B-29 Superfortress
1. - Development
The Boeing B-29 was designed in 1940 as an eventual replacement for the B-17 and B-24. The first one built made its maiden flight on September 21, 1942. In December 1943 it was decided not to use the B-29 in the European Theater, thereby permitting the airplane to be sent to the Pacific area where its great range made it particularly suited for the long over-water flight required to attack the Japanese homeland from bases in China. During the last two months of 1944, B-29s began operating against Japan from the islands of Saipan, Guam and Tinian.
With the advent of the conflict in Korea in June 1950, the B-29 was once again thrust into battle. For the next several years it was effectively used for attacking targets in North Korea.
The B-29 on display, named "Bockscar," was flown to the U.S. Air Force Museum on September 26, 1961. It is the airplane from which the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
Boeing submitted the prototype for the B-29 long-range heavy bomber to the Army in 1939, before the United States entered World War II.
The B-29 had many new features, including guns that could be fired by remote control. The crew areas were pressurized and connected by a long tube over the bomb bays. The tail gunner had a separate pressurized area that could only be left during unpressurized flight. The B-29 was also the heaviest production plane because of increases in range, bomb load and defensive requirements.
The B-29 used the high-speed Boeing 117 airfoil, and its larger Fowler flaps added to the wing area as they increased lift. Modifications led to the B-29D, upgraded to the B-50, and the RB-29 photo reconnaissance aircraft. The Soviet-built copy of the B-29 was called the Tupolev Tu-4.
The earliest B-29s were built before testing was finished, so the Army established modification centers where last-minute changes could be made without slowing expanding assembly lines
Boeing built a total of 2,766 B-29s at plants in Wichita, Kansas, (previously the Stearman Aircraft Co., bought by Boeing in 1929) and in Renton, Washington. The Bell Aircraft Co. built 668 of the giant bombers in Georgia, and the Glenn L. Martin Co. built 536 in Nebraska. Production ended in 1946.
B-29s were primarily used in the Pacific theater during World War II. As many as 1,000 Superfortresses at a time bombed Tokyo, destroying large parts of the city. Finally, on Aug. 6, 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later a second B-29, Bockscar, dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Shortly thereafter, Japan surrendered.
After the war, B-29s were adapted for several functions, including in-flight refueling, anti-submarine patrol, weather reconnaissance, and rescue duty. The B-29 saw military service again in Korea between 1950 and 1953, battling new adversaries: jet fighters and electronic weapons. The last B-29 in squadron use retired from service in September 1960.
Edit2. - Serial #'s
B-29 Superfortress - Serials
Boeing XB-29-BO
(S/N 41-002, the first XB-29 built)
3. - Operational History
The B-29's predecessors, the XB-15 and the B-17 "Flying Fortress" were, in a sense, the failed products of United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) mid-1930's "Project A," which was intended to give the U.S. a heavy bomber capable of flying 5,000 miles. Ironically, the B-29's origins lay in both the strengths and weaknesses of those predecessors, especially the B-17, which demonstrated impressive strength, firepower, speed, bomb load, range and altitude capability -- all of which were still inadequate for that original 1930's design request. Based on Charles Lindbergh's assessment of the potency of the Luftwaffe, American strategists in 1939 acknowledged that the United States would have to fight Nazi Germany from American soil should Germany invade England, which then seemed highly probable. As a consequence, the USAAC initiated a request for proposals pertaining to a new very-heavy, very-long-range bomber to replace the B-17. Four prospective manufacturers, Boeing, Consolidated-Vultee, Douglas and Lockheed were given individual experimental aircraft numbers (XB-29, XB-30, XB-31 and XB-32). Of the four, only Boeing (XB-29) and Consolidated (XB-32) developed flying prototypes, and Boeing emerged the clear winner of the pair, even though its entry flew after the first XB-32 had flown.
From the beginning, the B-29 was a fountain of firsts, anticipating the methodologies and successes of the later NASA Lunar and Space Shuttle programs. Before the first prototype had been constructed, manufacturing facilities had already been established, a risky process that had not been the norm in the aircraft industry. And that bomber, the heaviest production aircraft built up to that time, would be the first to have pressurized crew compartments, centralized and computerized fire control, the capacity to carry up to a 20,000 pound bomb load, or the ability to fly 5,830 miles, with a top airspeed of 365 miles per hour.
Paradoxically, although the B-29 was designed to be a high-altitude weapons platform, its greatest WW II successes were accomplished at low-altitude, in the fire-bombing of Japan. Low-flying B-29's laid waste to most militarily important cities in Japan except Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Niigata and Kokura, which had been declared for reasons unclear to the active bomb groups off-limits to their bombing.
Eventually, the B-29 became the first combat aircraft to carry and drop atomic bombs, first on Hiroshima (by "Enola Gay" commanded by Capt. Robert Lewis and Col. Paul Tibbetts), then Nagasaki (by "Bockscar," commanded by Maj. Charles Sweeny), becoming the first and only aircraft to effectively end a world war. B-29's had one more war in their future before the type was finally retired from combat service in 1960 by a jet-propelled Air Force. During the Korean War, they flew more than 20,000 sorties in which they dropped nearly 200,000 tons of bombs on North Korean targets.
Major variants included: B-29A (Increased-span versions built by Boeing); B-29B (Bell-built version with automatic, radar-guided tail guns); RB-29 (Photo-reconnaissance variant); KB-29M / KB-29P (Inflight refueling tankers); and P2B-1S / P2B-2S (US navy anti-submarine testbeds).
Of the 3,970 B-29's built, one aircraft still flies as a living memorial and educational component of the Commemorative Air Force, flying in its illustrious "Ghost Squadron" of World War II aircraft.
Nicknames: Washington (RAF name for B-29s loaned to the UK between 1950-1958); Bull (NATO code name for Russian TU-4, a near-exact copy of the B-29).
Edit4. - Variants
XB-29
YB-29
B-29
B-29A
B-29B
B-29C
B-29D (XB-44)
XB-29E
XB-29F
XB-29G
XB-29H
YB-29J
YKB-29J
RB-29J
KB-29 Tanker Development
EB-29
RB-29J ( RB-29, FB-29J, F-13, F-13A)
SB-29
TB-29
WB-29
Navy P2B patrol bomber
XB-39 Superfortress
Tupolev Tu-4Edit5. - Technical Specifications
Span: 141 ft. 3 in.
Length: 99 ft. 0 in.
Height: 27 ft. 9 in.
Weight: 133,500 lbs. max.
Armament: Eight or ten .50-cal. machine guns in remote controlled turrets plus two .50-cal. machine guns and one 20mm cannon in tail; 20,000 lbs. of bombs
Engines: Four Wright R-3350s of 2,200 hp. ea.
Cost: $639,000
Serial Number: 44-27297
EditPerformance
Maximum speed: 357 mph.
Cruising speed: 220 mph.
Range: 3,700 miles
Service Ceiling: 33,600 ft.
Edit6. - Operators
- Australia
- Royal Australian Air Force (two former RAF aircraft for trials)
- United Kingdom
- Royal Air Force (88 loaned from the USAF as the Washington B.1)
- United States
- United States Army Air Forces
- United States Air Force
- United States Navy (four former USAF aircraft)
Edit7. - Survivors
One B-29 named "Fifi" is currently registered as "airworthy", but it is presently grounded due to costly engine problems. In a joint press release, dated 21 January 2008, the Commemorative Air Force and the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, announced a pledge of $1.2M USD to re-engine Fifi.
One other B-29, named "Doc", was being restored to flying status, but work has halted as funding has run out.
Edit8. - Links
http://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/Paul-Tibbets-Tribute/Paul-Tibbets-Tribute1.htmlEdit9. - Markings
Edit10. - References
Drawings from aircraft #165 Squadron Signals Publicationshttp://www.warbirdalley.com/b29.htm