B-29: Superfortress: Giant Bomber of World War 2 and Korea

360 Pages·2012·18.85 MB·English

by  Simons

First published in Great Britain in2012 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright © Graham M Simons 2012
ISBN 978 1 84884 753 8
PDF ISBN: 9781783376179
EPUB ISBN: 9781783376193
PRC ISBN: 9781783376186
First Published 1990 by Arms and Armour Press.
Revised and expanded by Pen & Sword Aviation 2012
The right of Graham M Simons to be identified as Author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
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CONTENTS
Introduction
Origins
Birth Pains
Early Aircraft
China
Into the Pacific!
Operation Centreboard
Peace - and a ‘Police Action’
Washingtons and Tankers
The B-50
The Tu-4 ‘Bull’
Specials
Operating the B-29
Bibliography
Index
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A project of this nature could not be undertaken without considerable help from
many organizations and individuals.
Special thanks must go to Marilyn Phipps of Boeing Archives, Col. Richard
L Upstromm and Tom Brewer from the USAF Museum, now the National
Museum of the USAF for the provision of many photographs and details.
Background to the development and procurement of all the B-29 projects,
can be found in published and unpublished primary source research material in
the form of memoranda, policy statements and other documents from the Army
Air Corps, the Navy, and Carl L. Norden inc., provided to us by Lynn Gamma
and all in the U.S. Air Force Historical Research Center at Maxwell Air Force
Base, Montgomery, Ala. The same applies the valuable services provided by the
History Office of the Air Technical Service Command, Wright Field, Dayton,
Ohio. Much other primary source documentation is also located in the National
Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland.
The archives of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics provided
access to all their relevant material, as did the archivesof the Institute of Aircraft
Production provided much information and a number of photographs, as did the
RAF Museum, the Imperial War Museum and the Science Museum in London.
The late Roger Freeman provided photographs, as did Simon Peters and
Martin Bowman and Peter Green from their respective collections.
Personal thanks must also go to David Lee, the former Deputy Director and
Curator of Aircraft of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, John Hamlin and to
Vince Hemmings, the former curator of the East Anglian Aviation Society’s
Tower Museum at Bassingbourn.
The author is indebted to many people and organisations for providing
photographs for this book, many of which are in the public domain. In some
cases it has not been possible to identify the original photographer and so credits
are given in the appropriate places to the immediate supplier. If any of the
pictures have not been correctly credited, the author apologises.
INTRODUCTION
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress, along with the fallback design of the
Consolidated B-32 Dominator should the Superfortress prove unsuccessful, were
two very heavy bomber designs that originated in the latter part of the 1930s
which were intended to replace earlier, smaller four engined designs.
The B-29 was the progenitor of a series of Boeing-built bombers,
reconnaissance aircraft, trainers and tankers and airliners including the B-50
Superfortress, the C-97 Stratofreighter the Model 377 Stratocruiser. Later jet-
powered models from Boeing carried on the lineage.
The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War
Two. It was a very advanced bomber for this time period that included features
such as a pressurized cabin, an electronic fire-control system, and remote-
controlled gun turrets. Though it was designed as a high-altitude daytime
bomber, in practice it actually flew more low-altitude nighttime incendiary
bombing missions. It was the primary aircraft in the American fire-bombing
campaign against the Empire of Japan in the final months of World War Two,
and carried the two atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Unlike many other bombers from this era, the B-29 remained in service long
after the war ended, with a few even being employed as flying television
transmitters for the Stratovision company. The type was finally retired in the
early 1960s, with 3,970 aircraft in all built.
The classic image of the B-29 - high over Mount Fiji in Japan. (USAAF)
In close at the moment of weapon release. A pair of 19th BG B-29s release their bombs. (USAAF)