Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Source: Wiki

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber, one of the largest airplanes of World War II. It was a very advanced bomber for this time period, having a pressurized cabin, fire control system, and machine-gun turrets controlled remotely. Alhough 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 U.S. firebombing campaign against Japan in the final months of World War II, and carried the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unlike many other bombers, the B-29 remained in service long after the war ended, with service in the Korean War, weather reconnaissance, and as flying television transmitters for the Stratovision company. The B-29 was retired in the early 1960s, with 3,960 aircraft in all built.

Manufacturing the B-29 was a complex task. It involved four main-assembly factories: two Boeing plants at Renton, Washington and Wichita, Kansas, a Bell plant at Marietta, Georgia ("Bell-Atlanta"), and a Martin plant at Omaha, Nebraska ("Martin-Omaha"). Thousands of subcontractors were involved in the project. Because of its highly advanced design, challenging requirements, and immense pressure for production, development was deeply troubled. Changes to the production craft came so often and so fast that in early 1944, B-29s would leave the production lines and fly directly to modification depots for extensive rebuilds to incorporate the latest changes. The most common cause of maintenance headaches and catastrophic failures was the engine. Though the Wright R-3350 would later become a trustworthy workhorse in large piston-engined aircraft, early models were beset with dangerous reliability problems, many caused by demands that the B-29 be put in operation as soon as possible.

The B-29 was capable of flight up to 40,000 feet at speeds of up to 350 mph. This was its best defense, because Japanese fighters of that day could barely get that high, and few could catch the B-29, even if they were at altitude and waiting. Only the heaviest of anti-aircraft weapons could reach it, and since the Axis forces did not have proximity fuzes, hitting or damaging the airplane in combat was nearly impossible. With the revolutionary Central Fire Control System (CFCS), the B-29 had four remote controlled turrets, each armed with two .50 cal M2/AN machine guns. Four gunners were able to control these turrets with the use of four General Electric made analog computers, one above the Norden bombsight in the nose and three in a pressurized compartment in the rear fuselage. The gunner manning the sight in the upper rear station was the "Central Fire Control gunner" whose job was to allocate turrets to each of the other three gunners, avoiding confusion in the heat of battle. The CFCS had a highly advanced analog computer which corrected for the B-29's airspeed, the target's speed, target lead, gravity, temperature, barrel wear, and humidity. Therefore, the .50 caliber machine guns of the B-29 had a maximum effective range of 1,000 yards, double the range of the manually-aimed machine guns of the B-17 Flying Fortress.

The B-29 had a crew of 11: Airplane Commander, Pilot, flight engineer, bombardier, navigator, radio operator, radar operator, 2 blister gunners, CFC upper gunner, and tail gunner. Its engines were 4 Wright R-3350-23 and 23A turbosupercharged radials @ 2,200 hp each. Maximum speed: 357 mph, cruise speed: 220 mph, combat range: 3,250 mi, ferry range: 5,600 mi, service ceiling: 33,600.

Guns: 10 50 cal. machine guns in remote controlled turrets, 2 50 cal. machine guns in tail. Radar: APG-15. Bombs: 20,000 lb.