheet: Boeing B-29 Bockscar." United States Air Force. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  10. Authors unknown. "Lake Mead's B-29 Bomber." In Depth Consulting, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2007.

See Also

External Links