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B-29s of the 9th Bomb Group on a daytime bombing mission
over Japan in 1945. The 9th Bomb Group aircraft are identified by a large
circle with an 'X' on the tail of all aircraft.
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The Boeing B-29
Superfortress was an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber,
designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II
and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the Boeing B-17
Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic
bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in
dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in
combat.
One of the largest
aircraft of World War II, the B-29 was designed with state-of-the-art technology,
which included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, and an
analog computer-controlled fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a
fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets. The $3 billion
cost of design and production (equivalent to $51 billion in 2022), far
exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project, made the B-29 program
the most expensive of the war. The B-29 remained in service in various roles
throughout the 1950s, being retired in the early 1960s after 3,970 had been
built. A few were also used as flying television transmitters by the
Stratovision company. The Royal Air Force flew the B-29 with the service name
Washington from 1950 to 1954 when the jet-powered Canberra entered service.
The B-29 was the progenitor of a series of
Boeing-built bombers, transports, tankers, reconnaissance aircraft, and
trainers. For example, the re-engined B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II became
the first aircraft to fly around the world non-stop, during a 94-hour flight in
1949. The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter airlifter, which was first flown in 1944,
was followed in 1947 by its commercial airliner variant, the Boeing Model 377
Stratocruiser. In 1948, Boeing introduced the KB-29 tanker, followed in 1950 by
the Model 377-derivative KC-97. A line of outsized-cargo variants of the
Stratocruiser is the Guppy / Mini Guppy / Super Guppy, which remain in service
with NASA and other operators. The Soviet Union produced 847 Tupolev Tu-4s, an
unlicensed reverse-engineered copy of the B-29. Twenty-two B-29s have survived
to preservation; while the majority are on static display at museums, 2
airframes, FIFI and Doc, still fly.
Boeing began work on
long-range bombers in 1938. Boeing's design study for the Model 334 was a
pressurized derivative of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress with nosewheel
undercarriage. Although the Air Corps lacked funds to pursue the design, Boeing
continued development with its own funds as a private venture. In December
1939, the Air Corps issued a formal specification for a so-called
"superbomber" that could deliver 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) of bombs to a
target 2,667 mi (4,292 km) away, and at a speed of 400 mph (640 km/h). Boeing's
previous private venture studies formed the starting point for its response to
the Air Corps formal specification.
On 29 January 1940, the
United States Army Air Corps issued a request to five major aircraft
manufacturers to submit designs for a four-engine bomber with a range of 2,000
miles (3,200 km). Boeing submitted its Model 345 on 11 May 1940, in competition
with designs from Consolidated Aircraft (the Model 33, which later became the
B-32), Lockheed (the Lockheed XB-30), and Douglas (the Douglas XB-31).
Douglas and Lockheed soon
abandoned work on their projects, but Boeing received an order for two flying
prototypes, which were given the designation XB-29, and an airframe for static
testing on 24 August 1940, with the order being revised to add a third flying
aircraft on 14 December. Consolidated continued to work on its Model 33, as it
was seen by the Air Corps as a backup if there were problems with Boeing's
design. These designs were evaluated, and on 6 September orders were placed for
two experimental models each from Boeing and Consolidated Aircraft, which
became the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and the Consolidated B-32 Dominator. These
were known as very long range (VLR) bombers; the name "Superfortress"
was not assigned until March 1944. On 17 May 1941, Boeing received an initial
production order for 14 service test aircraft and 250 production bombers; this
being increased to 500 aircraft in January 1942.
Manufacturing the B-29
was a complex task that involved four main-assembly factories. There were two
Boeing operated plants at Renton, Washington (Boeing Renton Factory), and one
in Wichita, Kansas (now Spirit AeroSystems), a Bell plant at Marietta, Georgia,
near Atlanta ("Bell-Atlanta"), and a Martin plant at Bellevue,
Nebraska ("Martin-Omaha" – Offutt Field). Thousands of subcontractors
were also involved in the project. The first prototype made its maiden flight
from Boeing Field, Seattle, on 21 September 1942. The combined effects of the
aircraft's highly advanced design, challenging requirements, immense pressure
for production, and hurried development caused setbacks. Unlike the unarmed
first prototype, the second was fitted with a Sperry defensive armament system
using remote-controlled gun turrets sighted by periscopes and first flew on 30
December 1942, although the flight was terminated due to a serious engine fire.
On 18 February 1943, the
second prototype, flying out of Boeing Field in Seattle, experienced an engine
fire and crashed. The crash killed Boeing test pilot Edmund T. Allen and his
10-man crew, 20 workers at the Frye Meat Packing Plant and a Seattle firefighter.
Changes to the production craft came so often and so fast that, in early 1944,
B-29s flew from the production lines directly to modification depots for
extensive rebuilds to incorporate the latest changes. AAF-contracted
modification centers and its own air depot system struggled to handle the scope
of the requirements. Some facilities lacked hangars capable of housing the
giant B-29, requiring outdoor work in freezing weather, further delaying
necessary modification. By the end of 1943, although almost 100 aircraft had
been delivered, only 15 were airworthy. This prompted an intervention by
General Hap Arnold to resolve the problem, with production personnel being sent
from the factories to the modification centers to speed availability of
sufficient aircraft to equip the first bomb groups in what became known as the
"Battle of Kansas". This resulted in 150 aircraft being modified in
the five weeks, between 10 March and 15 April 1944.
The most common cause of
maintenance headaches and catastrophic failures was the engines. Although the
Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engines later became a trustworthy
workhorse in large piston-engined aircraft, early models were beset with
dangerous reliability problems. This problem was not fully cured until the
aircraft was fitted with the more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360
"Wasp Major" in the B-29D/B-50 program, which arrived too late for
World War II. Interim measures included cuffs placed on propeller blades to divert
a greater flow of cooling air into the intakes, which had baffles installed to
direct a stream of air onto the exhaust valves. Oil flow to the valves was also
increased, asbestos baffles were installed around rubber push rod fittings to
prevent oil loss, thorough pre-flight inspections were made to detect unseated
valves, and mechanics frequently replaced the uppermost five cylinders (every
25 hours of engine time) and the entire engines (every 75 hours).
Pilots, including the
present-day pilots of the Commemorative Air Force's Fifi, one of the last two
remaining flying B-29s, describe flight after takeoff as being an urgent
struggle for airspeed (generally, flight after takeoff should consist of
striving for altitude). Radial engines need airflow to keep them cool, and
failure to get up to speed as soon as possible could result in an engine
failure and risk of fire. One useful technique was to check the magnetos while
already on takeoff roll rather than during a conventional static engine-runup
before takeoff. The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $51
billion in 2022), far exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project,
made the B-29 program the most expensive of the war. Unit cost was US$639,188
(prototype cost $3,392,396.60).
In wartime, the B-29 was
capable of flight at altitudes up to 31,850 feet (9,710 m), at speeds of up to
350 mph (560 km/h; 300 kn) (true airspeed). This was its best defense because
Japanese fighters could barely reach that altitude, and few could catch the
B-29 even if they did attain that altitude.
The General Electric
Central Fire Control system on the B-29 directed four remotely controlled
turrets armed with two .50 Browning M2 machine guns each. All weapons were
aimed optically, with targeting computed by analog electrical instrumentation.
There were five interconnected sighting stations located in the nose and tail
positions and three Plexiglas blisters in the central fuselage. Five General
Electric analog computers (one dedicated to each sight) increased the weapons'
accuracy by compensating for factors such as airspeed, lead, gravity,
temperature and humidity. The computers also allowed a single gunner to operate
two or more turrets (including tail guns) simultaneously. The gunner in the
upper position acted as fire control officer, managing the distribution of
turrets among the other gunners during combat. The tail position initially had
two .50 Browning machine guns and a single M2 20 mm cannon. Later aircraft had
the 20 mm cannon removed, sometimes replaced by a third machine gun.
In early 1945, Major
General Curtis Lemay, commander of XXI Bomber Command—the Marianas-based
B-29-equipped bombing force—ordered most of the defensive armament and remote-controlled
sighting equipment removed from the B-29s under his command. The affected
aircraft had the same reduced defensive firepower as the nuclear
weapons-delivery intended Silverplate B-29 airframes and could carry greater
fuel and bomb loads as a result of the change. The lighter defensive armament
was made possible by a change in mission from high-altitude, daylight bombing
with high explosive bombs to low-altitude night raids using incendiary bombs.
As a consequence of that requirement, Bell Atlanta (BA) produced a series of
311 B-29Bs that had turrets and sighting equipment omitted, except for the tail
position, which was fitted with AN/APG-15 fire-control radar. That version
could also have an improved APQ-7 "Eagle" bombing-through-overcast
radar fitted in an airfoil-shaped radome under the fuselage. Most of those
aircraft were assigned to the 315th Bomb Wing, Northwest Field, Guam.
The crew would enjoy, for
the first time in a bomber, full-pressurization comfort. This first-ever cabin
pressure system for an Allied production bomber was developed for the B-29 by
Garrett AiResearch. Both the forward and rear crew compartments were to be
pressurized, but the designers had to decide whether to have bomb bays that
were not pressurized or a fully pressurized fuselage that would have to be
de-pressurized prior to opening the bomb bay doors. The solution was to have
bomb bays that were not pressurized and a long tunnel joining the forward and
rear crew compartments. Crews could use the tunnel if necessary to crawl from
one pressurized compartment to the other.
In September 1941, the
United States Army Air Forces' plans for war against Germany and Japan proposed
basing the B-29 in Egypt for operations against Germany, as British airbases
were likely to be overcrowded. Air Force planning throughout 1942 and early
1943 continued to have the B-29 deployed initially against Germany,
transferring to the Pacific only after the end of the war in Europe. By the end
of 1943, plans had changed, partly due to production delays, and the B-29 was
dedicated to the Pacific Theater. A new plan implemented at the direction of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a promise to China, called Operation
Matterhorn, deployed the B-29 units to attack Japan from four forward bases in
southern China, with five main bases in India, and to attack other targets in
the region from China and India as needed. The Chengdu region was eventually
chosen over the Guilin region to avoid having to raise, equip, and train 50
Chinese divisions to protect the advanced bases from Japanese ground attack.
The XX Bomber Command, initially intended to be two combat wings of four groups
each, was reduced to a single wing of four groups because of the lack of
availability of aircraft, automatically limiting the effectiveness of any
attacks from China.
This was an extremely
costly scheme, as there was no overland connection available between India and
China, and all supplies had to be flown over the Himalayas, either by transport
aircraft or by B-29s themselves, with some aircraft being stripped of armor and
guns and used to deliver fuel. B-29s started to arrive in India in early April
1944. The first B-29 flight to airfields in China (over the Himalayas, or
"The Hump") took place on 24 April 1944. The first B-29 combat
mission was flown on 5 June 1944, with 77 out of 98 B-29s launched from India
bombing the railroad shops in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand. Five B-29s
were lost during the mission, none to hostile fire.
On 5 June 1944, B-29s
raided Bangkok, in what is reported as a test before being deployed against the
Japanese home islands. Sources do not report from where they launched and vary
as to the numbers involved—77, 98, and 114 being claimed. Targets were
Bangkok's Memorial Bridge and a major power plant. Bombs fell over two
kilometers away, damaged no civilian structures, but destroyed some tram lines,
and destroyed both a Japanese military hospital and the Japanese secret police
headquarters. On 15 June 1944, 68 B-29s took off from bases around Chengdu, 47
B-29s bombed the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata, Fukuoka Prefecture,
Japan. This was the first attack on Japanese islands since the Doolittle raid
in April 1942. The first B-29 combat losses occurred during this raid, with one
B-29 destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters after an emergency landing in
China, one lost to anti-aircraft fire over Yawata, and another, the Stockett's
Rocket (after Capt. Marvin M. Stockett, Aircraft Commander) B-29-1-BW 42-6261,
disappeared after takeoff from Chakulia, India, over the Himalayas (12 KIA, 11
crew and one passenger). This raid, which did little damage to the target, with
only one bomb striking the target factory complex, nearly exhausted fuel stocks
at the Chengdu B-29 bases, resulting in a slow-down of operations until the
fuel stockpiles could be replenished. Starting in July, the raids against Japan
from Chinese airfields continued at relatively low intensity. Japan was bombed
on:
7 July
1944 (14 B-29s)
29 July
(70+)
10
August (24)
20
August (61)
8
September (90)
26
September (83)
25
October (59)
12
November (29)
21
November (61)
19
December (36)
6
January 1945 (49)
B-29s were withdrawn from
airfields in China by the end of January 1945. Throughout the prior period,
B-29 raids were also launched from China and India against many other targets
throughout Southeast Asia, including a series of raids on Singapore and Thailand.
On 2 November 1944, 55 B-29s raided Bangkok's Bang Sue marshaling yards in the
largest raid of the war. Seven RTAF Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusas from Foong Bin
(Air Group) 16 and 14 IJAAF Ki-43s attempted intercept. RTAF Flt Lt Therdsak
Worrasap attacked a B-29, damaging it, but was shot down by return fire. One
B-29 was lost, possibly the one damaged by Flt Lt Therdsak. On 14 April 1945, a
second B-29 raid on Bangkok destroyed two key power plants and was the last
major attack conducted against Thai targets. The B-29 effort was gradually
shifted to the new bases in the Mariana Islands in the Central Pacific, with
the last B-29 combat mission from India flown on 29 March 1945.
In addition to the
logistical problems associated with operations from China, the B-29 could reach
only a limited part of Japan while flying from Chinese bases. The solution to
this problem was to capture the Mariana Islands, which would bring targets such
as Tokyo, about 1,500 mi (2,400 km) north of the Marianas within range of B-29
attacks. The Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed in December 1943 to seize the
Marianas.
US forces invaded Saipan
on 15 June 1944. Despite a Japanese naval counterattack which led to the Battle
of the Philippine Sea and heavy fighting on land, Saipan was secured by 9 July.
Operations followed against Guam and Tinian, with all three islands secured by
August.
Naval construction
battalions (Seabees) began at once to construct air bases suitable for the
B-29, commencing even before the end of ground fighting. In all, five major
airfields were built: two on the flat island of Tinian, one on Saipan, and two
on Guam. Each was large enough to eventually accommodate a bomb wing consisting
of four bomb groups, giving a total of 180 B-29s per airfield. These bases
could be supplied by ship and, unlike the bases in China, were not vulnerable
to attack by Japanese ground forces.
The bases became the
launch sites for the large B-29 raids against Japan in the final year of the
war. The first B-29 arrived on Saipan on 12 October 1944, and the first combat
mission was launched from there on 28 October 1944, with 14 B-29s attacking the
Truk atoll. The 73rd Bomb Wing launched the first mission against Japan from
bases in the Marianas, on 24 November 1944, sending 111 B-29s to attack Tokyo.
For this first attack on the Japanese capital since the Doolittle Raid in April
1942, 73rd Bomb Wing wing commander Brigadier General Emmett O'Donnell Jr.
acted as mission command pilot in B-29 Dauntless Dotty.
The campaign of
incendiary raids started with the bombardment of Kobe on 4 February 1945, then
peaked early with the most destructive bombing raid in history (even when the
later Silverplate-flown nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are
considered) on the night of 9–10 March 1945 on Tokyo. From then on, the raids
intensified, being launched regularly until the end of the war. The attacks
succeeded in devastating most large Japanese cities (with the exception of
Kyoto and four that were reserved for nuclear attacks), and gravely damaged
Japan's war industries. Although less publicly appreciated, the mining of
Japanese ports and shipping routes (Operation Starvation) carried out by B-29s
from April 1945 reduced Japan's ability to support its population and move its
troops.
The most famous B-29s
were the Silverplate series, being extensively modified to carry nuclear
weapons. Early consideration was given to using the British Lancaster as a
nuclear bomber, as this would require less modification. However, the superior
range and high-altitude performance of the B-29 made it a much better choice,
and after the B-29 began to be modified in November 1943 for carrying the
atomic bomb, the suggestion for using the Lancaster never came up again.
The most significant
modification was the enlargement of the bomb bay enabling each aircraft to
carry either the Thinman or Fatman weapons. These Silverplate bombers differed
from other B-29s then in service by having fuel injection and reversible props.
Also, to make a lighter aircraft, the Silverplate B-29s were stripped of all
guns, except for those on the tail. Pilot Charles Sweeney credits the
reversible props for saving Bockscar after making an emergency landing on
Okinawa following the Nagasaki bombing.
Enola Gay, flown by
Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped the first bomb, called Little Boy, on Hiroshima
on 6 August 1945. Enola Gay is fully restored and on display at the
Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, outside Dulles Airport near
Washington, D.C. Bockscar, piloted by Major Charles W. Sweeney, dropped the
second bomb, called Fat Man, on Nagasaki three days later. Bockscar is on
display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Following the surrender
of Japan, called V-J Day, B-29s were used for other purposes. A number supplied
POWs with food and other necessities by dropping barrels of rations on Japanese
POW camps. In September 1945, a long-distance flight was undertaken for public
relations purposes: Generals Barney M. Giles, Curtis LeMay, and Emmett
O'Donnell Jr. piloted three specially modified B-29s from Chitose Air Base in
Hokkaidō to Chicago Municipal Airport, continuing to Washington, D.C., the
farthest nonstop distance (6,400 miles or 10,300 kilometers) to that date flown
by U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft and the first-ever nonstop flight from Japan
to Chicago. Two months later, Colonel Clarence S. Irvine commanded another
modified B-29, Pacusan Dreamboat, in a world-record-breaking long-distance
flight from Guam to Washington, D.C., traveling 7,916 miles (12,740 km) in 35
hours, with a gross takeoff weight of 155,000 pounds (70,000 kg). Almost a year
later, in October 1946, the same B-29 flew 9,422 miles (15,163 km) nonstop from
Oahu, Hawaii, to Cairo, Egypt, in less than 40 hours, demonstrating the
possibility of routing airlines over the polar ice cap.
Although considered for
other theaters, and briefly evaluated in the UK, the B-29 was exclusively used
in World War II in the Pacific Theatre. The use of YB-29-BW 41-36393, the
so-named Hobo Queen, one of the service test aircraft flown around several
British airfields in early 1944, was part of a "disinformation"
program from its mention in an American-published Sternenbanner German-language
propaganda leaflet from Leap Year Day in 1944, meant to be circulated within
the Reich, with the intent to deceive the Germans into believing that the B-29
would be deployed to Europe.
American post-war
military assistance programs loaned the RAF 87 Superfortresses, to equip eight
RAF Bomber Command squadrons. The aircraft was known as the Washington B.1 in
RAF service and served from March 1950 until the last bombers were returned in
March 1954. Deployment was restricted to long-range training for strategic
attacks against the Soviet Union, which was beyond the range of the RAF's Avro
Lincolns. The phase-out was occasioned by deliveries of the English Electric
Canberra bombers.
Three Washingtons
modified for ELINT duties and a standard bomber version used for support by No.
192 Squadron RAF were decommissioned in 1958, being replaced by de Havilland
Comet aircraft.
Two British Washington
B.1 aircraft were transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1952.
They were attached to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit and used in
trials conducted on behalf of the British Ministry of Supply. Both aircraft
were placed in storage in 1956 and were sold for scrap in 1957.
At the end of WWII,
Soviet development of modern four-engine heavy bombers lagged behind the West.
The Petlyakov Pe-8—the sole heavy bomber operated by the Soviet Air
Forces—first flew in 1936. Intended to replace the obsolete Tupolev TB-3, only
93 Pe-8s were built by the end of WWII. During 1944 and 1945, four B-29s made
emergency landings in Soviet territory after bombing raids on Japanese
Manchuria and Japan. In accordance with Soviet neutrality in the Pacific War,
the bombers were interned by the Soviets despite American requests for their
return. Rather than return the aircraft, the Soviets reverse engineered the
American B-29s and used them as a pattern for the Tupolev Tu-4.
On 31 July 1944, Ramp
Tramp (serial number 42-6256), of the United States Army Air Forces 462nd (Very
Heavy) Bomb Group was diverted to Vladivostok, Russia, after an engine failed
and the propeller could not be feathered. This B-29 was part of a 100-aircraft
raid against the Japanese Showa steel mill in Anshan, Manchuria. On 20 August
1944, Cait Paomat (42-93829), flying from Chengdu, was damaged by anti-aircraft
gunfire during a raid on the Yawata Iron Works. Due to the damage it sustained,
the crew elected to divert to the Soviet Union. The aircraft crashed in the
foothills of Sikhote-Alin mountain range east of Khabarovsk after the crew
bailed out.
On 11 November 1944,
during a night raid on Omura in Kyushu, Japan, the General H. H. Arnold Special
(42-6365) was damaged and forced to divert to Vladivostok in the Soviet Union.
The crew was interned. On 21 November 1944, Ding How (42-6358) was damaged
during a raid on an aircraft factory at Omura and was also forced to divert to
Vladivostok.
The interned crews of
these four B-29s were allowed to escape into American-occupied Iran in January
1945, but none of the B-29s were returned after Stalin ordered the Tupolev OKB
to examine and copy the B-29 and produce a design ready for quantity production
as soon as possible.
Because aluminum in the
USSR was supplied in different gauges from that available in the US (metric vs
imperial), the entire aircraft had to be extensively re-engineered. In
addition, Tupolev substituted his own favored airfoil sections for those used
by Boeing, with the Soviets themselves already having their own Wright
R-1820-derived 18 cylinder radial engine, the Shvetsov ASh-73 of comparable
power and displacement to the B-29's Duplex Cyclone radials available to power
their design. In 1947, the Soviets debuted both the Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO ASCC
code named Bull), and the Tupolev Tu-70 transport variant. The Soviets used
tail-gunner positions similar to the B-29 in many later bombers and transports.
Production of the B-29
was phased out after WWII, with the last example completed by Boeing's Renton
factory on 28 May 1946. Many aircraft went into storage, being declared excess
inventory, and were ultimately scrapped as surplus. Others remained in the
active inventory and equipped the Strategic Air Command when it formed on 21
March 1946. In particular, the "Silverplate" modified aircraft of the
509th Composite Group remained the only aircraft capable of delivering the
atomic bomb, and so the unit was involved in the Operation Crossroads series of
tests, with B-29 Dave's Dream dropping a Fat Man bomb in Test Able on 1 July
1946.
Some B-29s, fitted with
filtered air sampling scoops, were used to monitor above-ground nuclear weapons
testing by the US and the USSR by sampling airborne radioactive contamination.
The USAF also used the aircraft for long-range weather reconnaissance (WB-29),
for signals intelligence gathering (EB-29) and photographic reconnaissance
(RB-29).
The B-29 was used in
1950–1953 in the Korean War. At first, the bomber was used in normal strategic
day-bombing missions, although North Korea's few strategic targets and industries
were quickly destroyed. More importantly, in 1950 numbers of Soviet MiG-15 jet
fighters appeared over Korea, and after the loss of 28 aircraft, future B-29
raids were restricted to night missions, largely in a supply-interdiction role.
The B-29 dropped the
1,000 lb (450 kg) VB-3 "Razon" (a range-controllable version of the
earlier Azon guided ordnance device) and the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) VB-13
"Tarzon" MCLOS radio-controlled bombs in Korea, mostly for
demolishing major bridges, like the ones across the Yalu River, and for attacks
on dams. The aircraft also was used for numerous leaflet drops in North Korea,
such as those for Operation Moolah.
A Superfortress of the
91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron flew the last B-29 mission of the war on
27 July 1953.
Over the course of the
war, B-29s flew 20,000 sorties and dropped 200,000 tonnes (220,000 tons) of
bombs. B-29 gunners were credited with shooting down 27 enemy aircraft. In turn
78 B-29s were lost; 57 B-29 and reconnaissance variants were lost in action and
21 were non-combat losses.
Soviet records show that
one MiG-15 jet fighter was shot down by a B-29 during the war. This occurred on
6 December 1950, when a B-29 shot down Lieutenant N. Serikov.
With the arrival of the
mammoth Convair B-36, the B-29 was reclassified as a medium bomber by the Air
Force. The later B-50 Superfortress variant (initially designated B-29D) was
able to handle auxiliary roles such as air-sea rescue, electronic intelligence
gathering, air-to-air refueling, and weather reconnaissance.
The B-50D was replaced in
its primary role during the early 1950s by the Boeing B-47 Stratojet, which in
turn was replaced by the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. The final active-duty
KB-50 and WB-50 variants were phased out in the mid-1960s, with the final
example retired in 1965. A total of 3,970 B-29s were built.
Twenty-two B-29s are
preserved at various museums worldwide, including two flying examples; FIFI,
which belongs to the Commemorative Air Force, and Doc, which belongs to Doc's
Friends. Doc made its first flight in 60 years from Wichita, Kansas, on 17 July
2016.] The public is being invited to inspect and take a short paid flight in
Doc and FIFI at various venues.
Three of the Silverplate
B-29s modified to drop nuclear bombs survived. Superfortress 44-86292 Enola Gay
(nose number 82), which dropped the first atomic bomb, was fully restored and
placed on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the
National Air & Space Museum near Washington Dulles International Airport in
2003. The B-29 that dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki, Superfortress 44-27297
Bockscar (nose number 77), is restored and on display at the National Museum of
the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, posed with
a replica of the Mark 3 Fat Man nuclear bomb. The third is Superfortress
45-21748, which was delivered on 9 August 1945 and is on display at the
National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Only two of the
twenty-two museum aircraft are outside the United States: It's Hawg Wild at the
Imperial War Museum Duxford and another at the KAI Aerospace Museum in Sachon,
South Korea.
Variants
The
variants of the B-29 were outwardly similar in appearance but were built around
different wing center sections that affected the wingspan dimensions. The wing
of the Renton-built B-29A-BN used a different subassembly process and was a
foot longer in span. The Georgia-built B-29B-BA weighed less through armament
reduction. A planned C series with more reliable R-3350s was not built.
Moreover,
engine packages changed, including the type of propellers and range of the
variable pitch. A notable example was the eventual 65 airframes (up to 1947's
end) for the Silverplate and successor-name "Saddletree"
specifications built for the Manhattan Project with Curtiss Electric reversible
pitch propellers.
The
other differences came through added equipment for varied mission roles. These
roles included cargo carriers (CB); rescue aircraft (SB); weather ships (WB);
trainers (TB); and aerial tankers (KB).
Some
were used for odd purposes such as flying relay television transmitters under
the name of Stratovision.
The
B-29D led progressively to the XB-44, and the family of B-50 Superfortress
(which was powered by four 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-4360-35
Wasp Major engines).
Another
role was as a mothership. This included being rigged for carrying the
experimental parasite fighter aircraft, such as the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin and
Republic F-84 Thunderjets as in flight lock on and offs. It was also used to
develop the Airborne Early Warning program; it was the ancestor of various
modern radar picket aircraft. A B-29 with the original Wright Duplex Cyclone
powerplants was used to air-launch the Bell X-1 supersonic research rocket
aircraft, as well as Cherokee rockets for the testing of ejection seats.
Some
B-29s were modified to act as testbeds for various new systems or special
conditions, including fire-control systems, cold-weather operations, and
various armament configurations. Several converted B-29s were used to
experiment with aerial refueling and re-designated as KB-29s. Perhaps the most
important tests were conducted by the XB-29G. It carried prototype jet engines
in its bomb bay, and lowered them into the air stream to conduct measurements.
Notable accidents and
incidents involving B-29s include:
The 1947
crash of the Kee Bird in Greenland during a flight to the geographic North
Pole, and its subsequent destruction in 1995 during a recovery attempt.
The 1948
Waycross B-29 crash, which resulted in the United States v. Reynolds lawsuit
regarding state secrets privilege.
The 1948
Lake Mead Boeing B-29 crash during the "Sun Tracker" project that
aimed to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile guidance system that
used the sun for direction and positioning.
The 3
November 1948 crash at Bleaklow moor near Glossop, Derbyshire, England. Much of
the wreckage is still exposed and can be reached by a 2 miles (3.2 km) walk
from the summit of Snake Pass, starting along the Pennine Way footpath through
Devil's Dyke.
On 11
April 1950 a B-29 departed Kirtland Air Force Base and crashed into a mountain
on Manzano Base approximately three minutes later, killing the crew. Detonators
were installed in the nuclear bomb on the aircraft. The bomb case was
demolished and some high-explosive (HE) material burned in the fire. Both the
weapon and the capsule of nuclear material were on board but the capsule was not
inserted in the bomb for safety reasons, so no nuclear detonation was possible.
On 5
August 1950, a B-29 carrying a Mark 4 nuclear bomb crashed shortly after
takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base with 20 men on board. Twelve men
were killed in the crash, including Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, and
another seven on the ground when the aircraft exploded. The base was later
renamed after Travis.
Bibliography
Bowers,
Peter M. Boeing Aircraft since 1916. London: Putnam, 1989.
Bowers,
Peter M. Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Stillwater, Minnesota: Voyageur Press,
1999.
Brown,
J. "RCT Armament in the Boeing B-29". Air Enthusiast, Number Three,
1977, pp. 80–83.
Campbell,
Richard H., The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay
and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs. Jefferson, North Carolina:
McFarland & Company, Inc., 2005..
Cate,
James Lea (1953). Craven, Wesley Frank; Cate, James Lea (eds.). The Pacific:
Matterhorn to Nagasaki June 1944 to August 1945 (PDF). The Army Air Forces in
World War II. Volume 5. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Clarke,
Chris. "The Cannons on the B-29 Bomber Were a Mid-Century Engineering
Masterpiece", Popular Mechanics, 30 November 2015.
Craven,
Wesley Frank and James Lea Cate, eds. The Army Air Forces In World War II:
Volume One: Plans and Early Operations: January 1939 to August 1942 Archived 18
October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force
History, 1983.
Craven,
Wesley Frank and James Lea Cate, eds. The Army Air Forces In World War II:
Volume Two: Europe: Torch to Pointblank August 1942 to December 1943 Archived
23 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force
History, 1983.
Craven,
Wesley Frank and James Lea Cate, eds. The Army Air Forces In World War II:
Volume Five: The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki June 1944 to August 1945.
Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1983.
Dear,
I.C.B. and M.R.D. Foo, eds. The Oxford Companion of World War II. Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press, 1995.
Francillon,
René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam, 1979.
Futrell
R.F. et al. Aces and Aerial Victories: The United States Air Force in Southeast
Asia, 1965–1973. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1976.
Herman,
Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War
II. New York: Random House, 2012.
Johnson,
Robert E. "Why the Boeing B-29 Bomber, and Why the Wright R-3350
Engine?" American Aviation Historical Society Journal, 33(3), 1988, pp.
174–189.
Knaack,
Marcelle Size. Post-World War II Bombers, 1945–1973. Washington, D.C.: Office
of Air Force History, 1988.
LeMay,
Curtis and Bill Yenne. Super Fortress. London: Berkley Books, 1988.
Lewis,
Peter M. H., ed. "B-29 Superfortress". Academic American
Encyclopedia. Volume 10. Chicago: Grolier Incorporated, 1994.
Lloyd,
Alwyn T. B-29 Superfortress, Part 1. Production Versions (Detail & Scale
10). Fallbrook, California/London: Aero Publishers/Arms & Armour Press,
Ltd., 1983.
Lloyd,
Alwyn T. B-29 Superfortress. Part 2. Derivatives (Detail & Scale 25). Blue
Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania/London: TAB Books/Arms & Armour Press, Ltd.,
1987.
Mann,
Robert A. The B-29 Superfortress: A Comprehensive Registry of the Planes and
Their Missions. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2004.
Mann,
Robert A. The B-29 Superfortress Chronology, 1934–1960. Jefferson, North
Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009.
Marshall,
Chester. Warbird History: B-29 Superfortress. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks
International, 1993. IS
Pace,
Steve. Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, United
Kingdom: Crowood Press, 2003.
Peacock,
Lindsay. "Boeing B-29... First of the Superbombers, Part One." Air
International, August 1989, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 68–76, 87.
Peacock,
Lindsay. "Boeing B-29... First of the Superbombers, Part Two." Air
International, September 1989, Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 141–144, 150–151.
Vander
Meulen, Jacob. Building the B-29. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 1995.
Wegg,
John. General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors. London: Putnam, 1990.
White,
Jerry. Combat Crew and Unit Training in the AAF 1939–1945. USAF Historical
Study No. 61. Washington, D.C.: Center for Air Force History, 1949.
Williams,
Anthony G. and Emmanuel Gustin. Flying Guns World War II: Development of
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2003.
Willis, David.
"Boeing B-29 and B-50 Superfortress". International Air Power Review,
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Further Reading
Anderton,
David A. B-29 Superfortress at War. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd.,
1978.
Berger,
Carl. B29: The Superfortress. New York: Ballantine Books, 1970.
Birdsall,
Steve. B-29 Superfortress in Action (Aircraft in Action 31). Carrolton, Texas:
Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1977.
Birdsall,
Steve. Saga of the Superfortress: The Dramatic Story of the B-29 and the
Twentieth Air Force. London: Sidgewick & Jackson Limited, 1991.
Birdsall,
Steve. Superfortress: The Boeing B-29. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal
Publications, Inc., 1980.
Chant,
Christopher. Superprofile: B-29 Superfortress. Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset, UK:
Haynes Publishing Group, 1983.
Davis,
Larry. B-29 Superfortress in Action (Aircraft in Action 165). Carrollton,
Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1997.
Dorr,
Robert F. B-29 Superfortress Units in World War Two. Combat Aircraft 33.
Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2002.
Dorr,
Robert F. B-29 Superfortress Units of the Korean War. Botley, Oxford, UK:
Osprey Publishing, 2003.
Fopp,
Michael A. The Washington File. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians)
Ltd., 1983.
Herbert,
Kevin B. Maximum Effort: The B-29s Against Japan. Manhattan, Kansas: Sunflower
University Press, 1983.
Howlett,
Chris. "Washington Times". The history of the Washington
Johnsen,
Frederick A. The B-29 Book. Tacoma, Washington: Bomber Books, 1978.
Mayborn,
Mitch. The Boeing B-29 Superfortress (Aircraft in Profile 101). Windsor,
Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1971 (reprint).
Nijboer,
Donald. B-29 Superfortress vs Ki-44 "Tojo": Pacific Theater 1944–45
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017).
Nijboer,
Donald, and Steve Pace. B-29 Combat Missions: First-hand Accounts of
Superfortress Operations Over the Pacific and Korea (Metro Books, 2011).
Pimlott,
John. B-29 Superfortress. London: Bison Books Ltd., 1980.
Rigmant,
Vladimir. B-29, Tу-4 – стратегические близнецы – как это было (Авиация и
космонавтика 17 [Крылья 4]) (in Russian). Moscow: 1996.
Toh,
Boon Kwan. "Black and Silver: Perceptions and Memories of the B-29 Bomber,
American Strategic Bombing and the Longest Bombing Missions of the Second World
War on Singapore" War & Society 39#2 (2020) pp. 109–125
Wheeler,
Keith. Bombers over Japan. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1982.
Wolf,
William. Boeing B-29 Superfortress: The Ultimate Look. Atglen, Pennsylvania:
Schiffer Publishing, 2005.
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Rare color photograph of olive-drab painted B-29
Superfortresses. They are two YB-29-BWs, and closest to the camera is 41-36960,
the seventh YB-29 built.
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Boeing YB-29 Superfortress prototype serial number
41-36957.
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The Boeing B-29 was the most advanced heavy bomber of World
War II.
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A gunner mans one of the five sighting stations on a B-29.
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A USAAF sergeant is shown operating basic elements of
central gunnery control system. All gunner has to do is get the enemy plane in
his sights and pull the trigger. The complicated mathematical problem of
accounting for speed of the enemy plane, its distance from the B-29, gravity
and parallax is worked out at split-second speed by electronic and mechanical
units of the system.
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Armorers check the operation of the four .50 cal. guns in
the forward, upper turret. Like many B-29s, this turret had two extra guns
added to protect against head-on attacks.
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The integrated fire control allowed the gunner with the
best view of an attack to control the appropriate turrets. Also, if a gunner
was incapacitated, another crewman could operate his turrets. This diagram
shows which turrets each gunner could control.
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The Combat Crew Manual issued by XX Bomber Command, under
the command of Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay, included this cartoon representations of
a B-29 gunner shooting down Japanese aircraft with the press of a button,
underscoring the futuristic nature of the central fire control.
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Arming bombs on a B-29 Superfortress bomber, Saipan,
Mariana Islands, 1945.
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Boeing B-29 42-24623 "Thumper" at the Boeing
Plant No. 2 on Aug. 7, 1945. This was the first aircraft to return to the USA
after completing 40 missions and subsequently went on a bond-selling tour. The
small “Rising Sun” flags denote a claimed kill of a Japanese aircraft by the
gunners.
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B-29 Superfortress cockpit.
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Major subassemblies of a B-29 Superfortress.
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B-29 Superfortress "Silver Lady" with bombs ready
for loading.
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B-29 Superfortresses, Guam, 1945.
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Painting nose art on B-29 Superfortress "Little
Gem".
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B-29s from 500th BG, 73rd BW of Twentieth Air Force
dropping incendiary bombs over Japan. On March 10, 1945, they did this at
night, attacking from low altitude after bombing from greater heights failed to
produce success.
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Boeing B-29 Superfortresses.
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On 4 March 1945, "Dinah Might" became the first
B-29 to make an emergency landing on Iwo Jima, while the fighting was still
going on. She was repaired, refueled and flown out.
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Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Waddy’s Waggon” crew (869th BS,
497th BG, 73rd BW, 20th AF) duplicating the stupendous caricature nose art of
their B-29. Sadly, all except the pilot in this photo (a co-pilot, really) died
when their “Waddy’s Wagon” disappeared without a trace while aiding a crippled
B-29 back to safety during a mission against the Nakajima aircraft factory
(Musashino, Japan) on 9 January 1945.
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Boeing B-29 and North American P-51D Mustangs. Superb photo
taken from the right gunner station blister of the B-29; the pedestal gun sight
is quite conspicuous. It was sure nice to have the help of those “Little
Friends”. The Mustangs are from the 458FS, 506FG based at Iwo Jima.
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B-29-15-BW 42-6358 “Ding How” 794 BS / 468th Bomb Group,
while still in service with the USAAF in China. This photograph taken before
November 21, 1944 when the aircraft failed to return from a raid and
force-landed in Vladivostok, USSR.
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Captain Harold Estey and crew of B-29 “The Craig Comet” of
the 794th Bomb Squadron, 468th Bomb
Group. Co-Pilot James E. Kemp is in the back row on the left of this group.
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B-29-1-BW 42-6225 “Ding How” 676BS / 444BG Capt. Nicolas VanWinger¬den and
crew, Summer 1944.
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B-29-1-BW 42-6225 “Ding How” 676BS / 444BG, Kwanghan,
China, 25 October 1944.
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Bell-Marietta Georgia, B-29 Assembly Line, 1944. Serial
numbers on the planes suggest these are Wichita-built Boeing B-29-5-BWs.
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A U.S. Army Air Forces Boeing B-29A-20-BN Superfortress
42-94012 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
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Favored by Warm breezes and under a blue Kansas Sky, a vast
crowd attends the delivery ceremony on the Boeing-Wichita flight apron at 4:15
P.M., 14 February 1945, of the 1,000th B-29.
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Interior photo of the B-29 Superfortress bomber. June 1944
Shown is the rear pressurized cabin, equipped with four bunks to give crew
members a chance for rest on a long mission. This is an important factor in
combating flight fatigue. The B-29 was first reported in action on June 5,
1944, in an attack on railway yards at Bangkok, Siam, and on June 15 the first
raid was made in Japan from bases in China. Following that date, attacks on the
Japanese mainland were steadily stepped up, mainly from bases in the Marianas
and in Guam, with forces up to 450 and 500 Superfortresses. (U.S. Air Force
photo)
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A/2C Don W. Murray of Mazon, Ill., flashes a victory smile
from the gun blister of his U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortress after shooting
down a Communist jet fighter. Airman Murray shot down the enemy jet during a
pre-dawn strike against a Red staff school on the west coast of North Korea,
October 8. Sighting the enemy fighter approaching from the rear, Murray fired
as it attempted to sneak into the bomber stream. After five bursts, the jet
broke away and exploded. Murray is a left gunner with the 307th Bomb Wing, 20th
Air Force, based on Okinawa, November 1952.
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Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
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B-29 of the 16th Bombardment Group during World War II in
1944.
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B-29A-30-BN 42-94106 on a long-range mission in 1945.
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Boeing XB-29 or YB-29 tail gun turret.
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Boeing XB-29 or YB-29 ventral turret.
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Incendiary bombs are dropped from B-29 Superfortresses of
the U.S. Army Air Forces on already-burning landing piers and surrounding
buildings in Kobe, Japan, on June 4, 1945.
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A night view of burning Toyama, Japan on August 1, 1945,
after 173 American B-29 bombers dropped incendiary bombs on the city. Formerly
a big producer of aluminum, the city was 95.6% demolished.
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Map of potential B-29 bases with radius of action of 1600
nautical miles.
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