BOEING B-29SUPERFORTRESS

Other titl es in the Crowood Aviation Seri es

A ich i D3A I/2 Val

A irco - T he A ircraft Man ufactu rin g Company

Av ro Lan caster

Av ro Shackle to n

BAC O ne -Eleven

Boe ing 737

Boei ng 747

Boeing 757 and 767

Boeing 13- 17 Flying Fortress

Bristo l Brttan ni n

C o nsolida ted 8 -24 Liberator

Do uglas A -26 and 13-26 In vader

Do uglas A D SkvraidcrDo uglas Twinj ers

Eng lish Electr ic C an berra

English Elec tr ic Ligh tn ing

Fa irch ild Republi c A - I0 T h underbo lt [I

Fair y Swordfish and A lbaco re

Fokkcr A ircra ft of World War O ne

Hawk er Hu nt er

Heinkel He II I

Junkers Ju 88

Lock heed C- 130 Hercules

Lockheed F- I04 Starfigh te r

Luftw affe - A Pictorial Hi stor y

Mc Don nel l Douglas A -4 SkyhawkMc Donnel l Do uglas F- 15 Eagle

Mcsserschmirt Bf 110

M esscrsch mit t Me 262

N icupo rt A ircraft of World W ar O ne

Nort h A me rica n 13-25 Mi tchel l

Nort h A me rica n F-86 Sabre

North A me rica n F- IOO Super Sa bre

North A me rican T 6

Panavi n Torn ado

Pet! yakov Pe-2 Pcsh/((1Short Sunderland

T he Turre t Fighters

V-Bomb ers

Vickers VC I0

Vo ugh t F4U C orsa ir

Pet er C. Sm ith

Mi ck Davis

Ken Del ve

Barry Jones

Malc o lm L. Hill

Malc o lm L. H ill

Mart in W. Bowm an

T homas Becher

Mart in W. Bowman

C harles Wood ley

Mart in W. Bowma n

Scott T hompson

Peter C. Sm ith

T hom as Becher

Barry Jones

Mart in W. Bowman

Pet er C. Smith

\X!. A . Harri son

Pau l Leam an

Bar ry Jones

Ron Mackay

Ron Mackay

Marti n \X!. Bowman

Martin \X!. Bowman

Eric Mombcck

Brad ElwardPet er E. Davies am i Tony T hornborough

Ron Mackay

David Baker

Ray Sanger

Je rry Sc utts

Duncan C urt is

Pet er E. Davies

Peter C. Smith

A ndy Eva ns

Peter C. Smith

Ken Delve

A lec Bre\\'

Barry Jones

Lan ce C o le

Marti n W. Bow man

SUPERFORTRESS

Steve Pace

I=>~clThe Crowood Press

First publish ed in 2003 hy

The C rowood Press Ltd

Ram shury, Marlbo rou gh

Wi ltshi re 5 1 2H R

www.crowood ..com

© Steve Pace 2003

A ll righl s reser ved . 0 part o f this publicatio n ma y

he reprod uced or t ransrnirred in any form or hy any

mean s, e lec t ro n ic or mechani cal. inc luding l'h()t () ~

copy. record ing. or any information storage and

rc rricval syste m , wi tho ut pe rmission in writ ing (rom

th e pu blishers.

Bril ish Librar y Ca tulog u ing -in -Pu biicntio n Data

A cata logue record for th is book is ava ila!.'le from rhc

Brilish Library.

Dedication

T h is book is ch iefly ded ica ted to th e th ousands of peop le who were a soc iared with th eBoeing B-29 Supc rforrress in World \Var Two and th e Korean \Var. It is also ded icat ­ed to th ose who faithfu lly served with her during th e Cold \Var, never kn owing whenth ey migh t have to take her in to ba t tle once again .

Acknowledgements

I BN I 86 126 58 1 6

Pho tograph o n page 6: The ENOLA GAY as she

ap peared the day befo re she dropped Lirrle Boy on

Hirosh ima. Rich ard Ii. Campbe ll Co llect ion

Typefaces used : Cloudy (rexr), C hel tenham

(heculin):s) , U n ivers C o nde nsed (ca/>liollS,," d hoxes).

Type set and design ed by

D & N Publishing

Lowesdcn Busine ss Park. H ungerford . Berkshi re .

Prim ed and ho un d by Book crafr, M idso mcr o r ton ,

Peter M. Bowers; Scott Burris, heav y­bombers.co m: Rich ard H. Campbell; ColMelv in G . Cas h, US A F (Retd ); Bob Cole;Bill Cope land; W illiam R. C orker, A meri­ca n Insti tute of Aeron aut ics an d Astron au­tics - Au gust 1999 cwslcrrcr of the NewEngland Sec tion ; Spa rky Corrndina, B-29Research Resources; Ronald Ellison; Frank'Bud' Farrel l; John Forster; Joe Godfrey,AvWeb.com Profiles; Sha wn Ham ilton;C hris Howlett, \Vash ington Times cws­lett er and B-29 Research Resources; C huckIrwin ; Ph ilip Jarrett; Mich ael J. Lom bardi ,Boeing Histor ical A rchives; Earl Johnson;Dav id Karr and Wi lliam R. 'Billy' Karr :C hester W. Marsh all; David Maxwell, B-29Research Resources; M/Sgt David W.Men ard , USA F (Re td ); Ma x Nel son; TriciaN iquette, Boeing C ommercial A irplanes,

Wichita Division; Stan Pier, founder/exec­uti ve director , T he G lenn L. Marrin Av ia­tion Museum ; Dav id Price-G oodfellow,D & Publish ing; Dr Raymond L. Puffer.arch ivist/h isto rian, A ir Force Flight TestCenter History Office, Edwards AFB ;A lexand er Rearick ; W illiam Royster; MrsDonna Jean Sc h ifferli; Leon D. Smith; MajDonald R. Spe lling , US A F (Rcrd ): Hans­Hciri Stapfcr: Pat rick Stinso n ; 2nd Lt

laude E. Surface, USA F (Retd ); EarlSwinha rr, The Av iat ion History O n -lineMuseum, nvia rion-hi srory.com: \Vatren E.Thompson ; Sa llynn n \Vaguner, B-29.org;Will iam F. 'Bi ll' Welc h ; R.C. 'C olin '\Villiams; and Dick Ziegler, conunun ica­t ions, Boeing A irplane C ompany, W ichi taDivision.

ContentsForeword 7

Introduction 9

THE BOEING AIRPLANE COMPANY 10

2 SUPERBOMBER 19

3 PRODUCT ION 39

4 STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS 51

5 WORLD WAR TWO 75

6 SILVERPLATE 97

7 DE-ENGINEERING THE SUPERFORTRESS:TH E TUPOLEV TU-4 'BULL' AND DERIVATIVES 109

8 STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND 12 1

9 WASHINGTON 129

10 KOREAN WAR 139

11 B-29 DER IVATIVES, VARIANTS AND SPIN-OFFS 149

12 SURVIVORS 173

13 SUMMARIES 179

Appendix I B-29 Product ion 187

Appendix II Individual Aircraft Names 193

Bibliography 205

Index 206

II was Monda y morning, :30am, 5 Fcb ru­Iry 1940 . It was rain ing and foggy (asu ua l), Boeing A irplane Company Presi­k-ru Ph il Johnson grabbed a cup of ho i.. Ifce and sat down at hi s desk to go

dHllllgh th e morning mail. He norm a lly.mncd a ll the en velopes before he read

III\' lett er, but th is one caught hi s eye : '\VarIk part lllen t, US A rmy A ir C orps, W right11l'1L1, O h io'. Inside he found a th ick doc­umc ru with a co ve r page, whi ch began 'US

rmv, A irplane , Bombardment , Spcc ifi­.u ron For' . It was da ted 29 Jan uary 1940.

T hus began th e long, somet imes tragic,I"urney rhar would cu lmina te in th e Boe­11\1-: B-29 Supcrfortrcss, unquesti onably th e1111 1st formidable bombing aircraft ofW'l rld War Two.

It was ori gin ally design at ed Boe inglodc l 1'-34 1 but , after raking a few sug­

!:l'st ions from th e British (who were thenu' ll1g a sma ll number of B-17C s as Fort ressI for the Royal A ir Force), Boe ing began,Illd ing self-scaling fuel tanks, more armour.nul state-of-the-art defensivc armame nt,.uuongsr other refinem ents; when theywere th rough , they sen t th e new spcc ifica­lio n ro the A rmy Ai r C orps and rcdesig­n.ucd it Boeing Model 1'-345 . T he spec ifi­cations were approved in Ju ne and by theend of 1940, Boeing had completed amock-up. Afte r an inspect ion an dapproval by th e USA A C , two proto typeXB-29-BO aircraft and a stat ic test air­frame were o rde red , and th e Boeing-Scar­de plan t sh ifted into h igh gea r.

W ith in five mont hs, and before a sing lepiece of th e XB-29 had been manufactured,the A rmy orde red 250 more 1'-29 aircraft.Before th e first 1'-29 ever flew, 1,650 wereon orde r by th e USA A F (aro und this l imethe name was changed from 'US Arm y AirCorps' to 'US Army Air Forces') . Fourt eenof the first bat ch were designa ted YB-29­BW. (The last two lett ers in th e designati onwere for th e company name and locati on ofthe manufa cturing plant. '-BW' sign ified'Boeing-W ich ita.' '-1'0 ' was used for 'Boe­ing-Seattle in order t o avo id '-BS'.) T heYB-29s wou ld be th e 'Service Test' aircraft.

Foreword

T he first prob lem was finding a wing tolift th e gian t . A search for an 'off-t he-shelf'wing yielded nothi ng suitable. Any givenwing would have enough lift, on ly to havetoo much drag at cruising speed. A notherwou ld have low drag bUIwicked sta ll char­ac te rist ics. Yet another wou ld have lowdrag, good sta ll charac rcrist ics and notenough lift 10 gel the I05,0001b (48 ,000kg)mon ster off any runw ay of reason ab lelen gth . Boeing's sohu ion was simple: itdesigned its own wing, designat ed the Boe­ing ' l IT wing, \Vh en the wing design wasfin ished , it was 141ft 3 in (43.05m ) and hadan area of 1,736sq ft (I 6 1.3sq m ). It had aset of flaps, which wou ld increase th e wingarea by 350sq ft (32 .5sq m ), for better co n­trol at slower speeds. With the flaps retract­ed , th e wing had very low drag, which per­mitted higher speeds. Boein g had to devisea way to man ufacture two wing spars,which were the longest and heavi est Dura­lumin ext rusions eve r made. During de­struct ion test ing of the Boein g I 17 wing, ittook 300 ,000 1b ( 136 ,OOOkg) of pressure toco llapse th e wing.

Early on, Boeing wrestled with the prob­lem of crew comfor t in th e Superfort ress. lnsmaller bombers the pro blem was lesssevere because of the ir limited range. Wi thrhe endurance of th e S uperfort rcss. rhecrew could be airborne for up to 18 hours atalt itudes of 32,000 ft ( 10 ,000m) where thetempera ture co uld drop to SO°F below zero.T hi s inc an t I he 1'-29 crew areas wouldhave to be pressurized . But, if the plan ewere pressurized, how could you open 40ft( 12m ) of the fuselage to outside a ir pressureat 32,000ft in ord er to d rop th e bombs?Thesolution: pressurize th e areas fore and aft ofth e doub le bomb-bay and con nect I he twosec tions wit h a large tube placed over thetop of the bomb-bays so airmen could getfrom one sect ion of th e sh ip to th e other.

T hen th ere were prob lems with thehuge, 16.5ft (5m) Hamil to n Sta nda rd pro ­pellers, wh ich caused 'runaway' eng inesand problems with th e four remot ely con­tro lled gun 'barbcrrcs'. There were prob­lems with the fire-con tro l 'blisters' wh ere

7

gunners were stationed to a im th e bar­bcrrcs: rhe blisters some t imes blew outwhen th e craft was pressur ized and flying athigh a ltit ude . (G unners were adv ised 10

wear a safety line in ord er to avo id be ingblown overboard if a blister poppccl.)T he re were problems with booster c.»it ro lsfor the rudder, and problems with the radar.

Fina lly on Monday 2 1 Septe mber 194 2,in fron t of almost all th e Boein g employeeswho had co n tr ibuted over 1,300,000 manhours to th e Model 34S pro ject , XB-29Number O ne was rolled out on the run wayat Boeing Field, Sea t tle . Engines werewarmed , take-off power was app lied andEddie A llen , Boeing's C h iefTest Pi lot , lift­ed I he first Superfortress off the runway assmooth ly as if he'd been do ing it for years.The 52.S-ton (47.6-tonne) craft rosestead ily to 6 ,OOOft ( I , OOm) , where A llenmade the preliminary tests of th e co ntro lsfor pitc h, yaw and roll. Afte r a IY1 hourfligh t , he brough t th e hu ge a ircraft back toa smoot h land ing. The second prototypeflew three mont hs later.

As a measure of the prob lem s yet 10 beso lved , in th e ninet y-seven days fo llowingthat first flighl, A llen was able to accumu­lat e on ly twent y-seven hours' flight t imein N umber O ne. However. as a measure ofthe fundamenta l int egrity of the aircra ftitself, not a single basic alrcra t ion 10 rhca irframe was required th rou ghout its pro ­duct ion hi story.

T he most relen tless pro blem was th e2,200 bhp Wri ght C yclo ne R-3350 twin­row rad ial engine . It had a persisten t incli­nati on to overheat, swallow valves andeven catch fire in fligh t. In an effort to pro­duce more horsepower from a light erengine , th e crankcase was made of magne­sium, a very ligh t and very strong metal.The problem was that magnesium is also aflammable meta l. \Vhen th at was combinedwith the add it ional problem of a fuel indu c­tion system th at tended to ca tch fire andburn long enough to set the magnesium onfire. it becam e a very serious situat ion.'Band -A id' treat ment s such as air baffles todirect more air to the rear row of cylinders

and propeller cuffs to force more air thro ughthe eng ine helped , but it would be man ymoon s before the prob lem was solved.

Boeing lost its C h ief Test Pilot alongwith the cream of the B-29 fligh t test crewbecause of a fire wh ich destro yed a wingspar. Shorrly after noon on T h ursda y, 18February 1943, Edd ie A llen was flight ­testing XB-29 Nu mber Two when anengine fire developed. T he po rt wing sparburned th rough and co llapsed , send ing thehuge bomber crash ing in to a meat packingplant a few mil es south of Boeing Field . A lleleven men aboard th e plane and e igh teen(som e sources say twent y) in th e plan twere killed insta n tly.

Eventually, Senat or Harry S. Truman(who wou ld lat er become President Tru­man ) headed a committ ee looking in to theproblem s of the W right C yclone eng ine .T he committ ee found W righ t Aerona uti­ca l at fault for lett ing quality go by theboard in favour of quant ity. Equa lly atfault, accordi ng to the comm itte e report ,was th e USAA F for putt ing too muchpressure on W righ t to speed up prod ucti onof th e C yclone .

T hough th e prob lems were not com­pletely solved , by the end of 1943 they wereund er co n trol to th e extent th at Boeing­Renton , Bell-A tlanta and Mart in-Omahabegan turni ng out th e first of nearly 2,000B-29 Supcrforrrcsscs con tained in the ini ­t ial orde rs for deli very to the USAA F.

It was armed with th e G enera l Electricauto -computing fire-cont rol syste m co m­posed of eigh t remot ely cont rolled .50-cali­brc machine-guns insta lled in four bar­bctr cs located on the top and bottom of th efuselage, fore and aft. Later models addedtwo more mach ine-gun s to the to p forwardbarbctre to assist in defending aga instfrontal atta cks. Control of the four bar­bcrres could be transferred to a sing le gun­ner or sha red between front, righ t, left andtop gunne rs. The tai l-gun ner con trolledtwo more fift ies plus a 20mm canno n . It wasestimated the tail -gun ner acco unted for 75per cent of all ene my aircraft destro yed bythe Superfortrcss. O ne reason for th is wasth e 20mm cannon. A not her was th e slowclosing rate of an ene my approach ing fromth e rear, which allowed more time for th etail-gunner to sigh t on th e at tacker,

In it iall y th e B-29 had a maximumpermi ssible weight of around 105,0001 b(48,000k g). Dur ing th e latt er phases of th ewar with Japan , gross tak e-off weight s ofwe ll ove r 140,000lb (64,000kg) were fair­ly co mmo n for the Supc rfortrcss.

FOREWO RD

A whopping 40 per cent of th e fuselagewas ded icated to carry ing bomb s. T hedouble bomb-bay co uld ca rry 20 ,000 1b(9 ,000kg) to a target 2,050 miles O,JOOkm)away and return to base. It rook 6,988 USgallons (5,8 19 Imp. gallonsj26,4761rr) ofIOO-octane aircraft fuel to fill the tan ks. T hemaxim um capac ity was 9,548 US ga llons(7,950 Imp. gallons) with ferr y ranks in thebomb -bays, in wh ich case th e ran ge wasex te nded to 6,000 miles (9 ,700km) .

T he Supcrforrrcss was furn ished in threebasic co nfigurat ions - B-29 , B-29A and B­29B. T hen the re was th e F- 13 phot o ver­sion, wh ich was used to obta in target pho­tos of Japan, and in fact the enti re westernPacific and eastern Asia area . T hough th eir' inna rds' were sometimes very d ifferen tthey were a ll nearly ident ical in outwardappearance. As each Supe rforrrcss ro lleddown the assembly lin e, it was given th elatest USAAF mod ificat ions, wh ich result­ed in 3 ,970 B-29s, each of which was just abit d ifferent from the next.

T he S upcrlort rcss acquitt ed itsel f we llin the Pacific war in spite of mech anicaland electro n ic pro blems. A t first, it wasn 'tunu sual for a mission to lose more a ircraftto mechani cal problems tha n to theene my. But , as the crew ch iefs becamemor e ade pt at field mod ificati on , th e n um ­bers slowly began to improve .

T he major fact or in creating an effic ien tbom bing machine out of the Supcrforrresswas an A ir Forces major general namedC urt is E. LeM ay. N ickna med ' Iron Ass' ,LeMay was put in co mma nd of the B-29sbased on th e Mar ian as Group in th e west­ern Pacific and was responsible for solvingseveral of the Supc rforrrcss's opera tionalproblems in one stroke : he ord ered th e B­29 crews to remove th e guns, gunne rs andall th e ammun ition. (Som e of th e ta il gunswere replaced with broom sticks so theene my fighter pi lots, hopefully, wou ldn 'tbecome aware of the missin g guns. ) A ndhe o rde red th at mission s be flown at8 ,000- 12,000ft (2,400- 3 ,700m ).

Bombing accuracy had been miserablebecause of th e high winds at the 28,000­34,000 ft (8,600- 1O,OOOm) level wh ereprevious missions had bee n flown . Abortswere co mmo n because of eng ines over­heat ing wh ile climbing to a lt itude . Wi ththe new procedures, fuel co uld be saved ,without th e weight of guns, ammun itionand gun ne rs, more bombs co uld be carr ied ,eng ines would run cooler and bombingwou ld be done from below th e fierce windsraging over Japan .

8

LeMay faced a near-m utiny from hiscrews, who were certain Japanese flak bat ­teries would rip th em to pieces at such a lowaltitude . A nd he knew his career was on theline if it turned in to a massacre. But hestuck to hi s decision an d it was a good one.C asualties went down , the n umber of tar­gets destroyed rose dramat ically and th enumber of aborts due to ove rheated eng inesdropped. T he air war against the Japanesehome islan ds entered a new and apocalyp­tic phase where city aft er c ity was nearlyoblite rate d by firebombs: the city of Toya­ma was 99 .5 per cen t destroyed in one raidby 173 B-29s on th e nigh t of I Au gust 1945.

A t 2:45am, Mond ay 6 A ugust 1945 , anord ina ry-loo king B-29-45 -MO, serial num­ber 44-86292, sat at th e end of th e runwayat orth Field, Tin ian , an obscure lit tleisland in th e Mar ian as. T he engines wererun up one at a time, a spotl igh t illuminat­ing eac h to check for undu e smo ke orot he r d isord ers. T he on ly thi ng pecu liarabout the sh ip at all was the nam e; no rau­co us female n ude in a suggestive posepain ted on the nose , just the rath er unre­markable print ing 'ENOLA GAY'. In co m­mand was Col Pau l W. Tibbets Jr, com­mander of the 509 th Composite G roup; h isco -pilot was C apt Robert Lewis. T heGroup had been at Tin ian since June andcuriosity amongst the orhe r G roups wasmounting. The 509th d idn 't see m to havea pa rt icular mission , just a few 'tra in ing'flights to Truk and othe r low prior ity ta r­gets in Japan itself. T hey kept their d is­ta nce from th e other G roups, didn 't min ­gle at all. In anothe r few hours, the wholeworl d wou ld kno w of the mission of th e509t h C omposite Group and thi s parti cu ­lar aircraft, th e ENOLA G AY.

Lift ing 75 ton s (68 tonncs) off the run­way, she was on h er way to Japan . A t8:15: 17am th e ENO LA G AY was overHi roshima, Japan at 3 I ,600ft (9 ,630m)wh en the world 's first atomic bomb to bedropped from an a ircra ft was toggled. Twomin utes lat er it exploded over th e ci ty atan alt itude of about 2,000ft (600m ). Thebomb wiped out a circle 4.5 miles (7.25km )in diamet er in th e midd le of H irosh ima .O n 9 A ugust, ano the r ato m bomb wasdropped on Nagasaki. S ix days lat er, theJapanese uncond itionall y surrende red.Thus th e end of World War Two wasbro ugh t about in no sma ll measure by th eBoeing B-29 Supc rfortress.

Earl Swi nhar t,Th e Aviation HistOl')' O n-line M useum

I Ill' Boe ing B-29 S uperforrrcss will forcv­Ill' reme mbered as th e bomb er th at

Illlpcd br ing abo ut th e earl ie r-tha n ­pl'l' ted close to \X!o rld \Var Two . For onIIld 0 A ugust 194 5, respec ti vely, B-29s()LA G AY and BO C KSCA R laid

, I tl' to the j apan ese c it ies o f Hi rosh imaIll.! Nagasaki. T h ese con rro vc rsia I ac t io nsI rom prcd j apan to sur rende r o nce and for.11, th us saving the lives of co un tl ess

lhccl servicemen wh o surel y would h aveI -cn sac rificed in th e invasio n of Japan 'sh,.ml' islands, planned to begin in ovcm­I " 104 5. Ye t th e re is far mor e than justlhl"e two missions to the h istor y o f th e

upc rfo rrrcss, whi ch ultimat e ly se rved inlwo 'ho t ' wa rs and part of th e C o ld \VarI -lorc it was a llo wed to ret ire .

Ih c B-29 Supcrfort ress was designe d ,h-vcloped and produced as a pisto n ­ngi ned heavy bomber for service in th e

l JS A rmy A ir C orps (U SAAC) . It subsc­IUl'n tly served wit h US Army Air Forces

(LJSA A F) and US Ai r Force ( SA F) - th eI JSA A C becam e the USAA F on 20 Jun eIl)4 1 and the USA A F became the SA Fon 18 Se ptember 194 7. It a lso se rved withHoyal A ir Force Bom ber C om ma nd andtill' Ro yal A ust ra lian Ai r Force (RA AF).

T he B-29 was un offic ia lly ca lled 'A ­I" imhcr', 'S uper Bomber' an d 'S upcrf»r ',hut its official nam e was Supcrforrrcss. Butwhat ever the Supe rfo rrrcss was ca lled , it wasthe wor ld 's first true heavy-class bomb er a ir­cra ft , designed specifically for st rategic con ­vent iona l and nuclea r bombardment.

Boe ing sta rted full-sca le B-29 produc­t ion a t its Wi ch ita , Kansas and Ren to n ,Wash ingto n fact o ries in mi d- and lat e­1943 , respec ti vel y, In add it ion , d ue to th enumbers req uir ed fo r th e war, B-29s weresoon be ing built by th e Bell A irc raft C or ­po rat ion at A tlanta, Geo rgia and hy th eG len n L. Martin Compa ny a t O ma ha ,Nebraska, For th e most parr th ese B-29swere produced in arou nd-th e-cl ock ten -

Introduction

hour sh ifts , six and eve n seven days aweek , day and ni ght. 2,776 B-29s and B­29As were bui lt by Boe ing, 668 B-29s andB-29Bs by Bell , and 53 1 B-29s by Mart in ­th ese last incl ud ing the six ty-five spec ia llymodi fied Silve rplare B-29 s, th e world 'sfirst atom ic bombers. T he last B-29 to bebuilt ro lled off th e Boe ing-R enton produc­t ion line on 28 May 1946. Befor e Vj -Dnyth ere were 9 ,052 B-29s on orde r but soonafterwards 5,082 were cance lled . T hu s,incl uding th ree ex pe rime nta l pro to typeXB-29s, fou rt een se rvice-tes t YB-29s andte n pat tern B-29s, a gra nd to ta l of 3 ,9 70 B­29 ' were bui lt. (Ten , possib ly e leve n , pat ­tern ai rp lanes and 3 ,943 o r 3 ,94 2 fu ll-sca leproduct ion a ircraft wer e buil t - Boeingrecords show that four pa tt e rn B-29s wentto Bell and six patte rn B-29s went to Mar ­t in; how ever, th e U A AF says five patt ernB-29s went to each. )

S ince th e B-29 was put into prod uct ionand se rvice in a cons ide rable rush - it wentfrom first fligh t to first co mba t in a meretwenty-one months - it was frau gh t withdeve lopment problem s. Irs developmentwoes h ad cen tred mostl y on its new andunproven engine s, wh ich at first h ad a ten ­dency to leak cran kc ase o il, ove rhe at andca tc h fire . N ume ro us early non-combatand combat c rash es were att ributed to th isspec ific pro blem .

The B-29 S upc rfo rt ress in cl uded manydesign innov a t ions n ever be fore applied toa produ c tio n h eavy bom her. A mong th esewer e a t ricycl e under ca rr iage, autopilot ,du a l ( in tandem ) bomb -bays, pr essu rizedc rew sta t ions and a remot e ly contro lledcan non and mach in e-gun arma me n t. Itcan eas ily he sa id th a t it was th e mostadv ance d hombel' o f \'(Ior ld W ar Two.

The B-29 and a num ber of its deri va-tives were extens ivel y used in co m bat ,erving in both \'(Ior ld \Var Two and th e

Kor ean W ar. It performed a var iety ofbombin g dut ies, rangin g from th e rel ease

9

of small in cen d iar y bomb s to th e oblite ra­ti on of two cit ies with two a to m ic bombs.\'(Iith its maximu m speed of 350m ph(560km/h ), it co uld ca rry a maximu mbo mb load of up to 20,OOOIb (9 ,000k g) fora d istance of 1,600 mil es (2,600km) .

T he man y versions of th e B-29 inc lud­ied th e F- 13 pho tograph ic reconna issan ceand mappin g a irc raft , wh ich became th eR B-29 ; th e KB-29 ae ria l-refue ll ing tank er ;the S B-29 sea rescue a ircra ft; th e TB-29bomber t ra in ing and transit ion model; th e\/ B-29 V IP t ransport; an d th e WB-29went h e r recon n aissan ce a ircraft.

During the course of the B-29's ca ree rth ere were numerou s improvements mad eto the a irframe and eng ine s. These ulti ­mat e ly led to th e creat ion of th e prop osedB-29D model , lat er redesign at ed B-50A ,of wh ich Boeing went on to build 3 7 1.Eve n th e B-50 h ad spin-off including th egargan tua n 13-54, whi ch d ue to th e adve n tof th e je t age was nor proceed ed wit h .

O n 4 ovc rn bcr 1954 th e last co mbat ­ca pa ble S upc rfo rt rcss, a S tra teg ic A irC om mand B-29A of th e 30 7th Bomb\'(Iing, based at Kad en» A ir Base on O ki­nawa, re ti red to the a irc raft sto rage andrec lam at ion fac ility at Dav is-Monr h an Ai rForce Base in A rizona . A limit ed numberof o ther non -com bat-cap able B-29sremai ned in se rvice , however ; the last ofth ese , a weat he r reconn aissance \'(IB-29,re tir ed in 1960 .

The Boeing B-29 Supe rfort ress led anatten tion -grab bing life desp ite the n umb erof de velopme nta l complicat ions fromwh ich it h ad suffered . Bur one mustremem ber how d ifficu lt t imes were duringits ges ta t ion peri od and ju st h ow adv ancedthi s part icular ai rcr aft ac tua lly was.

In a le tt er to th is write r in 2002 , fo rmerB-29 a ircraft co mmander Major Donald R.Spe lling sa id ' If th e war h ad d ragged oninto the lat e 1940s th ere 's no o th er bomberI'd ha ve wanted to be assoc iat ed with .'

CHAPTER ONE

The Boeing Airplane Company

T he Boe ing A irplane Company is a wor ldleader in th e de -ign , development and pro ­duct ion of large and heavy mull i-engin e air­craft for c ivilian and military usc. Wi lh itsheadquarters now based in C h icago , Illin ois(Boeing moved to C h icago from Se att le,Washington in September 200 1), Boein grem ain s one of th e wor ld's largest aerospacefirms, rivalled on ly by th e Lockheed Mart inCorporat ion . But il certa in ly did no t sta rtout th at way: in 1916, when what was to

becom e the Boeing A irplane ompany wasfounded , th ere were no world leaders in thesale and production of aircra ft.

\X!ill iam E. 'Bill' Boeing was born on IO cto ber 18 I to a Germa n immi grant whobecame a weal:hy lum ber baro n in th e

orrh \X!estern region of the U n ited States.As a 22-year-old he opted to leave th eShe ffie ld Sc ient ific Sc hoo l at Yale U n iver­sity to pursue his place in th e rapidly grow­ing tim ber indust ry, in whi ch he soon pros­pered. T hat was in 1903, the very same yearI hat the \X!right Brolhers made their hi stori cflight s in th e world 's firsr controlled andpowered aircraft. T hose even ts at KittyHawk, North C arolina mesmerized BillBoeing and he soon became engrossed with

William E. 'Bill' Boeing, founder of the BoeingAirplane Company. Boeing Media

BelOW: The first of the two Modell Boeing andWestervelt (B&W) seaplanes on Lake Union inSeattle , just after its first flight on 29 June 1916.Peter M. Bowers

avianon. He immediatel y wan ted to flyhimself, beco me a pilot and eve n tua lly buildhis own aircraft. His first Iliglu , with a barn­stor me r named Terah Maroney ove r catt leon 4 Ju ly 1914 , had him hoo ked for life; heth en set about designi ng and buildin g a bet ­ter a ircraft th an he had flown in.

In Decemb er 191 5 Boeing had an air­cra ft hanger bu ilt on the we t ho re of LakeU n ion in carrlc , Wash ingto n . This soonbecam e known as Bill Boeing's Lake nionHanger, and here he fou nd ed the Pa ificAero Products Compa ny on 15 July 19 16.T he co mpa ny was fou nded with Boeing'sfriend and business partner Lt onr adWester vel t , a naval officer and aerona uti ­ca l engineer assigned to a ca ttle sh ipyard .Whi le th e han ger was t ill under o ust ruc­t ion, Lt \'\Ieste rvelt started I he de -ign of theModel 1 or B& W (Boe ing and Wester ­vel t ), whi ch q uick ly evo lved into a two­place uti lity sea plane powered by a 125h pHall -Sco tt A -5 eng ine d riving a two-bladepro pel le r. Two B& \'\1 a irplane s were bui lt ,the first exa mple making its first flight on29 Ju ne 19 16.

A ca reer naval officer, Lt Westervel l wasreassigned to the cas t coast of the U A in

II

I

/110

rI )917 . A t th is time, with no producti onI. , t~ ir the B& W forthcom ing andliN' of slow business with the USA mil ­

l! III genera l, W estervelt signed off on th eIlIl Aero Prod ucts Compan y. A fter hi s

I uturc , however, the USA av v subcon ­", Il'cI with the compa ny to build fifty C ur­.. IIS ·2 L flying boat , for use in Worl d W arlt l l ' . So, with a new manu facturing fac ility

III I he Hca rh Sh ipyard on th e Duwam ishI rver in so uth Seattle , Bill Boeing csrab­II IwcI the Boe ing A irplane Company on 26

I nl 19 17. A bo ut half of th e orde r for HS­I was term ina ted after th e war and Boe ing

t1WIl strugg led to get new busin ess.I he fledgling Boeing A irplane C ompany

" Il l inned 10 o bta in m inimal o rde rs for the,',)' lim ited prod uct ion of its own designs ­nc plane here , one plane there, and a few

m.mufacruring subco n trac ts for ot he r a ir-I.llt and re lated assemblies. In the mean ­

III Ill', I I I kee p its wor k force of sk illed car ­I -nrcrs intac t , Boei ng even bu ilt furn iture.II \\'as no t un ti l the adve nt in 19 22 of th e

I." Id B- I5 fighte r, wh ich ente red serviceIIh rhc U SA A rmy as th e PW-9 and U SA,IV)' as rhc FB- I , that Boeing first built its

own designs in relati vely large qu an rir ics.Boei ng cont in ued to develop and pro ­

lucc figh ters for the A A rmy and avyIllfll ugho ut the I9 20s and into the 1930s,ulm ina t ing with its F7B and 1'-26 . (Then nv re ferred 10 its fight e rs as 'pursui t '

Tl tE BOEING AIRPLANE CO~t PANY

a irc raft , h ence the ' P sulfix.) O ther pursuit /fighter types wer e design ed and offe redto the A rmy and N avy, but wer e not pro ­ceeded with .

ABOVE: Bill Boeing (holding the mail bag) and histhen-favourite test pilot, the famed Eddie Hubbard,pose in front of a Model C-l F seaplane. Wayne AllenCollection

O n the c iv ilian side of Boe ing's businessa number of not ab le a irc raft eme rged in th elate 1920s and throughout th e 1930s. T h efirst successful civ il type was the sing le -

BElOW: Boeing's first factory building, the RedBarn, which is now an integral part of theMuseum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattle,Washington . Ben Wilson Co ll ection

11

The sale Model B-40 mailplane first flew on 7 July 1925. Although it was not orderedinto production it served as the foundation for the advanced Model B-40A.Mark LinnCollection

The mail- and passenger-carrying Boeing Model B-40A was a limited success InrBoeing,However it led to the manufacture Df several fDIIDw-Dn types, including thefamed model B-200 MDnDmai l. The first ot twenty-five MDdel 40As was first Ilown en20 May 1927. Wayne Allen

even h igher speed , at more th an 200 mph(3 20km/h) . Thus th e sho rt per iod of theBocin g B-9' success was over,

Ne xt came an outstand ing civiliantransport th at borrowed the technologiesBocing had developed for th e Monorna iland B-9. This was th e trend-sett ing ModelB-247 , whi ch has been descr ibed as th eworld 's first 'modern ' airliner. The first B­247 mad e it first night on Febru ary1933. The B-247 boasted speeds some50- 70m ph ( 0- 1IOkm/h ) faster th an theth en stare-o f-the-art Boeing, Ford rindFokk er tr i-rno ro rs. It could carry ten pas­sengers at 180mph (290km/h), at alt itudesof up to 20 ,000ft (6 ,000m ), and had arangc of some 500 miles (800k m) . They

th e service dcsignat ion YIB-9A and whichwas, in fact, ordered at rhe same time t harth e 2 14/2 15 a ircraft were bought. Themain cha nges from th e B-2 14/ 2 15 designwere an enclosed cockpit, a revised vcrricalrail and upratcd en gines. O ddly, th oughth e enclosed coc kpit configuration wascalled for, it was never in fact applied. T heYIB-9A was powered by two 630 hp Prat t& Whitney 1\- 1860-11 rad ial eng ines andits to p speed was I86 mph (300km/h ). Fiveservice test aircraft were ordered and buiIt,and even th ough th ey were top of th e linewhen th e first one flew on 14 Jul y 1932,they were qu ickly surpassed by rhc MartinB- IO and B- 12 series , whi ch could carry agreater load , had a longer ran ge and had an

engine Model 200 Monomail monoplane.T he Monomail was a combined mail andcargo tran sport with nocu ft (6.2cu m) ofmail/cargo space . T he first Monorn ail madcits first fligh t on 6 May 1930. Wi th itsmonoplan e configuration the Model 200was a major milestone for Boeing: it was oneof the first truly succcssful mon opiancs. Its575hp Prat t & W hitn cy Hornet enginegave it a top speed of 160mph (260km/h)and an impressive, for th e rime, climb rareof 50ft/min (260m/min) .

Boeing's seco nd successful c ivil tvpc wasth e Model 0 series of t ri-rnotor passen gera irliners, the first of which flew for the firstt ime in A ugust 192 . T hc or iginal Model80 carried twelve passen gers and I hrcccrew, along wit h I,000 lb (450kg) of cargo ,over a distan ce of some 540 m i l e~ (870k l{1).Thc Model 80 was powered by I hrcc 41OhpPratt & \Vhitney Wasp eng ines, and had atop speed of 130m ph (21Okm/h ).

Desp ite th e variety of airc raft Boei nghad been build ing and selling sinc e 19 16,it had no t vet produced a successfulbomber, Th is cha nged with the adv ent ofth e open-co ckpit Model B-214 and B-2 15de ign s, wh ich applied th e struc tural andae rodyna mic features of th e Model 200Monomai l. \Vith no requi remen ts forth ­coming from the A Army for a ne wbombe r, Boeing de veloped th e B-214 andB-2 15 usin g its own money.

T he two types were for th e most panident ica l, hu t were powered by d ifferentengines. T he Model 215, with two 575hpPrall & Whitney 1\-1860- 13 Hornet air­coo led rad ial engines, was completed firstand made its first n igh t on 13 A pril 193 1.T he B-2 15's performan ce was quite amaz­ing for I he I ime: I hc A rmy Iikcd what it sawand ordered bot h types on 14 A ugust 193 I,before B-2 14 had even bee n finished . A tthis t ime th e B-2 15 was designated YB-9,tho ugh for a shor t time B-2 15 was knownas XB-90 I (X - Experi mental, B - Bomber,90 1 - 90 lst rest aircra ft) . The Mod el 2 14,which had been designat ed YIB-9 , wasco mpleted in late O cto ber 193 1 with twoliquid -coo led 600hp C urt iss \1- 1570 C on­queror in linc eng ines and was first flown on5 ovember 1931. In man y wavs the Boe ­ing B-9 monoplan e bombers were rcvol u­rion arv for th eir day. They were touted ash igh -spced bombers, and in fact, with thei r175mph (280km/h) 'peed , th ey were fasterth an any operational US A A rmy or avvpursuit/figh ter rvpc in service at th e rime.

The B-214/215 designs led to th eimproved Model B-246, wh ich was given

12

THE 1l0 EI :"G AlR Pl.A NE CO\ IPANY

: There was a time when tri-motor passenger­Irying airliners were all the rage. The Boeingd I B-80 series competed with such notable

otors as the Fokker EVil and Ford5-AT."'0 Media

liT. The Boeing Model B-214/-215 Y1B-9 and YB-9r among the world's ear liest monoplane

mbors. The Y1 B-9 is shown with a ModelP-26 'Peashooter' monoplane pursuit plane.

vne Allen

l OW: When it first appeared the Boeing Model2 7 was quite revolutionary with its all-metalw·wing monoplane design. It was we ll rece ivedntil the advent of Douglas' DC-1/-2/-3 series.oomg Media

13

were all powered by e ithe r Pratt & Whit ­ney \Vasp or Twin \Vasp Jun ior eng ine sthat pro duced 525 hp. Boeing went on to

build seve nt y Model 24 7s for U n ited A irLines (which Boein g itself founded) andGermany's Lufthan sa.

It is most likely th at Boe ing would havebuilt man y more 247s, but fo'r one seriousmarketing mistake. That is, Tran scon tinen ­ta l and Western A irlines (lat er Trans WorldA irlines ) and others want ed to buy 247s,but Boeing refused to deliver any of the newaircraft to othe r carriers before its own air­line, Un ited Ai r Line , got its quota . There­in lies the problem, for T \VA pur out arequ est for pro posals to othe r manufact urersto come up with a transport equal ro or bcr­rer th an Boeing's 247. The Douglas A ircraft

ompany rose to th e occasion with itsModel s DC - I, DC -2 and DC 3. Boeing'sfai lure to share its trend-setti ng 247 withot her airlines spelled an ignomi n ious doomfor what had really been a milestone in th ec ivilian tran sport at ion field .

Boeing's last and best serious pursuit ofsel ling a figh te r to the USA A rmy for somesixty years to come came in th e form of itsModel B-248. T he 248, designed at Boe­ing's own expense to a USA A rmy spec ifi­ca tion , becam e th e Model 266 P-26A/B/CPeashoot er series. T he first Peashoot er, aP-26A , made its first [ligh r on 10 January1934 . W ith a rop 'peed of Z35mph(380 km/h ) the open-coc kpit P-26C wou ldbe the cream of th e Peashoot er crop. In all.Boeing built 136 P-26s of all type ' for th eA rmy, as wel l as the Model B-2 I exp ortvar iant th at went to C h ina and Spain . AUSA Navy version , th e enclosed-coc kpi tModel B-273 , XF7B- I , was offered but notproceed ed wit h .

As it happened, ot her USA aeroplanemanufacturers such as Seversky Av iat ion

TI lE IIO EI G AIRI'LA:"E C () ~ I I'AN Y

(lat er Republic Av iati on) , Lockheed A ir­craft, Bell A ircraft and C urt iss-Wr ight soonall came up with much more modern figh t­er designs th an Boeing's 1'-26 and proposed1'-29. Respectively, these were th e 1'-35 and1'-36, 1'-38, 1'-39 and 1'-40. The slowest ofth ese, the 1'-36 with a top speed 295mph(4 75km/h), was 60mph ( IOOkm/h) (asterthan th e 1'-26 . S ince Boein g had no othe radvanced figh ters on the drawin g board , itred irected its effo rts toward th e design,devel opment and product ion of post-B-9bombe r aeroplanes, whil e not abandon ingcivil transport types. This led to the ModelB-294/XB- 15 and B-299/XB- 17, which aredescrib ed in det ai l in C hapter Two.

T he Stearman A ircraft Company ofWichita, Kansas became a division of Boe­ing in th e early 1930s. Lloyd C. Stea rmanhad ho ldly challenged th e world with th edevelopment of several unique aeroplanes ,but th e USA depression had hi t h is compa­ny extre mely hard, Boei ng, more financ ial­ly secure, opted to expa nd its growth intoth e Midw estern USA with the acquisitionof Stearman in Wich ita , Kansas. A t first theformer Stearman plant concent rated onbu ilding advanced and primary train erssuch as th e famed Kader biplane series forth e A rmy and Navy; lat er, man y B-29swou ld be built at W ich ira as wel l.

Business rap id ly picked up over th e sub­sequent years and Boeing esta blished itsel fas a major aircraft manufacturing co mpa­ny. It is beyo nd the sco pe of th is book to

describe the nu merous airl ine r, missilesand rockets , bomber plan es and ot he rproducts it has produced in the last eigh ty­plus years. Therefore th is wor k will focuson Boe ing's commitment to th e develop ­ment of large - and very large - multi ­engine ( that is, two or more eng ines) pis­to n-powered aircraft , wh ich led up to the

B-29 an d its post -war relatives, in wh ichBoeing has more rhan excel led. Thesewere th e Models B-294/XB- 15 and 13­299/13- 17 Flying Fort re s (see hapt erTwo) ; and th e Model B-307 trnrolin cr,

Mod el 8-307 Stratolin r

T he Straro linc r was a fully pressurized pas­senger airline r which bor rowed a nu mber ofassemblies from the B- 17C Hying Fortress.Specifica lly, the rrat oliner used th e B­17C 's horizonta l and vert ical stabilizers,wings, engines and nacell es. Its ' ylindricalfuselage, however, was rorally d ifferent andseated thirty-three passengers and a five­person crew in pressurized omforr,

Developm ent of th e 13-307 began in late1935 and carr ied on th rough 1936. In 1937Pan A merican A irways (I' ) b 'c ame th efirst a irline to order th e trato lincr, and th efirst B-307 made a succe ssful first flight atSea t tle on 3 1 December 193 .

T he Srraro lin cr was powered hy four air­cooled Wri ght G R- I 2 y lone radi alengines of 900h p a t 2,300 rpm at 17,300 ft(5,300m). It was 74ft 4in (22.67m ) long,20ft 9 in (6.37m ) h igh with a wingspan of107ft 3 in (32 .70m ). Irs maximum speedwas 246 mph (39 6km/h) and its grossweight was 42,OOOIb (19,000k g) .

In additio n to PA A , Trans \Vorld A ir­lines (T\VA ) also bough t a number of 13­307 s. T he T WA rrarol incrs were onfis­ca red by the USA A F A ir Tra nsport crviccC ommand (AT SC) in 1942. These weredesignated C -75 and carried milita ry sup­plies th roughout th e rema inder of WorldWar O neTwo.

Beca use of th e advent of the moreadva nced Douglas DC -4 kymastcr airline r(or C -54, as it was known in th e US AAF)

The four-engine Boeing Model B-307 Stratoliner was the world's first fully pressurized high-altitudeairliner. It set the standard in passenger travel until Douglas unveiled its DC-4. Boeing Media

14

I I I, xk hccd L-49 Conste lla t ion, on ly tenI \ '7 S tr.uo lincrs were built by Boeing.

II lit them, owned by the Na tional A irI I " pace M useum (NASM) - bel ieved to

I II ll' lasl one in existen ce - was fully, ,"rn l to flying cond it ion by M useum ofII. ,III vo lunteers in Se att le, Wa sh ingto n .I II l1lg a test fligh t on 28 March 2002 th is

1I 11,' r I'AA 13-30 7, named the C LIPPERII YINl ~ C LO U D, lost power in all four

II ' 1Il" S on final appro ach to Boeing FieldI II Illade a successful gear-up belly landingII <,a ttlc's Ellio t Bay with out se rious injury'"~ ,IllY of its four crcwrncmbcrs , Even,I.IIl1gh it suffe red relat ively minor damage,II u-muins unclear as to wheth er thi s one -

I kind classic will be restored aga in .

·17G (44-83514) of the 457th BG. Chuck Irwin

THE BOEI:"G AIRPLANE CO ~ I I'A N Y

Model B-314 Flying Boat

T he Boeing Mod el 13-3 14 'C lipper' was ere­a rcd to meet Pan A merica n A irways' 1935specifica tion for a tr an soceanic flying-boata irl ine r. Pan A merica n ordered six C lip­pers on 2 1 Jul y 1936 and the first exa mplemade a successful first fligh t on 7 Jun e1938. O n 20 May 1939 C lippe rs in it iated atran satlanti c a irmail service, and on 28June they began to ca rry passengers acrossth e A tlant ic to Europ e and across thePacifi c to Hawaii and beyond . A t the t imethey were the largest passenger-carryingtran sports in th e wo rld . (The 13-3 14 neverreceived an 'offic ia l' nam e. It was PanA me rica n that req uested that its 13-3 14

flying boat s be called 'C lipper', as its o the rflying boar s were .)

Pan A merican then orde red six improvedC lippers, kn own as B-3 14As, and brou ghtfive of its ea rl ier ones up to 3 14A sta ndard .The 13-3 14 C lippers wer e built in majorsec t ions at Boeing's Plant I fac ility on theDuwarn ish River, th en barged northwardto Ellio t Bay where they were assembledand flight -t ested prior to deli very.

T he 13-3 14 co uld accom mo da te seven­ty-four passengers and ten crewrncm bc rs.It was powered by four 1,200hp W righ tG R-2600 Doub le C ycl one a ir-coo led rad i­a l engine s fo r a maxi m um speed of190m ph (300k m/ h ). T he y had a maxi ­mu m range of 3,500 miles ( 5,600k m) and

HOW: The Boeing Model B-314 flying boats wereciall y bui lt for Pan Amer ic an Airways who

I lerred to them as their 'Clipper' fleet. Boeing Media

II

15

a service ceiling of 13,400ft (4 ,000m ).T he B-3 14 was 106ft (32.3 m) long, 27ft7in (804m) h igh, with a wingspan of 152ft(46.3m ); its gross rake-off weigh t was82 ,5001b (3 7,400 kg).

In World War Two five B-3 14As wererequi siti oned by th e USA A F and wereredesign at ed C- 98. Three were requi si­t ioned by the US A avv and were kn ownas B-3 14s. A no the r th ree were bough t bythe Brit ish Overseas A irways Corporation(BO A C ) for wartime tran sat lan t ic service.

Model B-344: The XPBB-lSea Ran ger

T he so le XPBB- I Se a Ranger (n icknamedth e 'Lone Ranger') was built to prov e tothe US A avv the usefulness of a large,long-range, long-endurance, twin -eng inepat ro l bom ber flying boat , in the hopethat they would order such an a ircraft.T he XPBB- I used variou s B-29 co mpo ­nent s includi ng its ' 117' airfo il sectionand, in facr. was built a longside XB-29number one at Boeing's Plan t I fac ility.Afte r its co mplet ion it was barged to th enewly built Plant 3 fac ility at the southend of Lak e Washington in Ren ton ,Wash ington where the produc tion PBB- Iwas to be buiI t . It made its firsr fligh t on 9Jul y 1942, with Edmund T. 'Edd ie ' A lle nat the cont ro ls.

TI lE 1l0 EI:>1 G AIRPLANE CO~ I PA:>1 Y

T he XPBB- I (Bureau umber 3 144)was powered by two 2,000 hp W right R­3350-8 rad ial eng ines and had a top speedof 219mph (352 km/h) at 4,500ft ( I,400m) .It was 94ft 9in (28.9m) long, 35 ft ( 10.6m)high and its wingspan was 139ft 8in(42.6m) . T he PBB- ! was int en ded to beopera ted by a ten-man crew.

The USA avy liked th e PBB- I wel leno ugh to orde r fifty- even . However,requirements changed and the avy cvcn­rually opted ins tead to go with pat rol fly­ing boats already in production ; thus th econt rac t was canc elled .

Event ua lly th e USA avv turn ed overits Plant 3 facilit y to the USA Army A irFo rces for the product ion of B-29s. Inexc ha nge , th e Na vy got use of No rthA me rican Aviat ion 's Kan sas C ity plant forth e product ion of its lan d-based PBJ-I a ir­planes, which were fo r the most pa rt B-25JMit chell bombers in naval dress.

Mod el B-367: Th e C-97Stra to fre ighter

The Boe ing Model B-367 - the C- 97 - wasdevelop ed in Wor ld War Two but on ly afew service test examples S, IW lim itedac tion in the war.

In Janu ary 1942 the USAA F orderedthree XC -97 ca rgo/transport prototypes,wh ich Boeing soon nam ed rrat o frc igh re r.

The first XC -97 exa mple, th e Model 5 ­367 - 1- 1, made its first fligh t on 15 ovcm­he r 1944. (The second and th ird XC -97airplan es received Boeing mod el nu mberB-367 - 1-2.) O the r than its ra ther uniquedou ble-lobe fuselage it was essent ia lly a 5 ­29 ada pted for a cargo/transport role. T hatis, it employed the B-29's win g, land inggear, powerplanr, nacell es and tail asse m­bly. Its lower lobe was th e same d iameter asthe B-29's fuselage.

T he th ree XC -97 airplan es were fol­lowed hy ten service test YC -97s (six YC ­97s, three YC -97 As and one YC -975). Thefirst service test example, one of six YC ­97s, made its first fligh t on II March 194 7.

T he C- 97 Srrarofrcigh rer featured 'clam ­shell' doors on the cen trel ine in its aft belly.T he 74ft (22.5m ) long upper lobe couldcarry two ligh t-class ranks (such as the M­48 Patt on) , or th ree fully-load ed 3,000Ibclass ( I ,400kg) truck , or eigh ty-th reestretche r pat ients, or 134 co mbat troops.They were operate d hy five crewmcmbcrsand four atte nda nt s.

The YC -97 was powered by four 2,32 5hpWrigh t R-3350-57A rad ial engine s. Its to pspeed and ope rat ing alt itude were 346m ph(557km/h ) and 28 ,700 ft (8 ,750m ), respec­tively. The YC -97 was 110ft 4 in (33 .64m )long and 33ft 3i n ( 10. 14m) h igh , with awingspan of 141ft 3 in (43m). It " grossweight was 120,0001 h (54,500k g). The C­97 went on to become a workhorse transit.

PT-.-~-:.-

The Boeing Model B·344 XPBB·l Sea Ranger was to be built at Boeing's Plant 3 faci litv in Renton. Washington .The Sea Ranger programme was cancelled, however, and B-29s were built there instead . Author

76

TI l E BOEING A IRPLA NE CO ~t PA N Y

I~

/>-' . .

The Boeing Model B-367 C-97Stratofreighter evolved into an adequate . though01w orld-class. cargo transport airplane for the US Air Force Military Air

Tr nsport Servic e (MATSI; YC-97A (45-59595) is shown . USAF

The tanker version of the B-367 wa s a cr itical addition to the USAF in that itperformed extremely well with piston-powered B-36s and B-50s. Howe ver.w ith the advent of the jet-pow ered B-47 Stratojet, KC-97s actuall y had to pitchtheir noses down in an effort to gain speed wh ile refuelling the B-47; otherwisethe B-47s would have been forced to fly at near their stall speed. A KC-97A(49-2591) is show n. USAF

The Boeing Model B-377 Stratocruiser featured a unique double-deck conf igurat ion.

It w as not until the advent of the Boeing 747 and forth coming Airbus A-380 that suchan arrangement was used again . Boeing via W.Allen

Maciel 8-377:Th e St ra to cruis er

T he Model 13-377 trarocruiser is uniqueamong th e prop-driven ai rl ine rs o( the late1940s and ea rly 1950s, (or it was of a dou­hie-deck design offering unprecedentedcomfor t and amen it ies for its passen gers.

T he Strarocru iscr was a civilian a irline rversion of th e mi litar y C -97 cargo /trans­port, and used the same Pratt & \X!h itn eyeng ines and 7SST structure. The proto­type 13-377 - 10- 19 Srraroc ruiscr Iollowcdthe sole YC -97B - a spec ially builr veryimportant person (V IP) transport , on theC -97 production line , and il mad e its (inflight on 8 Ju ly 194 7.

Produ ct ion Srrnroc ru iscrs ca rried be­tween (i(ly-five and 100 passen gers andflight an cnda nts. with five fligh t crew.W ith a ran ge of 4,200 mi les (6, 750km), itwas cons ide red to be a lon g-range trans­port . The Srraroc ruiser was I IO(t 4 in(33.64m ) long, 3 (t 3 in ( 11.6m) h igh andth e wing span was 14 1(t 3 in (43m) . It W ;JS

powered by (our Pratt ., W hi tne y R-4360rad ial eng ines o( 3 ,500h p (2 .600 kW ). Themaximu m spee d was 37 5mph (600km/h).

U nfo rruna tely (or th e Srraroc ruiser itwas con rcmporary with another propeller­dr iven long-range a irliner that was betterrece ived by hOlh the a irl ines and th e pay­ing pub lic. T h is was th e elegan t, tr iple­rai led Lockheed Conste lla t ion , wh ichoffered high er speed , longer ran ge and bet­ter load-carrying capahi liry, T hus on ly sixa irline ' o rdered Srratocruiscrs, and justfifty-five were built.

the KB-29P (de scribed in derai l in C hap­ter Eleven) . Tests with the system weresuccess ful and the U SAF ordered , initi al­ly, sixty KC -97E tan ker/cargo-t ran sporta ircraft; these would be fo llowed by 159KC -97Fs and 592 KC-97G s.

T he KC -97G was the most import an tversion o( KC -97 and it was powered by four3 ,500 hp (2,600kW) Pratt & W h itney R­4360-5913 radial engines. To increase itsown range th e KC -97G was fitt ed with two700 US A gallon (582.8 Imp. gallon/2,650Itr) extend Iucl ranks - one undereithe r wing. Its gross weigh t was 175,0001h( O,OOOkg) and, incl uding its boom , it was117ft Sin (35.8m) long, 3 (t 3in ( I I.67m)h igh and its Wingspan was 14 1(t 3in (43 m) .Its maximu m speed was 375mph (600k m/h )at 30 ,000(t (9,000m) .

Immediately afte r \Vorld \Var Two th el ISA A F and Boe ing wor ked in co ncert tok-vclop th e tech n iqu e of in -fligh t rcfu­·lIing (or the newly estab lished Stra tegic\Ir C ommand (SAC) and its global-reach

I unbcr force. \Vh ile th ey struggled toadapt B-29s (or the task, they soon realized•ha t the C -97 would he perfect (or th e job,.11 least in the in te rim wh ile SAC, wait ingtor its first jet-po wered bombers, co n rin­ul·d with its prop-dr iven fleet. T hu s th e":C- 97A was born .

To dev elo p th e KC -97, o( which I Iwould event ually he built, three C -9 7Aswere fitted with an imp roved ve rsion ofthe 'flying boom ' in-flight refuel ling sys­tem that Boeing had already developed (or

The KC-97

17

Post-War

Immediat ely afte r \Vorld \Var Two Boein gwas hard -pressed to gene rate new c ivilianand military business. But several significan tBoeing-designed a ircraft change d all th at.T he B-47 Straroje t , of which more th an2,000 were built , was th e world's first oper­ationa l strateg ic jet bomber. T he 370 B-50'S upc rforrrcss l ls' (de c ribed in C ha pte rEleven) were dir ect descen dants of the B­29. T he B-52 Strarofortrcss first flew as farback as 1952, yet survivors of th e 740 builtarc st ill flyin g in the guise of th e B-52H .T he Model 707 Jet Srrarolincr was the mostsuccessful of the first gene ration of mod ernjetl ine rs and derived from it were the KC ­135 S trato rankcr mili tar y ta nke r-cargo/tr ansport ae roplane and th e C - 135 SIruto­freigh ter, the world 's first je t-powered cargo/transport . Boeing event ually produced some1,000 707s and 800 KC/C-13 5s.

T he Boe ing A irplane Company hasce rta in ly come a ve ry long way over th elast eigh ty-fi ve years or so. O the r th anthe Lockheed Marti n C orporat ion it isth e longest -sur v iving a ircraft manufac tur ­ing firm in the USA , for all th e othe ronce -great airc raft man ufact urers such asBel\, C on va ir, C urt iss, Do uglas, GeneralDyna mics, Martin , McDonnel \, o rrliA merican , Republic , Ryan and many ot h­ers have e ither been absor bed or eliminn r­cd a ltoge the r.

In th e co urse of hecoming the aerospacegian t it is today, Boeing purch ased the air­craft, rocket propulsion and spacec raftd ivision s of th e Rock well C or pora t ion on12 Decem ber 1996 to form th e Boe ingNor th A merican d ivision . II th en mergedwith the Mc Donnell Douglas C orpo rat ion

0·70159

TI lE BOEING AIRPLANE CO~lI'AN Y

on I A ugust 1997 to becom e the seco nd­largest ae rospace firm in the wor ld, afte rLockh eed -Mart in .

The Boeing Ai rpla ne Company of todayis a mu lti -faceted cor poral ion with num er­ous ent it ies and di visions. T hese incl udeBoeing Business Jets, Boeing Commerc ia lA irp lan es, Boe ing Mili ta ry Aircraft andMissile Syste ms, Boeing Nort h A merican ,Boe ing Phantom \Vorks, Boeing Space andCommun ica tions , and th e recently esta b­lished Boeing U nmanned Systems d ivision.

In the co mmercial field , th e Boeing Ai r­plan e C ompany is curren tlv manufactur ingits 7 17, 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 jet air­liners, with its revo lutionary So n ic C ruisera irline r rising over th e ncar hor izon. O nthe military side it is either responsible foror producin g th e B- 1B Lancer, B-52HStrarofortrcss, C- 17A G lobcmasrcr III, F­15E Str ike Eagle, F/A- 18E/F Super Hornet ,KC - IOA Extend er, KC -135 Srrarorankc rand the YAL - IA Ai rbor ne Laser, amongo the rs. It is also in part nership with ort h­rop G rumma n on th e B-2A Spirit and withLockh eed Mart in on the F-22A Raprorprogram mes. \Vhether or no t it teams upwith Lockheed Mart in on th e F-35 A/B/CJo int Strike Figh ter program me rem ains tohe seen.

Boeing co nti nues 10 de velop an d pro ­duce some of th e world 's most importantaircra ft and spacec raft. Ir is ve ry likely thatit may soon be build ing its So n ic C ruiserfor the world 's airl ines, the E/A - 18 A ir­ho rne Electron ic A tt ack Var ian t of th etwo-scat F/A- 18F Supe r Hornet to replacethe EA -6B Prowle r, and th e X-45AUnmanned Combat Ae rial Veh icle. It is to

build fort y F- 15K Strike Eagle figh ters forth e Republic of Korea to keep the famed

78

F- 15 air-supe riority figh te r in producti onth rough the year 2008 . It has also recentl ystarted work on 100 tanker aircraft based onits767 m in-jet wide-bod y jetliner, wh ich arcto be leased or hought by the US A F to sup­plement and replace 40-plus-year-old KC ­135s. Boeing is also heav ily involved inspace business incl udin g it" management ofthe Int ernational Space Station, Spa ceShuttle, Sea Launch , comme rcial and mili­tary satellite-launc h programmes.

So Boeing has bu ilt a large number of sig­nificant aircraft over the last eight-plusdecades, most part icula rly the huge run oflarge and heavy multi -engine commercialand mili tary types thai sta rted with the leg­cnd.irv B- 17 Flying Fortress of Wor ld W,lrTwo and has no end in sigh t. Bill Boeing hadstarted out with a fan tasy to fly. He co nt in­ued to strive toward build ing bet ter a ircraftth an he had flown in . T he \Vestervelt­designed B& \V was the first result of tha teffort. By the time Mr Boein g passed awayon 28 September 1956 he was no longerassociated with the compa ny he had fou nd ­cd , for he had left it in 1934. He had, how­ever, witnessed the dawni ng of the jet ageand some of the incred ible jet-powered air­craft that were emerging. A numb ' r of thesewere comi ng from th e Boeing irplancCompany itself. and they were a far ry fnunthe aircraft he had enjoyed as a young man.

Boeing Model B-345-2 w as to be the B-290. butbecame the B-50 instead. Sometimes referr ed toas 'Superfortress II' . the B-50 served the USAF

well until the arrival of the jet-powered B-47and B-52; a B-50B (47-159) is shown . USAF

I \ 1he ea rly 1930s it h ad become a ppa re nt.11..1 t he wo rld - free o( gloha l con flict,,1\ ,. 19 IR- was be co ming a very danger ­

I pla ce . Ja pa n h ad a lready in vaded11111;\ an d Manch ur ia , and G erma n y was

• 1'I\lIy rea rm ing. These un comfo rt a bleI t v (" rce d US mi lita ry plan ners to face.1", lea l possib ilirv o( a sec o nd world war,

II wu li e ne m ies ac ross bo th oc ea ns. It

CHAPTE R TWO

Superbomber

was a t ime o f ago n izing reapprai sa ls (o r USa ir pow er , bu t sinc e th e S A was notac tua lly in vo lved in any war , adeq ua tefunds would no r be fo rthc om ing (or thetime be ing. cv crthc lcss, a ir pow er ad vo­ca tes in the US A rmy A ir C or ps co nt in ­ued to 'h un t and peck' (or mu ch- im provedco mbat a ircraft . spec ifica lly ad va n cedbomber types.

The only XB-15 on its first flight. on 15October 1937. It laid the foundat ion forall subsequent large bomber airc rahdeveloped by Boeing. Boeing HistoricalArchives

BElOW: The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresswas a real workhorse in World WarTwo. The B-17 and its stable -mate. theConsolidated B-24 Liberato r. did more tobring the German war machine to itsknees than any other daytime bomberaircrah; a B-17G 142-38091) is show n.Royal Air Force bombers took care ofGermany in the night-time . USAF

19

O n 14 A pril 19.34, th e USA AC issued arequirement (or a bomber that co uld carry a2,0001b (9 00kg ) bomb load at 200mph(.320km/h) over a d ista nce of 5,000 mil es( ,000km ). T he Boe ing A irplane Compa­n y proposed its Model 13-294, a bch cm or hto be po wered by ( O llt' 24-cy linde r A lliso nXV-.3 42 0 1,600h p liquid -co ol ed inlinceng ine s. The 13-294 was one o( two selec ted(or further developmen t and the USAACga \'C it the design at ion XBLR- I. The o thersuccessful design was the Douglas XBLR-2,a lso to be powered by (ou r XV-3420s.

Essent ia lly, A llison 's pro posed V-.3 420eng ine was a pa ir of l Zvcv lindcr V- 17 10engine ' joi ned by a co mmon cra nks haft (ino the r words, a V-24 rath e r than a V- 12) .T h is engine unde rwent se rious develo p­menta l dela ys and d id not first run unt il1940 , too late (or th e XBLR- I and XBLR-2prot ot ypes. But wh en it did run it produceda hu ge .3,OOOh p, instead o( th e I ,600h p th athad been or igina lly advert ised . Neverthe­less, it never Iou nd its way on to the 'LongRange A irp lane S uita ble (or M ilit ary Pur ­poses' as the XBLR pro ro typcs were beingreferr ed to . S ince the A llison engine wou ldno t be available to Boe ing in t ime, it choseto huild its XBLR- 1 with (o ur two-rowI,000h p Pra t t & Whitney R- 1830- 11 TwinWasp l -l-cylindc r radi al eng ines instead .

Boe ing's XBLR- I was redesign at ed XB­15 in July 1936, rhc Douglas XBLR-2l-ccoming the XB- 19 at th e same rime. \VirhEddie A llen at the co nt ro ls the XB-I S madea successful first fligh t in catt le on 15 Octo­her 193 7. Ir was woe fullv underp owered, ashad been (ea red , yc r ir actua lly set a [ew pay­load and d istance records in 1939.

e ither the XB- 15 nor the XB- 19 waswh a r th e USA AC was looking (or in along-range heavy bomb er, Bur these twoa irc raft were trul y sign ificant , and rh eyhelped lay th e fo undat ions upon whi chlarge bomber a irc raft in rhe future wo uld bebuilt. (There was a th ird contender in th islong-range bomber venture , the proposedS ikorsky XBLR-.3, whi ch never rece ived an'XB' - Exp erimen ta l Bomber - designat ionbecause it was not proceede d wit h .)

S U I'E R BO ~ I BE R

O n 1 September 19 9 erman y in vadedPo land and all hell began 10 break loose inEuro pe. Afte r an ult imatum was given toHitler , wh ich he ignored . hot h G reatBritain and Fran c declared war on G er­man y two da ys later. In the PresidentRoosevelt submitted a ve ry large defenc ebud get, procl aiming neut ral ity, hutprom ised in May 194 to bui ld 'SO,OOO air­c raft per year for th • nat ion 's d .fen c'. ud­den ly the 'h un t ing and pc kin g' was overand th ere was plenty of money ava ilable fornew m ilitary aircraft. In lat e 1939 howev­er, with war raging in Europe, U AACplanners were hard-pressed to find themoney for the type of bomber they desired ,one with even greater range th an either th eXB- IS or XB- 19, a 'Supc rbombcr', whichso me were refe rring to as a ' HemisphereDefence Weapon' and othe rs a 'Very LongRange Bomber' .

BOTTOM LEFT: A Consolidated B-24Liberator(41-23711). Stan Piel

MIDDLE LEFT: The Boeing Y1 B-20. Lloyd S. Jones

In rhe mcant imc, Boeing had been work ­ing on irs Model 13-299, whi ch in many wayswas a sca led-do wn version of th e XB- IS .The first 13-299 , unoffic ially designat ed'XB- I T, made irs first fligh t a t Se at tle on28 July 193 5. By th e rime the XB-l S ma deirs first flighr in O crober 193 7 rhe 13-299,now officially design ated 13-1 7, was mak­ing itself wel l kn own 10 th e U AAC. Butit was a far cry from what th e USA AC st illwan ted and need ed in the way of a verylo ng-ran ge heavy bomber.

A proposed follow-on program me to rheXB-15 was th e Model 13-294 -2, wh ich wasto be rhe service test ver ion of the XB- IS,designat ed Y113-20 du e to severa l differ ­ences. Two YI B-20s were ordered, with themore power ful 1,400h p Pratt & WhitneyR-2180-S engine, in lat e 1937. ornc wha rsimilar to th e XB- IS in appearance, th eYI 13-20 was to be 90ft (27.4 m) long with awingspan of 152ft (46.3m ). Irs projec tedgross weigh t was O,OOOlb (36, kg) and irwas 10 be man ned by ten crew. However,even before it rea hed mo k-up stage theY113-20 was canc elled.

\

oI /

-- .... ~\

\ '

~. :

'c..- -. - .

~.

f

A fine study of a B-17F namedMARY RUTH (42-29536). Stan Piel

20

\ )" I0 September 1939 , newly appo int ­I I~ Il'ing pres iden t Phil Joh nson ca lled in

111 1'1 eng ineer \Vellwood Bea ll, assista n t1111'1 eng ineer Ed Wel ls, acrodyna mic istII lIrgl' Schairer and eng inee ring test pilo t

I I,hl' A llen to discuss new designs. Spccif­dly. he wan ted t o kn ow abo ut Boeing'sunbcr designs . A ll (our to ld Johnson that

lin o-callcd Su perbombc r, Model 13-34 1,I coming along qu ite wel l. They to ld

hun tha t W righ t A rmy A ir Field was h igh­I uu crcsred but th ere was no req uirem ent

IIld no money ) (or it just ye t. But due to1Ill' war in Euro pe th is wou ld soon change.

quirement R-40-B

III No vember 1939 USA AC co mma nde rI h-nrv H . 'Hap' A rnold start ed hi s c rusadeI II a very long-range heavy bo mber supe­lIo r 111 every way 10 th e 13- 17 and 13-24 . H i '

unpa ign lasted abo ut th ree mon ths andulmina tcd with an extreme ly far-sighted

I Huber requi rement. O n 5 Februar y 1940r c ircular (ro m \Vrigh t A A F reached Boc­IIlg labe lled 'R-40 -B'. (RAO-B mean tI cquircmcn t n umb er 40 , Bombcr.) T heoffic ia l no t ice asked tha t ev ery in terested

••mpan v submit a propo sal, with in onemllnt h o( rece ipt , (or a h igh -alt itude, h igh -Il'ed bombardment aircraft with a 5,3 33­

nu le (8 ,583km ) range , with de ta iled cos t\ t ima rions, eng ine ering da ta and draw­IIlgs. It was sta mped 'U rgent ', ca lling (or alull-sca le eng ineering mock -up to be readylor inspec t io n by 5 Au gust 1940 , th e first.urcraft deli ve red by 1 Jul y 194 1 and any.uld it ional a ircraft one mon th the reafte r.

C h ief engineer Beall was in cha rge of theR-40 -B project. He appo in ted Lyle Pierce. IS projec t engineer; Do n Euler to head upprel iminary design ; Edd ie A llen (or wing,tai l and per forman ce data ; and Joh n Ball,with his assistant G eorge Mart in, to be incharge of struc tures. Ed Wel ls would super­vise the de ta il design groups with N .D.Showalter se rving as h is ch ief assista nt.

By th is time , due to di(ficult ies with th edev elopmen t of th e Model 13-34 1, Boeingwas vigorously working on Model 13-345,similar in some ways to 13-34 1. but larger andheavier to meet the rigid requ irement s of R­40-13. It was the design best suited to the R­40-13 project and the one Boein g pursued .

In late March and early A pril 1940 (ourairframe con trac to rs - Boeing. Lockheed ,Do uglas and Consolidated - subm itt edtheir respec t ive R-40-B data to WrightField . In genera l, each firm had met the

S U I'E R H O ~1B E R

Cutaway of design 341. wh ic h was the XB-29's

immediate predecessor. USAF

The Lockh eed XB-30. Lloyd S. J ones

....-__--c:=

- -L

2 1

S I' ERIlO~ I B ER

• '0u ·

The Consolidated XB-32. Lloyd S. Jones

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I II

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The Douglas XB·31. Lloyd S. Jones

esFEET

TheBoeing-ownedFairchild PT-19lilted withscaled-down B-29 wingandtail assembliesto evaluatethe B-29'saerodynamics in flight.Peter M. Bowers

22

SUI'ERBOMBER

Martin XB-33. Lloyd S. Jones

I n ificarions and all were rewa rded co n­11 .11 Is 10 build and evalua te wind-tunnel1Il111kls. and to prov ide cost est ima tes andlcr.ulcd engineering data and drawings.l lu-sc proposals were designa ted th e Boeing

1\-29. Lockheed XB-30 , Douglas XB-3 111I.1 Consolidated XB-32. (The Model B­14S had received its offic ial USAAC dcsig­u.u ion . XB-29, on 24 A ugust 1940.)

I\oe ing co nt in ued to work h ard on the.1\-29, and mad e numerous cha nges and

Improvemen ts ove r the next several. -cks, T he n , on I I May 1940, it subm it­

h·d the final design for the XB-29 . Boe ingW.IS prom ising a range of ov er 5,000IIIl1es (8,OOOkm ), a speed ov er 370 mph(600km/h ), an alti tude of 38 ,OOOf\(1 1,500 111 ) and a bom b load exceed ing' .OOOlb (900kg ). In add itio n to wind-tun­1Il,I eva luat ions, Boei ng had hough I a1'.lIrch ild PT- 19A (4 1-205 3 1), a smalltwo- place U SA A C primary trainer. It wasturcd wit h sca led-do wn B-29 wing andr.ul flying surfaces and se rved as a flyin gIl'st-hed for B-29 aerodyna m ic cva lua­nons. T h is 'ex tra ' work by Boeing was wellrece ived by Wri ght Field.

T he tr iple- ta iled Lock heed Model 51­1-0 1 XB-30 was closely based on Lock ­

hecd's Model 49 C-69 C onstella t ion cargo/rr.msport, whi ch itself was bused on th e1,xlel 49 Constel lat ion airliner. It was to he

I iwcred by four 2,200 hp Wr igh t 1\-3350- 13rad ial eng ines. Ir was to have a len gth of104ft 8 in (3 1.9m ), a win gspan of 123ft(n.5m ) and ca rry a twelve-man crew.

T he Douglas Model D-332F XB-31 wasIn he larger and heavier than any of th e" the r Supcrbomber co ntenders. It was to bepowered by (our 28-cy linder 3,OOOhp Pratt& W h itney 1\-4360 radial engines and ca rrya 25,OOOIb (l I,OOOkg) bomb load . It was toha ve an eigh t-man crew, a Icngth of 117ft~ i n (35.75m ), a wingspan of 207(t (63m)and a maximum rake-off weigh t ofI98,OOOlh (90 ,OOOkg). Its pilot and co-pilotwere to be seated side-by-side und er separa te'hug-eye ' bubble cano pies, (This cano pyarrangement larer appeared on the Douglasc-74 G lobcmastcr ca rgo/transport and th eXB-42 Mixmaster light att ack bombcr.)

Lockheed and Douglas, whose designswere inferior to both th e XB-29 and XB-32,elec ted to how out of th e co mpetit ion andwithdrew from the R-40-B progra mme scv­cral months before the USAAC decisionwas scheduled for annou nc eme n t. With th eXB-30 and XB-3 1 out of cont ent ion , o n 6Scprcmher 1940 both Boeing and Consoli­dated received US A AC co ntrac ts to build ,

v

respectively, two XB-29s (41 -00 2/-003) andtwo XB-32s (41 - 1411-142) .

Conso lidat ed's Model 33 XB-32 T ermi ­nator' , lat er Dom ina to r, was of seriousin te rest to the USAAC, th ough it lackedth e a ltitude, spee d and ran ge be ing pro­jec ted by Boei ng for th e XB-29 . The XB­32 featured tw in, inwa rd-canted ve rt ica ltai ls in its ori gina l co nfigurat ion (whichwas changed to a sing le ra il late r). It waspowered by four 2,200h p Wri gh t R-3350­13 rad ial eng ines . It was 83ft (2S.2m ) long,20ft lOin (6.12m) hi gh and its win gspanwas 135ft (4 l.1m ). Its maximum tak e-off

23

weight was 10 1,6621b (46 ,I 13kg) and ithad a top spee d of 376mph (605km/h) at25 ,OOOft (7,600m ). ltcouldcarry a 2,OOOlh(900kg) bomb load 4.45 0 miles (7 , I60km).The first XB-32 rolled out on I Se pte mber194 2 and , with C onso lida ted lest pilotRuss Rodgers at the con tro ls, made a suc­cessful first flight on 7 Se pt ember - four­teen days ahead of th e first X B-29 - atLind hergh Field , San Diego . Event ua llyI I B-3 2 Dominator s were built.

The USA AC wou ld indeed have aSupc rbo mbcr, But wou ld it he th e B-29 orthe B-3 2! O r would it be both !

Th e Experimenta lPrototype XB-29

The fina l co nfigurat ion of the ex pe rimen ­ta l prototype ~vlodel 345, or XB-29, was th eresult of a hea vy bo mber des ign evo lut ionin the mi litary preli minary design sec t ionof th e Boei ng A irplane Company. Us ingwhat it had learn ed (and was st ill learn ing)(rom its earl ier B-9, B- 15, B- 17 and B-20bomber design s, Boeing a t first ca me upwith the Model B-3 16, a (our-eng ine h igh­wing mach inc with tri cycle landi ng gearbased in large pan on th e B-307 Srraro lin ­cr. ex t ca me the B-332, a (our-eng ine ,mid -wing ' ta il-dragger' design with nota b leB- 17 Icarurcs such as the or iginal XB- 17ta il assembly and gun bliste rs. T he B-333and 333A design s were sim ilar high -wingairc raft , but with two ve ry di fferent (our­engi ne layouts. The B-333 was a 'push -me,pu ll-me' design th at featured both push er

S U I'E R II O ~ I IIE R

and trac to r eng ines - two on c ither win g,in linc with one ano ther - whil e the 13­333A had four separate engines, two buriedin eac h win g. The B-33 4/-33 4A offeringswere refined B-333/-333A design s, th e (or­mer featuring thr cc ve rt ica l ta ils.

cxr ca me rh c B-34 1, wh ich (or themost part - excl ud ing its ligh te r weightand shorter wingspan - was a d irect pre­cursor o( the 13-34 5. T he 13-34 1 was ye tanother refin ement o( the sing le-mil (our­eng ine B-334A , but wit h man y new fca­rurcs th a t eve n tua lly wer e used on th e XB­29 . In (act , it was the 13-34 1 dcsign th atwas first offe red to th e USAF wh en Lock ­heed , Douglas and Conso lidar cd hado((cred up the ir respec t ive XB-30, XB-3 1and XB-32 'Su perbomb cr' designs. But itwas furt her refinem en ts to th e B-34 1, anda brand new win g, that ult imatel y led toth e Model B-345 - the XB-29 .

It soo n beca me obvio us th at th e A ACwas more impressed by rhc B-29 I han the

B-32 . ever liking to put all o( its cggs inone basket, however, it proceeded with bothprogrammes. This became apparen t on 29

ovembc r and 14 December 1940, respcc­rive ly, when th e U AA approve d ame nd­ed co nt rac ts (or a thi rd prototype (rom eac hfirm - XB-29 nu mber th ree (4 1- 1 33 5) andXB-3 2 number three (41-1 336 ).

Boeing used its Plan t 1 (aci lity, about amile north of its main Plant 2 factory, to man ­ufactu re and attach the main assemblies o(th e th ree XB-29s. They were rhe n bargcddown the Duwam ish River and a ' sembled ina cordoned of( area inside Plant 2, away (romth e B-17 assembly line.

T he first XB-29 (4 1-002) was fin ished atBocing Plant 2 in early Septe mber 194 2, andon th e n ight 0( 20 Se ptember, Boein g Direc­to r of Flight and Research Edd ie A llendeclared it ready (or fligh t. A llen was ancnginccring rest pilot exrrao rd ina irc andBoein g Direct or of Flight and Research . Nat­urally, hc would fly th e XB-29.

XB-29-1 at Boeing Plant 1 in Seattle , Washington. It was at this stage of manufacturethat the first two XB-29s were barged up the Duwamish River to Plant 2 for finalassembly. Peter M. Bowers

24

S UI'E R IlO ~ I Il E R

XB-29-1 nears completion. on 8 August 1942 at Plant 2. Peter M. Bowers

Spo rt ing a US Army o live drab paintscheme with neut ral grey undersides, noarmament and l Zft-d iamerer (5.1 m)th ree-bladed propellers, the first XB-29 wasfin ed with four 2,200hp W righ t A eronau­tica l R-3350-13 rad ial eng ines , eac h onewith two G eneral Electric type B- l 1 tur ­bochargcrs. It was 98ft 2in (29 .93m) lon gwith a wingspan of 141ft 3 in (43.06m) . Itswing was qu ite long compared to its chord(width ) and feat ured a h igh aspec t ra tio(1 1.5: I ). T he wing used large-area Fowlerflaps, whi ch increased its tot al area by 20per cent when they were exte nded.

The fir t XB-3 2 had made its first flighta lready, at Lindbergh Field, Sa n Diego on7 Se pte mbe r 194 1 with Conso lida rcd 's

Russ Rodgers at th e co n tro ls. But twentyminutes in to the fligh t, th e a ircraft under­went serious buffet ing and tail Ilut tcr, d ueto a rudder tr im tab 'grem lin' di sco veredlater. Rogers made an eme rgenc y lan dingat ava l Ai r Sta t ion Nort h Island , Sa nDiego.

Exactly tw o week s lat er on 2 1 Scprcm­ber 194 1, Edd ic A llen made a successfultest flight o ut of Boe ing Field in co mma ndof XB-29 num ber one. Hi s co- pilot wasBoe ing C h ief Test Pilot A l Reed . Be ingthe hi gh ly expe rienced eng ineering rc tp ilo t th at he was, A llen exac tly knew thepluses and min uses ex h ibited by theSupc rforrress on that first fligh t. He tookoff at 3.40p m from Bocing Field 's rela tiv ely

25

short 5,200ft runway and landed one hourand fifteen min utes later. He and Reedflew over \Vash ington tat e 's Puget oundarea, ne ve r exceed ing 6 .000ft whil e eva lu­at ing its basic flying capabili t ies. After thefligh t Edd ie A lle n succ inc rly sa id 'Sheflies!'

T he following fligh t-t ests went fai rlywel l, though with some rather perp lexingdifficu lties, espec ially wit h th e o il-leaking,fire-pron e R-3350 eng ines , wh ich were forth e most parr unproved . T he XB-29 wasfar and away th e most technologica llyadvanced bo mbardme n t a irplane in th eworl d and it le t its followers know it.

Whi le lan ding after its ninct ccnt h flight,on 18 Decem ber, the first XB-29 ran in to a

S PERB O.\ lB ER

TOP: The XB-29s were completed with three-bladed propellers. Here XB-29-1 is shown with lour-bladedpropellers on 17 December 1943. All B-29safter the XBs and YBs were fitted with four-bladed propellers. USAF

ABOVE: XB-29-1 on 23 September 1942. two days afterits first flight. Peter M. Bowers

lirrlc tro uble: rhc left-h and main land inggear doors an d part of the Fowler flaps wereda maged after the two main land ing gearlyres blew out upon touchd own. O n 28Dcccrnb cr 1942, during what was to he ahigh alt itude performan ce rest, the fligh thad to he aborted when , at 6,000ft, th enumber one cng inc failed and had to hefeathered (turn ing rhe propeller blades par­a llel to the airflow to min imize acrodvna m­ic drag). As it turned out, the reduction gcarhad failcd , and to co rrect that problem,floating bushings were ret rofitt ed.

\'Virh Eddi e A llen at rhc co nt rols onceaga in , th e seco nd XB-29 (41 -003) made irsfirst flight on 30 Deccmber 1942. It wasnea rly identical to XB-29 number onc bu twas unpaint ed and loaded with test equip ­me nt. \'Virh the add ition of a seco nd XB-29ro the Supe rbomber pro gramme the all­import ant fligh t-t est clara could bc gcncr­.u cd and d igested more qu ickly. However,

after on ly abou t a month and a half of test­ing, the seco nd XB-29 and its ent ire crewwere lost , on 18 Feb ruary 1943.

It seems that a fuel leak in the left wing'sIeading-cdge area, sparked by a backfirefrom one of the cngines, set I he wing onfire. T hc firc co uld not he ext inguished andEddic A llen elected to make an emcrgencylanding at Boeing Field. As the XB-29 wasdescc nd ing from rhc north end of the field,a large part of its left \\.ing lead ing edgeburned off. Evcn worse, th e en tire \\'ing andpart of th e fuselage were on fire. By thi s t imerhe plan e was only about 250fr above theground, roo low for th e crew to conside rba iling our. T he aircraft crashed in to rheFrve Meat Pack ing Company plant, some 3or 4 mi les nort h of Boei ng Ficld. It was ahorrific event, killin g all eleven of the XB­29's crew, ninet een Frye employees, a Seat­tle fireman , and twelve othc r person s wereeither killed or seriously injured.

26

O f co urse, an in ten se crash investigationensued and thi s seriously del ayed XB-29n umb er one's fligh t-rest program me. N um­ber one had been ferried to Boeing's Wichi ­ta fac ility in late Decem ber, where ir wastur ned over to th e 58rh Bomb \'Ving for irsevaluation purp oses. A frer the cras h in ves­rigat ion was over and number one wasoncc more cleare d for fligh r the 58rh d idirs th ing. Its resting ended in the spring of1943 and on I I May, num ber one wasreturned ro Boeing-Seatt le ro rejoin Boe­ing's test program mc

The first fligh t of th e rh ird XB-29 (4 1­18335 ) was delayed somewha t due to th ecrash investigat ion of numb er two. But irfinall y made its first fligh t on 29 May 1943with Colonel Leonard 'Jake' Harmon , a B­29 flight test office r from Wri gh t Field, at

the helm. His co- pilot was Lt C olonelA hram O lson .

Wit h XB-29 number one behind them, flight-test crewmemberspose et Boeing Field on 1 November 1943after their return from• two-month flight-test programme in Wichita. Shown left torigh t are: third , Everett Denton [pow erplant engineer); fourth,

d Martin leo-pi lot); fifth, Noah D. 'N.D.' Show alter (Boeingchief of fli ght-test and co-pil ot); sixth, Robert Robbins (aircraftcommander]: seventh, H. Washburn (radio operator); tenth,Don Whitw orth (flight-test enqineerl; and eleventh, Ben Head(fli ght engineer). The others are unknown. Robert M. Robbins

Weights:

Engines:

Dimensions:

Performance:

Specification - XB-29

Empty 66,1OOlb (29,990kgl;loaded 105,0001b (47,600kgl

Four WrightAeronautical R-3350-13/-17Cyclone 18air-cooled rad ial

Length 98ft 2 in 129.9ml; wingspan 141ft3in(43.1 m): wingarea 1.736sqIt (16 1.27sqrn];height 27ft 9in(8,45ml

Maximumspeed 370mphl590km/hl; cruisingspeed250mph(400km/hl;service cei ling32,1 DOl t (9.785m);maximum range5,850 miles19,415kml; rangewith maximum bomb load 16,0001b (7,300kg)4,100miles16,600kml

SU I'E R BO ~ I BER

ABOVE: Bob Robbins, w ho later became chief test pilot on the XB-47 Stratojet programme,is shown at the controls of XB-29-1. Robert M. Robbins

Bob Robbins poses by XB-29-1 THE FLYING GUINEA PIG, in November 1944. Robert M. Robbins

27

SU I'E R B O ~ I B E R

THIS PAGE

TOP: Boeing experimental flight-tes t pilot group in aboutAugust 1944. Seated left to right are Fornaflio. Michael.N.D. Showalter. Merrill and Robert Robbins. Standing leftto right are Robert T. 'Bob' Lamson. Ed Martin. Scott Osler.Code and Fraser. Robert M. Robbins

MIDDLE: XB-29-1 after its gun turrets were installed .Peter M. Bowers

eorroa : XB-29-1 was a big aircraft, this attested to by itssize compared to the men shown around her. Peter M. Bowers

OPPOSITEPAGE

TOP: A nice view of XB-29-2(41-0031. which was lost on18 February 1943. Peter M. Bowers

MIDDLE: XB-29-3(41-18335) is prepared for its first flighton 29 May 1943. Peter M. Bowers

aorrua ; XB-29 No.1 in profile. Peter M. Bowers

-. ~ ... ~....:.....~-. " ' . ..- _. . ;. ...

---.. . .."""J- ... -- ..

.:

".

28

-. .- -"" ,

S UPER BO~I B E R

29

SU I'E R IlO ~ I IlE R

Eddie Allen and the 8·29

ByRaben M.Robbins, Boeing Experimental Test PilotonXB-29Number OneThe Twentieth Air Force and theB-29s it used to bomb Japan shortened the war bymonths, perhapsyears, and saved, it has been estimated, amillionormore UScasual­ties byend ing the war before a planned invasion of the heavily defended Japanesehomeland wasundertaken- aninvasion that was scheduled to begin on1 November1945, less than three months afterJapan capitu lated. That invasionwould undoubted­ly have taken place had theB-29 programme been delayed or had it andthebombingof Japannot been pushedas fastas humanlypossible, in spiteof the cost in livesandthevery difficult odds, cho ices and problems that wereencountered.

Throughout thechroniclethat follows, I believethat you will bestruck bythenumberof close calls that theB-29 programme itselfhad- events thatcould have very easilyterminated ormortally compromisedtheprogrammeor thecapabilitiesof theB-29, hadit not beenfortheoutstandingcourage, foresightandabilities ofa relatively fewpeo­pie - both militaryand civilian. Two of thevery tough choices theymade were to putthe B-29 into product ion even before the engineering was completed andto committhemtocombat before developmental testing couldgetthemfullydebugged ,

This story about the early development of the XB-29 andparticularly about a veryimportant man inthat earlydevelopment - thefamousexperimenta l test pilotandBoe­ingDirectorof Fl ightand Research, Edmund T. Allen,who losthislife trying tomake theB-29 combat ready as quickly as possible. Without Eddie Allen the B-29 programmemight never have succeeded. One B-29-40-BW (42-24579) flown by the 40th BombGroup(Very Heavv] wasnamed THEEDDIE ALLEN inhonourof Eddie.The unsurpassedexcellence and ability that Eddie Allen appl ied tohelping make theB-29 the awesomegiant that it became can best beappreciatedbya look at Eddie's aeronautical career.

Before theUSA entered WorldWar One, Eddie Allenworked for three yearsafter hisfather diedto support his family,He thenfinishedone year at the University of Illinois.In 1917, when he was 21, theUSA entered World War One. Eddie enlisted in the USArmy AirService, learned to fly, becamea flight instructor and taught advanced aero­batics. He was sent to the Britishflight testcentre in England to learnBritishaircraftflight-testing techniques. Before the armistice in November 191 Bhe returned to theArmy's flight test centre at McCook Field to apply his flight experienceand overseasobservat ions.After the armisticehe became the first test pilot for the National Advi­soryCommittee forAeronautics- forerunner of todav's NASA.

In 1919 Eddie returned to the University of Illinois for a year, studied aeronauticalengineering fortwoyearsatMITand topped that off byentering glidercompetitions inEngland andFrance inagliderhebuilt whileat MIT. From 1923to 1925 hedidfreelancetest piloting and became a civilian test pilot at McCook Field. From July1925to mid­1927, Eddie flew rebuilt World War Onede Havillands asanairmail pilot for the PostOfficeDepartment overthetreacherousRockyMountainroutesbetween CheyenneandSalt Lake City- sometimes under extremelyadverseconditions.

Starting on1 September 1927 when the Post OfficeDepartment got out of the flyingbusiness, EddiejoinedBoeingAir Transport. flyingBoeingModel 40Amailplanesasanairmail pilot on their new Chicago to San Franciscorun. Over thenext fiveyears Eddiebegan todomoreand moretest flying, particularlyfor the Boeing Airplane Company,anaffiiiilteof theBoeing Air Transport whichlaterbecameUnited Air Lines.

By 1932 Eddie Allenwasa recognized, established, highly respected, independenttest pilotand consulting aeronautical engineer. In the years that followed his accom­plishmentsbecame legendary - from landingaNorthrop Betawithjammedaileron con­trolsoutofabarrel roll, to developingthe first-evereffectivecru isecontrol techniquesbasedon some 200hoursof flighttestingontheDouglasDC-2, tobeing a widely pub­lishedauthor,mostly on test flyingbut a few just pla inoldgood flying stories - but allwith a serious message. He worked for most if not all of themajor aircraft manutac­turers at one time or another, and for Eastern Airlines and Pan American Airvvays.

For at least some insurance companies, Eddie Allen's blessing onanew aircraft wasaprerequisiteto theminsuring it. If Eddie was tomake the first flight and do theinitialtesting ona new design, theinsurance premiums would besubstantially lower- andthemanufacturercouldhavegreat confidence thathiscreationwouldcomebackinonepiece. OvertheyearsEddiemadefirst flightsonoverthirtydifferentnew modelsof air­craft. These included the Boeing Model 83 in 1928, the forerunner of the famous USNavyF4Bs and USArmy Air Corps P-12s; theDouglas DC-2 in 1934; the Sikorsky S-43in 1936;theBoeing XB-15 in 1937; the Boeing B-17B, C, 0, E, and Ffrom 1939 to 1942;the BoeingXPBB-l and XB-29 in 1942-43; andthe Lockheed Model 049 Constellationon9January 1943, justthirty-ninedays before hisdeath in thecrashof XB-29 number

30

Famed test pilot EdmundT. 'Eddie' Allen at the controls of a 8-17 Flying Fortress.

Boeing Historical Archives

two. That Eddie Allen should betaken bythe USArmyAir Corps from his vital jobatBoeing to make thefirst flight of theLockheed Constellation isa further testimonial tothehigh esteem withwhichhewasregarded.

Between 31 December 1938 and 20January 1939EddieAllen,still asafreelancetestpilot. test-flew the 33-passenger Boeing B-307 Stratoliner. Two months later, on 18March1939, theB-307 crashed,on itsnineteenth test flightkilling allonboard. BoeingChiefTestPilotJulius Barrwas in thepilot'sseat.Anengineer fora prospectiveairlinecustomerwas in the co-pilot's seat. That engineer had been pressing Boeing hard tofindoutwhatwould happen if theaircraft wasstalled with thenumber oneand twoengines throttled and the number three and four engines at take-off power. Boeingrefused to demonstrate such a dangerous, unrealistic condition but did agree toapproach theconditioncautiously. Onecan only speculate as to justwhat went oninthecockpit and whatreally causedthestall, spin,partial recovery, break-upandcrashthat occurred. Eddie returned to Seattle to testify at the 3 April 1939 Civil AeronauticsAdministration(CM )AirSafety Board hearing onthecrash. Hewasthere asanexpertwitness,ahighly respectedtest pilotandthemanwhohad made thefirst fifteenof thetest flights prior to theaccident.

While in Seattle for theCM hearings,Eddiehad aconversationwith Bob Minshall,BoeingVice President and General Manager. Eddie told Minshall that calling ina testpilot to fly a new design after the aircraft wasbuilt wasno longera properapproach,Eddie felt that the real need in the aviationcommunitywas for exhaust ive aeronauti ­cal research, both ontheground in laboratories and wind tunnels, and in flight withsophisticated instrumentationand equipment and specialized flightcrews. Groundandflight research needed to be carefu lly coordinated to complement each other. Theresultsshouldbecombinedwith theexpertiseof thespecialized flight crewsand engi­neeringtest pilotsandbeappliedduringthedesignofanynewaircraft. Eddie felt thatBoeingwasinauniquepositiontodoit. Boeing had thebigaircraft needed tocarry allthe instrumentation,equipment andspecialized flightcrews. It alsohad theneed- itsreal future was inbigaircraft. where it already hadan enviable background. Minshallliked theconcept andsodidClaire Egtvedt, Boeing's President.

Thegrim rea lity of the recent Stratoliner accident added emphasis to Eddie's ideas,On 26April 1939 Edmund1. Allen became Boeing 's first and only Director of Aerodv­namicsand Flight Research - a position that he held foralmost four critical years. Itwasafortunate, far- reachingevent forBoeingand theUSA.Thetimingwasfortu itous,His beneficial impact on the B-17, B-29and even today's jet fleets would ultimatelytouchthe lives of literally millions of people- most of whom neverknew his name orrealizedhiscontributions.

Thisisnoexaggeration when one considersthehugeB-17 fleetsthatbombedGermanyandthemassiveB-29raidsonJapan, andthe lives thatweresavedandtouched bytheirpartsinbringingWorldWarTwo toan earlierend.Modernworldwideaerodynamicand

SUI'ERBOMBER

flight research,which is such avital part of todavs multifaceted aerospaceindustries,including moderncommercial jet transports, has its roots in and evolves from the ideasthat Eddie Allen brought to Boeing in April 1939 and implemented shortly thereafter.

InApril 1939Boeingwasmanythings. It wasalreadyasuperbdesignerof thebigair­craft Eddiehadreferred tosuchastheXB-15andB-17 bombers, theB-314PanAmClip­pers andtheB-307Stratoliner.lt hadonlyaso-soproductionreputation,particularlywiththe Army whoseB-17Bswerebehind schedule. The B-314deliveries were well under­wayand thesecond B-307Stratoliner was nearing flight-test stage. Boeing was losingmoney, was in deepfinancial troubleand was struggling to survive. It was a companywith people who were courageous, full of vision, imagination, integrity, determinationand a dedication to design aircraft that were superior and right. Boeing designs wereinnovativebut. at thesame time, conservative. Boeingwouldnot pursueapoororevena mediocre design even thoughit might appear to be the politically desirable course.

Inlate 1938Boeinghadstartedthinkingabout aSuperbomber- anaircraft forwhich,at that time, there was no established militaryrequirement andno money - also, anaircraft that no-nne knew howto build. The Army's Oliver Echols andBob Olds talkedabout an bomber with a 5,OOO-mile rangecapable of hitting an enemy aircraft carrierwhen it was still at least two days offshore. The B-17 could strike a carrier that wasonly oneday out - tooclose forcomfort.

Thekey toasuccessful Superbomber wouldbe toget thedragwell down. Manypre­liminarydesign studieswere run on numerous configurations, including such ideasasnewflat liquid-cooled eng inesburied inthewing.Some weretemptingbut nonewouldreally makeagoodaircraft. so thestudies werecontinued inanattempt tofindan ideathat wouldgive thenecessarybreakthrough.

Eddie Allen's reputation, now combinedwithBoeing'scommitment toa serious, full­timescientific aerodynamicandflight researchprogramme,wasastrongattraction forsome of the best bra ins in the country. Noticeable among them was George Schairerwhowantedtoworkfor EddieatBoeing .SchairerwasMIT-educated,hadbeenanaero­dynamicist at Consolidatedandwould leavehismarkonBoeingaircraft fordecades tocome.Hisfirst jobforEddiewastoputanewStratolinermodel Eddiehadbuilt intothewind tunnel totrytofindawayof improvingtheB·307sothat evenif it werevery badlymistreateda repeat of the 18 March 1938 accident lthelossof theprototype)couldbeavoided. A famous Boeing trademark, the dorsal fin runningfrom thefuselage to thevertical stabilizer, wasGeorge's answer. It went on all Stratolinersand B-17safter theB-170. It greatly reduced the possibility of stalling the vertical tail evenunder veryextremeyaw conditionsand made the B-17E/F/Gmodels much safer and morestablebombingpla tforms.Thesomewhat shorteneddorsal finusedontheB-29providedsim­ilar benefits for the flight crewsof theTwentieth Air Force.

Eddienow hadGeorgeSchairerapply his talents to thestrugglingSuperbomberdragproblem,to whicha satisfactoryanswer had still not been found in themany configu­rationsthat had been considered. It was Schairer whoproposed, promotedanddevel­oped thesolution. It lay in abandoningthe previously conventional approach in favourof concentrating first ondeveloping a wing with the lowest possible drag. Schairer'sview was that the wing is typically a big drag itemon an airplane andtherefore pro­vides thegreatest potential fordragreduction.Theresult was, forthefirst time, a thin,very high-aspect ratio (that is, longandnarrow]wingwith avery highwing loading(asmall wingfor theweight it carriedI.Theaerofoil sectionwasalsocritical. Georgewasfamiliar with the- at that time- controversial Daviswing, whichwasto be employedby theConsolidatedB-24. When efforts to obtain permissionto use the Davis patentsdragged on, Boeing decided to developits own wing, whichGeorge Schairer did. TheBoeing '117'wing was the result. Very large high-lift wing flaps, alsodeveloped bySchairer, wereaddedto permittake-offsand landings inreasonabledistanceswiththesmallest possible wing. The fuselage, nacelles, fairings, equipment and so on werenow designed so that they addeda minimum ofdrag.

By August 1939 there fina llywasa Superbomber configuration that Boeing couldbeproudtoproposetotheUS ArmyAirCorps. It wascalledtheModel B-341. lt wouldlatergrowintotheModel B-345and eventuallybecome theB-29.Thewind-tunnel work, theresearch and development done by Eddie Allen, George Schairerand their peoplehadfinally paid off. Later, as the detai l design progressed, Eddie and Georgeapplied thesamepainstaking 'try, try, tryaga in' philosophyandeffort todevelopingaflight-controlsystemandother details that needed attention.

The B-29was the first (and onlv] aircraft that Eddie Allencould partibipate in andwatch evolve from concept through initial flight testing and into large-scale planned

3 7

production whichwasdesigned under thephilosophyandintheenvironmentthatEddiefirst proposed to BobMinshall that April 1939day in Minshall's Seattle office. Admit­tedly,theB-29shad their problems;however, it isnoteworthy thattheaerodynamicsonthe thousandsof B-29s that were built remained essentially unchanged fromthoseofthe firstXB-29 onits first flight. The B-29crewsof the TwentiethAir Force whoman­aged tocontrol andgettheir sometimesbadlydamaged B-29s fromover Japantosafeland ingsowetheirsuccessestoasubstantialdegreetothework, phi losophiesandcon­tributions of Eddie Allen. Needless to say there were manyother people, civilian andmilitary, whoalsoplayedvital roles in theB-29programme; spaceheredoesnot allowforadequate recognitiontheydeserve.

TheModelB-341Superbomber configurationbreakthrough came just intime.TheUSArmy AirCorpsbegan showing real interest in the autumn of 1939 as a result of theshock of Hitler's 1September 1939invasionof Poland and the - coincidentally simul­taneous- completion of aspecial Air Board study of hemispheredefence that empha­sized theneed fora flexible, long-rangebomberfleet.

Support foraSuperbomberspreadrapidly.On5February1940Boeing wasoneof sev­eral aircraft manufacturerstoreceive fromtheArmyaninvitationtobidahigh-altitude,high-speedbombardment aircraft witha requirement for a 5,333-m ile(8,583kmlrangewitha2,OOOlb1900kg)bombload.Amonth laterBoeingproposedtheModel B-341 witha gross weight of 85,OOOIb(38,600kglto meet the requirement. Four2,OOOhp Pratt &Whitney engines would be used. The wing loading would be a whopping 641b persquarefoot (31.2kg per square metre) - double what had previously been consideredacceptablebytheexperts. EddieAllenhadconvinced thedoubters that withavery big,properly designed wing flap they couldget awaywith it. The fact that Eddie's aerody­namicsgroupwould havetodevelopthe flap, thatEddiewould fly theaircraft andthathe was confident of success won the day. In addition, extreme measures would berequiredtoreduce dragasmuchaspossible.Amongmanyotherthings, flushrivetsandbutt joints would berequired andthat would add to the manufacturingproblems. Butconfidence was high that theB-341 wouldbeagood aircraft.

Several agonizing weekspassed withnoword on the Superbombercompetition.TheAirCorpsannouncedthatnoneof theproposalswere acceptable.Therequirementshadchanged asa resu lt of lessons beinglearnedin Europe. The Superbombermust havemore armament. powered gun turrets, armour plate, self-sealing fuel tanks, highercabin pressures, a 16,OOOIb(7,250kgl bomb load for shorter flights - and no decreaseinperformance! A revised proposalwasrequired in thirty days.

Back to theDrawing Board!The Boeing Model B-341 became the Model B-345. The gross weight went from85,0001b 138,600kg) to 11 2,OOOIb (51 ,OOOkgl. and later to a maximum overload designgross weight of 120,OOOlb (54,400kgl. The wingspan increasedfrom 124ft 137.7m) to141ft (42.9m). More power was requiredand the new 2.200hpWright R-3350engineswouldhave to be used insteadof the2,OOOhpPratt & Whitney.

TheWright was an undeveloped engine and there wereserious reservations aboutwhether it would be a good engine. Boeing wasveryuncomfortable about the ModelB-345- about being pushedtoo far intounexplored areas. To makethingsevenworse,therewasnow serioustalkabout ordering largeproductionquantitiesbeforeanexper­imentalprototypecouldbe built. The riskswerebecomingveryhigh. Boeingcameveryclose to proposinga smaller aircraft with which theywould be more comfortable,butwhichwouldnotbewhattheAir Corpssaidwas required. On theother hand, thewarwasspreadingrapidly inEuropeand threatened to spreadmuchfurther.TheexpandedSuperbomber requirements of the Air Corps might very well prove necessary eventhought the technological risks were very high. After careful soul searching with thewar in mind, Boeing uncharacteristically decided to submi t the Model B-345 with astrongdeterminationtodoeverythingpossible tomakeit successful. TheModelB-345proposal was submittedon 11 May 1940. Withinweeks theAir Corps told Boeingtheywere issuing a contract for engineering, wind tunnel and a mock-up of the Model B­345,whichwould betheB-29.Furthermore,productioncontractsforperhaps200B·29swould be awarded long before an experimental prototype could be flown. Clearly theAir Corpshad joined Boeinginadesperate gambleon thesuccess of theModel B-345design. After Paris fell on 14June 1940 Congresswasasked formoneyfor 990 B-29s.Theantehad just been raised!

continued overleaf

SU PER BO~ I BER

Eddie Allen and the 8-29 continued

On6September 1940aformal contract for twoXB-29s was released. Engineeringstud­ies,whichhadstartedwithonlyafew peopleinlate1938,hadnow grownintoafull-scaleproductiondesigneffort,whichwouldrequire1,433,026engineeringman-hoursbeforethefirstXB-29 would fly. Eddie Allen and George Shairer were keptbusy with literally hun­dredsofwindtunnel and flight research investigations to reducedragand toproducetheaerodynamicand flight test dataneeded tomove thedesign forwardasrapidly aspossi­ble.APT-19experimentalwing flight-test programmeandthreespeciallyconfiguredB-17sconductedflight testsof many differentconfigurationsof developmental items for theB­29 such as propellers, cowling, turbosuperchargers, empennage, rudder, elevators,aileronsandflaps.Thesetestshelpedtofind the best configurations andtooptimize suchthingsascontrol forces andcontrol balance, andtoreduce thetechnicalrisks.

Therewereto be twoserious 'wing loadingcrises' long before the XB-29ever gotoffthe ground. The first waswhen a new Air Corps 'plane X' with only a 531b persquarefoot (25.8kgper squaremetreIwing load ingwas a 'dog' to fly and inadditionwouldnotget above 28,000lt (8,500ml. The Air Corps intently questioned Boeing about the wingloadingontheB-29.Thesecondandevenmoreseriouscrisiswaswhenarespectedair­craft manufacturer'sengineersreviewed Boeingdataandtold theAirCorpsthat Boeingwas very wrong in its predicted B-29performance. They said that the B-29would be40mphslower,wouldhave a5,000lt lowerceilingandwouldhave1,000mileslessrangethan Boeing had predicted. In the faceof such criticism, it took real courageandconfi­dence on the part of Boeing andAir Corps principals involved not to increase the B-29wing area to substantially reduce the wing loading - a step that Boeingfirmly main­tained would be catastrophic for performance and, by then, to production schedules.

Aga in it was Eddie Allenand George Shairer whoseworkwas beingchallengedandwhoneeded todefend their positions if they really hadconfidence in their predictions.The price for being wrongeither way wouldhave been catastrophic to the B-29suc­cesses of theTwentiethAir Force. They had thecourageof their convictions andcom­mandedsufficient respect toconvincetheir inquisitors that theywereright andtocon­tinuetherapidlyexpandingB-29programmewithout change. Againacatastrophewasaverted. It is interesting to note that incombat the B-29swerefrequently successfullyflownat a grossweight of 140,000lb(63,500kgl !

While the many B-29problems were beingaddressed, Eddie Allen had had anotherextremely important task to accomplish. That was to build the kind of flight-researchoperationthathehadoutlined to Bob Minshall inhisofficein earlyApril 1939. At thattimenoone rea lizedhow crucial it wouldbetotheall-out war effort thatwastocome.

Inthe following three years Eddie built a sophisticated Boeing flight research capa­bilitythatwassecondtonone.Hisbasicpurposewastosafely,economicallyandquick­ly obtain anddisseminate accurate, quantitative flight-test data. Thiswould help find,developand prove thebest possibleconfigurations fromthe perhapshundredsof can­didates.Thedatawouldbeused todeterminethesafetyof thearticlebeingtested,thedegree to which it met itsguarantees and requirements, itsadequacy for the purposeintended, areasneeding improvement,waysof improvingtheexistingarticleormakingthe next design as good as possible, and finally, thebest wayof operating the equip­ment in service. To accomplish these goalshe hired the best people hecouldgetwithasclose to thequalificationshewanted, and trained anddeveloped themintotheveryskilful and expert teamthat was required to accomplish his vision. Most of the flightcrewmembers and a high proportion of the flight-test department groundpersonnelwere engineers. Each had weeks of formal, structured classroom training tailored tospecificassignments. Therewas 'handson' trainingin thealtitudechamber and in theappropriateaircraft with test andsafety equipment.Therewasperiodic recurringtrain­ingasnecessarytomaintain thehighest possibleskill level tominimize personnel risksand toobtain high qualitydata.

There were three completely separate flight-test groups at Boeing with entirely dif­ferent people reporting through different organizat ional lines. One was ProductionFlight Test,whichwasresponsibleforflying everynewproduction aircraft tomake surethere wereno manufacturingor qualitycontrol problems, and to make any necessaryadjustments before turning the aircraft over to the customer foracceptance. Anotherwas the CustomerFlightAcceptance Group. Inthecaseof B-17s andB-29s, they wereAir Corpsofficerswhoflewand accepted theaircraft fortheArmy.

Thethirdwas theResearchFlight Test Department. whichwasEddieAllen'screationand is referred to throughoutthis discussion. It conducted engineering, experimentaland researchflight-testing. Inthe purestsense, thesewere really threedifferent kindsof flight-testing thatwereall conducted in Eddie Allen'sdepartment. For themost part

32

all threeweredoneby the same people using thesame methods, although it was rec­ognized that certain tests inany of thecategoriesmightpotentially requirespecializedor exceptional ski llsand thiswarranted selective pickingof specific flight-crew mem­bers. First flightson new models of aircraft fell in this category. Because of the simi­larities inmethodsandcrewsand the fact that someflightsmight involveengineering,experimental andresearchtesting, thethreetermsareoftenused interchangeablywithsomething less thanprecise regard for thedifferences.

EddieAllen'sFlight ResearchDepartment wasunderAIReed, Chief of Flight Test andChief Test Pilot. It was organized into functional groups such as: pilots and co-pilots;the other specialized flight-crew members, for themost part flight test engineers; theinstrumentation group, which was responsible for obtainingor designing and making,calibrating, installing, servicingandmaintainingthevast amountsof standardandspe­cialized instrumentationandphotographic equipment required to measure andrecordthe many variablesthat needed to be measured; theanalysis groupwho transcribed,corrected with calibration data, plotted or tabulatedthe corrected data, analysed theresults and prepared the final reports for distribution; the liaison group, whoworkedwith the mechanics and shopsto make surethat the aircraft configuration and instru­mentationwere inaccordancewith requirementsestablishedby theProject Flight TestEngineer inchargeof each test aircraft; a flight equipment group to service, storeandmaintain itemssuchasparachutes,oxygenmasks,bailout andwalk-aroundoxygenbot­tles,andsoon; andan administrativesupport group.

Prior to each flight the aircraft was prepared to conformto theveryspecific writtentestandconfigurationrequirements. Averydetailed, specificPlanofTest setting fortheach test conditionwasprepared foreach test flight, given to each of sometenflightcrew members andthen gone over in detail in the pre-flight conferencesoeveryoneknew exactlywhattoexpect andwhat was expected of him in flight.

During normal flight the basic flight crewperformed their duties in theconventionalmanner. During the flight-test phases the Project Flight Test Engineer would be slight­ly aft ofandbetweenthepilotandco-pilot toprovide thebest possiblecommunicationandawarenessbetweenthosethreepeopleand, inthecaseof theB-29, theflightengi­neer aswell. A normal flight test crew onB-17sand B-29sconsisted ofabout tenpeo­ple.Theadditional peoplemannedthespecial instrumentationandequipment involvedinthetest.All hadinterphonecontact.Atypical instrumentationloadmight includetwophoto recorders with forty or fifty instruments and a camera in each; two or threemanometer boards to record forty or fifty pressures; one or two potentiometers torecord fifty to 100temperatures;aBrownrecorder that couldbeselectivelyset forcon­tinuous recording of any one of manydifferent potentially critical temperatures; andperhaps an oscillograph to recordstrain gauge or vibrationdata on structural demon­stration or flutter flight tests. Large bundlesof wires or tubing connected each instru­ment to the appropriate transmitters on propellers, engines, nacelles, wings, controlsurfaces and so on. Manual and photographic recordingof the data was routine. Fre­quencyof recordingdependedupontherequirementsof thetest condition thatwassetup. For instance, automatic recordingonce a second for perhaps three minutes duringa stabilized performance condition was common- and produceda lot of performanceand cooling data tobe analysed.

The Project FlightTest Engineer coordinated theactivitiesof the entirecrew, kept amaster log of events and set the appropriate recordingfrequency of all cameras fromhismaster control. At every recordingstationtherewasacoordinationlightandacoor­dinationcounter that clicked overonce asecond that provided precisecoordination ofall manual and photographic data from before take-off to after landing. Typically, onepilot would concentrate entirely on flying the aircraft to precisely stabilize and main­tain the planned flightcondition. The otherpilot would set up the engine power,setcowlorwing-flappositions,maybeoperatespecial equipment suchasanenginewater­injection systemandmonitor everythinggoingon insideandoutside theaircraft, to beabletoanticipateandreact immediately tocopewithany emergency. Inthe XB-29 theflight engineer helpedparticularlywith thepowerplant-related tasks.

Immediately after every flight there was a highly structured but quite informal post­flightconference that wasrecordedverbatimbyacourt-typestenotypist.Theconferencewasattended by the entire flight crew andanykey ground personnel who hada directinterest in the flight. These could include: design project and staff engineers who hadrequested specific test conditions and who might have to design the corrections orrequest additional tests based onproblems encountered andthedataobtained; techni­cal and management representatives from outside suppliers whose components were

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being tested. such asengines, propellers. carburettors, accessories. brakes and arrna­ment; flight-test instrumentation engineerswhowanted toknow how their instrumenta­tionworkedand what they needed todobeforethenext flight; the data analysissuper­visorwhose peoplewould have to take thevast amounts of manual and recorded data.and sort out what should beprocessed; theshop foremanandqualitycontrol supervisorwhowanted toknow of anyaircraft problemsandanyspecial actions needed fromthemfor thenext flight; customer representatives, usuallyat least anAir Corps qualitycontrolsupervisor; and for particularly important flights perhaps high-level company and cus­tomer management. A post-flight conference might haveas few asadozenorasmanyasfortyormore people. It might last for only five minutesor aslongasacouple of hours.

TheProject FlightTest Engineeror perhaps the Project Test Pilot waschairman. Theshort items were usually disposed of first. so most of the people could leave andgetbacktotheirwork.Thetestconditions that wererun were each reviewed usingthePlanof Test as the agenda. Any unusual eventswere noted. Any clari fyingquestions wereasked andanswered whilecircumstances werestill clearly remembered. Plans forthenext flight weretentatively madebeforetheconference adjourned.

Before theirdaywasover thestenotypistswouldhavetranscribed theirverbatimrecord­ingof thepost-flightconference sothat it couldbedistributed thenext morningtoall thosewithaneedtoknow.TheProjectFlight Test Engineer wouldmakeevery efforttocompleteand distribute his 'Report ofTest' on the following day aswell. This was a written sum­mary of thetest-flight conditionsrun along withhislog sheet.The systemwas not allowedtogetbogged down. Flight-testdatapromptlygot tothosewho needed it.

Eddie Allen said 'Flight Testing is a Sound Business' and wrotea paper proving it. Itis also an expensive business. usually involving heavily instrumented aircraft thatwould hehard. expensive and time-consumingto replace. Sometimes they areone ofakind.Withthehighlyorganized,structuredapproach thatEddiedeveloped. risks.costsand timewere minimizedwhile results and accuracywere maximized.

Eddie'sdrivetomakeaircraft assafeaspossibleextended tothespecial needsof mil­itaryaircraft. He and Boeingworkedparticularly hard todesignandbuildcombat dam­age-tolerant aircraft. It allowed many B-17and B-29 crews to getto safety in spiteofextremecombat damage.

WhenPearl Harborwashit on7December 1941. EddieAllenhad hisorganizationsetupasdescribed. It was operatingsmoothly and hewas in theprocessof expanding it.Including Eddie. there wereonly four pilotsat that time doing engineering flight-test­ing at Boeing.

In early January 1942I startedworking for Eddie alongwith sixothernew co-pilotsand twicethat manynew flight engineers.Weweremovedquickly throughschool andthe formal training programme. and acquired B-17 experience with the productionacceptance crews. Most of our engineering flight-test efforts in 1942 were spent try­ing to find out howto make crews safer and allow them to operate more efficientlywhileunpressurizedat altitudestoanda littleabove 35,000ft111 .000ml.BetweenApriland theendof 1942 I flew anumberof timeswith Eddieashisco-pilot ontheB-1 7andXPBB-1 twin-engineflyingboat.

When I first met Eddie in January 1942 I was surprised. Although I had noprecon­ceived ideas. I didnot expect the world-renowned test pilot to be of soslight a buildand so unassuming . He weighed about 1451b and was about 5ft 8in tall. In thosemoments he fit better my image of a naturally friendly. soft-spoken. mild-manneredmidwesternfarmer. It was hardthen tovisualize himsoskilfully controlling thesome­times huge. sometimes'balky' aircraft hehad tested.

As I gottoknowEddiebetter in thesubsequent fourteen months. I came tohaveverygreat respect, admiration and affection for him. I have never heard anyone say anunkind word about Eddie Allen. On the contrary. there have been many very compli­mentarywordsused todescribe Eddie.Theyinclude: calm. competent. skilful, precise.earnest. ingenious. courageous, intensely curious. dedicated. sincere. pleasant. con­genial. gentlemanly, retiring. friendly. unassuming, generous- and the list goes on ­and I'll betthere isat least onestoryor actof Eddie's to fit eachword. Nowonderhispeoplewereso dedicated tohim.

Inspiteofhisgreat personal ability. helet me. hisco-pilot.domost of theflyingwhenIwaswithhim. Hewasakindbut preciseteacher. I learned a lot from himin flight andontheground,Hemademefeel thathehadgreat faith inme. Ibelievehewasthesamewith most of us, It madeonedetermined to doeverything possible to justify that faithandconfidence. Although heran a tight shipwith highly structured procedures. I don'tever remember feeling resentment or rebellion against the discipline - perhaps

33

because it seemedsoright.sological and ever so proper. Hewasa great team leaderanda tremendous inspirationtous.

Eddiewasaconservativetestpilot.not prone totakechances.He understood his limi­tationsand thoseof theequipmenthewas testing.Hedidnot likethethen-commonHol­lywood depiction of a test pilot as a brash. wild. flamboyant daredevil. He felt keenlyresponsible forprotecting thehuge investmentthatan experimental aircraft and itscrewrepresented.Hesaidthathewasafraidtotakerisks! Hefelt thatfear ishealthy. whereaspanicisdebi litating.Hestayed cool under pressure.This. then.wasthemanandtheorga­nization he had built. whichwasto begin testing of thefirst XB-29 in September 1942.

There had been many tough decisions made and significant risks taken in the shortthreeyearssincethe Model B-341concept hadsparkedreal hopefor a Superbomber. Itwasonlytwovery compressedyearssincethecontract fortwoXB-29shadbeensigned.Now. after investing more than 1.400.000 engineering man-hours in the XB-29. flighttestingwasabout to begin. flight testing that would prove whether Eddie AllenandGeorge Shairer had been right in their many decisions. including defending a 691b persquare foot wing loading; whether the Air Corps had been right in building two newplants.in starting B-29productionby Boeing. Belland Martin in four plants inWichita.Renton.Marietta and Omaha. andin already ordering764 B-29s before the first XB-29ever flew; andwhether thethousandsofotherdecisionsthat had been madewere right.

Everyone had been undertremendous pressu res and timehad not allowed asmuchpre-flight development testing asmost would have liked. For instance. the engines.which Eddiewasabout to flywith. hadbeen cleared fora servicelife ofonly thirty-fivehours! Theneed forflight-testanswers wasenormous.

The pressure wasreally on Eddie Allenandhe kept his cool in spite of it all. Eddieestimated thatwithanall-out effort it should take fivemonthsand200 flying hours todoa reasonable jobof shaking down theXB-29. determiningits capabilitiesandget­ting theminimum performance andoperatingdata theAir Corpsneededto start train­ingandplace the forthcoming productionaircraft in service.

Taxi testsandacoupleofvery short hopsweremadeby Eddieonthe relativelyshort5.200ft (1.600ml runwayat BoeingField inSeattle in the first partof September 1942.Althoughtherewere some systemproblems. Eddiefelt that meaningful testing in flightcould beconductedwhile solutionsto these problemswere beingworkedon.

On 21 September 1942 thefirstXB-29flewforthe first time.withAIReed as Eddie'sco-pilot. Eddieclimbed to6,00Oft and checked lateral, directional and longitudinal sta­bilityandcontrol. Hechecked controllabilityandgeneral performancewith thenumberone engine throttled. Power-off stalls were checked. Control response. forces andeffectivenesswerenoted. Everythingthat should be checked on a first flightwas sat­isfactorilyaccomplishedinthe1Xhr flight.It wasaprettyuneventful flight and first indi­cationswerecertainlyfavourable. But Eddieand theothersknew therewasagreat dealof workahead.

Therewere tobeveryfewmoreuneventful flights.Thetroublesstartedaddingup. By28 Oecember Eddie hadbeen able to make only twenty-three flights in twenty-sevenhours of flying. There had been sixteen engine changes, twenty-two carburettorchangesandnineteenexhaust systemrevisionsinthose threemonths. Inaddition therewerepropellergoverningandfeatheringdifficulties.runawayengines thatoverspedto3.600rpm and ahost of lesserproblems.Thelongest flight was2hours 19minutes. theaverage only1hour10minutes.It wasalmost impossibletoget muchmeaningful quan­titative data when flights were that short - particularly when much of the time wasspent fighting the problemsand gettingback to thefield. One of thefew bright spotswasthat theaerodynamics of theaircraft seemed tobejust what EddieandGeorgehadworkedsohardto achieve -later testingwould confirmthat earlyassessment.Perfor­mance and handling qual ities were exce llent. No significant aerodynamic changeswereever made. except for researchwork onthe rudderwhich resultedin beingableto simplify and improve theaircraft byeliminating the rudderboost. Eddieand Georgewerevindicated.

Theflighton Oecember28was intended tocheck theservice cei lingandset perfor­mance data. The numberoneenginefailedat 6.800ft (2.000m) andthe flight was ter­minatedafter twenty-sixminutes.Groundinspectionof thenumber twoengineshowedmetal chips in the sump - it. too. wasabout to fail. That was the last time EddieAllenor AI Reed would fly the number one XB-29 as subsequent events kept the aircraftgroundedformore,thansevenmonths, until August.

continued overleaf

SUPERBOMBER

Eddie Allen and the 8-29 continued

XB·29·1 with EddieAllen at the controls, in preparation for its firstllight on 21September 1942. Peter M. Bowers

There isaninterestingpersonal sidelight tothat28December flight. Sixdaysbefore,on22December, I flew with Eddieas hisco-pilot onthe 62,OOOIbXPBB-1 twin-engineflyingboat.It turnedouttobethelasttime Eddieflew theXPBB-1and alsothelast timeI ever flew with Eddie. The purposeof the flightwasto complete a few tests prior toflying a final demonstration for the Navyin a few days. Eddie let me fly the aircraft,including the required power-off landing, which calledforcutting the ignitionon bothengines at 1,OOOft. The high-drag boat came down likea brick- it wasthefirst time Ihad ever done that! Eddie just sat thereand watched, Fortunately it wasagood land­ing in spite of the extremely steep glide path. I had no inkling that that would be mycheckout flight (and I doubt that Eddie didl until themorning of 28December, whenEddiecame tomydeskandverycasuallyaskedmetoflythefinaldemonstrationfortheNavythat day on the XPBB-1 because heand AI Reed neededto fly the XB-29. I man­aged, inmy amazement, tostammer somethinglike 'I'd beglad to'.

Thedemonstration went well and I havealways beenextremelygrateful to Eddie forgiving me that opportunity and forplacingthatmuch trust andconfidence in me. Inci­dentally, he let me have thefun of making the delivery flight to the Sand Point NavalAirStation twoweeks later.

On 30DecemberthenumbertwoXB-29(41-0031 was ready forits initial flight. It, too,hadengines thatwereclearedforonly thirty-fivehours inpositionsone, threeandfour.It wasto bea thorough functional check of theaircraft andits extensiveinstrumenta­tion. The weather was marginal. The functional check proceeded normally until thenumber four propellerwould not feather andgoverning was erratic. Eddie elected todiscontinue the flight and immediately headed hack to BoeingField,at whichtime hewasadvised thatthe weatherwasdeteriorating rapid ly.

Aboutsixminutesout, thenumberfour engine caught fire,thepropeller over-sped to3,500rpm, the propellerwould not feather, and smoke, sparksand flame were comingfrom theexhausts. Shutting off thefuel and usingthe fireextinquisherswere ineffec­tive. The fire continued to get worse. About two minutes out, the fire was burningfiercely in the accessorycompartment. Flames were pouring from the nacelle accessdoor and fromthe intercooler exit area. Heavysmoke andlongfingers of flame weretrailingoff thewing. Inthemeantimeheavy smokewaspouringfromthebomb-bay intothe cabin, making it increasingly difficult to see or breathe. Eddie landed downwind,chokingand partially blinded. The intense fire was put out by fire equ ipment on theground. Eddie later receivedtheAir Medal forhisskill andbraveryduring that harrow­ing 32-minute flight. Groundinspectionshowedmore trouble. A firehad just started in

34

enginenumberoneand enginenumberthreewasclosetofailure, too.Thosethree35­hour engines eachhadless than three hours' total ground and flight time. Because ofengine shortages, twoof the threeengines had to be replaced with engines cannibal­ized from thenumber oneXB-29,which was laidupforsomemodifications. Inaddition,the fire innumber four hadbeensoseverethat thenumber fourenginenacellehad tobereplaced witha number four nacellealsocanniba lized from the number oneXB-29.At least the numbertwo XB-29 now had fourso-called 'unlimited' engines.

Unfortunately, engine/nacel le firessimilar to thenumber fourfirecontinued toocca­sionally haunt productionB-29s and caused at least nineteen seriousB-29 accidentsbetween February 1943 andSeptember 1944. While Boeing and Wright tried hard tofindand correct thecause or causes, there wasa natural tendency for each to blamethe other. It was fifteen months before therewas positive proof that the R-3350 wassusceptible to induction system fires, which could very rapidly get out of hand andbecome uncontrollablemagnesiumfireswhichthen destroyed evidenceof thefire'sori­gin.That proofcame on24March1944 whenIhadaninductionsystem fireonthenum­ber four engine duringa routine test flight on the numberone XB-29. I was fortunateenough toget the enginefeathered and the fire out, before it broke outof the blowersection or the intake pipes andbecame anexternal fire. The partially burnedmagne­siumimpellerand interiorof the blowercasewere irrefutable evidence. In the faceofthatevidence Wright developedthe fuel injectionsystemtoeliminate thepotential forinduction systemfires.

Itwasalmostamonthbeforethenumber twoXB-29flew again, on29January1943.Inthenext threeweeksemphasiswasonengine,propeller,governing andperformancetesting . Catastrophicengine failures eased up, but that was aboutall. Duringdescentfor landing on 2 February there was a strong odour of gasoline emanating from thebomb-bay into the cabin. A thorough inspection uncovered nothing conclusive. On aflight on17February therewasabadfuel leakoverthewing fromthenumberfour fuelfiller cap; theleaking capwas fixed.

By 17 February1943thenumbertwoXB-29had madeeight flights totalling7hours27minutes- an averageof onlyfifty-sixminutes per flight.In thefivemonthssincethefirstXB-29flighton21September, therehad been onlythirty-one flights, totalling34hours27minutes - a longway from what Eddiehadestimated in September could bedone. Andwith an overall average flight timeof only 1 hour7 minutes, the amount of meaningfultest data wasprettysparse.Ashard aseveryonewasworkingtosolvetheproblems,theanswerswerecoming painfullyslowly. AsEddieandhis ProjectFlight TestEngineer lefttheaircraft that afternoon andwalked across the ramp to the post-flight conference,Eddie expressedtohimthegrave reservationshehadaboutcontinuingflight testinguntilat least themore seriousoftheXB-29problemscouldbefixed.Unfortunately, thefastest,and maybe the only, wayto fix someof them was to tryout the variousfixes in flight -

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the 'try, try, tryagain' approach that hadbeen sosuccessfullyusedbyEddieandGeorgeSchairer over theyears.But now Eddie faceda rea l dilemma.

The B-29 was potentially a fineaircraft. It was urgently needed in the Pacific. It wascommitted to production - 1,600 B-29s were now on orderat four separate plants.Flight test was way behind its expected schedule and the data wasbadly needed toprove the aircraft. quickly findandcorrect the problems, minimize production disrup­tions, anddevelop training and operatingproceduresand manuals.

But it was currently a dangerous aircraft. Major improvements were badly needed.Temporary groundingwouldbethenorma l, prudentthingtodo. But thesewerenot nor­mal times.Thesooner theB-29couldbeusedincombat. thesooner thewarwouldendand thesooner thecasualties and carnagewould stop. Eddie concluded that hemustcontinueflight-testing asrapidlyaspossible.Hisentirecrew alsohadtoknowtherisks- and to a man they stayed with him.

The primaryobjectives of the 18February1943 flight were tomeasure climb and levelflight performance andget enginecoolingdatawithfourand twoenginesoperating.Max­imum altitude wouldbelimitedto25,OOOft becauseof theexcess ivetroublethathadbeenencounteredwith low engineoil pressuresabove thataltitude.Theeffectiveness of fixesforsome of the past problemswould alsobe evaluated.Take-off wouldbe at thenormaldesign gross weight of 105,OOOIb with full fuel tanks - 5,410US gallons of gasoline.

Eight minutesafter the 12.09pmtake-off to thesouth, whileclimbingthrough5,OOOftwith rated [i.e., by the manufacturer] power, a fire was reported in the number oneengine. Mixtureandfuel tonumberonewere cutoff, the propeller was feathered, thecowl flaps wereclosed, a CO2 fire extinguisher bottle was discharged and a descentand returnto Boeing Field was started. Since the fireappeared to have beenput outandeverythingseemedundercontrol, Eddieelectedto flyanormal landingpattern andlandfromthenorthon runway1311 28magnetic)to thesouth-south-east into the 5mphwindrather than makinga downwind landingon the 5,200ft runway with a heavyair­craft. At 12.24pm the rad io operator routinely reported altitude at 1,500ft at a point 4milesnorth-east of the field. Theywereonthedownwind leg, headednorth-north-westandstarting a left turnontobase leg. No onesuspected thedrasticchangethat wouldtakeplace in the next two minutes. At 12.25they had just finished turning onto baseleg, had just crossed the heavily populated west shore of Lake Washington about 5miles north-north-east of the field, were at about 1,200ft altitude andwere headingsouth-west. approachingthe commercial and industrial south side of downtown Seat­tle. At thatpoint groundwitnesses heard an explosion that sounded like a loud back­fire and a piece of metal fell from the aircraft. At about that time the radio operator,whocould see into the forward bomb-bay and thewingcentre-section front spar, wasoverheard by the Boeing tower on an open microphone to say 'Allen, better get thisthingdown in a hurry. The wingspar is burningbadly.' He told BoeingRad io on a dif­ferent frequency'Have fire equipment ready. Am cominginwith awingon fire.' Abouta mile downthe flight path from the explosion, burned parts of a de-icer valve, hoseclampsand instrumentation tubing were later found; they had come from an areanor­mally inside the wing leading edge, ahead of the front spar and just outboardof thenumber two nacelle, near the number two fuel tankfiller neck,which was rubber likethe self-sealing fuel cell. The aircraft now turned southonanobliquefinal approachina desperateeffort to reachBoeingField, just 4milesaway. Eddiewasabout 250ft highand ground witnesses later reported thatpartof the wing leading edge between thenumberoneandnumbertwoengines wasmissing . In thenextmiletheflightengineer'sdata sheet was found and three of the forward compartment crewmembers jumpedfromthe aircraft - too low for their parachutes to open. At 12.26pm, only three milesfrom Boeing Field, the number two XB-29 crashed into the Frye Meat Packing Plant.killingpilots EddieAllen,Bob Dansfield, and theother six crewmemberson board.Thecrashandresultingfirekilled another twenty peopleonthegroundanddestroyed muchof the aircraft and the plant. Therewasclear evidence that fire and dense smoke hadgone through the bomb-bay into the cockpit in the last moments before impact; burnsonthebodiesandclothingof thethreecrewmemberswhobailed outjustbefore impactwasa partof thatevidence. EddieAllen and hiscrew died in theserviceof their coun­trythe best way they knewhow. In oneminute the firehad gonefromundetectable tocatastrophic.

At 12.26pm onthe eighteenth dayof February 1943, the saga of Eddie Allen ended.Not so, however, his legacy, whichhascontinued to this day tobenefit his fellowmen,for whomhe alwaysshowed such great respect. The scientific flight-testing methods,whichEddie Allenhad developed, cont inued to serve his countrywell throughout the

35

war. And they have continued to this day to evolve, improve and keep pace with tech­nology, and to serve man- just asEddieAllen wouldhavewanted.

Theflight-test team that Eddiehad assembledandtrained wasdecimated,devastat­ed and demoralized. Someof its members wouldprobably nevercompletely get overhis loss- but they did put thepiecesbacktogether and continued to 'fightthebattles'and get the answersasEddiewouldexpect themto.

On23Apri l 1946, threeyears after EddieAllen'sdeath, hewasposthumouslyaward­edtheAir Medal - anhonour rarelybestoweduponacivilian- bydirectionof thePres­ident of theUnited States.Themedal waspresentedtoFlorenceAllenHoward, Eddie'swidow, byMajorGeneral Benjamin T. Chidlaw, Deputy Commander for Engineeringforthe AirMaterial Command, at Wright Field, duringceremoniesat theBoeingPlant2 inSeattle. At MrsHoward's request,General Chidlaw pinned the medal onTurney Allen,the six-year-old daughter of the latepilot. TheCitation reads:

To Mr Edmund1.Allen, Civi lianTestPilot, for hismeritoriousachievementinaerial flighton

30 December 1942. On this occasion while piloting anArmy Air Force XB-29 typeaircraft

underextremely unfavourable flyingconditions, anuncontrollable firedeveloped in thenum­

berfour engine. Inspite of the fact that hewould have been justified inabandoning theair­

planeundersuchconditions, MrAllenelected toremainat thecontrolsand attempttosafe­

ly landit.Asaresult of hisskill anddaringinvaluabletest dataand aprototypeairplanewere

saved,the lossofwhichwouldhave immeasurablyretardedtheentireB-29Programat acru­

cial timein itsdevelopment.

It issignedbyPresident HarrySTruman. Inhispresentationremarks,GenChidlawsaid:

In thecourse of agreat warsuchaswehave only recentlyconcluded, thereareagreat many

unsung heroes- menwholabourandwork in relativeobscurity whileothersgarner the lau­

relsof combat accomplishments. Ofcourse, themenwhoflew the planes incombatandmet

theenemyon hisownground deserve theplaudits, which have been accordedthem. But in

the air war therewereother menwithout whose work and sacrificeit would not have been

possible toget intocombat theplanesthat finallywonthewar.Especially thiswastrueinthe

caseof the aircraft test pilots- the men who tooktheplanes in their experimental stages,

tested theirpotentialities, ironedout theirdefectsandbrought inthereportsthat madeit pos­

sible to fashionthese airplanes into formidableweaponsofwar. Theirswas thecontribution

of a scientific objectivity combinedwith the daring andfearlessnessof the pioneer, and the

contributionwasa magnificentone. Theyhave earned the admiration and therespect of the

menwhoflew theplanes that grew out of their effortsand accomplishmentsand, asa mat­

terof fact. theywerereallyapartof thegreat AirForce teamthat bombed theenemytodefeat.

EddieAllenwasoutstand ing among these men.

RobertM.Robbinslearned toflyin 1934at thelocal airport inhishome townofBlooms­burg, Pennsylvania whenhewas 18 years old. He graduatedfrom theMassachusettsInstituteof technologyin 1938 withBSDegreeinAeronauticalEngineering. From 1938to 1941he worked for Pan American WorldAirways, where heearnedhis Aircraft andAircraft Engine MechanicLicensesandbecame a SeniorFlight Engineer on theBoeingB-314 flying boats on trans-Atlantic flights. He made some twenty-six trans-Atlanticcrossingsduring approximately 1,000 flyinghours.

InJanuary 1942Mr RobbinsjoinedtheBoeingAirplane Company inSeattle, Wash­ingtonas anEngineering/Experimental Test Pilot. In this capacity he flew as ProjectPilot ontheB-17FlyingFortress, theXPBB-1Sea Ranger. XB-29Superfortress andXB­47Stratojet.

Except forthefirst fewmonthsof theXB-29flighttestprogramme, hedidmostof theflyingduring World War Twoon thenumber oneXB-29, whichwas dubbed THE FLYINGGUINEA PIG. He became only the second Boeing Experimental Test Pilot andAircraftCommander onXB-29number oneafter EddieAllen. From 21October 1943 to theendofWorld War Two, Mr Robbinshad been theProject Test Pilot andAircraft Commanderoneveryflight of XB-29numberone- 312 flights totalling458hours in twenty-twomonths.

InJuly 1948Mr Robbinsretiredfromprofessional flight testing tobecome AssistantProjectEngineer at thebeginningof theB-47Bproductionprogramme. Hemoved oninnumerous management positions on the B-47, B-52 and KC-135 programmes. Heretired from Boeingon 1January 1979after thirty-sevenyearsof serviceat the age ofsixty-two. He currentlyresides at Ormond Beach. Florida withhis wifeAnn.

YB-29-1 (41 -36954) nears completion prior to its 26June 1943 first flig ht. Peter M. Bowers

The first flight of XB-29-3 with the top of 14.410ft (4.392m) Mount Rainier in the background. Peter M. Bowers

Powerplant:

Weights:

Dimensions:

Performance:

SU I' E R Il O ~ I Il E R

Specifications - YB-29

Four Wright Aeronautical R-3350-21 Cyclone 18 radial engines

Empty 81 ,620lb(37,020kg); loaded 120.5001b154,660kgl

Length98ft 2in129.9m); wingspan 141ft 3in(43.1m); wingarea 1.736sq ft (161.27sq m);height 27ft 9in(8.45m)

Maximum speed365mph (590km/h);cruisingspeed250mph 1400km/h);serviceceiling33.500ft IlO,200m); maximum range 5.600miles19.000km); maximum bombload 20,OOOlb(9,OOOkg j

The Service Test YB-29

The USA AC orde red fourteen YB-29 ser­vice test a irc raft (4 1-3695 4 to 4 1-36967 )at the same tim e th at it ordered its firstbat ch of 250 pro duction 8 -29s. These air­craft were manufactured in the I hen -newgov ern me nt-owne d plant in \Vich ita ,Kan sas, called Plant 2. Plant 1 was th e for­mer Stearman Ai rcraft factory, whi ch th eBoeing A irplane C o mpany had previouslybo ugh t. A fte r Pla nt 1 fin ishe d th e10 ,346th and last Kavdc r prim ary trai nerfo r th e US A rmy and US Na vy, it buil tsubassemblies for B-29s.

The YB-29s were outward ly very sim ila rto th e XB-29s , bu t were built to near-p ro­du ct ion sta ndard with most of the plannedmi litary systems on board . They also fea­tured the five gun- tur re t emplace me n tsand th e th ree gun -sigh ting blist ers. T heywere powered by the so me wh at improvedR-335 0-2 1 engine , but st ill had the three­bladed propel lers that were ori gin ally usedby the th ree XB-29s. A ircraft 41 -36954was fin ished on 15 A pril 1943 and ro lledoff th e Plan t 2 product ion line . Bur it didnot fly un til 26 Ju ne - more th an twomonths lat er - because of the XB-29 crashinvest igat ion .

A s dedi cated service test aircraft , th eYB-29s were for th e most pan used for B­29 test programmes and tra ini ng aids. T hefirst YB-29 was lat er to become th e on lyX8 -39 , described in detai l in C hapte r 11.

36

S PERB O~lB ER

~\\

J ,-/

"1/I

/

First five YB-29s at Boeing-Wichita Plant 2 prior to getting their olive drab and neutral grey camouflage paint schemes. Peter M. Bowers

Close-up view of the leh outboard engine's leh turbosupercharger on YB-29-1 as it wasphotographed on 29July 1943. Peter M. Bowers

37

One of the fourteen YB-29s undergoing pre-flight at Wichita.USAF

S U PE R B O ~ I B ER

A pair of earlv production B-29-1-BW s in flight over Kansas in late 1943. David W. Menard

Bell and Martin B-29Pilot AircraftProduclion

B-29-I-BA' 42-6222B-29-I-MO: 42-6229

42-622442-6230

42-623342-6231

42-623542-6232

42-624342-6237

O ne of th e ot he r YB-29s ac tually made itint o ombat dur ing th e Supcrforr's initialdep loyment to the C h ina- Burma- Ind iath eatre ' of operations. A ll of the YB-29swere paint ed in overall o live drab withneutral grey und ersides.

Th e 8-29 Pilo t Airc raft

In the case of the 13-29 th e term 'pilot a ir­craft ' refers to five Bell-bu ilt 13-29- I -BAand five Martin -built B-29- 1-MO patt ernaircraft that were built with tooling pro ­vided by th e Boeing A irplane Company.T h ey were essen tially hand -bu ilt, strictadherence to Boeing spec ifications bein g aprereq uisit e. O nce these pi lot sh ips werebu ilt, th orough ly inspected for critical to l­erances and so on , then successfully test­flown, eac h firm ea rned th e 'green light' toproceed with th ei r respecti ve 13-29 pro­duct ion programmes. These ten 13-29 pilota ircraft arc ofte n overloo ked in to ta l 13-29prod uction figures.

The first XB-29 sits derel ict in a fie ld. around 1950. Neith er it nor XB-29-3 w as preserved. Robert M. Robbins

38

O n 6 September 194 1 the USA ACapproved an ini t ial con tract for the pro­duc tion of 250 B-29s, to be built by Boeingar W ich ita , Kan sas (240), Bell at A tlanta,Ge orgia (5 ) and Martin at O ma ha,Ne braska (5) . Th is ncar-unprecedentedmove caused qu ite a st ir for a number ofreasons, wh ich in part arc as fo llows: th eUS A was not yet a t war; no example of the8 -29 had yet flown ; and th ere were seriousdo ubts as to whether such an advancedheavy bomber wou ld ac tually perfo rm asadvert ised. In fac t it wou ld be more than ayear befor e the first X8-29 took win g,some twe nty -one mon ths befo re the firstYB-29 flew. Neverthel ess, work on theX8 -29s in cattle proceeded. In the mean­time , with additiona l ord ers fort hcoming,Boe ing, Bell and Mart in prepared th eirrespec tive factories for 8 -29 production inRenton , \Vich ira, A tlanta and O maha.

S inc e the USA was nor yet at war th eUSA AC h ad walked on rathe r shakyground when ordering its init ial batch often pilot sh ips and 240 produc tion aircraft.

or sinc e it had placed first orde rs for I 4orth A merican B-25 Mitchell and 20 t

Mart in B-26 Marauder medium bo mbershad it gambled on 'paper ae roplanes' thathad not yet flown . But all of th is doubt d idnot matt er any more after the Japan eseatt ack on Pearl Harb or on 7 December194 1. In facr, as it turned our , U AACleaders found themselves receiving highpraise fur what tu rn ed out to be incredibleforesight.

In all, Boeing wou ld gu on to huild2,744 prod uct ion B-29s and B-29As; Bellhuilt 668 and Ma rti n bu ilt 53 1. Boeingalso bu ilt thre e XB-29s and fourt een Y8 ­29s; Be ll and Marrin built five B-29 pi lotsh ips each , making a grand to ta l of 3 ,970.

Boeing-Sea ttle

Without building yet another factory build­ing at Boein g's Sea ttle Plant 2 facility th eresimply was nor enough space to creat e addi­tion al product ion lines for th e B-29, due to

CHAPTER THREE

Production

Boein g's ongoing heavy B-17 production atthat facility. T h us Boeing-Seat tle built justthe th ree XB-29-80 s in a cordoned-o ff areaof th e Plant 2 B-17 factory. Moreover, dueto the B-29's h igh security status, Boe ing'sW ichita facility was considered more suit­able because of its more secure location inth e USA mid-west. A ll three XB-29-BOswere fabricated in major sections at Boe­ing's south Sea tt le Plant I facility, thenbarged upstream on the Duwamish River toPlan t 2 for final assemb ly and flight-test.

Boeing-Wichita

O n 6 September 194 1 the Boeing Ai rp lan eCompany received approved USAA F con­tract AC 19673 for the manufactu re of 230B-29-1, 8 -29-5, 8 -29 - 10, B-29-15 and B­29-ZO-BW aircraft at its W ichi ta, Kansas,facility. O f these, fourteen wou ld be servicetest YB-29s and 213 would be productionB-29s. In addi t ion, it had to manufactur ean d de liver B-29 tooling to both Bell andMart in so that they could build their B-29­I-BA and B-29-1-MO pilo t sh ips.

O n 3 1 January 1942, on amended con­trac t A C 19673, another 500 product ionB-29s were ordered from Boeing-W ichi ta .The cont ract was again amended on 13Jun e 1944 for the prod uction of 500 addi­tion al B-29s. T hen it was amended aga inon 30 June 1944 for 200 more. O n 13 Jan­uary 1945 the same ca nt ract was amendedfor the last t ime with an order for 180 more8 -29-B\Vs. ot counting the fourteen YB­29s a irplanes, thi s brought the tot al ofW ich ita -produced B-29s to 1,630.

Boeing-\Vich ita Plan t 2 went on to bui lda tota l of fourteen service test Y8 -29s and1,630 production B-29s. T he first combat­ready 8 -29-BW, a B-29-I -BW (42-6222),was accepted by th e USAA F on 3 March1944. The last Wichita -built Superfortrcss,a B-29-I OO-BW (45-2 1872) came off theproduct ion line on 26 September 1944 andwas deliv ered to th e US AA F on 10 Octo­her. But gett ing 8 -29 production and deli v­eries off th e ground ar Boein g-\Vich ira was

39

more than a challenge. In fact , it was a bat­tle - the Barrie of Kan sas.

The Batt le of Kan sas

W ith YB-29 fligh t-test act ivities con rin u­ing and Plant 2 up and running, Boein ghad moved head long int o B-29-BW pro ­ducti on by mid- 1943. However, fewerth an 100 produ ction B-29-BWs had beenbuilt at Wi chita Plan t 2 by ea rly January1944. \Vorse, due to a lack of govern me ntfurni shed equipment (GFE) and o thermater ia ls, on ly sixtee n of th ese were fly­able. Worse yet, on IS January 1944, anassessme nt by 20th A ir Force headqu artershad co ncl uded th at not a single B-29 inthe invent ory was ready for combat.

The U AAF co mmander, G ene ral HapA rnold, was un aware of thi s situationwhen he arrived at Smok y Hill AAF inKansas ( 0 sec what he though t wou ld beth e first ove rseas dep art ure of co mbat­ready B-29s of th e 20th A ir Force's 58thBom b Wing (Very Heavy). To h is urp risc,and disgust . he found that no B-29s wereready for th e ir first combat deployment s.T he problem was that th e ea rly product ionB-29-BW aircraft were be ing used for crewtrain ing, so they needed extens ive modi fi­cat ions to ach ieve combat readiness.Moreover. there was a serious sho rt age ufmech an ics and eq uip ment to affec t these.

Gene ral Arnold - th e 8 -29's ch ief adv o­cate - was more than livid. He immed iate­ly rook steps ro cor rec t th e situat ion. Heimmedi arely orde red high -prior ity modifi­cations, wh ich num bered mor e than fiftyper aircraft and encompassed nume rousitems ran ging from the co nt inuing engineprob lems to the complicat ed installat ionof th e new and soph ist icarcd computerizedcent ra l fire co n tro l (C FC) system. Heplaced h is aide . General B.E. Meyer, incharge of th e mod ificat ion programme, acrash programme to make B-29-BWs com­hat ready, whi ch becam e kn own as theBart le of Kan sas and which began on 10March 1944.

PRODUCTI ON

Boeing-Wichita Plant 2. Peter M. Bowers

Earlier, th e 100t h product ion B-29-BWwas OlH of th e factory by I Jan uary 1944 .G ene ral A rnold arrived at Plan t 2 to seehow th e 175th Superfort was co ming alon g(th is was the min imum number of aircraftneeded to equip th e first B-29 bom bgroup). He fou nd its already att ached fuse­lage sect ions in final assembly and it wasnearly ready to receive its wing and empen­nage assemblies. 'T h is is the plane I want ,'said A rno ld, ' I want it before th e first ofMarch. ' The 175th Boein g-Wichi ta Su pe r­fort - now named THE G E ERAL H. H.A R O LD S PEC IA L - rolled out on 28February 194 4. So by thi s t ime th ere were175 co mpleted B-29- BWs to deal with .

The man y new, and in some casesuntried , systems on th e B-29 cha llenged themilitary airframe and powerplan r mech an ­ics and techn icians involved in the pro ­gramme. T herefore, when th ey ran into dif­ficu lt ies Boe ing supplied some of itsmech ani cs and technicians from the Plant2 assembly line to assist them. T h is moveinevitably furthe r slowed produ cti on . Then

th e mid -western US A winter weather gotworse and it bec ame ex tre me ly co ld OlH ­

side wh ere the mech ani cs and tech n icianswere forced to work, sinc e Plant I was busyturn ing out Kaydcr training aircraft andthe few han ger'S that were at th e Boeing­W ich ita fac ility were all already full witho ther a ircraft.

It was so co ld th at the work ers had to

dress in h igh -al t itude fligh t suits and weargloves. \Vorse, they could on ly work abouttwenty minutes a t a tim e befo re th ey need­ed warm-up breaks in heat ed tents. T hesehard-pressed personnel work ed in around­the -clock e igh t-hour sh ifts, six days perweek unde r th ese horri ble co ndi t ions . T heBat tle of Kansas raged on for some th irty­five days, end ing for th e most in mid-Apri l1944. BUl th e long and ago n izing ba ttlehad finally been won .

Fo llowing contrac tor flight s the modifiedB-29-BWs were acce pted by the USAAFand flown to Smoky Hi ll AAF for crewassignments. It was on 26 March 1944 th atth e first flight s of combat- ready B-29-BW s

40

began to depart Smoky Hill. Thc first flightout was led by th e comma nde r of 58BW(H), Colonel Leon ard 'Jake' Han non , whohad made the first fligh t on XB-29 nu mberthree. The last of the 58BW 's B-29s depart ­ed on IS A pril 1944.

Bell-Atlanta (Marietta)

T he Bell A ircraft Corporat ion of Buffalo,cw York, was busy building P-39 A iraco­

bra fighters when rhe U AA F ordered itsfirst bat ch of 250 B-29s from Boeing. Butwhen it was decid ed to grea tly sup plementthe initi al B-29 producti on orde r, th eUSA A F looked to othe r man ufactur ers tohelp out.

With its P-39 produ ction beginn ing to

wind down as more advanced figh ters suchas th e P-38, P-47 and P-5 1 becam e ava il­able, Bcll would ha ve adequate fac tory space- especially in its brand new Plant 6 facility,which was being readied in A tlan ta (Mari­ett a), Georgia . Bell's new fight er, th e P-63

PRODUCT ION

Number 38 of fifty producti on B-29+BWs. 42-6242on the ground w ith a USAAF guard.Peter M. Bowers

This in-flight view of 42-6242 clearl y shows the Boeing 117 w ing design . whichprovided the lift so important to the success of the Superfort . Peter M. Bowers

PBB-I Sea Ran ger twin-engine sea-basedpa tro l bombers in mid - 1942. However, itwas about th is t ime th at the USN 's patrolbomber req uirem ent s cha nge d sufficien tlyto warrant ca nc ellat ion of the Se a Ran gerpro duct ion contrac t, so th e USN tradedth e use of Boeing's Plant 3 facility at Ren ­ton to th e USAAC, in exchange for its useof North A merican's Kan sas C ity produc­t ion facility, that was producing B-25s andthe US 's PBJ land-based pat rol bom bers.T h us, Boeing was author ized to prod ucethe newly-ordered B-29A -BN airplanes at

Boeing-Renton

O n 19 Septe mbe r 1942 - two days beforeXB-29 num ber on e had flown - th e Boe­ing A irplane C ompany rece ived approvedcont ract AC 19673 for the manufacture of300 product ion B-29As. Th is contract wasamended on 30 Ju ne 1944 for th e manu­facture of an add it iona l 8 19 B-29As,bringin g the tota l to 1,119 a irpla ne s.

Boeing's brand-new Rent on, \Vash ing­ton , plant was owne d by the U A Nav yand was gear ing up to produce fifty-seven

Mart in-Omaha

Kingcobra, was going to be built in Buffalo,so the USAAF gave Bell a series of produc­tion cont racts to build B-29s in Georgia.

As previously relat ed, on 6 September194 1 Bell received approved USAAF con­tract AC 19673 to build five 13-29 pilot sh ipsfrom too ling supplied by Boeing (USAACserial numbers 42-6222, 42-6224, 42-6233,42-6235 and 42-6243). T hen on 19 July1944 USA A F contr ac t AC 27730 wasapproved for th e producti on of 400 13-29­BAs and B-29B-BA . T his was an increaseof ISO aircraft over th e original 250-planeorde r allowed for in the letter-of-in tent con ­tract Bell had received in early 1943. Thenon 19 July 1944 in amended cont ract A27730, Bell received notice that it wou ldproduce anothe r 268 B-29s and B-29Bs.

T he first Bell-built 13-29 (a pilot sh ip )was to be delivered in Se pte mber 1943.T he first exa mple was not com plet ed untillate October however, and it mad e it firstfligh t on 4 Novembe r 1943. 1 o t count ingthe five pilot sh ips, Bell went on to build357 product ion B-29 -BA s and 3 11 pro­duct ion B-29B-BAs; 66 total. The last ofthes e, a 13-29 13, was deli vered on 19 Janu­ary 194 5.

O n 6 September 194 1 th e G lenn L. Mart inCompany in Baltimore, Maryland receivedUS A A F contrac t AC 19673 for the con ­struct ion of five B-29-I -MO pilot sh ipsusing Boe ing-provided tooling (USAACserial numbe rs 42-6229/-6232 and 42­6237). T hen on 30 Ju ne 1944 the co mpa ­ny received co nt rac t AC 117 for th e in itialproduct ion of 199 B-29s. T his amount wasupped to 299 in th e amended co nt rac t AC117, and then th e amount was furt herincreased on amended con tract AC 117,by 232 aircraft.

Ma rtin had planned to bu ild its 13-33Super Marauder four -eng ine medium-class(in o the r word s heav y-cl ass) bombers at itsO maha , ebraska , fac ility, bu t aft er th e 13­13 produc tion programme was terminat edin favour of 13-29 and 13-32 product ion , itused its O maha pla nt for its B-29 manu­facturing program me.

In all, not co unt ing th e five pilot sh ips,Martin produced 531 pro ducti on B-29­MO s, includ ing th e six ty-five ilvc rplarcB-29s (descr ibed in C hapte r 6) . T he firstMart in -O maha 13-29 pi lot sh ip flew inO ctober 1943 and the last one built leftthe facto ry on 19Ju ly 1945.

4 7

PROD UCT ION

fl&~;T4!~/USTAif tHAIR MA K

IV AK FI"AIIC, CIMMITTEE

u.s . TREA'SUKY OfP ·T.

8 -29 ProductionTOP: A B-29A-5-BN(42-93844) isillustrated on this War BondsDrive Certificate. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: Abrand new B-29-86-BW(44-87704) leads a flock of otherfactory-fresh Superforts to theirair base prior to being ferried tooperations in the Pacif ic.Peter M. Bowers

DesignationXB-29-BOYB-29-BWB-29-1-BAB-29-1-MOB-29-BAB-29B-BAB-29-MOB-29A-BNB-29-BW

Total: 3.980

Number3

1455

357311536

1,1 191,630

LocationSeattle. WashingtonWichita. KansasAtlanta, GeorgiaOmaha. NebraskaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaOmaha. NebraskaRenton, WashingtonWichita. Kansas

42

Comment

pilot shipspilot ships

Renton. T he US N still owned Plant 3, how­ever, and that is why B-29A airplanes hadth e BN (Boeing/N avy) suffix.

T he first B-29A (4 2-93824) rolled offthe assembly line on 2 1 December 1943and made its first fligh t on 30 Decembe r.Boeing-Ren ton prod uced 1,1ZZ B-29As.The last produc tion Supe rfortre ss, a B­29A -75-BN (44 -62328) , came off th eRenton produ cti on line on 28 May 1946and was del ivered to th e USAAF twelvedays lat er, on 10 June.

PRODUCT ION

ABOVE: Three Renton-built B-29As are about to cross the Cedar River. afterwhich they we re parked on the flight line. Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: B-29A-10-BN42-93888 being towe d across the Cedar River.Peter M. Bowers

I I­..

LEFT: B-29-55-BW42-24881 in thebackground fliesin close formationwith an unidentifiedSuperior!. Peter M.Bowers

RIGHr. A rare shotof Bell-built B-29s.USAF

43

PROD e T ION

TOP: The first Renton-built B-29A-1-BN (42-93824) is about to be barged across

the Cedar River on 28 December 1943. Peter M. Bowers

44

ABOVE: The same B-29A arrives on the west side of the Cedar River. It made its

first flight two days later. on 30 December. Pater M. Bowers

PROD UCT IO;,\

Empty 86.500lb (39.000kg); loaded140.000lb{63.500kgl

FourWright Aeronautical R-3350-57Cyclone18rad ial engines

Specifications - B-29- BA. B-29-BWI IIand B-29-MO

I

Powerplant: Four Wright Aeronautical J.R-3350-23 Cyclone 18radialengines

Weights: Empty 80.000lb (36.000kgl; loaded,I I

~JI.J.

133.5001b(60.600kglI I ~

Dimensions: Length 99ft 130.1m); wingspan 141ft3in(43.1m); wingarea 1,736sqIt · [ 1'1 .; r(l61.27sqm); height 27ft 9in I ' ; <;' I{8 45ml I I I ss.

Perlormance: Maximum speed 370mph (590km/h); ,\ ~cruising speed 250mph{400km/hl;service ceiling 32.1DOlt (9.800m); I

maximumbomb load 20.000lb(9.000kg) lora distance 011.500miles (2,400km)

Specification - B-29A-BN

Weights:

Powerplant:

Specification - B-29B-BA

Dimensions: Length 991t (30.1rn]: wingspan142ft 3in 143.4m); wingarea 1.800sqft (167.2sq m); height 27 ft 9in(8.45m)

Performance: Maximum speed375mph (600km/h);cruising speed 250mph (400km/h);serviceceiling 33.0001t (10.000m);maximum bomb load 20.000lb(9.000kgl lor a distance 01 1.500miles (2.400kml

Female worker prepareswiring harnesses to be installed in Martin-built B-29s.The Gl enn L.Martin Aviation Museumvia Stan Piet

Four Wright AeronauticalR-3350-51 Cyclone 18 radialengines

Powerplant:

Weights: Empty 79.5001b (36.000kg); loaded137.500lb {62,400kgl

This B-29-1-BW (42-6237) was one of several Superforts that went to the Martin­Omaha plant to serve as pilot ships. The Glenn L.Marti" Aviation Museum via Stan Piet

Dimensions: Length 991t (30.1 m); wingspan 141ft3in(43. 1m); wingarea 1.736sq ft(161.27sq ml;height27ft9in {8.45ml

Performance: Maximumspeed 380mph(610km/hl;cruisingspeed 260mph(420km/h);serviceceiling33.000lt (lO.OOOm);maximum bomb load 20.0001b(9.000kgl

This in-flight view of B-29A-30-BN 42-94106 i ll ustrates the extraordinarily clean ArtDeco lines of World War Two's mostadvanced bomber. USAF

45

I' RODUCTI ON

ABOVE: This is the first Martin-built B-29-1-MO (42-652D2) as it appearedon 1D October1944. The GlennL. Martin Aviation Museum via Stan Piet

BElOW: This is a compos ite image of Martin-Omahafactory workers take n on 4 November1944with a completed B-29 in their midst. The Glenn L.MartinAviation Museumvia Stan Piet

46

A Martin-built B-29-25-MO on the ramp.

TheGlenn L.MartinAviation Museumvia Stan Piet

BELOW: 42-65267 is one of f ifty production B-29-25­

MOs at M artin's Middle River facility in Baltimore,

Ma ryland. on 14 December 1944.The Glenn L.MartinAviation Museumvia Stan Piet

Bon OM: Another view of 42-65267surrounded by

employees. The Glenn L.MartinAviation MuseumviaStan Piet

PRODUCTI ON

47

PRODUCT ION

48

OPPOSITE PAGE

TOP: The Martin-Omaha production line on 11April1945. TheGlenn L.Martin AviationMuseum via StanPiet

INSET MIDDLE:The 1.000thproduction Boeing-Wich ita­bui lt B-29. USAF

BOTTOM: Martin B-29sbeing assembled for CombatEagle on 11April 1945. TheGlenn L.Martin AviationMuseumviaStan Piet

THIS PAGE

TOP: Riveters putti ng the fin ishing touches toMart in-built tail -gunner compartments on 5 June1944. TheGlennL.MartinAviationMuseumviaStan Piet

BOTTOM: Being held at the final assembly doorson 11 April 1945is the 532nd Martin-built B-29.It w as the 34th B-29-40-MO (44-27359) built. butsince production w as stopped at 531 aircraft,it w as not received by the USAAF. Thus onlythirty-three B-29-40-MOs wer e delivered.TheGlenn L.Martin Aviation MuseumviaStanPiet

PROD UCTI ON

49

PRODUCTION

TOP: The last production B-29-MO. on 19July 1945. The Glenn L Martin Aviation Museumvia Stan Piet

ABOVE: Forward fuselage assembly on 5 June 1945. The Glenn L MartinAviation Museum via Stan Piet

RIGHT. A B-29 being towed. USAF

50

CHAPTER FOUR

Structures and Systems

T he Boe ing B-29 Supcrforrrcss was a mas­te rpiece of aerona ut ical and propulsivesyste m engine ering. It was very large andvery heavy for its day, easy on th e eye andincredibly advanced, wh ile featuring anauto pilot , compute rized fire-con tro l sys­tem, radar-enhan ced all-weat her bomb ingcapabilitv, pressur ized crew accommoda­tion , tricycle landing gear, self-sca ling fuelta nks , an d man y ot he r innovat ion s. It hadbee n conce ived some two years before th eU A entered \Vorld \Var Two by peoplewho had the foresigh t to know that such aplane would be needed. A t first it was sim­ply described as being a bigger and betterB- 17 Flying Fortress - a SU/Jer Fortress, onemigh t say - but it was far more than that.

To manu facture and field such anadva nce d bomber as th e B-29 at such aheel ie time created one of the most in tenseindustrial und ert ak ings of the war, seco ndon ly to the creation of th e atomic bomb, ofwh ieh the Supe rfort itself became an int e­gral parr . A ll of this would ha ve been fornoth ing, however, if key Pacific islands hadnot been secured for B-29 operations - atan inc red ible loss of life.

T he B-29 Supcrfortress was rep lete withbo th co mmon and uncommon structuresand systems, wh ich in part arc as fo llows.

Accommodat io n

Accommodati on was made for a nor malc rew of six or an a lte rnative crew of up totwelve. T he normal six-person crew con­sisted of pi lo t, co-pilot, bo mbard ier, flightenginee r, naviga to r and rad io opera to r.The six ex tra crew members were thr ee orfour targe t-sight ing men to fire th eremotely-operated defensive guns , a radarope rat or and a ta il-gunner. These crewmem bers were hou sed in three pressur izedsect ions: the nose sect ion , the rear fuse­lage sec tion (ju st aft of th e rear bomb ­bay) and th e ta il-gunner' s co mpa rt men t.T he pilot , co-p ilo t , bombard ier, radioope rator, fligh t enginee r and na vigatorwere housed in th e forw ard nose sect ion

TOP: Looking forward out of a 8-29 cockpit. also called the 'greenhouse ' because ofall the glass . showing both pilot's (left)and co-pilot's controls. USAF

BOTTOM: Section 41. the forward fuselage compartment or nose section. which housedthe pilot. co-pilot. bombardier. flight engineer. radar operator. radio operator andnavigator. USAF

51

STRUCTURES A:\ D SYSTE\ IS

The flight engineer's sta tion in B-29A-1 -BN number one (42-93824)on 15 December 1943.fifteen days before its first flight. Peter M. Bowers

The navigator and radar operator stations. Peter M. Bowers

The navigator's station in the first Renton-built B-29A.Peter M. Bowers

Flight engineer station . USAF

52

STRUCTURES AND SYSTE ~ IS

BELOW: The Central Fire Control (CFC) compartment. The CFC compartment wasmanned by three crewmen - left. right and centre spotte rs/gunners. USAF

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had 'h l isrcr'vtvp c Plexiglas wind ows. Thesehad a terrihie tenden cy to blow out atalt itude, caus ing sudden decompression .\'(1orse, crew mem bers would be blown outas well if th ey were not securely st rapped inwith high-qual ity safety belts. Unfortu­natel y thi s occ urred far too often , withtragic results. T he re has been no docu ­mcnrcd report abo ut th e top sigh ting sta­tion 's blister window blowing out.

Armo ur plating and 'flak curta ins' wereemployed for crew prot ecti on .

In the Korean \'(1ar, afte r the nigh t-timebombardment mission s had begun , eachmachi ne-gun had on ly 100 rounds ofammun it ion . T he 20mm ca nnon were not

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3 11 Bell-bui lt B-29B airplanes were modi ­fied to emp loy an advanced A /A PG - IS Bairborne rada r-di rec ted fire cont rol systemca lled A irbo rne Radar Gu n Sigh ting Sys­tem , whi ch locked on to approac h ingfighters and automa t ica lly fired whatevergun fs) were requi red. Most B-29s, howev­er, were fitted with th e A /A PQ -13 rada rbombardm ent system for ' t h rough th eclo uds' bombing. Othe r B-29s cameequipped with the specia l A N/APQ-7Eagle radar bombardme nt system, wh ichfeat ured a large wing carried und erneat hth e Superfor ts - thus, Eagle .

Two of the C FC sight ing stat ions - portand sta rboard in th e rear compartment -

ABOVE: Pil ot and co-pilot'sinstrument panels . USAF

Ar mament

wh ile the sigh t ing personnel were housedin the rear fuse lage sect ion . A pressuri zedtun nel 34in (0. 6m) in diame ter, justabove th e ta ndem bo mb-bays, co n nec tedthe forward and rear co mpart ments . T heta il-gun ne r, by co ntrast , was forced to

remain in hi s compar tmen t.

T he B-29 was heavily armed, with fourremo tel y contro lled, power-operat ed gunturret s (IWO dorsal, two ventra l) , eac hhousing two Model M-2 .50-ca libremach ine-guns. A fifth gun tur ret in the tailhoused a Model M-3 20111m can non with a.50-ca libre machi ne-gun on eithe r side.T he re were norm ally 500 rounds of ammu­ni t ion for eac h mach ine-gun (b ut some­tim es as many as 1,000 rounds per gun werecarried) and 110 rounds for th e cannon . Inmany cases during \'(1or ld War Two th ecan non was removed, leaving just the twomachine-guns in th e rail position; some­tim es a third mach ine-gun mount ed in itsplace. Lat e-production B-29As had fourmachi ne guns in th e forward dorsal turrer.

T he upper rea r tur ret 's lower limit of firewas hor izon ta l. The upper forward turret'slower limit of fire was 2Y1 degrees below th ehori zontal. The forward and rea r lowerturrets' upper limit of fire was 5 degreesabove hori zont al. The ta il tur ret's rear lim ­its of fire were 30 deg rees above and belowth e hor izont al ce nt rel ine and 30 deg reesright and left of the vert ica l cen trel ine(with in th ese limit s a pyramid-shaped areaof fire was formed ). The four upp er andlower gun turrets were eac h supplicd with1,000 round s of amm un it ion (500 roundsper gun ). A not her 1,000 rounds were sup­plied when I he four-gun upper forward ru r­ret appeared (2 ,000 total , 500 per gun ).

T he re were three sigh ting stat ions in therear compartment : one on either side of thefuselage and one atop th e fuselage on cen­trel ine just aft of th e rear dorsa l turret.T here was a fourth sight ing station at th ebombardier's position . The rear compart­ment ho used the General Electric C ent ralFire Cont rol (C FC) system. T he bom­bardie r was respon sible for the forwardlower turret . The cent re gunne r was respon­sible for the two dorsal turrets and the leftand right waist-gunners were responsiblefor the aft, ventral turret , having bot h pri­mary and seco nda ry control of th at tu rret.

In addition to th e G E C FC syste m usedon most of th e B-29 and B-29A airc raft,

53

STRUCTURES AND S Y STE~ IS

OPPOSITE PAGE

TOP: The escape routes for B-29 crewmembers in case of an emergency. Peter M. Bowers

aorroe: The shaded areas on th is inboard profile show where B-29 crewmembers werehoused and where they moved about w ith in the air craft. Peter M. Bowers

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whi ch allowed crew members access toe ith er co mpartme n t during hi gh -al ti tudefligh t. Exit fro m th e rear compa rt men twas through eithe r the pressure bu lkhe ad(station 646 ) door, offering emergencyex it th rou gh the aft bomb-bay, or th rou ghthe pressure bu lkh ead (station S34 ) door,wh ich gave eme rgenc y exi t [() the rearunpressurized compartme n t. Exi t fromthe rear un pressurized com partment wasth rou gh the rear entrance door, whi ch wasbot h the nor mal and an eme rgency exit ,or through an esca pe hat ch on the upperleft side of fuse lage , wh ich co uld be usedas an eme rgency ex it, but on ly whil e onthe ground or in water.

Pressure bulkheads, located at stations1110 and 1144, formed a small pressur izedenc losure for th e tai l-gun ner. Entrancewas ga ined th ro ugh a door in the sta tion1110 bu lkhead and emergency exi t madeth rough a win dow at th e tail -gunner 'srigh t (t hat is, th e left-han d side of air­craft ).

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ABOVE: B-29 acce ss doors. windows and panels. Peter M. Bowers Collection

minor exceptions, only flush rivets wereused to attach th e skin ro th e fuselage struc­ture. There were three pressurized compart­men ts: one in the nose, one aft of th e rearbomb-bay and one in th e ex treme mil.

T he pilot , co- pilo t , figh t engine er,radi o operator, navigator and bom bardi erwere sta tione d in th e fo rward compart ­ment and were provided th ree exits . T heirnor mal entry and exit was th rough th enose land ing gea r wheel-well, by means ofa hat ch in th e floor beside th e fligh t engi­neer's stat ion ; thi s hat ch could also beused as an eme rgency exit. The pressurebulkh ead (stat ion li S) door prov ided anemergency exit th rough the bomb-bay.Lastl y, th e fligh t engineer's removablewindow could be used as an eme rgencyex it , but on ly wh ile on the ground or inwater.

The rear pressuri zed co mpart me nt waslocated immediatel y aft of th e rear bomb ­bay. and was con ne cted to the forwardco mpa rt ment by a pressur ized tun nel ,

Fuselage

emp loyed in Korea, all having been re­moved after \'(Io rld War Two.

T he Supcrfort had two bomb-baysmounted in tandem between th e forwardand rear crew compart me nts , one fo rwardand one aft of the wing cen tre sec t ion . T hehombs wou ld be ejec ted in a forw ard -to -aftsequence from the two bomb -bays tomaintain a prope r cen tre of gravity. Eachhomb-bay was fin ed with six bom b racks,three forward and th ree aft. A typica lbomb load was co mprised of fon y SOOlb,twenty per bay. Up ro 20 ,000 1b (9,000k g)of bombs co uld be carried .

The B-29's bomb-bays could accommo­date the following bomb loads: eigh ty IOOlb,fifty-six 3001b, fon y SOOlb, twelv e 1,000Ib,twelve 1,600Ib, eigh t 2,0001b or four4,000Ib. The Silvcrplare B-29 co uld carry upto two IO,OOOlb-ciass atomic bom bs. SomeB-29s were fitt ed with externa l bomb racksunderneath their inner wing sections,between the fuselage and the inboardengine nacel les. These were for th e ca rriageof very large bombs such as four 4,0001bbombs, two on either externa l bom b rack , orothers such as the Brit ish I2,0001b TallBoy.Moreover, some B-29s had both of theirbomb-bays mod ified to accept a sing leBritish n ,OOOlb Grand Slam.

In World War Two the B-29 used twotypes of bomb sigh t . T he first of th ese wasthe fam ed ordcn Model D-S. The secondwas the A fA PQ- 7 Eagle radar sigh t,which featured a large l Sft-span (SAm)wing moun ted beneath th e fusela ge, an dwas employed for bom bing at n ight andthrough heav y cloud co ve r.

The Mk- I or lillie Boy ato mic bom b was120in (3.04Sm ) long, 2Sin (0.7m) in d iam­eter and weighed S,9001b (4,000kg). It hada yield of IS-1 6 kilotons and was a gun -typeheavy urani um bomb. Five were built. TheMk-3 or Fat Man ato mic bomb was 12 in(3.25m) lon g, 60in ( l.5m) in diam eter andweighed 1O,3001b(4,700kg). It was a plu m­nium imp losion bomb with a yield of 1 --49kilotons. 120 were built. T he cancel ledThin Man was approximately 17ft (5. ISm)long and 2ft (0.6m) in diamet er. Since itwas cancelled prior to dep loyment, its pro ­jected weigh t and yield are unkn own .

The B-29 fuselage was of all-me tal. semi­monocoq ue design , with stressed skin,extruded longerons and formed circumfer­cntials of 24ST alumin ium alloy. \'(Iith

54

STRUCTURES AND SYSTE~IS

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55

STRUCTURES A~ [) SYSTE~ I S

ABOVE: The centre section (section 42) showing arrangement of the fore and

aft bomb -bays. USAF

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RIGHr.B-29 bomb ra ck s. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: B-29 bom b-b ay c ross-section, Peter M. Bowers

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56

STR UCT RES A:\D SYS TDIS

LEFr. Rear top gun-turret detail. Peter M . Bow ers

BELOW: This is the last B-29A produced at Boeing -Renton as it appeared on 20 May 1946. Itclearly shows cockpit and forward top gun-turret details. Peter M. Bow ers

.'.~ ,

57

ST RUC TU RES AN D SY STEMS

The landing gear employed in th e 13-29was of th e tricycle type, whi ch was rela ­tivel y unusual at th e tim e. As far as Ubom bin g aircraft go , on ly th e 13-24, 13-25and 13-26 had previ ously employed tricycleland ing gea r, an d hardl y any Briti sh, G er­man, Soviet or Japanese aircraft used suchan arrange me nt. Indeed , th e 13-29 was thefirst heavy-cla ss producti on bomber of anynati on to usc tri cycle landing gear.

The main landing gear was of a can tilcvertype, consist ing of two air-oil shoc k strutassemblies, on each of which were mountedtwo wheel s with 56in (1.4 2m) diametertread-type tyrcs. Retra ct ion was acco m­plished electrically, and an alternativemot or was provided for emergency opera­tion of the gear in the even t of power ormot or failure. T he main land ing gear wheelswere eac h equipped with expander tube ­type hydraulic brakes, operated in th e con­vent iona l manner from the rudder peda ls.

T he nose landing gear operated imu lra­neously with th e main landing gear andco ns isted of a trunnion , a co mpressionstrut, two torsion links, a uni versal assem­bly, a retracting mech ani sm, a single air-o ilshoc k strut and du al wheels eq uipped with36 in (0 .91m) smoot h- type tvres. T he wheeland ax le assembly cou ld tum through 360degrees. Within 15 degrees of each side ofth e cent re position, however, a cam-and­roller mech ani sm would return the gear to

the cent re position . A towing lug was pro­vided ncar th e centre of the ax le assembly,and th e shock absorber was mounted on th eshock strut, to prevent wheel sh immy.

A retractable tai l skid ope ra ted in co n­junct ion with the landing gea r to preventdamage to th e aircraft in an abrupt take-offrota tio n or a rai l-down landi ng.

Landing Gear

Engin es

T he 13-29 was powered by four a ir-coo ledIS-cylind er Wri ght R-3350 Cyclo ne Itwin -row rad ial eng ines of 3,350cu in(54.Sltr) displacement, fitted with exha ust­dr iven rurbos upcrcha rgers. It used a nu m­ber of versions of th e R-3350 with take -offpower ratings ranging from 2,200hp ro2,SOOhp. The basic R-335 0 eng ine weighed2,SOOlb (1 .270kg) when ready to insrall . Itscylinder bore was 6. 125in (l55. 5mm) andits connec ting rod stroke 6.30 in (160mm) .

\Vhen Boe ing powcrp lan t engineerswere asked to find an adeq uat e en gine for

ON PEDEST.... or UPPERGU~NER's SUTACCESSl8LE TO 80T"S« GlJNNERS

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Primary and secondary gun-fir ing controls . USAF

Oneof YB-29number 14's (41-36967)bomb-bays full of 500lb bombs. PeterM. Bowers

58

th e XB-29 in mid-1940, th ey looked atevery high -horsepower offering th at wasava ilable or soon to be available. T heywanted an engine that could produ ce amaximum tak e-off rating of at least2,000hp, but preferred to get one rat ed at2,200hp. They focused on two differentair-coo led radial eng ines - one from Pratt& W hitncy, one from Wri ght. T he con­tender from Pratt & Wh itn ey was th e R­2800 Double Wasp, whi ch boasted of2,000h p and was soo n to be availab le. Thconc being offered by Wr ight, th e R-3350C yclone 18 , promised at least 2, 1OOhp butit was no t going to be imm ediately ava il­able. However, th e \Vright offered a bettergrowth potent ial (in term s of increasedpower outputs) th an th e Prat t & Whi tn ey,so th e R-3350 was selected: it would powerthe XB-29 and any subsequen t models,

Wri ght had started work on its C yclone18 engine in January 1936, and th e pro to­type first ran in May 1937. It was based onWrigh t's l-l-cvlind er twin-row R-2600radi al , but had two more cylinde rs per row,with the same bore an d stroke. It was madewith a three-sect ion forged alumin ium(lat er cast iron) cran kcase, featuring cast­iron cylinde r hcads and magnesium -alloyturbosupercharger casings.

Downdraft carburat ion was employedby th e early R-3350 eng ine s, wh ich creat ­ed a ir and fuel mixture incon sisten ciesbetwee n th e front and rear cylinder rows.For the most part this prob lem was elimi­nat ed when a dir ect fuel -inj ecti on syste mwas incor porat ed on lat er model s.

To mass-produce th e R-3350, Wr ightbuilt a new factory at Wood bridge, Ne wJer­sey, to work in conce rt with its C inc innati,O h io, facility. Wright 's New Jersey andO h io factor ies churned out some 13,800 ofthese engines. In addi tion , th e Dodge divi­sion of the C hrysler C orporation in C h ica­go, Illin ois, produced about 18,400 more ofth em . T hus approximately 32,200 R-3350engincs were manufactured.

The R-3350 was plagued with earlydevelopment problems, but many earlydesign flaws were addressed and correc tedand by the end of World War Two the timebetween scheduled overha uls of th e R-3350increased from about 100 to 400 hours. Butit remains one of th e most troublesomeengines to ever enter full-scale prod uction .Still, it was used by a number of other leg­endary US mili tary aircraft, such as th eDouglas AD Skvraidc r, Fairch ild C- 119 Fly­ing Boxcar, Mart in PB2M Mars and Lock­hced C- 121 Supcr C onstellation.

STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS

TO P: Two 12.0001b (5.400kg) Tallboy penetrat ing (earthqu ake) bombs being carr ied

under eith er wing on exte rna l hard points. These bombs were 21ft (6.4m) long and

3ft Bin (l .15m) in diameter. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: A 22.0001b (10.000kg) Grand Slam bomb fitted to an extensively modifiedbomb-bay. Peter M. Bowers

59

STRUCTURES A:"D SYSTE ~IS

TOP: This B-29-25-BW (42-24441 ), one of fifty -25-BWs built, was used to evaluatevarious gun types and gun locations. The 'plane's powered turrets we rereplaced by Martin-built manned turrets (top) and Sperry-built manned tur rets(bott om) and, in th is view, two remote-control nose turrets were evaluated .Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: Another view of 42-24441 show ing an extended Sperry ball -typeretractable bottom turret and a manned side blister gun. Peter M. Bowers

LEFT: left-hand spotter/gunner

sighting blister. The CFCcompartment is sect ion 43.Peter M. Bowers

RIGHT: A number of factory-freshB-29As at the Boeing-Renton

plant. Note four -gun top forwardturret. exclus ive to B-29As. USAF

60

The four 1\-3350 engine s on th e 13-29were fitted wit h H am ilton -S tandard , four­blad ed , constan t-speed , fu ll-fea th e rin gpropel le rs. Cons tan t-speed contro l wasmaint ained with a gove rn or and was oper­a ted el ec trica lly by fo ur switches for incli­vidua l co nt ro l of ea ch prope lle r. Theseswitc hes were loca ted on th e a isle sta nd ,for use hy th e p ilot or co -pilo r.

Each R-3350 eng ine was equipped withtwo type 13- 11 exhaust-d riven turbosuper­ch argers moun ted ve rt ica lly on e ith er sideof the nacell e . T hese boosted man ifo ldpressure for take-off and provi ded increaseda ir pressure a t h igh a lt itude s.

Eng ine exhaust gases passed throughthe co llec to r ring and ta il stac k to th e noz­zle box of ea ch supercharger , expa nded toa tmosphe ric pressure th rough th e tur binenozzle , and drove a bucket wh eel a t h ighspeed ; th is buck e t wh ee l in turn drove th eimpelle r of th e superch arge r. A ram m inga ir in le t du c t supplied a ir to th e impe lle r,whi ch in c reased its pressu re and temp era ­ture . H ow ever, in orde r to av o id detona­t ion a t the cnrb urc rto r, the a ir supp lied tothe ca rburci tor passed through t he inte r­coo le r, where th e temperatu re was reduced .

STRUCTURES A:" D S Y STE ~ IS

ABOVE: The rear bomb-bay area and overhead crewtunnel. Peter M.Bowers

BELOW: TheB-29's structure. USAF

6 7

STRUCTURES AND SYSTH IS

'"

OPPOSITE PAGETOP; Fuselage and wing final assemblies.Peter M. Bowers

THIS PAGEABOVE: The B-29'sstations.Peter M. Bowers

urr; Exploded view of a B-29A.Peter M.Bowers

BonOM: Female workers at work on themid-sect ion of YB-29number one atBoeing-Wichita. USAF

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81

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62

STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS

STRUCTU RES AN D S YSTDtS

fUl SlJ'K Y TANKSOUTBOAi{) ENGINE

Radar Systems

AN/APQ. 15B This was on ly cmploycdby B-29Bs built by Bell-Atlanta.

AN/APQ- 13 T h is was th e most advancedbomb ing radar ava ilable wh en the 8 -29first en te red combat in World \Var Two.

In th e early I940s th ere were fell' ground­based rada r systems and absolutely no USmi litary a ircraft car ried airborne radar. Butby th e end of World War Two, however,there were nu merous type s of mi lita ry air­craft thar were equipped with airbo rn eradar syste ms. The 8 -29 used several d if­feren t rad ar systems th roughout its career:

An int ernal engine impe ller, d riven byth e engine cranksha ft , aga in in creasedpressur e as th e fuel /a ir mix ture en teredth e intak e man ifo ld. H igh -int ak e ma n i­fo ld pressure resu lted in greater enginepower output.

AUXILIARYIAau

OXYGENBOITlLI

AUXIUAIlYPOWlIlPlANl

fUEL 'ANK

TUll:&OSUPfRCH .IlGl Il04l SUP9\Y TANK

TIRES

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PORTABLEOXyGENBOTTLE ~

THIS PAGETOP; Fuel, hydraulic fluid and oil repleni shing dia­gram. PeterM. Bowers

OPPOSITE PAGETOP: The 1,OOOth Boeing-Wichita B-29 with the 10,346th and last Kadet biplane primary tra iner.PeterM. Bowers

ABOVE: A unique view of B-29sub-assemblies, usingthe actual segments of the aircraft. USAF

BonOMlEFT: B-29general arrangements. USAF

BonOM RIGHl: Extended tail-skid details are shown here on XB-29 number three. Peter M. Bowers

64

STRUCT U RES AN D S Y S TE ~ I S

IC I! ~--.) . '"11-"':"·'r" ,gI r~

65

The left-hand main landing gear on a YB-29. Peter M. Bowers

ST RUCT U RES AN D SY ST E:VIS

LANDING GEAll:RHll:..... (Y ING MQTOtI' -----....

:NORMAl I

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Left-hand main landing gear deta i ls. Peter M. Bowers

LANDING CE.....RREfR .....CTING MOTOll:

JMfll:GfNCY

RECIPROCATING ENGINE CHARACTERISTICS.__...._. .- e.._ .._.

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General Wright R-3350 engine details. USAF Later Wright R-3350-23engine detail s. USAF

66

A /APQ-23 This was basically an upgrad­ed A /A PQ -13 radar syste rn employeddurin g Wor ld \X1ar Two.

AN/APQ -7 T his was used on some B-29son ly, and becam e kn own as the Eagle radarsystem beca use of its large wing. T he firstSuperfort to get the Eagle radar syste m - inea rly 1945 - was a late model B-29-60-BA(44-84066) , wh ich later dep loyed to Tin­ian with th e A /A PQ- 7 system installed .The A /A PQ -7 h ad a forward, 60-deg reeelect rical scan. T he antenna was a win gabout Sfr wide.

A N /A PQ-3 0 T hi s lat er system provided360- degree scann ing and a 3-degree beamwidt h , and was kn own to be a better sys­tem than th e A N/A PQ -7 though its pulsewidt h was about th e same. Fitt ed to B-29sin th e post-war period, the A /A PQ-30provi ded a much bett er navigat ion ca pa­bility tha n th e A /A PQ -7.

The radar operator's posit ion was th e samein a ll configura tions .

STRUCTURES AND SYSTE \ IS

ABOVE: Final assembly and preparation to mount oneof the thousands of R·3350 engines on yet anotherBoeing -Wichita-built 8·29. Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: The B-29's tail group (empennage, section44). USAF

. , ...... - ---"""..,. --

,..... ....,.

- - ...n .... · 1IC .....~ ••",., ,.,,.

67

STRUCTURES A:\ D SYSTD IS

THIS PAGE

TO P: The large. externally-mounted wing of the Western Electric AN/APQ-7Eagle Mk 1 radar system on a B-29A. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: Early B-29wing ass emblies at Boeing-Wichita on 1 October 1943.Peter M. Bowers

68

OPPOSITE PAGE

TOP: Later B-29A wing final ass emblies in October 1945. Peter M. Bowers

BOTTOM: Wing-join to section 42. Peter M. Bowers

STRUCTURES AND SY STE ~ I S

69

ST RUCT URES A ND SYSTEMS

THISPAGE

The B-29was loaded with numerous exterior itemsof vast importance. Some of these critical itemsincluded access panels, cowl flaps, filler necks ,vents, pitot static holes, and so on. Peter M. Bowers

OPPOSITE PAGE

TOP: The left-hand jack slipped under this B-29A-35-BN, causing it to fall and incur severe damage.as shown in this 23 March 1945photograph. Peter M. Bowers

BonOM: Pressurized section 41(nose section) mass production at Boeing-Wichita. Peter M. Bowers

Tail Gro up (empennage)

T he empennage was of the co nvent iona ltype, including a hor izont al sta bilizer, e le­vators, eleva tor trim ta bs, a verti ca l sta bi­lizer, dor sal fin, rudder. and rudder tr imta b. It a lso con ta ined th e tail turret andhoused a fully pressur ized ca bin for th eta il-gunne r. T he th ree ta il-turret guns had\ ,000 rounds of ammun it ion per machine­gun and 110 rounds of ammun it ion for th e20mm can no n. W hen the 20mm can no nwas removed from lat er B-29s and replacedwith a th ird mach ine-gun, the re were

3.000 rounds of ammun it ion supp lied forthe th ree mach ine guns.

Wing

As eng ineering on th e Model B-345design prog ressed through 1940 and int o\94 1, Boeing ae rodynamicists wanted tousc, if possible, th e so-ca lled Dav is wing,de velo ped for Consolidated by free lanceaerona utical engineer David R. Dav is,wh ich was already being used on the Con­solida ted B-24 Liberator; all agreed that it

• 70

would be th e best wing to use on th e forth ­co ming B-29.

When th e Dav is wing underwent itsfirst wind-tu nnel evaluat ions at the C ali­forn ia Inst itute of Technology (C aITech ),eng ineers were amazed to learn that its lift­to -d rag efficiency far surpassed what wasthought possib le at the time . In fact, th ewin g's effic iency exceeded ot he r contem­porary win g designs by abo ut 20 per ce nt.

The Davis wing was of a full cant ileverdesign with a long, narrow chord, feat ur­ing an advance d h igh-l ift and low-dragaerofo il design and flush riveting. It was

STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS

71

also th e wing Conso lidat ed wanted to useon its XB-32 - th e XB-29's ch ief co mpet i­tor. T hus, Boeing was in a qu and ary: ho wwas it going to be able to apply th is revo­lut ionary wing to its XB-29 ? T he answer

ST RUC T U RES A:-I I> SYST E ~ IS

was simple: it was not go ing to be able to

use it , and it was as simple as that. A fternumerous co ngressiona l debates and mil i­ta ry hearings, C onso lidated was assuredthat it had the right to keep its Davis win g

72

ABOVE: Section 42 Imid -sect ion } sub-assemblyproduct ion at Boeing -Wichita Plant 2.Peter M. Bowers

LEn: A number of Boeing -Renton B-29As in finalassembly, just prior to roll -out. Peter M. Bowers

techno logy and th at d id not have to shareit with its compet itors. Boe ing, therefore,came up with its 117 acrofoil using Fow lerflaps wh ich, as it turned o ut, was a mostimpressive win g design in its own righ t.

The 117 acrofoil wing used by the B-29co nsisted of an inb oard sec t ion permanent ­ly attache d to the fuselage and two rem ov­able oute r panel s provided with detach­able t ips. Fuel co mpartments eq uippedwith sel f-scaling tanks were an in tegra lpart of the inboard wing sec tion struc ture.A ilerons provided with tr im ta bs werehinged to the outboa rd panels, and ele ct ri­cally operated Fowler-type wing flapsfor med the lower surface of the inboardwin g tra iling edge , from the fusela ge to theoutboard win g jo in t . T he lead ing edge sec­t ions were removable and pro vide d accessto cab les, tubi ng, wir ing and misce lla­neous othe r eq uipmen t.

ST RUCT URES AND SYSTD IS

ABOVE: The Boeing -Renton B-29A assembly line as it appeared on 20 M arch1945. The tai l group assemblies have yet to be fitted to the mid -sect ions.

Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: The first Renton-built B-29A-1-BN (42-93824) nears comple tion on15 December 1943. It made its first flight on 30 December, and was the onlyRenton-bu ilt B-29 to receive a camoufl age paint scheme. Peter M. Bowers

73

STRUCTURES AND SYSTE~IS

74

The last pressurized B-29A-15-BN(42-93973) nose section (section41) is being removed from its

assembly jig at Renton Plant 3on 22 November 1944. The numberof women workers is noteworthy.Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: Factory assemblyprocedure for B-29 production.Peter M. Bow ers

; I

, III .1

~ :;,;•:

CHAPTER FIVE

World War Two

T he Boeing 13-29 upcrfortress ea rned itscombat spurs during fourtee n months ofac tion in Worl d War Two - 5 June 1944 to15 A ugust 1945. This was a relatively sho rttime compare d to ot her co mbat a ircraft.However, it arguably played one of th e mostsign ificant roles in th e final defeat of Japan,and probably cont ributed more to that v ic­tory th an any ot he r bomber.

Product ion B-29s did not begin to takewing unt il 10 Septe mber 1943 when thefir t Boeing-W ich ita B-29- I-BW (42-6205)made its first fligh t. T h is was just eleven

days shy of one year since the first XB-29had made its maiden fligh t, on 21 eptcm­ber 194 2. T he first product ion Bell-A tlant aB-29-I -BA (42-6225 2) made its first flighton 10 Octo ber 1943. The first productionMarti n -Omah a B-29- I -MO (42-6 'i202)made its first flight on 23 October 1943. Thefirst product ion Boei ng-Renton B-29A- l ­BN (42-93824) mad e its first flight on 30December 1943.

O n 10 A ugust 1943, exac tly one monthbefore the first production 13-29 took wing,US AA F Commanding G ene ral Henry H.

'Hap' Arnold finalized hi plans for the 58thBomb Wing (Very Heavy) to be operatingin the C h ina-Burma- India (C lsl) theatre ofoperations by th e end of 1943, beginningwith strikes aga inst the home islands ofJapan from forward bases in India. Ge ne ralA rno ld picked Brig Gc n Kenneth B. Wolfeto comma nd the five bomb groups and theirrespective bomb squadrons, which would beassigned to th e 58BW (VH).

The 58BW (VH ) had been activa tedsome two months earl ier on I Ju ne 1943at Mar ietta, Georg ia, near Bell's 13-29

IlZ

-

I

ABOVE: USAAF logo. USAF

RIGHT. USNavy Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz poking his headout of the co-pilot's window on his B-29, a B-29B-35-BA(42-63650)of the 315BW, 501 BG. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVERIGHT. General Curtis E. LeMay. In J uly 1944 he wastransferred to the Pac ific to direct the B-29 heavy bombingactivities of the 20th Bomber Command in the China-Burma -Indi atheatre. He later commanded the 21st Bomber Command with itsheadquart ers on Guam, and still later became chief of stall of theStrategic AirForces in the Pacific. Atthe end of WorldWar Twohe returned to the United States, piloting a B-29Superfortress ona non-stop record flight from Hokkaido, J apan, to Chicago, Illinois.Peter M. Bowers

75

WORLD WAR T WO

I

1.1.

,,IQU "

. ~\ ,.,

~\\o ,y,'V .. ,,."

o 0CAo " O ll

To

c

I

The pattern of air power in the Western Pacific. USAF

produc tion facility. T he headquart ers ofthe 58BW moved to Smoky H ill Army A irField at Sa lina , Kansas, on 15 Se ptember1943, wh ich was close to Boeing's Wichi ­ta 13-29 production plant. The five bombgroups assigned to th e 5 B\V incl uded the40th , 444th, 462nd , 468t h and 47ZndBomb G roups (Very Heavy). The 47ZBG(V H) was to remain at Smoky Hill AAF to

serve as th e 58 BW's O perational Train ingUn it (OTU) , whi le the other four BG sdeployed to th e C BI.

It was clear from th e outse t of the 13-29programm e th at it wou ld be used in th ePacific war. T he main reason for this deci ­sion was th at it possessed much greaterran ge and load -carr ying ability th an eithe rth e 13-17 or 13-24. Yet its effect ive combatrad ius was on ly 1,600 miles (2,600k m) ,

though it could man age 2,200 milesO ,500km) if pushed. S ince at th e ti me ofth e B-29s first depl oyment s in ea rly 1944th ere were no US air bases yet esta blishe dthat put th e home islands of j apan withinthe combat rad ius of the Superfort , it wasdecid ed to base them in India and C h inafor th eir in itial combat operations. Logis­tically, operations from th ese bases were atfirst a very serious prob lem, in that itwou ld be at best difficu lt to furn ish thesefour bomb groups with adequate supplies.

T hese di fficult ies no twith stan ding,President Roosevelt ap proved a spec ialpro ject ca lled Mal!crhom, whereby C hi na­based B-29s would be used to bomb japan­ese steel mills. The Superforts would, atfirst, be based in India and woul d be stagedth rough C he ngtu in ce nt ra l C h ina. The

parent organ ization of the 58BW B-29s,XX Bomber Comma nd, lOth A ir Force,began its preparati ons in lat e 1943, but itwas not unti l ea rly A pril 1944 th at th e firstB-29s began to arrive in India.

Presiden t Roosevel t h ad prom isedC h ina 's G ene ra lissimo C h iang Kai-shckth at 13-29 bombers would be in India andC h ina by 3 1 jan uary 1944 to begin O pera­tion Mattcrhom. Due to th e Bat tie of Kansas(see C hapter 3 ), however, US AA F com­mand ing Ge ne ral Hap Arnold was forced topush back the t'vla!!crhom schedule to 10March 1944.

For comba t mission s during World WarTwo there was a maxi mum of elevenc rcwmc mbc rs assigned to eac h 13-29.T he se included the aircra ft comma nder(com mand pi lot ), co -pilot , bombardier,

76

WORLD WAR T WO

TOP: THE ERNIE PYlE, a B-29-80-BW (44-70118), was named for the famed war

correspondent, k illed in 1945. USAF

ABOVE: Another view of THE ERNIE PYlE before it was delivered to its user,

the 313BW, 504BG and 458B5. Peter M. Bowers

navi gat or, fligh t eng inee r, radio operator ,radar operator, cent ra l fire control (CFC)gunner, left -sidc gunner, righ t-side gun nerand ta il-gun ne r. T he bombardier was a lsoresponsib le for firing th e two guns in theforward ventral turre t. The C FC gunne rwas respon sible for firing the four-to-sixguns in th e two dorsal turrets. The left ­and right -side gun ne rs were respon sib le forfiring th e two guns in th e aft ventral turretand , if th ere were no ta il-gun ner, the can ­non and two guns in the ta il turret. Dur ing

high alt itude bomb runs the 13-29 wou ldbe depressurized in case of being hit by flakand/or figh ter gun fire , wh ich would havecaused sudde n decompression .

Crew Training

The first prospecti ve 13-29 crews started toarrive at thei r respect ive training bases inJuly 1943. wh ile initi al produ ction of Super­fort s inch ed forward . They had already

77

completed th ei r spec ific duty traini ng andthey had now begun their jou rn eys to

become c lcvc n- rn nn 13-29 combat crews.S inc e there were few B-29s to train with ,these ea rly crews were forced to tra in withB- 17s and B-24s. T hei r trai ni ng du tiesincluded many hours of ground schoo l.learn ing about the Superforrs' intricate sys­tems. Both daytime and night -time mission swere flown for pract ice. To simulate over­water missions, these crews flew to C ubaand othe r locat ions in th e C aribbean Sea.

WORL D WA R T WO

78

ABOVE: A B-29-40-BW (42-24625) named LADYMARYANNA with an R-3350 engine alongside.It belonged to the 73BW, 498BGand 874BS.Note the B-29Afour-gun top-forward gun turret.Stan Piet

JOLTIN' JOSIE: THEPACIFIC PIONEER was aB-29-40-BW (42-24614) of 73BW, 498BGand873BS. She w as the first B-29to arrive in thePacif ic theatre and was commanded by GeneralHaywood Hansell , commander of XXI BomberCommand. Ken Rust viaStan Piet

GOIN' JESSIE of 313BW, 9BGand 5BS on Tiniannever had to abort a mission, Captain JohnFleming was its commander and it was aB-29-20-BA (42-63561). Stan Piet

BELDW: An unidentified B-29 Df314BWand 29BGstarts its engines tor a mission, Griber viaStan PietCollection

BonOM: A BDeing-Wichita-built B-29-70-BWSuperlort (44-69975) named THESPEARHEAOof 313BW,9BGand 1BS. Stan Piet

WORLD WAR T WO

79

WORLD WA R T W O

-~

ABOVE: A B-29 w ith battle number Z 23 of the 73BW,

500BG, ahe r an emergency crash landing on Iwo

Jima with a P-51D Mustang alongside her.

Peter M. Bowers

LEFr. A group of 73BW, 500BG 8-29s unload 500lb

bombs . USAF

A num ber of the pilots already had mult i­eng ine ex pe rience on 13- 17s and 8 -24s.and transirion cd quickly to the 13-29. Thenav igat ors tun ed their navigat ionnl skillsto and from th e pract ice target s. T he fligh teng inee rs (a new cre w position created

becau se of th e co mplex ity of the 13-29 )practised aircraft systems management. T hebombard iers lea rned how to use the Nor­den bombsigh t, dropping inert bombs andbags of flour on selec ted tar gets. The gun­ners practised shoot ing at rad io-con trol led

80

drones and long canvas pan els th at weretowed beh ind a ircraft - a nu mber of thetow planes were pilo ted by \'(1omen A ir­force Se rv ice Pilot s (\'(1AS Ps).

T here were . of co urse , many othe rimportant personnel needed to mak e up a13-29 bomb gro up. T hese included a irframeand powerp lanr mechani cs. armou rcrs,clerks. cooks, e lec tricians . fue llers, medi cs,po lice and man y more.

T he 8 -29 combat crews were assign edto overseas duty afte r some three monthsof tra in ing . Most of the grou nd personnelin th ese bomb groups wen t to the ir basesaboa rd troopsh ips wh ile the 8 -29 co mbatcrews flew there in thei r ai rcraft.

The first 13-29 bomb wing, the 5 8 \'(1(VH) , had begun its train ing in July 1943 at

four Kansas army air fields: Smoky I-Iill AAF(headq uarters). Pra tt AAF. G reat Ben d

WORL D WA R T WO

AAF and Walker AAF. But t ra ining wasmor e th an d ifficu lt withou t th e requirednuml-cr of B-29s. ln fac t, man y 58BW (V H)crews had less th an twent y hours of 13-29I imc whe n th ey left th e U A for co mhat on10 March 1944 . O the r 13-29 homh wingcrews trained at four cbraska arm y ai rfields: Fairm ont AA F, G rand Island AA F,Harvard AA F and ~v1 cCook AA F.

A t this tim e. in add it ion to heing co m­mand er of th e 5 13\'(1, Gene ra l Wolfe wasXX Bo mh er Command commander and incharge nf 13-29 pro curem ent and produ c­rion . This cha nged on 4 A pril 1944 . how ­eve r, when Genera l A rn o ld estab lish edthe new XXI Bomb er C omma nd , 20 th Ai rForce. and appo in ted h imself in charge,repor t ing to th e [o in t C h iefs of Staff. Hewas then in charge of 13-29 allocations.

TOP: 313BW and 9BG B-29s charge forward to their respect ive targets. The B-29 in full view car riedradio call number 55 but its USAAF ser ial number is not vis ib le. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: B-29s of the 39BG. 60BS tax i out for take -off from North Field on Guam. Peter M. Bowers

INSET: A tr io of B-29s fly past a wav ing Seabee. USAF

8 1

WORLD WAR T WO

DINA MIGHT of 313BW. 504BGand 29BS is about

to receive a load of 500lb bombs. being sat upon bysmiling troops. She was a Martin-built B-29-25-MO(42-65280)and apparently this was during a lighter

moment of the war. USAF

BELOW: The remains of a 499BG. 877BS B-29 known

as T Square 1 on Saipan following an emergencycrash -landing. Peter M. Bowers

82

THUMPER noseart detail . THUMPER was aB-29-40-BW 142-24623) assigned to 73BW. 499BGand 870BS on Saipan. SIanPiel

BELOW: A 58BW. 444BG B-29in its revetment.Stan Piel

BonOM: Six special-purpose B-29sof 313BW. 9BGcarrying much-neededsupplies to drop into prisonerof war camps.Note P W SUPPLIES on the bottom oftheir wings . SIan Piel

WORLD WAR TW O

83

WOR LD WAR TWO

84

There were at least four B-29s named LUCKYLADY

in World Wa r Two . This one is bel ieved to have

belonged to the 58BW, 444BG and 678BS. If so, it

w as a B-29-40-BW (42-24584). Stan Piet

LE FT. This is an early Superlort from the first batch of

fifty production B-29-1-BWs (42-6228). Its 'Hump'

missions far outweighed its bomb missions. The

meaning of the strange 3VII mark ing on the nose

is unclear. Schirmer via StanPiet

BELOW: 313BW, 9BG B-29s in the ir revetments.

Stan Piet

Deployment to the Far East

To get ro th eir air bases in Ind ia th e B-29so{the 58BW flew {rom th e cast coast o{theU A to outh A me rica and th en acrossth e Ar lamic Ocean, refuell ing in o rrhAfrica before GlI1tinuin g on to Ind ia . O ncein Indi a, to get supplies to th e forward basesin C h ina, B-29s were used as ca rgo tran s­port s, flying ove r th e Himala yas, whi ch wasreferred to as th e 'Hump' route. They tran s­port ed every th ing {rom grease to gaso lineand {rom bread to bandages. \Vh i1e thesebombers were doubling as tran spo rts. crew­members pa int ed hump backed ca mels onth eir noses instead of bombs, 10 sign ifyth eir missions over the Him alayas.

Some of th ese B-29s had to make emer ­gency landings in Russia when bom bingjapan {rom the ir bases in C h ina . T hei rcrews were event ua lly re turn ed , hut th e air­craft were not. This led to th e creation o{Russia's B-29 co py, the Tupo lcv Tu-4 'Bull '(described in de rai l in C ha pter Sev en ).

By 8 May 1944 there were 130 58BW(VI-I) 13-29 s at their bases near C a lcutt a,Ind ia. At this t ime, using C h inese labour­ers, {our 8 ,500{t (2,590m) runways wereci ther under co ns truc t ion or near ing co m­plct ion ncar C hcng t u, C h ina. The dis­ran ee between th e bases in India and thosein C h ina was approximately 1,200 m iles( 1,900k m). T here were, of course, th eH imalayan mounta in s, the 'Hu mp', inl-c twcc ri . The route was ni cknam ed 'thea lum in ium tr ail ' {or the un coun ted pieceso{ a irc raft th at never made it ove r th esemountains.

Fina lly, on 27 May 1944 the B-29 go t todo the mission it was design ed {or - bomb ­ing! Flying a 2, 100-m ile (3 ,400km ) roundtri p {rom Ind ia, a number of B-29s struckja panese target s in Ban gkok , T ha iland.A ll bu t five B-29 s returned to base; {ourwere lost to mec ha n ica l problem s, one 10

ene my {ire.T hen on 15 j une 1944 the first strike on

japan itself was made by 5813\'(1 B-29s basedin C h ina . T h is Ma!ccrholl1 bombing missionwas flown against a steel mill called theImperial Iron and Stee l Works at Yawata onnorthern Kyushu Island, japan . T here wereninet y-e igh t Superforts launched on thismission but on ly forty-seve n of them hadactually reach ed th eir rnrger. Seven werelost on the retu rn trip and a nu mber of ot h­ers had to make emergency lan dings wher­eve r they could. They had encount eredheavy an ti-aircraft {i re and some figh ters,which {or some reason did not attack.

WOR L D WAR TWO

TOP:Aformation of 314BW. 29BG B-29s charging forward to their targets. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: MARY ANN. a B-29-30-BW (42-244941. unloads its bombs on Haito, Formosa. on16 October 1944. USAF

85

WORL D WAR TWO

Thisunidentified B-29is about to be loaded with the500lb bombs inthe foreground. USAF

J

BELOW: 73BW. 499B GB-29s dropincendiary bombs.Peter M. Bowers

/

... ,-.. ......

- ......... ...

- .......

...

..-

86

WORLD WAR TWO

ABOVE: A B-29-40-BW (42-24590) of 58BW, 462BG and 770BS named CELESTIALPRINCESS. Stan Piet

BELOW: V SQUARE 50, a B-29of 499BG, 879BS 'in the drink' on 13Decemb er 1944.Her crew, in the three life rafts , was rescued the next day. Peter M. Bowers

87

As an aside , it h ad been twenty-sixmonths sinc e land-based bombers had h ithom eland Japan ; these being the sixteenNorth A me rica n 13-2513 Mitche ll's of theDoo lit tle Raid ers, whi ch had , in fact beencar rier-launch ed for th at parti cular mission.

T he last 13-29 co mbat m ission flownfrom out of th e C BI, whi ch was flownaga ins t S inga por e , on the south ern tip ofMala ysia , ca me on 30 March 194 5. T h us 13­29s flew combat missions from the ir basesin Ind ia and C h ina for ten months. The58BW (VH ) flew seven ty-two co mbat m is­sions from C h ina , avera ging six tee n hoursper mission, covering ro un d- trip di stancesof as mu ch as 3 ,200 mil es (5 ,150km ) andca rrying maximum fuel loads of 9,5 48 USga llo ns.

Pacific Operations

As fro m 30 March 194 5 all 13-29 combatopera t ions were flow n fro m th e ir h ard -wonPacific island bases on G ua m, [wo [ im a,Sa ipa n and T in ian in th e Mari anas, some1,500 m iles (2,4 00km) south -east of th emain Japanese island of Honshu . (B-29 swere n ot based on Iwo Jirna but it was usedn um erous tim es for eme rgency land ings.)Eve n before th e last combat missions wereflown out of C h in a th e US A rmy, work ingin co ncert with th e US N avy and MarineC orps, had th e difficult job of capturingand secur ing th ese islands, wh ich was on lyac h ieved at a terrib le co st of lives. T h e USin vasion of th e Mari anas began in mid ­1944. Sa ipan fel l in Ju ly 1944 and bothG uam and Tinian in A ugust.

It was not unt il Oc to be r 1944 th at ope r­able a ir bases were fin a lly read y for th e 13­29s . But eve ntua lly th ere were five a ir­fie lds on th ese three islands, each oneca pab le of h ou sing an ent ire 13-29 wingwith its groups and sq uadrons. T here weretwo win gs on G uam, one wing o n Sa ipa nand two more on Tin ian, Eac h base h ad asmany as 180 B-29s and 12,000 personnel.The S uperfo rts began arr iv ing on 12 Octo­ber wh en Brig G en H aywood S. H ansel l [ r,co mmande r of XX I Bomber C ommand ,landed on Sa ipa n with hi s 13-29 - JOLT IN'JO SI E: THE PA C IFIC PIO N EER.

O n 28 Octobe r 1944 Mariana-b ased 13­29s flew th eir first co mba t mission, aga in stth e island of Truk in th e Bonin islandcha in , south- ea st of th e Mari anas. O n lyfourteen of th e e igh tee n B-29s bombed thetarget s, with limi ted succ ess. Tr uk ando the r ene my-h eld islands wer e now used

WORLD WA R TW O

fo r a series of ' t ra in ing' mi ssions pri or tothose flown against Japan itsel f.

Then on 24 Nove mbe r 1944 the com­mander of th e 73 rd Bomb Wing (VH),Brig Gcn Emm ett O 'Do n n el l, led a forceof III S uperfor ts aga ins t industri a l target sin and aroun d Tokyo . Genera lly speaking,the result s of th is raid wer e not ve ry goo d .Bad weat he r in part (en ro ut e and ove r tar ­ge ts) a llow ed on ly e igh ty-e igh t of th eseI I 1 a irplane s to ac tua lly bomb their tar­ge ts. But it is interest ing to n ot e th at th iswas th e first attack on Tok yo since th eDoo lit tl e raid of 18 A pr il 194 2 - some twoyea rs, seven months earl ier.

S ubseq uent da ytim e preci sion a tt ac ksag;i~ndustr ia l target s th rou gh ou t th ehom e islands of Jap an , pri marily a ircraftfactories and sh ipyards , were not up toex pec tat ions . T h is was du e for th e most partto th e lack of long-range escort figh ters, ah igh rat e of mission abor ts , terri ble bo mb­ing acc uracy, th e slow build-up of 13-29streng th , bad weath er and n umerous 13-29losses a t sea. G eneral A rnold was not hap pyand in Jan uary 1945 he ordered Gen C urt isE. LeM ay from India to G ua m to replaceBrig Gcn Hansell as commander.

S imply put, the man y losses of B-29s a tsea were du e to the fact that th er e was noplace for crippled a ircraft to mak e emer­gency land in gs o the r than in th e ocean .Even with the outstand ing work of the a ir­sea rescu e se rv ice th er e wer e far too man ylosses. How ev er , afte r Iwo j irn a was cap­tured it became an eme rge ncy land ingbase for di sab led B-29s. Moreov er, long­range esco rt fighters we re subsequen tlybased the re. T h e in vasion of Iwo Jimabegan on 19 Feb ruar y 1945 and the bat tleraged on for four weeks , rat her th an th ethr ee or fou r days that h ad been pred ic ted.To captu re the island so me 4 ,900 USMarine C o rps troops wer e killed , but bythe end of World War Two some 2,400S upe rfo rts h ad mad e eme rge ncy land ingson lwo [ ima . It is est imated tha t as man yas 25 ,000 13-29 crewmen wo uld h av e beenlost a t sea , wer e it no t for th e ca pture anduse of Iwo [ ima.

In Februa ry 1945, a t th e beh est of H ead ­qu arters USAAF in Washington DC ,Gene ra l LeMay ord er ed th e start of day­t ime incendi ary-bomb attacks aga instlarge Japanese c it ies. T h e resu lts of th eseph osphorus bombing ra ids wer e promising.Yet 13-29 a ircrew and a ircraft lossesrem ain ed a t un acceptable levels.

T he 13-29 was a lso demonst rat ing anu mb er of ta c t ica l flaws. C lim bing to h igh

88

alt itude req uired a lot of fuel , wh ich sig­ni fican tly decreased th e bomb load. A lso ,th e 150- 300mph (250- 500km/h ) win dsin th e jet stream mad e prec ision bombard ­ment impossible at hi gh a lt itude , thoughJap anese fighters co uld inter cept B-29seven at hi gh a lt itude .

Gene ra l LeM ay wanted to put as mu chfirepowe r on target as possib le , and to doth is h e ca me up with a very co ntroversia lplan . That is, instead of hi gh -a lt itude day­t ime missions, h e ordered low-a lt itudeni ght-t ime attacks . Mor e con ten t ious ye t,to maxim ize bomb loads, h e ordered th eremo val of a ll defensive guns excep t forth e two .50-ca libre ta il-mo unted machine­guns (m ost 20mm can no n h ad a lreadybee n removed ). S ince th ese a tr acks wer ema de at low a lt itud e less fuel was required,and bomb load s incr eased .

The first low-al t itu de ni ght-time incen­d iary ra id was on 9 March 1945. Com ingin at low alt itude with th e ir bel lies full ofincend iary bombs, 334 S uperforts h itTok yo d uring the n ight. More th an 15.8squa re m iles (4 0.9sq km ) in the cent re ofTok yo was se t ab laze, dest ro yin g abouton e- fourt h of th e c ity's buildings andkil ling more tha n 80,000 people.

T h e fire-bomb ca mpa ign aga ins t Japanh ad begun and four more such attacks fo l­lowed in rapid succession. By 20 March theB-29 s had dest royed 32 squa re m iles (82.8sqkm ) of structu res in th e indu str ia l a reas ofKobe, Nagoya, O saka and Tokyo. Thesen igh t-time raid s contin ued withou t mercy,and sinc e Jap an ese a ir defences at nightwere lim ited , there were few 13-29 losses.

By th e end of th e war the B-29s h addropped 145,000 tons (13 2,000 metri cto n nes) of bombs on Jap an and dest royedabo ut 105 square m iles (27 1.9sq km) inthe centra l areas of Japan 's six most impor ­ta n t in du stri a l c it ies. This to ta l does no tinclude dozens of smaller c it ies such asToyam a, 99.5 per ce nt of which was la idwaste by fire-bo mb ing a lone.

By Jun e 1945 the four C lsl-bascd 13-29gro ups h ad joined th e 20AF in th e Mari ­ana s. Fina lly, with mor e 13-29 units co m ingfro m th e USA, the re wer e nea rly 1,000S upcrforts in the M ari anas at any give ntime. In fac t, on a single day toward th eend of th e war, as many as 62 5 S upe rforrswer e laun ched agains t Jap an . W hil e it wasin the C Bl th e 58 th Bomb Wing (VeryHeav y), XX Bomb C ommand flew a to ta lof 49 co mba t missions. W h ile in the Pacif­ic the 58 BW (V H) , 73BW (VI-l), 3 13BW(V H ), 3 14 BW (V H) and3 15 BW (VI-l),

XXI Bomb C ommand flew a tota l of 25 1combat missions.

Marianas-based B-29s a lso flew 1,528mine-laying missions in 1945, plant ingmor e than 12,000 an t i-sh ipping mines. Itis estima ted th at th ese mines sunk about800,000 tons (725,000 metric ronncs) ofenemy sh ipping .

Th e Atomic Bomb Attacks

By th e end of july 1945 j apan was th or ­ough ly beaten . However, with its 'fight to

th e death , to the last person' ph ilosophy, itrefused to surrender. Hundreds of th ou ­sands of its peop le had been killed, itsind ustr ial output was at less tha n 25 percen t of its normal capac ity, and its airforces and navy were for the most par tdestroyed. Yet it woul d not ca pitulate .

Instead , it now appeared inevit able th atan in vasion of japan wou ld have to be car­ried our. In fact, planning for such an in va­sion had been go ing on for many months.As plan s stood by j uly 1945, th e in vasionwas to begin in Nove mber 1945. No-onekn ew how long such a horrif ic ven turewou ld have lasted - many mont hs for sure ,but more th an like ly several years.

j apan 's uncomprom ising stance arguablyforced th e USA to use its fina l trump card:two ato mic bombs, respectiv ely named LittleBoy and Fat Man, on 6 and 9 A ugust 1945.T he first of these two bombs destroyed 4.7square miles ( I2.2sq km) of Hiroshima,killing more tha n 70,000 peop le. T he secondbomb destroyed about one-th ird of agasa­ki, killing anothe r 150,000 people. (The 13­29's use of the ato m bomb is fully recountedin the next chaprer.) It was the second bomb,and the threat of more to come, tha t finallyconvinced the japanese government th atresistance was futile, and on 10 A ugust thegovern ment decided it must surrender. O n 2September 1945, in Tokyo bay aboard thebatt lesh ip USS Missouri, j apan forma lly sur­rend ered. Vj -Day had arrived and WorldWar Two was finally over.

Pros and Cons

T he re are pros and cons associat ed withjust about eve ryth ing. W h ile th ere areun cou nt ed en thusiasts for the 13-29, it alsohas a number of crit ics. O ne of the se isW illiam R. 'Bi ll' C orker who offered histh ough ts in the fo llowing art icle , ' Prob lemsAffecting th e B-29 Superfortress', that he

WORLD WAR TWO

present ed to the A me rica n Institu te ofAeronaut ics and Astro na utics in 1999:

W he n you ment ion the B-29 to me it bri ngs

hack the memor y of th e two ato mic bom bs that

thi s a ircraft d ropped on Hirosh ima and agasa­

ki. A ctua lly, th e firebo mb raids on Tok yo and

o the r cit ies wer e mor e destr ucti ve but th ey d id­

n 't prov ide the punctua t ion marks that th ose

two ato mic bombs did [ 0 ge t Japan to surrende r.

W hen th e B-29 first ca me o ut, it caused qu ite a

sensatio n, with its tremendo us size, its futuristi c

appearance. Now, some fifty-seven years lat er, I

find th at th is h eavy bomb er was more of a men ­

ace to its crews than the en emy.

Boe ing's Model 345 XB-29, the pro to type for

the Supcrfort rcss, ca me into be ing at the begin ...

ning of Se pte mber in 1940 when th e company

rec eived an order to build two, th en th ree, pro ­

ro rvpcs. T hey were designed to be lon g-ran ge

bom bers, with a crew of ten, an d a maximum

range of mor e th an 5,000 mil es. T hey wo uld

also he capable of carrying bomb loads of up to

16,000Ib. To maint ain the crew's efficienc y on

these long fligh ts, they would he pressur ized and

heat ed. Self-sca ling fuel tanks, ar mour plat e and

the gun turre ts were to he factory-ins talled , and

not re trofitt ed as in the case of many of th e B­

17s and I)·24s.

T he mo st sensatio nal inno vation was the

servo- con tro lled gun tu rret used to aim tw in

fiftie s in five locat ion s, two vent ra l, two dorsal

and the tai l. The turre ts wer e ph ysica lly sepa­

ra ted from the gunners, who a imed the guns

th rough an opt ica l sigh t ing system th at was

stat e of the art for that era . It was supplied by

General Elec tric.

It was a bea ut iful, futuri stic aircraft , with its

hemispher ica l Plexiglas nose (the green house

effec t co uld put you to sleep ), slim cylind rical

bod y an d a sweeping verti cal stabilizer and rud ­

der , copied for the most part from the B-17. T he

fuselage was 99ft lon g, and it had a wingspan of

14 1ft 3in, almos t 40ft more than th e B- 17.

Empt y, it weighed in at abo ut 100,000Ib. W ith

a full load , its gross we ight was 140,0001b ­

about 20 ,00 01h ove r the or igin al est imat es.

There were 3,970 B-29s bu ilt .

Four W righ t R-3350 C yclone 18 2,200 hp rad i­

al cngines made it a powerfu l airplane . U nfortu­

natel y. the eng ine and its co mpo nents were not

fully tested before becom ing operationa l. To

meet th e weigh t specificat ions and produ cti on

deadli nes, W right allowed several major design

flaws to pass th rough . T he power plants, whic h

co nsisted of the eng ines. ca rburct to rs, super~

chargers, exha usts, fuel system, and the pro peller

governor mech an isms, all had seve re problems.

Proh lcms with in the aircraft itself soon

beca me apparent in flight -test ing. T he first

89

twent y-th ree test fligh ts were made wit h an

average dura tion of less th an an hour. The n um­

ber one XB-29 pro to type had six teen en gine

changes. T here were eve n more carburerro rs

changed, and the eng ine ex ha ust syste ms had to

und ergo modificat ions. The Ham ilton St andard

propel ler pitch mech ani sms sometimes failed to

hril lg th e prope lle r blades to a fully fea thered

posit ion when an engine was shut down . COI1#

vcrse lv, if a govern or failed d urin g fligh t, th e

pitch of the prope ller blades wou ld becom e flat

to the air stream and the engine would lose its

load. S ubseq uent ly, 'a runaway propel ler ' situa­

tion would occur, where the engine revolut ions

per min ute increa sed rapid ly. Excessive cent rifu­

gal forces wou ld cause the shedding of th e four

prope ller blades, flinging them in a ll di rect ions,

with a good cha nce of piercing th e a irframe with

terrible conseque nces. T he sudde n imba lan ces

could also rip the engine from its moun t.

Mea nw h ile , th e second XB-29 prototype

bom ber was completed and made read y for

fligh t-testi ng. In its ini t ial fligh t, a lmost im me­

d iarelv after mke -offa fire broke out in th e outer

righ t engine . Fortun at el y it was pUI out, and the

B-29 lan ded safely. A mon th and a half lat e r, an

in ner eng ine on th e left side ca ugh r fire wh ich

soon spread ro th e fuel syste m. The ext reme

heat dest royed the main wing spar. A ll of the

crew were killed , and also twen ty ot hers who

were worki ng in a nearby factory th at the

bomber fell int o .

Noth in g was go ing righ t in th e fligh t tests,

wh ich was delaying product ion . Conseque n tly,

speci al reams were assemb led to loca te the prob ­

lem s and get them fixed . Afte r a he m ic effort ,

many of th e hugs were rem oved hy redesign .

T he eng ines st ill remain ed dangerous, am I

major problem s could no t he correc ted such as

replacing the ligh tweigh t magnesium crankcase

that expanded more than the alumin ium eng ine

structure at operat ing temperature, which

placed th e magn esium und er heavy compressive

stresses. Event ua lly, it wo uld crack an d o il

wou ld begin leak out. Soon, rh e eng ine te mpe r­

ature would rise , increasing the st ress and prop ­

aga ting the cracks, wh ich increased the rat e of

o il loss un ti l a gunner in a side bliste r could sec

it strea m ing from th e eng ine . If it wasn 't sh ut

down in t ime , the pisto ns would freeze up and it

wou ld virt ually exp lode . T he fuel fro m th e rup­

lured lin es would ca tch fire, ign iti ng th e mag­

nesium, whi ch burn ed at such h igh tempera­

tures that it would dest roy th e in tegri ty of th e

win g struc ture , do o m ing th e aircraft. T h is is

what happened to the seco nd XB-29 prot otype.

S trangely, no one wanted to mod ify the

en gine by subst itu ting alum in ium fm the ligh t­

weight magn esium. In conjec ture, the reason

was pm bah ly a large inc rease in we ight , and th e

need fm a major design cha nge , causing dcl avs

in product ion . Instead , nne of th e primary tasks

gin ?1l to the side bli ster gunnerswas to watch for

nil leaks. W hen no t ified nf an n il leak . th e [l ight

eng ineer wou ld imm cdi ntel v shut down th at

eng ine. Even in the late 19 50s, wh en I was par ­

ticipat ing in cloud dissipati on experunc n ts from

the rni d-cornpa rtrnent . the re were a lways two

crcwm cm bc rs watching the eng ines th ro ugh

the side bliste rs. We d id have a noriccablc nil

lea k once , The engine was sh ut down immcdi­

ntc lv, and we ret urne d to th e base. A no ther

prob lem was th at th ere was not eno ugh n il (low­

ing upw ards tn coo l the ex ha ust valves in the

top engine cylinder. Sometimes the engine

would 'swallow a valve' meaning th at a valve

he ad would break nff from a val ve stem, and the

eng ine would have to he sh ut dow n qui ckl y

befo re it was wrecked . This kep t th e !light cng i­

nc ers on th e ir to es. Man y losses and abo rts were

ca used hI' eng ine and propell er problem s in th e

early days of its milita ry operations. To try to

reduce this there were co ntinual eng ine

changes an d ove rhau ls th at kep t the maint e­

nance crews husy aro und the cloc k.

A porti on nf the 8.8 00 hp hei ng del ive red hI'

the fou r powerful W righ t engines crept inro the

!light structure as vihrarions that evcn rua llv

loosened bo lts and rivet s, an d fittings on

hydrau lic an d fuel lines whi ch wou ld cause

leak s. It was seve re enough to ca use fuel pump s

to fail, cutt ing nff the fue l flnw to an engine.

Instr um ent s wou ld fai l. H yd raulic pu mp fai lures

wou ld affec t the land ing gea r, the !laps and the

brakes . causing rak e-off and landing acci de nt s.

In my own ex perie nce , I had a ro rurv valve

faste ne d to th e inside of mid-com part men t . aft

of the l-om b hay, th at I used for npeni ng and

closing the flo w of mon om er h yluminc gas int o

strat us c louds [rom a tank in the hnmh-hay. O n

nne !light th e valve sprang a leak from the

vihrarion nf the pressure bulkhead , le tt ing thi s

no xious gas flow into the co mpa rtme n t . I had to

wait unt il we descended from 20,000 to 10 ,000ft

hefme I cn uld npen th e hat ch tn ge t int n th e

hnmh.hay tn sh ut nff the main supply \'a"'e.

Th c two L'rcw lll em l"'crs donn ed the ir oxyge n

masks tn a \'()id inhaling th e fUllles. O,klly, they

d idn 't switc h tn 100 pe r ce nt nxyge n . Sn th ey

were still hreathi ng th e am hient ai r. W hen the

\'a"'e was replaced , the new nne also sprang a

leak. Wl' finally used a different kind nf \'a "'e.

O n annthe r !l ight , nn a twn·week sta y at

t-la lmst rom AFR, a SAC hase in Mnntana. the

hydraulic system fm th e brak es fai led . TI ll' p ilnt

had tn land th e 'plane at th e start nf the 15,000ft

nonway, re" erse pro pell ers and pou r nn th e

pnwer tn keep us frolll gn ing nff th e ot he r end .

Fnllnwed by crash trucks, we fin ally stnpped

rolling after using up abnut twn th irds nf it.

WORL D WAR TWO

There were nf ten aborts on rill' tax i str ip when

the engine ru n -ups sho wed that there were tuag'

drops (a d rop in th e vo ltage in the magn etos in

the ignition system ).

Early on , when opera t ions were from bases in

C h ina , th e supply system ov er the ' H ump'

beca me such an ac ute probl em that th e h igh

command made the dec ision to captu re the

Mari an a Island s in th e Pacific and hnm b Jap an

from th ere. Sai pa n , Ti n ian and Guam, three

clos e islands 1,500 m iles from Tokvo were

selec ted and se ized. EH'n hefme the last of the

ene my troop s were killed, th e army eng ine ers

and navy Scabces were busy building air bases.

C ap tur ing th ese three island s cos t us ove r 6 ,000

nf our men killed in act ion , hut it speed ed up the

end nf th e war.

When hom bin g opcrarions hegan, co n rinu­

nus eng ine changes and inspect ion s red uced the

to tal n umber of aircraft avai lab le for m issions

against j apan. Engines had to he co n t in ually

replaced and overhauled . Pistons, va lves , cvl in ­

ders and cran kcases had to he changed and

checked for crac ks. Even with all of th is, many

lxuul -er s had to a bo rt the ir missions.

Ab out 120 crippled bom ber s d itched in the

sea , and about hal f of th eir crews, around 600

men, were picked up hI' rescue subm ari nes that

were diverted from th eir ant i-sh ipping du tie s.

Af te r the island of lwo [ima was taken , wh ich

was mu ch close r to Japan , ov er 2,000 cr ippled

homhers evenrual lv lan ded there . Most major

missions co ns isted nf ahout 500 ho mhers. So, if

we hadn' t ta ken 11" 0 [ im a , we would have had

to replace our bomber force several t imes, based

on till' prn habili t ies nf hn w ma ny cripples might

ha ve made it hac k to the Mari an as.

G ene ra l C urt is E. LeM ay, a brill iant gene ra l

in cha rge of thi s, th e 20 th A ir Force, eve n tua l­

II' mad e th e fat eful deci sion to cha nge the the ­

ar rc hom bing tac tics from h igh -alti tud e day.

ligh t hom bing to low -alt itud e fire-bo mbing at

n ight , using new radar l-omb sigh ts. S ince th e

Japan ese had no n ight figh te rs, bom ber losses to

ene my acti on were reduced. T he Japanese c ities

burn ed like torch es with tr emendous loss of life.

Radar ho mh ing had shown itsel f to he a great

succe" . Nex t, to increase th e hom h Inads, th e

gun tu rre ts thar were no lon ger ne eded were d b ·

pen sed with .

Yet, there was no let up of hom hers lan ding at

Iwn Jima. In the hom bing nf Japan , 414 R· 29s

were lost (ah out 4,000 men) , 147 due to ene my

actinn, and 26 7 fro m ope ra t iona l losses, for a

r:Hio nf O. 55. This rat io sho ws th at for e"e ry a ir­

craft downed hI' th e ene my almost two were

Inst opera t ion all y. If we hadn' t ca ptu red Iwo

j ima, thi s ra ti n would ha\' e heen mu ch h ighe r.

T hese Insses would ha" e ordina rily bee n un ac·

ceptable, hut to win th e war the gene ra ls had to

90

becom e exped ie nt. T h ere had to be no letup in

th e bo mb ing.

Earl y on . when the B-29 becam e op erationa l

(rom bases in C h ina , there were an ex cessive

num ber of aborts. opera tional losses am i equ ip­

ment failures . The first B-29 mission in the war

was to bo mb railway yards near Ran gkok in

T h aila nd . O ut of the 112 aircraft assigned , four­

teen d idn't ge t off the ground , scvc n tv-sevc n

reached the ta rge t area hut ou lv fort y·eight

managed to drop th ei r bombs on the ta rge t. Five

B-29s were lost bec ause of equ ipme nt failures.

In th e first m ission to Tokyo. I I I B-29s rook off.

Thirteen had to abort. Two aircraft were shot

down. In a missio n to drop mines into the

mouth of a river, only e ight nut of fou rteen air­

craft made it.

M uch of th is can be blamed o n the pe ace­

t ime art irud e of refusin g to spend funds on th e

development of sma ll n um bers of rrust wo rth v

m ilita ry equipme nt . T hen t here was the

wart ime rush to fiel d in adeq uatel y deb ugged

major weap on syste ms, almos t off the dra win g

board . T hi s g'1\'e us a m ismatched airframe and

enuines , In Irying to meet specificatio ns, the

en gine design er s fai led wh en th ey tried to pus h

the sta te of the art . A co mp lete red esign was

requir ed , hut the re was a war on and th ere was

just no ti me for that. T he R-J3 50 becam e th e

nem esis of th e a irfra me. If the B-29 was dcve l­

oped befor e the war, it probab lv wou ld not

have go tte n past th e XR· 29 design at ion . The

W right engi ne would most like ly h ave bee n

rejec ted too .

I have often wondered wh y th e last ha tc he s of

B· 29s were lined up in the desert and bulldo zed .

You woul d ex pec t tha t th e tir ed on es from the

Mari anas would have been the first to go . Now,

I th ink I kno w what th e reasoning was. T he new

bombers were basica lly junk unt il they had gone

th rough the series of problem s and fixes, as the

o lder bombers did . T h ey needed better eng ine s.

but the re were no ne availab le. T herefore th ey

were decl ared as surpl us an d dest royed with a

ven ge:ll1ce .

The rema ini ng operat iona l aircraft and

eng ines were then win noweJ down to the 1l1o st

re liab le ones with th e in -the· field modi fica ·

tions. The, e were assigne d tn the new tra tegic

A ir Comma nd . As new types of ho mhe rs ca me

nff the line, th e R· 29s were re t ired. or sent to

o the r parts of the A ir Force for special !l ight

purpllses such as research and dC\'l'lllpment.

S uch is the nature of air war. Br:1\'e me n ha d

to fight with a ircraft th a t were so dan gerou s to

fly th at at tacks hI' th e enemy heca me almost a

sec nndary issue . Tn paraphrase Si r \Virb to n

C h urch ill, ' e" er in th e hi stor y of air warfare.

ha\'e so man y hra\' e a \' ia to rs, with faili ng a ir­

craft , managed to hr ing th e enemy to h is knees.'

Th e Night We BurnedTokyo Down

/31' 2ND LTC LAUDE E. SUIi FACE, USA F(REm )

I wou ld say th at one of my most memorab lemission s was th e one night on 9 March194 5 over Tokyo. Durin g our training wewere to ld th at th e B-29 was designed to flyhigh er th an any kn own enemy figh te r'planes and that very little anti-a ircraftart illery fire could accurately reach th ealtitudes th at we wou ld be bom bin g from ­35, 000- 40,000 ft .

T he first mission s we flew were at thosealtitudes with some of th e Jap figh te rsreach ing th ose alt itudes, but th ey were notvery aggressive. We did get AAA flak atthose alt itudes and we did receive somebattl e damage.

A bout th e 3rd or -lth of March , I noti cedsome very un usua l activity going on withour a irplane , whi ch was that all of its tenmachine-guns and its cannon were beingrem oved. I also noticed th at some veryunu sual types of bom bs were being stackedaround th e aircraft hard stands.

As well as I can rem em ber, briefing wasabout one o'clo ck in the afternoon as itwas to be a midnight strike, with eng inesta rt set for about four o'clo ck th at after­noon. O n' my weight and balan ce figures, Iwas to a llow for less weight because of theca nno n/gun and ammo removal. In addi­tion we'd on ly be ca rrying two gun ne rs,who were to act as scanners insteadbecause of th ese rem ovals. Of course th erem ovals allowed our 'plan e to ca rry aheavier bomb load.

T hese changes ca used a grea t deal ofconcern and worr y for all of us bombercrews, as you might imagin e, because weliterally had no idea what our target wasgo ing to be that nigh t as no infor mationhad leaked out prior to the briefin g.

After all of th e crews had gotten seatedin the br iefing room we waited for our wingcommander, C olonel Bobby Ping, to cometo th e podium and announce our target forth at n igh t. O ddly, to me an yway, th erewere newspaper report ers sitt ing up frontwith thei r ca me ras. That was someth ingnew. With everyone coming to attentionupon his entry, C olonel Ping h it th e podi ­um, rubbing h is hands toget her. T here wasdead silence. After 'A t ease' , Colonel Pin g

FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNTS

said 'Well gentlemen , our ta rget for toni ghtis Tokyo, at an altitude of 7,000ft.'

The instant Colonel Ping made th atannouncemen t the newspaper reportersjumped up and star ted taking pictu res ofus. I suppose they were trying to cap turewhat must have been shocked looks uponour faces. Sudden ly we were going to fly amission over Japan with no guns for self­defen ce and at an unheard -of, very lowalt itude. This was absolutel y incredible foran unarmed high -altitude bomber, espe­c ially one th e size and weigh t of a Super­fort, to say th e very least. This was noth ingbut suicida l, we though t.

O ur 'plane was in the th ird form ationgoing over the target and when we wereabout 50 miles from Japan , th e red reflec­tion of the burning city of Tokyo co uld beclearly seen in th e distance. As we madeland fall, out my por tside wind ow I could seeth e outl ines of what appeared to be burningbuildings. We were flying th rough th icksmoke that smelled like tarpaper, wood anda cross between burning hair and other oddsmells th at were sicken ing. There didn'tseem to be any[ap 'planes aro und but th erewas some flak bursts - way above us in mostcases. I could see th e undersides of wings inth e formation and th ey were blood red fromth e reflect ion s of fires.

Jim, our bo mbard ier, was having a prob ­lem finding a clear target to unload ourbombs, which were incend iaries as I foundout lat er. I heard him te ll our pilot th at hehad th e Emperor's palace and grounds inh is sigh t but the airplane comma nder toldh im to find an other target because th epalace was off limi ts to bombardm ent.Shortly thereafter he found a suita ble tar­get and dropped our bombs.

Ne edless to say we made a safe return toTinian , as did most of th e ot her 'planes.We did lose a few B-29s on that mission,no t kn ow ing if it was to enemy action oro the r causes such as mid-air collisions.

O n anot her mission on board PASSIO NWA GON we had our number three eng ineshot out over O ita during a bomb run and,about five minutes out of Iwo [ ima, an oilline ruptured on the number one engine .After an emergenc y landing we had to

leave her on Iwo. We were later assigned toanothe r 8 -29 (squadron nu mber48), whichwe named HERE'S LUCKY.

We later borrowed a Superfor t from th e509C G . It was one of th e S ilverplate B-29s

91

but I don 't recall which one it was. It wasreally someth ing, th ough, with its improvedR-3350-4 1 engines with a fuel-inj ecti onsystem and reversible-pitch props.

Then Master Sergeant Claude E. Surface wasa flightengineer assigned to the 20A F/3 13BWI/50513G/484BS on Tinian in the Wlestern Pacif­ic. He arrived on Tinian on 1 January 1945 ,flew his first mission on 21 January 1945 andhis thirty-fifth and last mission on 28 July 1945 .The name of his 13-29 wm PASSIO NWlAGON (squadron nwnber 42) . lr wasa 13­29-25-13A (42-63524) . He related that the 9March 1945 mission over Tokyo destroyedabout 15 squaremiles (39sqkm) of the city. Heconcluded 'Of course that wasn 't the only mis­sion over Tokyo for us. Wle hit other cities roosuch as Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokahama andmany others. I wason severalof the mining mis­sions. 1 wm still on Tinian when the A -bombswere droPIJed. In fact the 509 BG 'l)lanes werejust across the raxi stn/Jfrom our planes.'(NO T E: 13adly damaged on a mission , PAS­SION WlAGON later crashed to destructionabout 300ft short of Tinian 's runway, killingallof the crew. It had been on loan to the 509CGat the time.)

Pacific Ditching ofHOMING BIRD

BY COLONEL M ELVIN G. 'MEL' CASH,

USA F (REm )

In Febmary 1945 , Maj Gen C urtis E.LeMay; commander of the 20th A ir Force inthe Marianas, ordered a /)recision bombattack on the Nakajima Aircraft factory atOra , Japan. The raid was scheduled for ) 0February 1945 . 13 -29s from the 73rd BombWling on Saipat: and the newly arrived 313th13WI on Tinian were ordered to txuticitxi te.

1st Li Melvin G. 'Mel' Cash, aircraft com­mander of the 13-29 named HOM ING BIRD(/3-29-50-13W1, 42-24824) was scheduled to

fly on just his second mission tomainlandJaI)anwith the 3 13I3\'V. Cash was assigned to the313BWI, 505 th Bomb Grou/J, 483rd BombSquadron .

My second mission came on 10 Febru ary1945. Eigh ty-four B-29s were laun ched th atday against th e Nakajima A ircraft plant atO ra, just north ofTokyo. I was aircraft com­mand er of th e 13-29 we named HOM ING

BIRD. Major Jul ian Dendy, from C aribbeanduty with me, led th e group and CaptC armel M. Slaughte r [ r led the h igh fligh t.

Before cont in uing th is narrative, anexplanat ion of jet streams is in order.C rews had become acquainted with highwind s at alt itude whil e in training, butnothing like th ose enc ountered over Japanduring the win ter months. If you tried across-wind bomb run , the dri ft exceededbomb-sigh t ca pabilit ies, and if you came infrom downwind , you were past the targetbefore you were synch ron ized. T h e o the ralte rnative was upwind, and that day wewere at 32 ,000ft in a horren dous jet streamgoing upwind. It see med like we werebac king up when the bomb-bay doors wereopened. T his gave the AAA bat teri es t imeto reload and cont inue firing.

HO M ING BIR D got one of the roun dsthrough her righ t wing. G unne rs at firstreport ed th at we were on fire , then ca lledout th at we were losing fuel. A t about thevery same [ap figh ters sho t ou t our n umbertwo engine - it wouldn't feat her du e to lossof o il.

O ver th e target, high fligh t leader Ca ptS laugh ter and O wen O . Barnhart in an­ot he r upcrtort collided and went down .As th e format ion departed the tar get areawe were picked our as a straggler by Japfigh ters. We had reversed course afterbombs away, headed cast, seeking a loweralt itude. O ur gun ners were giving the firecon tro l system a work-out and claimedthree figh ters on the way out to C hos h iPoint , our ex it point from th e Japan esemain land . Turn ing south , we tr ied to avoidJapan 's sma ll islands.

W h ile we were over the target earlier,my co -pilot Harr v W ing suggested we headto Vladivostok to make an emergencylan d ing in Russia, but I want ed no part offlying upwind across th e cold Sea of Japan .\'(!e wou ld instead take our chanc es with anigh t d itch ing in the war mer waters of thePacific Ocean. O ur radio operato r, Jam es F.Haley, tr ied to esta blish radio contac t witha US avv submarine on sta tion, butco uld not. Ir was just as well, for it wassnowing. \,(!hen our uperfort reache d alower alt itude , it co ntrolled fairly wel lwith one engine dragging and one feat h ­ered, so our crew made plan s for th e eve n t­ful d itch ing yet to come. Radio contac twas estab lished with Tin ian and our int en ­tions were made kn own, A Super Dumbo,a 13-29 ISB-291assigned to provide ditch ­ing support was contac ted and maint ain edcourse with HOM ING BIRD. We were

WORLD WAR TWO

trying to make it to the USS Bering Strai t,a US avy vessel on stat ion south -cast ofIwo [ irn a , assigned th e task of pick ing updit ch ed 13-29 crews. A quick survey of our'29 revealed we had flak holes in the crewcompartme nt, but none of the crew h adreceived any hits. \'(!e d iscussed ejectingth e empty bomb-bay fuel ta nks to ligh tenour load, but decided aga ins t it, espec iallyif a shackle didn 't release . That wouldhave increased dra g, and besides, th e tankswou ld pro vide some flot at ion .

A t 10:15pm th at nigh t our fuel supplyhad gotten down to about five min utes,then we headed in to the wind for ourdi tching man oeuvre. It was a fairly darkn ight, and with the experience I hadga ined from nigh t submarine run s in theC aribbean Sea, 1 kn ew th ere was always ahor izon. 1 th erefore chose not to usc ourland ing light s, wh ich could blind us, ca us­ing ot her problems. \'(!e had placed ourgear ncar the ex its, gone th rough th e brief­ing as to what eac h crewma n would do,and rad iom an Haley had let out th e trail­ing ant ennae to give me surface con tac tawareness. \'(!e briefed the Super Dumboand headed down.

Sure enough, when HOM I G BIRDgot int o her final d itch ing posit ion, wecou ld see the waves, the horizon and theswells. As th e prop t ips began slicing in toI he tops of the waves, I cut power and heldon. T he '29 came to an abrupt sto p, so sud­den in fact th at my head h it th e bulletproofglass over the instrument panel and thesliding window, which 1 had opened ford itching, slammed sh ut , but not enough tosto p water from coming int o the cockpit.

It was eerie, to say the least. I re-openedthe wind ow and saw that our left wing wasstill int act ; co-pilot W ing said the right onewas, too. We th en inflat ed the life-rafts. 1took charge of the left one, Wi ng th e rightone. Bom bardier \'(!ill iam T. Tri vett e doveout of the fligh t engineer 's wind ow andtook a poundi ng from the wing due to th echo ppy sea . T he two rafts became separat­ed during the n ight. T he crew had beenun able to offload a large box of survivalgear. I wanted to re-ent er th e 'plane to getit, but th e crew on my raft ta lked me out ofit arid it was just as well, for our HO~vll j GBIRD went to the horrom of the PacificOcea n about 5:00am th e next morn ing.

Prior to ditch ing I had changed course toth e east of lwo [i ma to avoid bein g strafedin th e rafts by any [ap figh ters flying out ofIwo. As morning opened, three Superfortsfrom the squadron flew over the spo t we

92

had radioed we'd be at. We esta blished mir­ror co nt ac t with them . T he hand-cra nkedsurviva l rad io wasn 't working properly, noteven with our ta rget sh ip. th e BeringStraight. But Tin ian had to ld her C apt ofour posit ion and a US Navy PB4Y Priva­teer took up top-cover over our rafts andstayed until about 4:00pm th at even ing.

A lthough our mishap had occurred just75 miles off Tin ian, I wanted to be pre­pared for the worst and had set up ourrations for a fourt een -day wait. A fter all,we were in enemy waters and we co uldn 'ttake anyth ing for gran ted ,

Earl ier in the day, wh ile sitt ing rhere inrhar raft with the sun blazing down on us,I made a vow to myself: If I get out of thi s,I'm going to live the best life I ca n for aslong as I can.

T he Bering Straight ca me up on the hor i­zon aro und 5:00pm and th e crew was pipedaboa rd. Here we found th at two ot he rcrews from th e group had di tch ed as wel l.Lieut en ant Lowry of th e 4 4BS also had abad ly shot -up upcrforr , He used landingligh ts and had h it a big swell rath er than atrough . His 'plane broke int o three sec­tions. T he nose sank immediately and theother two sections filled up with waterrap idly th ereafter. Lieuten an t Jack Hallo­ran . also of the 484 BS. had bett er luck. Hefound th e Bering Straight and circ led ittwice with his landing ligh ts on . The sh ipgave hi m a heading, turned on its ligh ts.Jack had about the same experienc e as Ihad when th e "planc came to a stop. Hisside window also slammed shut and hiscrew ex perience d about the same problemsas mine had wh ile evacuating th e 'plane.

O ur crew was given some hot soup andput to bed . T he next day I met the sh ip'sC apt, Walter Deane Inn is, who lat erbecame a Rear Admiral. It too k us ano rh ­cr five days to make our trip back to Tin ­ian - slow, but a whole lor better thandoing it in a life-rafr.

Afte r we had retu rned to Tin ian \ \ 'C

found out the ex tent of the losses from the10 February raid, O f the eighty-four 3 13BWB-29s launch ed th at day, twent y-one didnot retu rn . \,(!h ile the crew was being re-fit­red, we spcnt the time going around to theothe r un its in the 3 13B\'(! explain ing howto dit ch a '29 , since ours had been th e mostsuccessful so far. My crew made recomm cn ­dnrions th at were later incorporated in th eaircraft structure, amclv, sho ulde r har­nesses for the pilots and braces for th ebomb-bay bulkhead doors to keep water outof th e crew compartment on ditchi ng.

Ernie Pyle was highly respected for the brave work he did in the Pacific War. Thecrew of this unidentified B-29showed their high regard for this legendary man bynaming their plane ERNIE PYlE'S MILKWAGON. Stan Piet

About a mon th lat er I was issued a new8 -29, wh ich I kept unti l A ugust , t rad ing itin for a new one with improved rad ar andfuel -inj ec ted eng ines.

Mel Cash served 33Y1 )'ears III the USA F,retiring as a Colonel.

Pilots Ado re Cra mped 8-29

13YEliN EST PYLE - IN THE i'v I A I<1 AN A

ISLANDS, EARLY 1945

Ernest T. 'Em ie' Pyle was bov» on 3 August1900 in Dana , Indiana, and became a farned\'(!orldWar Two conesl)()ndent who wm killedb)' ja/Janese gunfire on 18 A /Jril 1945. Hewrote mIHlCrollS com/Jassionate columns ooout\'(!orld \'(Iar Two airmen, sailors and sok!iersand was a highly tespectea journalist. He wasso revered, in fact, that a B-29-80-BW (44­70118) wm named TH E EI~NIE PYLE bythe Boeing Air/Jwne C omjxmy in his honour./-lis 13-29 sror)' is m follows;

T he 8 -29 is un questi onably a wonderfulaeroplane. O uts ide of the famo us o ld Dou ­glas DC -3 wor khorse, I've never heardpilo ts so un animou s in th ei r pra ise of <I naeroplane.

I took my first ride in one the other day.No, I didn 't go on a mission to Japan . \X!e'vebeen th ro ugh all th at before. I don't bel ievein peop le going on missions unl ess theyhave to. And as before , the pilots here allagreed with me; but I went along on a littlepract ice bomb ing tri p of an hour an d a half.T he pilot was Major Gera ld Robin son.

I sa t on a box between the pilo ts, bothon the ta ke-off and for the land ing, and asm uch as I've flow n , that was st ill a thrill.T hese islan ds are relat ively sma ll, an dyou're no soo ner off the gro und thanyou're out o ver water, and th at feel s fun n y.

If the air is a littl e rough , it gives you ave ry odd sensat io n sitt ing way up th er e inthe nose. For the 8 -29 is so hig tha t ,ins tead of bump ing o r dropping, th e nosehas a 'willo wy' mot ion , sor t of like sit t ingout on the ' end of a gree n limb when it 'ssway ing arou nd.

T he 8 -29 carries a crew of eleven. Someof them sit up in the coc kp it and the co m­pa rt ment just beh ind it. Some othe rs sit ina compart men t near the mil. T he rai l-gun ­ner sits a ll a lone , way back the re in thelonel y ta iI tur ret. .

T he bod y of the 8 -29 is so tak en upwith gas ran ks and bo mb racks tha t th er e 's

WOR LD WA R T WO

normally no way to ge t fro m front to rearcompa rt men ts. So th e manufacturer sso lved tha t by building a tun nel in to th e'plane, right a long the rooftop .

The tunnel is round, just big eno ugh tocrawl in on your hands and kn ees, and ispadded with blue clo th . Ir's some 30ft long,and crew members crawl back and forththrough it a ll th e ti me . Major Russ C heev­er reported that he accomp lished th eimp ossible the other day by turn ing aroundin th e tunnel. O n missions some of th ecrew go back in th e tun nel and sleep for anhour or so, bu t a lot of them can 't stand todo th at. T hey say they get cla ustro phobia.

T here used to be some sleeping bunks onthe 13-29, but they've been taken out, andnow th ere's hardly even roo m to lie down onth e fl oor, A fellow does get sleepy on a four­teen-hour mission . Most of the pilot s takenaps in their seat s. O ne pi lot I know turn edth e 'plane over to h is co-pilo t and wen t hackto th e tunnel for 'a littl e na p' and d idn 'tre turn for six hours, just before they hi t thecoast of Japan. T hey laugh ingly say he goesto sleep before he gets the wheels up.

T he 13-29 is a very sta ble plane andhard ly anybody eve r ge ts sick even inro ugh weath er. T he boys smoke in th eplan e, and the mess hall gives them all asmall lunch of sandwiches, oranges andco ok ies to ca t o n th e way. O n mission daysall flving crewme n , even those not go ingon th e mission , ge t a ll the fried eggs th ey

want for break fast . T ha t's the on ly dayth ey have fried eggs.

T he crewmen wear th eir regular clo the son a mission, usually covera lls. They don'tlike to wear heavy Ilcccc-Iined clothes andall th at hulky gear, because th e co mpart ­ments ar c hea ted . They do slip on th eirheavy steel 'Oak vests' as th ey ap proachth e target. T hey don 't have to wear ox ygenmasks except wh en they're over the targe t ,for the cab in is sealed and 'pressur ized' ­sim ulat ing constant a lt itude of 8,OOOft.

O nce in a great wh ile one of the Plex i­glas 'blisters' wh ere the gun ne rs sit willblow out from the st rong pressure inside,and then everybody bet ter grab his ox ygenmask in a h urr y. T he crew always wear theoxygen mask ov er the ta rge t , fo r a shel lth rou gh the 'p lane 'depressur izes' the com­partments instan tly, and th ey'd pass out.

T he boys spea k frequen tl y of th e un be­lievable hi gh wind s th ey h it a t hi gh a lt i­tudes ove r Japan . It 's noth ing unusual tohave a 150mph wind, and my nephew,Jack Bales, sa id that one day hi s 'plane hi ta wind of 250 m ph .

A not he r th ing that puzzles and amusesth e boys is th a t often they' ll pick up newson th eir rad ios, when st ill on ly halfwayhome, that th eir bombing mission has beenannounced in \X!ash ingto n . T h us the ent ireworld kn ows about it, bu t they've st ill got ath ousand miles of ocean to cro ss before it'sfin ished . Sc ience, she is wonderful.

93

WOR LD WAR TWO

B-29Units in World WarTwo

20th AirForce, XXIBomb Command58th Bomb Wing40Bomb Group: 25,44, 45and395Bomb Squadrons[Ihe 40BGtrainedat Pratt AAF, kansas]444Bomb Group: 676, 677. 678 and 679 Bomb SquadronsIThe444BGtrainedat Great Bend AAF, Kansas.l462 BombGroup: 768, 769, 770 and771Bomb Squadrons(The462BGtrainedatWalker AAF, Kansas.)468 Bomb Group: 792,793, 794 and795Bomb Squadrons(The468BGtrainedat Smoky HillAAF, nearSalina, kansas]472 BombGroup: 808, 809, 810 and811 Bomb Squadrons(The472BG trainedat SmokyHill AAF, near Salina, Kansas.]

NOTES

Iii Whenbased in Indiaand China the40, 444, 462and468 BombGroupswere under

the commandof XXBomberCommand.

Iii)The472BGremainedat SmokyHill AAF asOperational Training Unit. aspart of

2AFTraining Command.

73rd Bomb Wing497 Bomb Group: 869, 870 and 871 Bomb Squadrons(The497BGtrained at Pratt AAF)498 Bomb Group: 873, 874and 875Bomb Squadrons(The498BG trained at Great BendAAFI499 Bomb Group: 877. 878and 879 Bomb Squadrons(The499BG trained at Smoky Hill AAF)500 Bomb Group:881 ,882 and 883 Bomb Squadrons(The 500BG trained atWalker AAFI

373 Bomb Wing6 Bomb Group: 24, 39and40 Bomb SquadronsIThe 6BG trained at GrandIsland AAF, Nebraska.)9 Bomb Group: 1,5and99Bomb Squadrons(The 9BG trainedat McCook AAF, Nebraska]504 Bomb Group: 398, 421 and680 BombSquadrons(The 504BG trainedat Fairmont AAF, Nebraska.]505Bomb Group: 482, 483and 484 BombSquadrons(The 505BG trainedat Harvard AAF, Nebraska.]509CG: 393 BombSquadron(The 509CG trainedat Wendover AAF. Utah.]

374 Bomb Wing19Bomb Group: 28,30 and93Bomb SquadronsIThe19BG trainedat Great BendAAF, Kansas.]29 Bomb Group: 6,43and52 Bomb Squadrons(The29BG trained at Pratt AAF)39 Bomb Group: 60, 61 ,62and402 Bomb Squadrons(402BS wasreassigned to502BG on 6/1/451(The39BG trained atSmokyHill AAFI330 Bomb Group:457, 458 and 459 Bomb Squadrons(The 330BG trained atWalker AAF.I

375Bomb Wing16Bomb Group: 15, 16and 17Bomb Squadrons(The16BG trained at Fa irmontAAF)331Bomb Group: 355,356 and 357 Bomb Squadrons(The 331 BG trained at McCookAAFI501Bomb Group: 21, 41 and405 Bomb Squadrons(The501 BG trained at Harvard AAF)502 BombGroup: 402,411 and 430 Bomb Squadrons(The 502BG trained atPrall AAF.)

Other Units3rd ReconnaissanceSquadron (F-1 3AIXXI BC, 20AF. 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron ISB-29 SuperDurnbo]XXI BC, 20AF, 41 st Photographic Reconnaissance IF-13AI

8thAir Force, XXBomb Command376 Bomb Wing333 BombGroup: 435, 460 and 507 Bomb Squadrons346 BombGroup: 461, 462 and463 Bomb Squadrons(The316BWwas based on Okinawa late in thewarwith the reactivated XX BomberCommand, 8th Air Forceandits two bombgroups neversaw action asunits;however, some lead personneldid seeactionwith the313BW and58BW onIi nian.l

Other Units383 Bomb GroupThe383BG(540, 541,880 and 884 Bomb Squadrons) trained at Walker AAFfrom6/14to8/11/45. VJ-Daycame about beforethe unit coulddeploy to thePacific.

458BombGroupThe458BGwasto trainat Walker AAF VJ-Daycame about beforethe458BGcou ldbegin training.The458BG wasdisestablished beforeany squadronswereassigned to it.

B-29 Bases in World WarTwo

Bomb Group

6BG9BG16BG19BG29BG39BG40BG330BG331 BG444BG462BG

Combat Besets}

Tinian(North FieldlTinian(North FieldlGuam(Northwest Field]Guam(NorthField)Guam (NorthField)Guam (North Field)Hsinching,ChinaandTinian(West Field)Guam (North Field)Guam (North Field)Hwangchan,China and Tinian(West Field)Based at Piardoba, India with advanced base of operations atKiunglai, China, thenTinian(West Field)

94

BombGroup

468BG472BG

497BG498BG499BG500BG501BG502BG504BG505BG509CG

Combat Besets)

Pengshan, China andTinian(West FieldlSmokyAAF, Kansas(MidwesternUnitedStates]; B-29pilot trainingand transitionand B-29 crew training operationsSaipanIIsley FieldlSaipanIIsleyFieldlSaipanIIsleyField)SaipanIIsleyField)Guam (Northwest FieldlGuam (Northwest Fieldl rTinian (North Fie ld)Tinian(NorthField)Tinian (NorthField)

6BG - Circle R9BG - Circle X16BG - Diamond B19BG- BlackSquare M29BG- BlackSquare039BG- BlackSquareP40BG- TriangleS330BG- BlackSquare K331BG - Diamond L444BG - Triangle N462BG - Triangle U468BG - Triangle I497BG - A Square.thenA498BG - TSquare. then T499BG - VSquare. theV500BG- ZSquare. then Z501 BG - Diamond Y502BG- dark blue Diamond H504BG- Circle E. then ETriangle505BG- CircleW. thenKTriangle509CG- Circle Rand Arrowhead inCircle

WORL D WA R T WO

Tail Codes

ABOVE: 314BW, 19BG B-29(42-93??71smokesto a halt during anemergency landing on Guam with the numberfour engine on fire. Peter M. Bowers

BELOW lEfT. A gaggleof 314BW, 29BGB-29s head toward Japan fromtheir base on Guam. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: T Square5411ater T 541 asseenfrom another73BW, 498BG Superfort.Stan Piet

urn 'Look Ma, no rudder!' This B-29ofthe 313BW, 504BG and24BS madeitback to its North Field,Tinian basedespite the severeflak damage to itsvertical stabilizer. Peter M. Bowers

continued overleaf

95

WORLD WA R TW O

Ta il Codes continued

ABOVE: ENOLA GAY performsan engine run-up in August1945. USAF

BOTTOM: A 501BG B-29. AW. George via David W. Menard

BELOW: A B-29A-50-BN (44-61818) of the 313BW, 9BG. David W.Menard

BELOW MIDOLE: 509CG Silverplate B-295 wi th ENOLA GAY in the forefront. USAF

LEFT: ROUNO-TRIP TICKET, also known as BLACKIEl, was a B-29-5-BW(42-6262) with 24'Hump' and nine bombmissions at the time of this freeze­frame. It is shown here wi th its crew from the 444BG, 678BS. Peter M. Bowers

/-~~r-• .

I . 'bl;" ' l / } o \'NoT ~if:J T'" 0 : • - \ \.0 '-' _ ICK~.,..

~

96

BELOW: ENOLA GAYwas commanded by Robert A.Lewis but it was flown by 509CG commander PaulW. Tibbets on the Hiroshima mission, 6 August 1945.RobertKra use/509BWAssociation via Stan Piet

BELOW RIGHT: BOCKSCAR was commanded byFrederick C. Bock, but it was flown by Charles W.Sweeney on the Nagasaki mission, 9 August 1945.

Stan Piet

BOTTOM: ENOLA GAYawaits disposition atOavis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. This historicmachine eventually became part of the vastcollection of National Air and Space Museumaircraft and spacecraft. Schirmer Collection viaStan Piet

LEFT: A rare colour image of XB-29 number three(41-18335)during its first test flight on 29 May

1943. Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: Two early B-29-BWs shared the skies over

Kansas in the summer of 1943. Peter M. Bowers

LEfT.Close-up view of the 509BG (formerly CG, later BW)emblem. Schirmer Collection via Stan Piet (BELOW: A shiny new B-29 is about to be loaded with forty 500lbgeneral purpose high-explosive bombs. Stan Piet !

BOTrOM: DINA MIGHT. a B-29-25-MO (42-65280) of the 313BW,504BG, 29BS was shot down on26June 1945, on her twenty-fifthmission, by a Kawasaki Ki-61 Hein fighter. Seven of hercrewmemberssurvived. Stan Piet

/

I

RIGHT. AYB-29and B-17 flytogethertoshow the vast differences in their respec­tive configurations. Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: The GREAT ARTISTE (B-29-40-MO.44-27353) was one of the fifteenoperational Silverplate B-29s flown bythe 393BS. 509CG. David W.Menard

ABOVE: Atow-motor moves B-29-95-BW 45-21766 to its place on the flight line.Peter M. Bowers

LEFt: On 9 August1945 the 'Fat Man' atomic bombwas dropped on Nagasaki byBOCKSCAR. Richard H. Campbell

BOTTOM RIGHT: 98BG B-29s in close formation.

David W. Menard

BELOW LEFT: THUMPER, a B-29-40-BW (42-24623) of

the 73BW, 870BS. Stan Piet

BOTTOM LEFT: 98BG B-29s in close formation, theaircraft in the background being a B-29-55-MO

(44-86400). DavidW. Menard

BELOW: An unidentified B-29, the numbers 3524 beingthe last four numbers of its USAAF serial number,

was T-52 of 73BW, 498BG. Stan Piet

The Circle X and white cowls of the B-29s in this

formation means they were from the 313BW, 9BG.

Stan Piet

'.

ABOVE: A 19BG B-29 at rest in Korea. The black underside

camouflage treatment was applied for night-time bombardmentduties. Peter M. Bowers .

lEFr. A couple of nose artists applving their talents to anunidentified B-29. David W. Menard

BELOW: LADY MARY ANNA, a B-29-40-BW (42-24625) of the73BW, 498BG is about to get a new R-3350engine . This B-29

served with both the 874 and 875 Bomb Squadrons of the 498BG.Stan Piet

RIGHl: A B-29-40-MO (44-27341) named DREAMERof

the 315BW, 98BG,343BS in the Korean War.

Max Nelson

BElOW: A B-29-25-MO (42-65306) of the 19BG in

Korea named THE OUTLAW. David W.Menard

ABOVE: A good view of an SB-29 taxiing. SB-29Super Dumbo aircraft were welcome sights for

crewmembers that had been forced to ditch at sea,

especially after they dropped their A-3 lifeboat in

which these crewmen could survive until theywere rescued. Stan Piet

LEFT: B-29-36-MO SOME PUNKINSN-84 (44-27296)of

the 509CG was commanded by James N. Price.

Robert Krause/509BW Association via Stan Piet

ABOVE: Ahose-type KB-29M (44-69710) tanker as itappeared in October1952. David W. Menard

BELOW: Some ofthe derelict B-29s that were parked at ChinaLake.California. Twoofthem (out of view).DOC and FIFI. were salvaged. rebuilt and made to flyagain. AFFTC/HD via Raymond L.Puffer

BELOW: The B-29-70-BW(44-69972) named DOC being restored in theBoeing-Wichita factory. Afterrestoration in 2003 it became onlythesecond airworthy B-29 in the world. Boeing

RIGHT: A lovelyview of a B-29 banking to the right.SIan Piel

RIGHr. FIFI of the Confederate Air Force(CAF) was the first and only flying B-29inthe world until the adventof DOC, whichwas scheduled to take wing in 2003.Boeing Media

BELOW: A SAC VB-29, formerly aB-29-90-BW (44-87755), servedasa VIPtransport in the early 1950s.DavidW. Menard

BELOW RIGHr. T SQUARE 54(formerly T-54)belongedto the 73BW, 498B6. It is nowa restored, but non-flying, B-29-60-BW(44-69729) on permanentdisplay at theMuseumof Flight in Seattle,Washington.Stan Piet

BOTTOM: A USAir ForceReserves (AFRES)B-50B (47-162). TheB-50was the ultimateoutgrowth of the B-29and, in fact, almostbegan life as the B-29D. Stan Piet

CHAPTERSIX

Silverplate

The world's first atomic bomb was simply referred to as the 'gadget' . It resembledsomething more like an elec trician's nightmare than a complicated housing for adevice of mass destruction. USAF

On 6 and 9 Aug ust 1945 two Si lverpl areB-29s became the world's first atomicbombers when they obliterated two citiesin japan and killed hundreds of thousandsof its people. T he japanese cit ies ofH irosh ima and Nagasaki were laid wasteby special-purpose B-29s carrying ato micbombs named, respec tively, Little Boy andFat Man. For America it was a lon g-over­due payback for japan's 7 December 194 1sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Forthe peoples of those two cit ies in japan itwas overkill in the truest sense of thatword, and hell on earth.

Six years earlier, on 2 August 1939, Pro­fessor Albert Einstein had drafted a letterfor Presiden t Franklin D. Roosevelt. Pro­fessor Einstein gave the letter to DrA lexander Sachs to hand deli ver to Presi­dent Roosevel t. Dr Sach s was not able tosee Roosevelt until 11 October 1939 , how­eve r, at which time he delivered the Ein­ste in letter and discussed the import ance ofits con ten ts; it was more th an int eresting.

In part, Professor Einstein wrot e th atthe elem ent uranium could be turned intoa new and important source of energy inth e immediate future . He added that thi snew ph en omenon would most likely leadto th e construction of bombs of a new andextremely powerful type , but that th eymight be too heavy for transportation byair. His lett er to Roosevelt caused a cha inreaction that wou ld ch ange th e world asmankind had known it. Sudde nly theUS A had the possible mean s to create anew power source and a weapon of massdest ruct ion.

The Manhattan Projectand Silverplate

Prior to A merica's ent ry int o World WarTwo the crea tion of such a weapon wasnot a major priority. But this all cha ngedafter j apan 's atta ck on Pearl Harbor. Inmid-December 194 1 President Rooseveltappo int ed a committee to determine if theUSA cou ld con struct a nuclear weapon.

Six months later th e committee gave thePresident its report, recommending a fast­paced programme that might produce sucha weapon by j uly 1944. T he Presidentaccepted the committee's recommenda­t ions and th e effort was turned ove r to theUS War Depa rtment. In September 1942the War Departmen t assigned the task ofdevelop ing a nucl ear weapo n to the USA rmy Corps of Engineers. T h is effort wascode -named th e Manhattan Project.

Development of what was on ly referredto as the 'gadget' proceeded quite rapidly,but there were numerous prob lems andsetbacks. But in mid-july 1945 th e 'gadget'was ready to be tested at th e Trinity proj ectsite located in the north-west secto r of th eA lamogordo Bombing Range in south­central New Mexico. At 5:30am on 16 july

1945 th e 'gadget ' detonated atop a 100ft­high tower. Its nuclear yield was equal toth e energy released by detonating 19 kilo­tons of TNT.

Long before the spectacular Trinity pro ­ject atomic bomb test too k place it hadalready been decided that the Boeing B-29Superfortress would deliv er ato mic bombsagainst the Axis powers. By the time theatom bombs were ready for use VE-Dayhad come and gone, and japan aloneremained to be beaten. Yet it remained aformidabl e foe and so work continued onthe world 's first ato mic bombers - th e Sil­verplate B-29s.

As part of th e high ly classified Manhat­tan Project, the USAAF was instru cted byth e US War Department to secretly mod­ify a B-29 to become a protot ype aerial

97

---t

SII.VERI'I.ATE

TRINITY TEST SITE1945

Con to",' II) te rvil l in f~~(

o 20<--'-7:7.';=;;-- - _......J

98

LEFT. The Trinity test site.

BELOW LEFT. The Trinity test-site blast at 5:30amon16July 1945. Sometimes a picture truly is 'wortha thousand words'. USAF

platform to ca rry a 'spec ia l wea pon ' ca lledThin Man, wh ich measur ed so me 17ft(5 .18m) in length . This B-29 mod ificat ionprogramme was code name d PlI llm anunder Sec ret Proj ec t MX -469 (M X mean ­ing, Mat eri e l, Experime nta l) . A Boeing­W ichi ta-bui lt B-29-5-BW (42-6259 , th efifth of fifty B-29 -5-BW s) was selec ted forth e modi ficat ion program me. T h is a irc raftwas in it iall y delivered to th e 58 th BW,468 th BG at S moky H ill AA F near Tope­ka, Kansas, on 30 N ovem be r 194 3. It wasrcd cl iver cd to \Vrigh t A A F in Da yton ,O h io , for th e modi fications in earlyDece mbe r 1943, and by 1 Februar y 1944th e modi ficat ions were co mple te.

T h e a lte rat ions to th e S ilve rpla tc pro to ­type were des igne d to accom mo da te th eThi n Man ato m ic bomb. T he bomb-baydoors were removed from the tw o bomb­bays and the sta nda rd bo mb racks werere moved. T he rada r rad oru c was removedfro m th e area be tween th e bomb-bays andtwo new, long bomb-bay doors wer ein sta lled , whi ch covered th e n ew sing lebomb-bay. To rran spo rt rh e bo mb, two

glide r row cable a ttach -and- rele ase mech­an isms were modi fied and in sta lled in th ebomb-bay; th ese co n nec te d to th e twoarrachrnc nr lugs of th e T hin Man bomb.

T h e first T hin Man drop tests were co n ­duct ed ;J [ Muro c A rmy A ir Field (nowEdwards A ir Force Base ) in th e MojaveDesert of Californ ia in February and March1944 . In one of the drop tes ts th e bomb-baydoor s suffered heavy da mage and th e pro­rotypc retu rned to \Vrigh t Field for rep a irsand furt he r modificat ions. New bomb-baydoors and three new electri c moto rs wereinsta lled. Ad d it iona lly, the ho mb releasemechan isms were modi fied to el iminat efurther bomb -release problems.

The second set of Thin Man test drops atMuroc was hel d in June 1944. T hese dropswere a lmos t complete when the Manhat tanProject sc icn rists, at their Los Alamos ce n ­tre , det e rm ined th at plut oni um wou ld notwork in a gun -type (cy lindrica lly sha ped)bo mb. T h e pro blem was pre-d etonat iond ue to th e in abilit y to achieve suffic ien tve loc ity of a pluton ium pro jec t ile in agun tub e . T h e refor e, th e T hin M an bom b

SII.VERI'l.ATE

ABOVE:The single Silv erplat e B-29 prototypewa s formerly a B-29-5-BW (42-6259). one of fiftyproduced . It w as assigned Secret Project NumberMX-469 and given the code name Putlmen. It isshow n at Muroc army air field (now Edwards Ai rForce Basel. some time in mid-1944. Richard H.Campbell

LEFT: The Thill Mall atomic bomb shape being test ­fined in the extensively modified bomb-bay of theSilverplate B-29 prototype in January 1944. Underthe guidance of aircraft commander Major Clyde S.Shields and bombardier Captain David Semple.Thill Mall shape drop-tests at Muroc AAF werecarr ied out in February and March 1944.Richard H. Campbell

BELOW: The actual LittleBoybomb just prior tobeing loaded in ENOLA GAY. Both LittleBoyand FatMall were carr ied in the forward bomb-bay of theirmother ship s; reportedly. their near 10.0001b we ightdemanded long take-oil rolls and almost level -pitchlift-oils after rotation. causing lengthy climb-outs.Richard H. Campbell

was aba ndo ned, an d instead an alte rnat ivegun -type bo mb known as Little Boy wou ldtak e its place , wh ich used uran ium as th eac tive ma terial. A second alte rna tive wasa pluto n ium device ca lled Fat Mall.

To acco mmodate the pro jected 10,0001b(4,500 kg) we igh t of the lillie J30)' and FmMan bom bs, the glider tow cable attac h­and- rele ase mech an isms were rep laced withthe Brit ish Type F bomb release and Type Gbom h att achmen t systems. A nd since th eLittle Boy and Fa: Mall homhs were some 7ft(2. 1rn ) shorter th an th e Thin Mall bomb,the production S ilverplate B-29s ret ainedthe ir or iginal du al bomb-hay arra ngeme nt ,but with th ese mod ified bomb at tachme nts,racks and release mech anisms.

Bo mb drop tests with the Little Boyand Fat Mall shapes began in September1944 and co nti n ued t h ro ugh lat e 1944.

... ..

99

------

U nfortunat ely, at thi s t irnc th e prot otypeilverplate R-29 was da maged in a land ing

acc ident at Wen dover AAF.The code -na me Silvcr!Jlatc was selec ted

by the USAA F for the prior ity assigned tothe cffort to equip, organize, train and uscth e Superfort's capab ility to car ry and dropth e atom bom bs. T hc Martin-bu ilt Super­forts involved became known as th e Silver­plate R-29s simply beca use of the prioritycode-na me. They were modifi ed on th eMartin-Omaha production line and the nput into service with neither armour platingnor th e upper and lower gun turret . There­fore, the three gun-sigh ting sta tions andtheir respecti ve blisters were removed:instead, th ese ope n ings were filled with cir­cular aluminium fairings. So th at some self­defence was reta ined at the rear, the rail rur­rcts were not removed. A nother importan tmodification was rhe insta llat ion of much­improved fuel-inj ect ed W right R-3350-4 Iengines, wh ich had higher performan ceand were more reliable with better coo ling.Moreover, new C urt iss-Electric propellersfea turing rever ible pitch were installed toenhance brak ing capability on landing.

The prim ary reason why th e SilverplarcB-29s were stripped of their upper and lower

SILVERI'LATE

ABOVE: The assembled Fat Manbomb on Tini an Island just pr ior to being loaded on BOCKSCAR.

Ri chard H.Campbell

lEIT. A Little Boy tes t shape in th e bomb-bay of the Si lverpl ate B-29 prototype. Richard H. Campbell

The name ENOLA GAY was the only nose art appli ed to any of the fiheen Si lverplate

B-29s tha t were on Tini an Island prior to 6 August 1945. It was a B-29-45-MO (44-86292).

Richard H. Campbell

100

Vic tDr Number V-82 was the radio call -sign tor

ENOLA GAYand its crew was assigned thedesi gnatinn 8-9; Hobert A. Lew is was the aircraft

commander, USAF

BELOW: ENOLA GAY in its Hiroshima markings.

PeterM. Bowers

BOTTOM: ENOLA GAY back at it s NDrth Field base

on Tinian Iollnwinq the miss ion . Peter M. Bowers

SILVERPLATE

70 7

SILVERI'LATE

ABOVE: ENOLAGAYawaits her final disposition aftershe w as taken out of service. Schirmer via StanPiet

LEFT: The twelve-man ENOLAGAYcrew that bombedHi roshima on 6 August 1945. Shown left-to-ri ghtin the bottom row are: elect ronic counterm easurestechnic ian Jacob Beser, we apon test officer MorrisJeppson. navigator Dutc h Van Kirk, bombardier TomFerebee. w eapon officer Willi am 'Deak' Parsons,ai rcraft commander Paul TIbbets and co-pi lotRobert Lewi s. Standing left-to-right in the back roware: assistant flight engineer Robert Shumard, radiooperator Rich ard Nelso n, radar operator Jo sephStiborik, fl ight engine er Wyatt Duzenbury and tail ­gunner George Caron. Richard H. Campbell

gun turrets, the Central Fire Cont rol system,the th ree gunne r posit ions and th e sightingblisters was that at th e beginn ing of the Sil­vcrp lare programme rio-one knew exactlyhow much th e atom bombs would weigh . Itwas (cared tha t these weapon s might weighas much as 2S,OOOlb ( I I ,OOOkg) or eve nmore. So to be on the safe side Silverplareeng ineers opted to make these 1)-29s as ligh tas possible. Mor eove r, (or delivery of th eatom bombs, these 1)-29s wou ld have to flyat their maximum alt itude and best possible

speed. Thus, to elimina te the parasit ic dragcreated by the gun tur rets and blisters, theywere rem oved. Finally, the ligh ter weight ofthese 13-29s allowed for higher-altitu deoperat ion and somewhat h igher speed. As itturned ou t, the ato m bombs we ighed in theneighbour hood of lO,OOOlb (4,SOOkg) andwere ca rried exclusively in th e front bomb­bay, wh ich made the Silvcrplarc 1)-29s nose­heavy. In (act, in practice with Little I30y andFat Man loaded on ENOLA GAY andI)O CKSC A R (the 1)-29s th at actua lly

102

dropped the atom bombs o n , respect ively,H irosh ima and Nagasak i), extra weight wasmoved to the aft pressurized compartmentto help alleviate th is pro blem - crcwmc m­hers included!

As previously ment ion ed the T hin M anwas no t develop ed beyond early drop testsa t Mu roc AA F using the prototype S ilver­plat e 13-29 . Thus th e S ilvc rp larc 1)-29swou ld instead be co nfigured to car ry theFat Man and Little I30)' atomic weapons,wh ich arc d iscussed below.

BOCKSCAR nose art was not applied until afterher atom bomb mission on 9 August 1945. It wasa B-29-36-MO (44-27297) with call sign VictorNumber V-77;Frederick C. Bock was the aircraftcommander. Richard H. Campbell

BELOW: The thirteen-man BOCKSCARcrew thatbombed Nagasaki on 9 August 1945.Shownleft-to-right in the bottom row are: weapon testoff icer Philip Barnes. electronic countermeasurestechnician Jacob Beser. co-pilot Fred Illivi,bombardier Kermit Beahan . pilot Don Albury.navigator James Van Pelt . aircraft commanderCharles Sweeney and weapon officer FredAshw orth. Standing left-to -right in the back roware: flight engi neer John Kuharek. radio operatorAbe Spitzer. assistant flight engineer Ray Gall agher.radar operator Ed Buckley and tail-gunner AIDehart. Richard H. Campbell

SILVERI'LATE

G roup (CG) . C olonel Paul W. llbbets Jrwas appo int ed commander of th e 509 th Gand on ly he knew the actual mission of th e393 rd BS. He had earlier selected WendoverAA F in U tah for train ing because of its iso­lation, the need for security and th e wideopen spaces available th ere for training.

In May 1945 the 509CG , 393 8S leftWendover, flying to Tinian in th e Marian aIslands ro start bombing training sor tieswh ile awaiting spec ial wea pon del iver iesfrom the USA via Douglas C -54 transporta ircraft and a US Na vy cruiser - th e USSIndiana/Jolis. So me add itional atom bombco mpone nts were ferried to Tin ian onsome of th e last S ilvcrplatc B-29s to arriveth ere .

W h ile th e 509CG wait ed for its spec ialdel iver ies it part ic ipat ed in fifty-one con ­vent iona l bombing sort ies using so-ca lled'pumpkin' bombs. T hese were Fat Manshapes filled with 6,3001b (2,900kg) of h ighexplosives. T he pum pkin bom bs weighedabout IO,OOOlb (4,SOOkg) each. These mis­sions were flown with th irteen Silve rplateB-29s, as fo llows:

The Bombers are PreparedO n I I March 1944 the 393rd BombSquadron (Very Heavy) was act ivat ed as anelement of the 504t h Bomb G roup (VeryHeavy), 2nd A ir Force at Dalhart, Texas.A fter activation th e 5048G (Vl-I) and itsbom b squadrons started training operations

at Fairmont A AF in ebraska. In Se ptem­ber 1944 the 393 BS (V l-I) was det achedfrom th e 504BG (VJ-I ) and moved to Wen­dover A A F, U tah. T he first S ilvcrplatc 8 ­29s were assigned to the 393BS at Wen­dover in O ctober 1944. T hen on 17December 1944 the 393 BS was assigned to

th e newly ac tivated 509t h C omposite

103

20/7/45 four mission s, ten sort ies(on e abort )

24/7/45 three mission s, ten sort ies26/7/45 two missions, ten sort ies29/7/45 th ree missions, eigh t sort ies8/8/45 two missions, six sor t ies

(one abort )14/8/4 5 two missions, seven sort ies

SILVERI'LATE

104

OPPOSITE PAr.ETOP LEFT. Crew B-7 operated SOME PUNKINS,Victor Number V-84, a B-29-36-MO (44-27296).James N. Price was the aircraft commander.Richard H. Campbell

TOP RIGHT: Crew C-15 operated THEGREAT ARTISTE,Victor Number V-89, a B-29-40-MO (44-27353).Charles O. Albury was the aircraft commander.Richard H. Campbell

MIO OLE LEFT. UPAN' ATOM carried Victor Number V-88and crew B-l0 operated it. It was a B-29-36-MO(44-27304) and George W. Marquardt commanded it.Richard H. Campbell

MID OLE RI GHT: Crew A-l was in charge of FULLHOUSE, Victor Number V-83.It was a B-29-36-MO(44-27298) commandedby Ralph R. Taylor.Richard H. Campbell

BonOMLEFT. LAGGIN' ORAGON was a B-29-50-MO(44-86347).It was commanded by Edward M. Costello,crewed by crew A-2 and it carried Victor NumberV-95. Richard H. Campbell

Bon OMRIGHT: Ralph N. Devore commanded NEXTOBJECTIVE,Victor Number V-86, a B-29-36-MO(44-27299). Crew A-3 operated the aircraft.Richard H. Campbell

6-16

THISPAGELEFT. Crew A-4 operated STRANGE CARGO,commanded by Joseph E. Westover. It was aB-29-36-MO(44-27300) wi th Victor Number V-73.Richard H. Campbell

RIGHT: TOP SECRET w as a B-29-36-MO (44-27302)commanded by Charles F. McKnight. 11 was operatedby crew B-8 and carried Victor Number V-72.Richard H. Campbell

SILVERPLATE

The Atom Bornbs Arr ive

A few hours afte r the successful Tr inity teston 16 Ju ly 194 5 the U S Indianapolis (C A ­35) departed an Fran c isco, C aliforn iawith her to p secret carg o - th e 'reci pe andingred ients' for the Little Bo)' atomicbomb. he made Tinian in record time on26 July 194 5, sailing some 5,000 miles(8,000km) in just ten days. A fte r deli ver­ing the Little Boy co mpone nts to Tin ianshe departed for G uam where she spentone day. U nfortunate ly, on her way fromG uam to Levre in th e Phili ppi nes a Japan ­ese submarine (I-58) sank her, with heavyloss of life , on 30 Ju ly 1945.

Rich ard H. C ampbe ll, author of TheyWere Called SILVERPLATE, offers a briefand simplified explanation of how th eato m bom bs got to Tinian. T he materialfor his explanat ion has been excerptedfrom records obtained from th e arch ives atLos A lam os ariona l Laborator y:

The -235 ta rget rings for LiHle Boy were tran s­

ported from Kirt land AAF (no w Kirtland

A FR), ew Mexico to the island of Tinian on

hoard Douglas C -54 Skvm asrer ca rgo tran sport

aircraft . arriving on 28 and 29 July 1945. The U­

235 project ile rings and the basic LiHle Boystructure were trans ported fro m an Francisco

to Tin ian on the c ruiser U S Indiana/wIi, .O the r

LiHle Boy and Fat Man co mponent s were del iv­

ered to Tin ian over a several-week per iod in

July. Assembly of LiHle Boy was completed on

Tin ian ami was ready for use on 2 Au gust.

T he inn er sphere and outer casing for the FarMan bo mb were one of th ree sets transported

from Kirtland to Tinian in the fron t l-om b-bays

of thr ee ilvcrplare R-29s, departi ng Kirt land

on 28 Jul y and arriving Tini an on 2 Au gust. The

pluto n ium core was tran sport ed via C -54.

departing Kirtlan d on 25 July and arriving Tin­

ian on 28 July. Far Man was assembled on Tin ­

ian and was ready for use on Au gust 194 5.

The Little Boy was a gun- type uraniumbomb that weighed ,9001b (4,000kg) . Itwas 2 in (0 .73m ) in diameter and l 20in(3 .04m) long. Essent ially, Little Boy was a10ft-long (3 m) ca nno n with a U23 5 bulletand three U235 ta rget rings fitted to itsmuzzle. The cha in reaction was in itiat edby ex plosively forcing th e U2 35 bullet andU235 target rings together. It h ad a yieldof 15- 16 kiloto ns.

T he FatMan was a pluton ium implosion ­type bomb weighing 10,3001b (4,700kg) . Itwas 60in ( 1.52m) in diam eter and 128 in(3 .29m) long. It had a plu ton ium shel l withan ar ray of shaped cha rges wrapp ed aroundit. \Vhcn th ese shaped cha rges were simul­taneously fired, th e plutonium was violent­ly forced inward and compressed , start ingthe ch a in reaction . It had a yield of 1 -49kilotons.

Th e Atomic Bomb Attacks

O n 25 Ju ly 1945 commanding gene ral ofthe US A rmy Strat egic A ir Forces, G ener­al C arl A . 'Toocv' Spaarz received ordersfrom the \Var Department . In part th eseorde rs specified th at the 509GG, 20th A irForce would del iver its first 'special weapon'as soon as weather permitt ed visual bom­bard ment, after about 3 A ugust 1945, on

705

SILVERPLATE

106

ABOVE LEFT: Crew C-14flew with NECESSARY EVILwith Victor Number V-91 , a B-29-45-MO (44-86291 I.It was commandedby Norman W. Ray. RichardH.Campbell

ABOVE RIGHT: BIGSTINK, operated by crew A-5,was a B-29-40-MO (44-27354). It was commandedby Thomas J. Classen and it carried Victor NumberV-90. It was later renamed DAVE'S DREAM. RichardH. Campbell

LEfT. Crew C-11 was in charge of STRAIGHT FLUSH,a B-29-36-MO (44-27301) with Victor NumberV-85.ltwas commandedby ClaudeR. Eatherly. RichardH.Campbell

9 August 1945 Crewmembers

DuringtheNagasaki Mission, cr.ew numberC-15. thecrewnormally assigned to the GREAT ARTISTE, flewBOCKSCAR. Even this crewwasslightly modifiedandincluded three additional members (Ashworth. BarnesandBeser).

Crew numberC-75Charles W.Sweeney,aircraft commanderCharles D. Albury. pilotFredJ. Olivi. co-pilotJames F. VanPelt. navigatorKermitK. Beahan, bombardierFrederick L. Ashworth. weaponofficerPhilip M. Barnes. weapontestofficerJacobBeser. radar countermeasuresJohn D. Kuharek. flight engineerAbe M. Spitzer. radio operatorEdward R. Buckley, radar operatorAlbert T. Dehart. tail-qunnerRaymond G. Gallagher, assistant engineer/scanner

LUKETHE SPOOK was commanded by Herman S.Zahn w ith crew C-12. She was a B-29-50-MO(44-86346) w ith Victor Number V-94. She is shownhere at Kwajalein on 30July 1946. DavidW.Menard

SILVERPLATE

DAVE'S DREAM (formerly BIGSTINK). She is shown here in May 1948 at Dobbins AFB. Georgia.David W. Menard

one of th e these ta rge ts: H iroshi ma, Koku­ra , igat a or agasaki, Furt her, add it iona lspec ia l weapons wou ld be delivered on th eabove tar get s as soon as th ey were ava ilab le.

Colonel Tibbet s flew the first A ir ForceSpec ia l Bom bing Mission o. 13 in his il­ve rp late B-29-45 -M O (44 - 6292 - rad ioca ll sign Victor 82 , changed to Dimples 82for the Hi roshima mi ssion ), wh ich h e h adna med E O l A GAY afte r hi s mother onthe preced ing da y. Three days later thanorigin ally plan ned , on 6 August 1945 at2:45am, ENO LA GAY depart ed Tinian forHirosh ima , j apan. The ato m ic bomb namedlillie 130)' was released over H irosh ima at8: 15am local t ime and th e a ircraft ret urnedto Tin ian at 2:58pm, 12 ho urs 13 minu tesafter take-o ff. Little l30y was released from analt itude of 3 1,500 ft (9,6000 m ) and th e radarfuze on the bo mb h ad bee n preset to go offat an a lt itude 2,000ft (600m) abo ve theground. In the ensuing explosion , so me75,000 people were ki lled and approximate­ly 4 ,000 st ruc tures were dest royed .

T here were seve ra l ot her S ilve rpla rc B­29sassigned to th e 6 August mission as well.These inclu ded: BIG ST I K (44 -273 54 ),on sra nd by a t lwo [ima: FUll H O U E(44-2729 ), mon itoring th e we a the r over

agasa ki: G REAT A RT IST E (44 -27353 ),ca rry ing data recording instru ments; j A BITIII (4 4-27303), mon ito r in g th e we a therover Kokura : ECESSARY EV il (44­8629 I ) , respon sibl e for pho to graphy ; an dST RA IG HT FLU S H (44 -27 30 1) , mon i­to ring the wea ther ove r Hiroshima.

O n 7 August 1945 , President Harry STruman released a sta te men t:

Sixtee n hours ago an A merican airplane dropped

one bomb on H irosh ima, an important Japan ese

army base. That bomh h ad more powe r th an

20,000 to ns of T T. It had more th an two rhou ­

sand tim es th e blast power of the British G rand

Slam l-oml-, wh ich is the largest homb ever yet

deve loped in th e h istory of warfare . The j apan ­

ese bega n th e war from the air at Pearl Harbor.

T hey hav e bee n repaid many folds. And th e end

is no t yet. \Vith th is bo ml: we have now added a

new an d revol ut ion ary inc rea se in destr uction to

supplement the growing power of ou r armed

forces. In th eir present form th ese bombs arc now

in producti on and even more powerfu l forms are

in deve lopmen t. It is the atomic boml»

Major C harles 'C h uck' S wee ne y flew th esecond Ai r For ce Spec ia l Bomb ing M ission

o, 16 in Capt Fred eri ck C. 'Fred' Bock's B­29-36-MO (44- 27297, rad io ca ll sign Vic­to r 77) two days ea rl ier th an first p lanned,on 9 August 1945 . The airc raft to ok offfro m Ti ni an at 3:49am . A t 12:02pm localt ime the Fat Man bomb exploded ove r

agas aki. The B-29 had run low on fuel du eto a n umber of target selec t ion difficu ltiesca used by the weather co nd it ions , and wastherefore di rected to land on O kina wa ,wh ich was much closer th an Ti ni an , Themajor reason it had run low on fuel, how­ever, was because Major Sweeney sta yedtoo long at the rendezvou s po int waiting forth e ph ot o 'p lan e. At I: l Opm he lan ded at

107

O kina wa. A fte r it was refuell ed V-77departed O kina wa and arrived bac k at Tin­ian at 11:30pm that ni ght. ome 35,000peop le died in the agasaki ex plosion .

O nce dropped, the atom bombs movedforward , meaning they wo uld ex p lode sev­e ra l mi les ahead of the rel ease point. If theB-29s had kept flyin g in th e sa me directi onthe y wou ld hav e been too close to th eexplosions, so they had to qui ck ly turnaway, sha rply banking to th e right at a 155­de gree h eadi ng to the rea r to ge t away fromth e dcronat ions as fast as possib le . O nemight th in k th a t a 180-degree turn wou ldbe more suitable bur this was no t so , du e toth e large turn ing radius of the B-29s. S inc eth e S upc rfort is suc h a big a ircraft itrequires at lot of sky to make turn s - eve na 'tig ht ' turn with a B-29 has a rad ius of sev­era l m iles. Had the B-29s turn ed away at180 degrees, the tu rni ng rad ius wo uld havebee n too grea t, and once they h ad stra igh t­ene d o ut they would no t have h ad theirta ils pointed toward the deton ations, buttheir aft right sides instead - th is was toodangerou s. By turn ing away at 155 degree ,the bombers presented their tail s full -on tothe nuclear ex plos ions.

O n ly Vic tor 82 (E O l A GAY) h ada name and nose art pri or to the two atom ­ic mi ssions. Vic tor 77 was namedBO C KSCA R after the agasn ki m ission.(BO CKSCA R is indeed the co rrec t spel­ling, n ot BO CK'S C A R as suggested inso me refe ren ces. ) The re t of the fifteenS ilve rp larc B-29s (except for 44 -27303 and

Silverplate 8-29Production

'TheprototypeSilverplateB-29,damaged ina landing accident inDecember 1944; transferred tostorageat Davis-MonthanMF, then assigned toFortWorthM F, Texasfor useasan instructional aircraft; scrapped inMay 1948" RenamedDAVE'S DREAM for test Ableof Operation Crossroads on 7/1/46(buzz number BF354)"'The last sevenSilverplateB-29swereproduced atBoeing'sWichita, Kansasfacility

BOCKSCAR isondisplay atthe USAir Force Museum atWright-Patterson AFBinDayton, Ohio.Currentlyinsections, ENOLAGAY will be assembledanddisplayed attheNational Airand Space Museumannex at WashingtonDulles Internationa l Air­portinFairfax and Loudoun Counties inVirginia, which iscalled theDullesCenter. At thiswriting Dulles Centerwas sched­uledtoopensometimein2003.

44-86346) had th eir names and nose artapplied on Tinian sometime after the Hi ro­sh ima and agasaki missions. The othertwo had thei r names and nose art appliedafte r they returned to the U A .

T he destruction of th e two cities andth e trem end ous loss of life forced Japan tosurrende r, wh ich it d id aboard the US

avy bat tleship USS Missollri (1313-63) , on2 Septembe r 1945 in Tokyo Bay. Militaryplan ners had feared that Japan would

- never surrender, th at instead it wou ld fighton to th e last man . In fact , the A llied inv a­sion of Japan was not to begin until 1November 1945 and th ere was no way oftel ling how successful that wou ld be. So asfar as av iat ion h istor y goes, it was the

42-6259, B-29-5-BW'42·65209, B-29-5-MO42-65216, B-29-1 O-MO42·65217, B-29-10-MO42-65234, B-29-15-MO42·65235, B-29·15-MO42-65236, B-29-20-MO42-65237, B-29-20-MO42-65238, B·29·20-MO42-65239, B-29-20-MO42·65240, B-29-20-MO42-65258, B-29-20-MO42-65259, B-29-20-MO42·65260, B·29-20-MO42-65261, B-29-20-MO42·65262, B·29·20-MO42-65263, B-29-20-MO42-65264, B-29·25-MO42-65384, B-29-30-MO42-65385, B-29-30-MO42·65386, B·29-30-MO42-65387, B-29-30-MO44-27295, B-29-36-MO44-27296, B-29-36-MO, V-84, SOMEPUNKINS44-27297, B·29·36-MO, V-77, BOCKSCAR44-27298, B-29-36-MO, V-83, FULLHOUSE44-27299, B-29-36-MO, V-86, NEXT OBJECTIVE44-27300, B-29-36-MO, V-73, STRANGE CARGO44-27301, B-29-36-MO, V-85, STRAIGHTFLUSH44-27302, B·29·36-MO, V-72, TOPSECRET44-27303, B-29-36-MO, V-71 , JABITIII44-27304, B-29-36-MO, V-88, UP AN' ATOM44-27353, B·29-40-MO, V-89, GREATARTI STE

SILVERI'LATE

adve nt of the 13-29 and th e atomic bombthat had worked so wel l to bring about VJ­Day much earlie r th an expected.

T he war was fina lly over and on VJ-Daythere were thirteen operat ional ilvcrplarcB-29s on Tini an . Two others had earlierdeparted Tini an on 9 A ugust for \Vendoverto be ready to tran sport components for ath ird bomb. O n 17 October 194 5 the509C G and th e 393 13 headed back to th eUS A, moving to Roswell A rmy A ir Fieldin ew Mexico. It rem ain ed th ere until itwas sent to Kwnjalcin in th e MarshallIslands to part icipate in O perat ion Cross­roads in Ju ly 1946. During th ese tests the'A ble' atom bomb was dropped by a 13-29and the 'Baker' bomb was ground-de ronar-

44-27354, B-29-40-MO, V·90, BIG STINK"44-86291 , B-29-45-MO, V-91, NECESSARY EVIL44-86292, B-29-45-MO, V-82, ENOLA GAY44-86346, B-29-50-MO, V·94, LUKETHESPOOK44-86347, B-29-50-MO, V-95, LAGGIN' DRAGON44-86382, B-29-55-MO44-86383, B-29-55-MO44-86384, B-29-55-MO44-86394, B-29-55·MO44-86401 , B-29-55·MO44-86430, B-29-60-MO44-86431 , B-29-60-MO44-86432, B-29-60-MO44-86437, B·29-60-MO

. 44-86439, B-29-60-MO44·86440, B-29-60-MO44-86443, B-29-60-MO44·86444, B-29-60-MO44-86445,B-29-60-MO44·86447,B-29-60-MO44-86448, B-29-60·MO44-86451, B-29-60-MO44·86472, B·29-60-MO44·86473, B-29-60-MO44·87752, B-29-90-BW' "44·87771,B-29-90-BW' "44-87774, B-29-90-BW' "45-21707,B-29-90-BW' "45-21736, B-29-90-BW' "45-21739, B-29-90-BW' "45-21818, B-29-95-BW' "

Total:65

ed. By th is tim e the 509C G had acquiredtwo more boml squadrons , the 7 15t h andthe 830th , wh ich becam e operat ional afte rth e return to Roswell. Interestingly it wasth e 715t h BS, not th e or igina l 393 rd 13 ,which dropped th e re t A ble bomb of O per­at ion Crossroads (the Baker test was anunderwater explosion ). After C rossroad., th e509CG was rede ignated as th e 509t h BombGroup on 10 Ju ly 1946, and th e 509BGreturned to Roswell AAF th at August.

W hen the 509 th Bomb Group (Medium)became the 509th Bomb Wing (Medium )on 17 Nove mbe r 1947 th e 509BG (M)became a subordina te element of th e wing.T he switc h of category from heavy-class tomedi um -class was due to the US A F'semployment by th en of the much largerC onva ir B-36 Peacemaker.

In early 1946 the 393 BS had twenty­two Silvcrplarc B-29s. By Ju ly 1946 the509 BG had on ly nineteen due to thr eelosses from acc ide nt s. Two more losseswere incu rred, and there were on ly seven­teen Silvcrplarc B-29s by January 194 7.During 194 7 the 509BG (M ) receivedmore Silvcrplare B-29s from th e depot atMcCl ellan AA F ncar ac ramcn to, Cali­forn ia, bring ing the tot al to as many asrhirt y-rwo. By Jan uary 1950 the 509 BGwas down to two, havin g lost twenty-sevento the 97th Bomb G roup and havin g lostano ther th ree to acc ide nt s.

By May 1950 all twent y-seven of th e97BG Silvcrplare B-29s had been sent toth e O klahoma C ity depot for th eir plannedconversions to TB -29 trainer aircraft andWB-29 wcat her reconnaissan ce aircraft.

T he last two 509BG (M) S ilvc rplarcB-29s (44-2 1736 and 44-8777 1) weredeployed to England for a time (st ill in thei rS ilvcrplate configuration ). O ne (44-2 1736)must have been in an acc ident wh ile it wasthere because it was salvaged at a Royal A irForce base, RAF Marharn, in A ugust 1950.T he other (44-87771) was dep loyed to RAFLakcnhcath for a time, th en reassigned toth e 9th BW at Mount ain Horne A FB,Idaho, in ovcmber 1951. It was droppedfrom USA F inventory in July 1956.

The 509 th Bomb Wi ng (M) remained atRoswell until the new Boeing B-50Ds beganto arrive in late 1950. The 509BW (M )moved to Pease AFB, Portsmouth , ewHam pshire in July 1958. The 509 th has hadnum erous name changes over tim e and itstill exists today as the 509 th O perationsGroup of the 509 th Bomb Wing, which cur­ren tIy operates th e No rthro p G rumman B­2A Spirit stealth bomb er.

708

CHAPTER SEVEN

De-engineering the SuperfortressThe Tupolev Tu-4 'Bull ' and Derivatives

In Be rl in o n II Novem be r 194 6, th e for ­me r capita l o f the T h ird Reich, an art icleappeared in the n ewspape r Der Kuricr sta t­ing tha t th e USS R was bui ld ing iden ticalco pies of th e Boeing 13-29 S upc rfo rrress forth e Sovie t A ir Force . Der Kllrier, a news­pape r tha t h ad been pub lished and di st rib­ut ed in three \X!este rn sec tor s of Berl in ,went on to say th at thi s was be ing done in,1 n umber of fac tor ies near th e cen tra l andso uth e rn U ra ls, in th e Easte rn Sov ie tU n io n . T h e US W ar Dep artm en t's in iti a lre ply to th e rep o rt in Dcr Kuii er was' impossib le ' ! It was fel t that it was simplynot feasib le for the U SS R to build a war ­plan e such as th e 13-29 - th en st ill th e mostad vanced bo mber in the worl d . But theW ar Dep a rt mcn r began to ta ke se rio usnote afte r rep rese n ta t ive s from the USS Rbe gan to bu y co mp le te se ts of 13-29 land ­ing gear asse mb lies fro m var io us sc rapya rdsin the USA.

S t ill, it was widel y felt th rou gh o ut theWa r Department that Russia simply d id nothave the technical prowess to d uplicat e the13-29 . T he situa t ion fe ll in to a lull and fo rthe most part was forgot ten . But th is a llch anged in a big way in A ugust 194 7.

O n 3 A ugust 194 7, d uring th e Avia t ionDay d isp lay of a irc raft flying overMoscow's Tushino A irpo rt , what appearedto be th ree B-29s were see n flying ove r atlow a lt itude . It was spec ula te d that th esewe re the same three B-29s that ha d beeninte rned in the Sovie t U n ion in 1944 .W h a t appeared to be a fourth 13-29 soonfo llowed , but it was d iffe rent: it had win ­dows! Prev io usly no 13-29 o n ea rt h hadpasse nge r window s. O bvio usly th e USS Rhad in deed acco mplish ed th e 'impossib le ' .

A s it tu rn ed o ut , to th e chagrin of th eU SA , the first three ' B-29s' see n at Tush i­no were nor th e interned B-29s, but near­iden t ica l copies of th em prod uced by theTupolev a irc raft compa ny and designatedTupo lev T u-4 . T h e fourt h turned o ut to bea tr ansport version of th e cop ied bomber,

designate d Tu -70 . Russia is wel l kn own forits ab ility to mak e n ear -id ent ical cop ies ofa irc raft it env ies - even today, the Tup olevTu- 160 'B lackja ck' ac ts and looks ve rymuch like A merica's Boeing N or th A mer­ican 13- 113 Lance r, even thou gh it is no t infact a co py of the 13- 1B. It was no d iffe rentin 1944- 45 when seve ra l interned B-29swere de-engin eered and reproduced as th eTupolcv Tu-4 .

The B-29s th at Went to Russia

In early 1944 , guided by A ndre iTupo lev, Russia was develo ping a heavy­class fo ur-engine bomber known as ANT­64 or Project 64, whi ch was a lso known asthe Type 22 , Tu-2R and/or Tu-6 . It was toh ave a length of95. 14ft (29m ), a wingspanof 140Aft (4 2.8m ) and be powered by fo ur2,200h p en gines. It was to ca rry a bombload of I I ,OOOlb (5 ,000kg) with a maxi ­m um range of 1,850 m iles (3, OOOkm) . Itsto p speed was proj ec ted to be 3 70 mph(600k m/h) at 20 ,000ft (6 ,000m) . A s inter ­est ing as this design was, th e re were sever­a l unplanned gifts fro m the U SA to Russiatha t made Proj ect 64 obso le te before it go toff the dra wing boa rd .

While th e 13-29 S upc rfo rt rcss was o per­ati ng o ut offor ward bases in C h in a aft er itsco mba t debut in june 1944 , severa l ofthem were force d to make emergen cyland ings at V lad ivos to k and else whe re inRu ssia afte r th e ir bombs were offloa de d .S ince th e S oviet U n ion h ad no t declaredwar upon j apan th ese Supc rtorts we reintern ed th rou gh o ut the rem ainder of th ewar . (T hd Soviet U n ion d id no t decl ar ewar upon j apan unt il 8 A ugust 194 5 , twodays after the atom ic bo m bing of Hi roshi ­ma and on e day befo re N agasak i. )

O n the morn ing of29 july 1944 th e 58thBomb Wing launch ed ninety-six B-29s ina ra id aga ins t th e S hown meta l factory inA nshan, Manchuria. O ne of these B-29s,

109

whi ch became the first S upcrfo rrrcss to beint erned , was fro m the 77 1Bomb Sq uadronof the 46 2 Bo mb G ro up (Ver y Heavy)o pera t ing o ut of Kiun glia, C h ina . Na medRA MP T RA M P and man ned by a ten-m anc rew under Capt Howard Jarrel l, this 8 -29­5-BW (42-6 256) was for ced to make anemergency landing at Vlad ivostok.

Beca use of pro blem s with the aux ilia rypower uni t , RA MP T RA M P was th e last8 -29 to ta ke off on the I ,65 0-m ile m ission ,and it to ok th e c rew abo ut two hou rs, a t ahi gh pow er sett in g and so burn ing mor efuel , to ca tc h up with th e rest o f the for­mati on . RAMP TRA MP mad e a nor malbomb run and may h ave been h it by a flakburst, but damage was a t most minor .How ever , wh en Jarrell sta rted h is descen tto cru ising alt itu de for the tri p back toC hengtu, the inboard right eng ine 'ra naway ' and co uld no t be feather ed . T h eengi ne h ad to be sh ut down and theinc reased d rag of the un fcarh crcd pro­pel ler mad e it o bvious that the pla newou ld n ot be able to ge t back to C h cngru,du e to in sufficient fue l.

T he plane was st ill ove r Jap an ese terri ­tor y so th e c rew bega n dest roying a ll theclassified ma teri al on board includ ingope ra t ing manua ls, ord e rs and instruc­tions, in case they wer e forced down inene my ter ri tory. S mall o bjec ts and sh red­ded pa per mat er ia ls (fl ight man ua ls,checklists , placard s, co de books, and soon ) were d umped in to the nose wh eelwell. In th e meantime , Jarre ll h ead edto war d the Soviet base at V lad ivostok soas to land th e damaged a irc ra ft in A lliedterritor y. A s th e bom ber approached aSoviet a irfie ld , a sq uad ro n of figh te rs wassc rambled to 'escort' th e plane.

T he Sovie t a ircraft fired near the 13-29 ,but it was uncl ear wh et her they wer e tryingto hi t it or force it down . After a few min­ut es of thi s, a Soviet fight er pilot moti onedfor the 13-29 to land. The 13-29 began tohead to war d a field with a conc re te runway,

DE-Ei'GI NEERI i'G THE SUPERFORTRESS: TI l E TUPOLEV T U-4 ' BULL ' AND DERI VATI VES

but the fight ers sta rred shoot ing again andind icat ed th e plan e should land at th e grassfigh ter str ip. A ltho ugh the grass field wastoo small for a B-29, Capt Jar rel l had nocho ice, and lined up to land. As he loweredth e landing gear, all the sh redded materialin th e nose wheel well streamed out andfel l in to th e wat ers of Vlad ivostok Bay. Theplane to uched down at just above stallingspeed and stopped just before run n ing offth e end of th e runway.

Aft er land ing, C apt Jarrell ordered thec rew to sta y aboard the B-29 whi le he leftand tri ed to co mmun icat e with the Russ­ian pilot s, but none spoke English . A fewhours later the crew left th e B-29 andjo ined Jarrel l. He asked to be allowed toco nt ac t th e A merican C onsulate in thec ity, but perm ission was den ied. T he Russ­ian 'A llies' inter rogated the A me ricancrew, trying to obta in ope rationa l deta ilsabout the a ircra ft and its capabilit ies. Thecrew refused to d ivu lge secret informati on,and after th ree days of quest ion ing withoutco ntac t from th e A merican C onsulate , th ecrew refused to eve n speak for a week . O nth e eleventh day afte r land ing, th e crewwas fina lly able to speak with the Con­sulate . Unfortuna tely, th e crew was nor .released to the co nsulate and rem ain edprisoners of the Russians for seven monthsbefore being released along with about 100othe r US A rmy and Na vy fliers forced tolan d in So viet territory during th e war.

The B-29 had been flown by experience dSov iet pilot s to th e Fligh t Research Centreat Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, where it wassubsequently among ot he rs involved in theDFS-346 programme, a Soviet superson ica ircraft programme similar to th e US Bel lX- I project. · The Russians kep t RAMPT RA M P in spite of A merican protests, andalso three othe r B-29s that landed on Sov i­et terri tory - two made similar emergenc yland ings in Vlad ivosto k and the ot hercrash-landed in Siberia.

O ne of th ese interned Supcrforrs was aB-29-5-BW, 42-6358. It was subsequen tlyused exte nsively by th e So viet A ir Force. Itwas sent to the Flight Research Inst itute atZhukovsky for training. T he large USA A Ftact ical num ber '358' st ill rem ain ed on th etai l. T his a ircraft had been used to drop th eeng ineless DFS-346 from th e B-29, in asimilar manner to th e launch of th e Bell X­I in th e USA . T he first rocket -poweredaircraft received th e designati on 346D. Itwas jettison ed from th e B-29 for th e firstt ime on 30 Se pte mber 1949 from an alt i­tud e of 3 1,800ft (9 ,700m ).

T he second B-29 to be int ern ed was fromthe 795 BS of the 468 BG opera ting out ofPcn gshan , C h ina. It was parr of a 98-planeraid on O mura on I I November 1944. Itwas the B-29- 15-BW (42-6365) namedG ENERA L H. H. A RNOLD SPEC IA L,wh ich had been th e last B-29 delivered inthe 'Battle of Kansas'. It also made an emer­gency landing at Vladiv ostok.

The th ird B-29 to be interned wasnamed DING HO W. It was a B-29- I-BW(42-6225 ) from the 794BS of the 468BG ,also operat ing out of Pen gshan . It hadbeen parr of a I09-plane raid on Om ura . It,too, made a forced landing at Vlad ivosto k.

There was also a B-29A- I-BN (42­93829) named C A IT PAO MAT from the395 BS of the 40BG , which had been basedat Hsinch ing, C h ina. It was parr of a 36­plane raid on O mura, Japan , on the eveningof 19- 20 A ugust 1944. It crashed to destruc­tion in S iberia shortly afte r midn igh t, afterits eleven -man crew had successfully baledout over Russia. Before they jumped theydropped their top secret Norden bom b sigh tint o the C h ina Sea. T ho ugh unclear, it ispossible that C A IT PAOMAT offered upsome usable bits and pieces for th e Tu-4 pro­gramme. T he aircraft was assigned to theTupolcv Design Bureau as a pattern aircraftand subsequen tly the wing section was usedfor the Tu-70 programm e.

A ll crcwrnc mbcrs from th e four aircra ftabove survived and all forty-four werereturned to the USA via Iran . (Offic ially,th ey had 'esca ped '.)

The 8-4 Programme

T h is was a 'finde rs, keepers' situat ion of th efirst degree, and th e Soviet govern mentmade the most of it. W ith these 'gifts' inhand, Project 64 was canc elled and th e so­called B-4 programme was launched, B-4meaning Bomber, four engines.

Tupo lev examined the B-29s in minutede ta il and copied them almost exac tly - afairly remarkable enginee ring feat. A mongstman y othe r things, he had to conve rt th eUS system of measurement to the metricsystem, and had to du plicat e electr icalwiring gauges and harn ess bundles. Butthere were far more differen ces between thetwo types th an at first met the eye. Thesedifferences included aluminium skin thi ck­ness of 0.03 1in to 0.70in (0.8cm to 1.8C1n )instead of 1/l 6in (0. I6cm) , and d ifferen cesin the cockpit, crew sta tions, armament,av ion ics, propu lsion system and so on.

110

However, due to Stalin 's order, copying wasso strict that even ash trays were buil t in thecoc kpits at the same lOC H ion as they were inth e B-29, on ly to be closed by a seal becauseit was forbidden for So viet crews to smokedu ring missions.

Sta lin ordered the programm e to dupli­cate th e B-29 to be given to p prior ity, sinceit was an already-proven design . T he B-4programme (a lso kn own as Product 'P')proceed ed under d irect co nt ro l of theSoviet Po lirbu rcau . T he first B-4 was co m­pleted in the spring of 1947 and it mad e itsfirst flight on 19 May 1947. T he typereceived the publ ic designat ion Tu-4 as aTu polev pro duct. (Dur ing 194 1, a ll Sovietaircraft had received a public designat ion ,for insta nce Yak- I , MiG -3 and on . T h iswas a d irect take-ov er from the Germansystem, for exa mple Mcsse rsch rn itr Me262 , Junkers Ju52.)

T he W righ t R-3350 engines were turnedover to Shvcrsov, a Soviet engine designerwho spec ialized in rad ial engines. A rkadySh vetsov had built th e ASh-S3 twin rad ialeng ine that was used on the La-5 fighterand Tu-2 bomber in great numbers. How­ever, th e pirated R-3350s were not in factduplicat ed , and Shvetsov ASh -73TKengines were used instead. T he ASh -73T Kengine was itself a clone of an earlier\X!righ t design , wh ich had been author izedfor usc ea rlier for the USS R by the USAitself. A mazingly it produced 2,400 hp ­200hp more th an the R-3350. T he ASh­73TK had been developed in 1944 and wasequipped with two TK - 19 rurbosupcrcharg­crs. VZ-A3- type four-b lade pro pel lers witha d iamet er of 16ft 7in (5 . l m ) were used.

The first series-product ion Tu-t s weredeli vered in 1948. Defensive armamen t in ­cluded ten Berezin U BT 12.7mm mach ine­guns. Start ing wit h th e '8 th Series' Tu-4 s,the turret s were armed with two new 20mmB-20E guns. T he Tu-4 (Sth Series) was infact th e first Tu-4 that was capable of deliv­ering nuclear weapons. Tupo lcv went on toprod uce S47 Tu-4s by 1952, in a to tal of fif­teen batch es. The last Tu-4 ( 15th Series)were armed with two NS-23 can nons inthe PS-23 turrets, instead of th e B-20Ecannc;n . T he NS-23 was also install ed inth e MiG -I S 'Fagot '. Most Tu-4s were pro­duced at State A ircraft Factory (G A Z) 22in Kazan and State A ircraft Factory 18 inKuibishcv. In 1948 a th ird Tu-4 product ionplant in Moscow was under co nstr uction ­Sta te A ircra ft Factory 23 , whi ch beganbuilding Tu-4s in 1950. (To th e best of thiswrit er's kn owledge th ere is no conc rete

DE-ENGINEERING TI l E SUPERFORTRESS: T il E T UI'OLE V TU-4 ' BUL L' AND DERIVATI VES

B-29-15-BW 42-6358 during tr ail s w ith the Soviet Flight Research Inst itute at

Zhukovsky . Part of the orig inal USAAF Bomb Group mark ings remained, thougha small red star had been added on the fin . Hans-Heiri Stapler

42-6358 at Zhukovsky. At the extreme left of its tail a Tupolev Tu-2 bomber is vis ible.

The mission markings on the nose still rema ined on the Superfortress, even after theSoviets took possess ion of the bomber. Hans-Heiri Stapler

pat ro l bomber aircra ft. O ne Tu-4 with thec ivil registrat ion SSR-92648 was assigne d tothe Poi)'amaja Aviazija (Po lar Aviation) andflew supply missions to an A rct ic stat ionused as a sec re t base du ring th e Korean War.

The Tu -4 was a lso used on fligh t-refu­e lling t ria ls wit h M iG - 15bis figh te rs. T heevalua t ion programme lasted from 24 ep­tcm ber 1954 unt il 2 March 1955, at theFligh t Research Inst itute at Zhukovsky.T he programm e inv olved ten fights with aspec ially mod ified MiG - 15bi s tha t was refu­el led by a Tu-4 (seria l n umber 184 084 8 )'Red 4 1.'

3582

would br ing the threa t of ki lling So viet 01­dicrs with 'friend ly' l-om bs.

O ne of the Tu -4s th a t h ad part ic ipatedin th e Budapest ra id is now on exh ibit inMonin o. It is th e Tu -4 ( e ria l umber2 0 503 ), whi ch h ad been del iver ed inMarch 1952. It perfor med a tota l of 2,004land ings and a fligh l durati on of 1,540h ours. 'R ed 0 I ' mad e its last flight on 7O ctober 195 wh en the 'Bu ll' tou ch eddown at M on ino ,

Some Tu-4 airplanes were given to theAviatsi)'a Vocnno-Morskovo Flora (AV M F, o r

ava l Air Force ) to serve as long-range

Tu -4 produc t ion to tal that ha s been prop ­e rly document ed . \Vh ilc Russian sourcesclai m 47 bui lt o the r sources cla im as man yas IJOO Tu -4s bui lt . Thus, th e ac tua l pro­du c t ion n um ber of Tu -4s built remains un ­clea r.)

T he Tu -4 began to ent er serv ice with th eSo vie t A ir For ce's strateg ic bo mba rd men tsec t ion , th e /)al'na)'a A l'iatsi)'a (DA), in194 . T h is gave the Air Forces of th eUSSR, th e Vocnno Vosdl/shni)'c Sit)' (VVS ),its first strat egic bombing capa bility. Rut itwas not un t il mid -194 9 th at th e DAac h ieved full ope ra t iona l ca pab ility: hy th eend of I h at yea r it h ad some 300 Tu-4s inse rv ice. T he Tu-4 was co de-na med ' Bu ll 'hy the Nort h A tlant ic Tr ea ty O rga n izn­li on (NATO ).

T he Tu-4 was deployed to Soviet basesin Po land , C zec hos lovakia and rhc Ger­man Democrat ic Republ ic. In East Ger­many the hig a irc raft wer e quite frequent­ly photograp he d hy \Vestern inte lligenc ese rvices. The 'e Tu-4s were a ll capable ofca rrying nuclear weap ons and were parr ofthe 43rd Ai r A rmy. However most Tu-4Regiments wer e based in th e \VesternSovie t U n ion , oc cupy ing bases in Belorus­sia , th e U kra ine and th e Balt ic Rep ub lics,T h e a irc rcws were well trai ned for the irm issio ns, as well as for a ir-to -a ir refue lling,co nside rably enh anc ing the ir opera t ionalrange over W este rn Europe .

During th e crisis in H ungary in autu mn1952 , a Tu-4 Regim ent of rhe 43rd A irA rm y based at l3orispol, near Kiev in th eU kra ine was a le rted on 30 October 19 52for future operat ions ove r H ungar y, TheTu-4s lo ok off fro m l3orispol on 3 ovcm­her 1952 at II :40pm loca l rime. T heir tar ­ge t was Budapest, the ca pita l of H ungary.T h e Tu-4s were hri efed to bomh a I hcar rein th e Pest distr ic t of the capita l wh ere th eh eadquar te rs of the insurgent forces underth e com mand of Pal Malcrc r wer e supposed10 he . The l-omb-bavs con ta ined with twoFA R-500 and eigh t FAB -250 bom bs, mak­ing a to ta l bomb load of 6 ,600 lh D ,OOOkg )for each Tu -4. T he form at ion h ead edsouth ward toward Ro man ia , having cho­sen th e capital, Bucharest , as a turningpoint for th e fina l bomb run aga instBudapest. O ve r Plo icsri, a reca ll o rde r wasrece ived hy the lead bo mb er and th e fleetretu rn ed to base withou t d rop ping its dead ­ly load ov er Budapest ; the m ission hadbeen canc e lled because the ad vance of theSo vie t A rmy in th e H ungar ian capita l wasmuch quick er th an est imated hy I he Sovi­e ts , and homhing Buda pest with Tu-4s

177

DE-ENGINEERING Til E SUI'E RFORTRESS: TilE T UI' OLEV TU-4 ' BULL' AN D DERIVAT IVES

Sov iet Tu-4 Derivat ives

Tu-4 - C onven t ional bomber.

A view 0142-8358 at Zhukovsky. Hans-Heiri Stapler

O n 29 A ugust 1949 Russia ex ploded itsfirst a tomic homh. C ode-named Joe No. I(also JO E 1) in th e USA (joe forjosef S ra l­in ), this sent shoc k waves th roughou tWashington DC. Sudde n ly, with its grow­ing fleet of operat ional Tu-4s, and with itsnew nuclear capabilitv, Russia had becom ea serious threat. T he nuclear-capabl e'Bull's were designated Tu-4A . It was we llknown that Tu-4s did not have th e ran geto make round tr ips from th e USSR to theUSA and back, bu t since they co uld nowcar ry atomic weapons, one -way trips werenot on ly feasible, but cont emplated.Mor eover, from western a ir bases with inthe USS R, Europea n target s co uld easilybe hi t. This reality mot ivated th e U n itedStat es, U n ited Kingdom , C anada . Franceand others to in itiat e elaborat e and expen­sive air-defence systems, whi ch includedthe developm ent and manufactu re ofadva nced int ercep tor a ircraft, earlv warn ­ing radar systems and a multitude of sur­face -to -a ir missiles.

Powerplant:

Weights:

Dimensions:

Perlormance:

Armament:

Specifications - Tupolev Tu-4

Four Shvetsov ASh-73TK air-cooledrad ial engines

Empty 77.161 Ib135.270kg); loaded 145.5001b (66.000kg)

Length99.041t(30.19m); wingspan 141.31t(43.08m);wingarea 1,740.52sqIt (1 61.7sq m)

Maximumspeed 347mph 1558km/h!; service ceiling36.7501t111.200m!; maximum range3.170 miles15.100km); maximum bomb load 17.600lb(8.000kg)

Ten 12.7mm. 20mm or 23mm guns

Indeed, then , Russia's all-out effor t to cre­ate what became the world's second strate­gic nucl ear bom ber, th e Tu-4 'Bull' (tho ughsome will argue th at th e RAF's Avro lin­coln was the world's second nuclearbomber ), was not on ly a major undert akin gbut a sign ificant card in the nuclear pokergame that became known as the Cold War.

The Tu-4 rem ain ed the Sov iet U n ion 'sprim ary long-range bom ber until about1955, when it was phased out in favou r ofnewer types.

Known Tu-4 Survivors

O ne Tu-4 'Bull' (Serial N umber 280503 )'Red 0 1' is locat ed at th e Russian A ir ForceMuseum in Monino, out side Moscow. TwoTu-4s arc located at th e C h inese A ir ForceMuseum near Be ijing; these form er Tu-4aircraft were modifi ed by the C h inese wit hturb op rop engines and served as a irborneearly warning aircraft.

712

Tu-4A - N ucle ar bomber.

Tu-4D - Tra nspo rt for twenty-eigh tpam tro opers.

Tu-4K - KS-I air-to -surface missilelaunch er.

Tu-4LL - Engine test -bed .

Tu-4T - Troop tran sport .

Tu-70 - Civilian passenger a irl iner; wasto carry seven ty-two passen gers.

Tu -7S - A rmed military transport ; onepro totype bu ilt at S ta te A ircraft Fact or y22 at Kazan with three gun turret s. Thepro to type first flew on 2 1 January 1950,the factory tests being fini shed in May1950. It could carry a wide range of cargo,incl ud ing six to seve n G A Z-67 automo ­biles or 120 sold iers. The so le Tu -75 wasdestr oyed in Octo ber 1954 during an acc i­den t.

Tu-SO - Pro jected fo llow-on to th e Tu-4 ,a lso code-named 'Bull' by NAT O . It was <I

redesigned Tu -4 featuring a longer fuse­lagc and <I larger wing. It was to be pow­ered by four 2,280h p ASh -73T KFengines giving it a top speed of 340 mph(545 km/h ) and a range of 5, 100 mil es(8 ,200km) . Its aruuuuc n r was to be ten23mm ca nnon. It featu red a mor e con ­ven t ion al stepped windscreen and it car­ried mor e fue l. A pro totype was buil t butits pro ject ed performance goa ls were notmet. T he Tu-85 (see below) first flew on 1Decemb er 1949 and so th e Tu-80 pro­gramme was not proceeded with . The so leTu -80 prot ot ype ended at one of th eranges as a target , where it was shot at andbombed by ot her a ircraft .

Tu-SS - T he pro posed Tu -85 was a scaledup Tu -80 with tr ue in rcrcon rincn ra lrange. Ir was to car ry a IO,OOOlh (4,500kg)bomb load 7,500 mil es ( 12,000km) with <I

top speed of 396mph (638km/h ). Twoexamples were bui lt, but pro ducti ono rders were not fo rt hcoming and th e pro­gramme was cance lled, T he USA fea redthi s bomber would be used in a possib lenuclear at ta ck aga ins t the USA and itsa llies.

DE-ENGINEERING TI l E SUPERFORTRESS: TI l E TUPOLE V TU -4 ·BUI. L· A" D DERI VAT IVES

LEFTAND BElOW: 42-8358 during trials with the rocket­

pow ered experimental air vehicle known as DFS

346 placed under the starboa rd wing.

Hans-Heiri Stapler

Bon OM:The DFS346 had been developed in Germany

dur ing World War Two and had been taken as war

booty by the Soviet Union where the type w as

rebui lt for tests . The DFS346was only carried by

this B-29(42-8358). Hans-Hem Stapler

113

DE-E;-.I G INEERING TI l E SUI'ER FORTRESS : T HE T UI'OLEV T U-4 ' BULL' A ;-.I D DERI VAT I V ES

For DFS346 tr ial s the tail turret of this B-29 wa sremoved and replaced by a conical fairing to helpel imin ate boat tail drag, Hans-Heir! Stapler

BELOW: The crew of a Tu-4 'Bull' 2806303 'Red 28'being brief ed for a mission. In contrast to theorigin al B-29 a number of antennae had been addedto the nose section of the Tu-4, The first two digitsof the serial number had formed the tactical numberof thi s particul ar bomber, Hans-Heiri Stapler

Peoples Liberation ArmyAir Force Tu-4 Bulls

Russia delivered ten Tu-4 'Hull 's to the Peo­ples Liberat ion A rmy A ir Force (PLAAF)in Peking, C h ina , in February 1953 and the-lrh Independent Regiment was formed to

operate them. Russia went on to provid ethree more Tu-4s in subsequent years, wh ichthe 4th IR also received, The fin ten Tu-4swere only based at Pekin g for about a monthbeing transferred in March 1953 to Sh i­hch iachu ang Tokuotsun . T hey were movedback to Peking a year later, in March 1954.

114

The Tu-4s received hy th e 4th IR wereconsidered to he medium-class bombers andcrew train ing revolved pr imar ily aroundlon g-range night bombing sort ies throughlat e 1954. C h inese A ir Force Tu-4 crewsbecame instrument flight rule (IFR) profi­cient by 1956. in medium-altitude homhin g

DE-ENGINEE RING T ilE SUPERFORTRESS: T HE T UPOLEV TU-4 ' BUL L' AND DERI VAT I VES

ABOVE: ATu-4 being prepared on a snow-covered airfieldsomewhere in the Soviet llnion. Hans-HeiriStapler

RIGHl: Line up oflr esh ly produce d Tu-4 Bulls at theTupolev plant. The Soviets had also applied the se ria lnumber on the tai l in blac k digits, as the USAAF haddone with their B-29s.The aircraft nearest the camera(220404) is the fourth aircralt of the fourth batch, thesecond aircraft (220504) the filth aircraft in the fourthbatch. The prefix 22 stands for the fac tory, in this caseState Aircrah Fac tory 22 located at Kazan. Hans-Heir;Stapler

775

ABOVE:Two MiG-15bis 'Fagot' fighters being refuelled by a Tu-4 (only one isvisible in this photograph, the other being out of shot to the lelt).Hans-HeiriStapler

LEFT: ATu-4(2805002) being overhauled at an unknown maintenance facil ityin Russ ia_The rear armament consisted of two NS-23 23mm ca nnon.Hans-HeiriStapler

DE-E:\IGINEERI:>I G Til E S PERFORTRESS: TilE TU POI.EV TU-4 ' II U: AND DERIVATIVES

TOPlEFT: This MiG -15bis was one of the ai rcraftmodified with a boom for in-flight refuelling bya Tu-4 'Bull'. Hans-Heiri Stapler

TOP RIGHT: The MiG -15bis 'Red 342' refuelled bya Tu-4. The picture wa s taken from the 'Bull'.Hans-Heiri Stapler

ABOVE: The fuselage of the Tu-10 'Cart' after beingrolled out from the hangar at the Tupolev plant. In

the background is the American built B-29 (42-8358).It seems that the wings and engines of this particularB-29 were used for the Tu-10. Hans-Heiri Stapler

Roll-out of the Tu-10 with the w ings adopted fromthe B-29 Superfortress. Of interest is the logo 'Tu-12'on the nose of the aircraft. This would have been

the service designation had the type enteredAeroflot service, Hans-Heiri Stapler

776

DE-EI'GINEERING TIl E SUPERFORTRESS: T il E T UPOLEV T U-4 ' BULL' AN D DERI VATI VES

The Tupolev Tu-70prototype shortlyafter its roll-out. The aircraft madeits maiden flight on 27 November1946; interestingly. this was sixmonths ahead of the Tu-4, Theengines. propellers and the entirewing had been pirated from the 8-29Supert ort ress . Hans-Heiri Stapfer

117

DE-ENGINEERING THE SUPERFORTRESS: Til E T UPOLEV TU-4 ' BUL L' AN D DERI VATIV ES

The Tu-75 was designed as a large troop carr ie r

for self-propelled guns, vehicl es or soldiers, It w as

based on the Tu-70 airliner and could carry up to120 fully equipped soldiers, The only Tu-75 was lost

in October 1954during an accide nt. This is possib lythe only photo of the Tu-75 to exist. Hans-Heiri Stapler

BELOW: The Tu-80 prototype w as based on Tupolev's

experience in develop ing the Tu-4 'Bull' and made

its mai den flight on 1 December 1949powered byfour ASh-73TKFN engin es. This photo wa s taken

during 1950at the Flight Research Institute L11 atZhukovsky. Hans-Heiri Stapler

The first prototype of theTupolev Tu-85 'Barge' during its

evaluation trials; it fir st flew on

9 January 1951.It was poweredby 3,300hp VD-4K 28-cyl inder

radial engin es. Hans-Heiri Stapler

778

DE-ENGINEERI NG T HE SUPERFORTRESS: TI l E T UPOL EV T U-4 ' BUL L' AND DERIVAT I VES

The second prototype of theTu-85 was modified to benefit

from the experience gainedwith the flight-testing of the

first prototype. This aircrahhad a whopping empty weight

of 122.135Ib (55.400kg). Theseco nd Tu-85 fir st flew on

28 June 1951.It had anastonishing range of 7,468mil es (12.018km), enabling the

Sovie t Union to deliver nucl ear

weapons over the UnitedStates . Hans-Heir! Stapler

fl ights. In add it ion to normal fligh t-train ingdu t ies the C h inese Tu -4s per formed o therdu ties such as ae ria l surveys, a ir defenceexe rc ises rind spec ia l weap ons programmes.

Wit h it s Tu -4 s in h and , the 4 th IRmo ved to W uk ung in February 1955 ,

wher e it remain ed until 19 7 1. T h en inm id -I nl th e 4 th IR , rema in in g atW uk ung, sent its ' Bu ll 's to Nansh ui A ir­fie ld. T h e PLA AF 'B ull' s we re removedfrom co m ba t d u ty in th e mid -1 970s. O n eexam ple was co n ve rt ed to A irbo rne Ea rly

119

W arning (A EW ) co n figur a t io n an dreceived a lar ge pylon-m o unted di sc forAE\V rad a r d ut ies . A s man y as fiftee n Tu ­4 'B oll's wer e in the PLA AF 4th IRin ventory, bu t the ac tua l n umber rema insuncl ea r.

DE-E:-J GI:-J EERING TIlE SUI'ERFORTRESS: TIl E TUI'OLEV TU-4 ' BULL' AND DERIVATIVES

PLAAF Airborne Early Warn ing (AEW)

airplane der ived from Tu-4 'Bul l' . PLAAF

BELOW: PLAAFTu-4. PLAAF

BELOW MIDDLE: Tu-85 inboard profile.Chuck Irw in Collection

BODDM: Head-on view of a Tu-4.

Hans-Heiri Stapl er

•

I . ' n ......

' J: ~~~,..:' " ,oo; p..L.:£..,.

" '..'f!::.:::;... c·~.~\,

./-', --

",

120

CHAPTER EIGHT

Strategic Air Command

Some six mon th s after World War Two,USA A F heavy- and ve ry heavy-c lassbom ber a ircraft from all the bomber com­ma nds were assigne d to a single comma ndca lled th e Strategic A ir Command (SAC);light - and med ium-class bombe rs went tothe Tact ica l A ir C ommand (TA C) . T h us,beginn ing in late March 1946 a large num ­ber of surv iving Wor ld War Two B-29s wereassigned to SAC.

T he Strategic A ir Command was estab­lished as a major USAAF command on 2 1March 1946 under the guidance of Ge neralG eorge C . Kenney. First headquartered atBolling Fie ld , Wash ingto n DC , the newlyformed SAC only had about 600 aircraftava ilable, includ ing num erous B-29s - someof them factory fresh , h aving never seenco mba t. SA C Headquart ers moved toO ffutt A ir Force Base at O maha, Ne braska,

in No vembe r 1948, where it remained unt ilSAC was disestab lished and absorbed by A irCombat Command in June 1992. Gene ralC urt is E. LeMay became its second com­mand er, in Septe mber 1948.

When SA C was given the responsibilityof using the atomic bomb in time of war onI May 1946 it on ly had on e un it - theS09CG, discussed in detail in C hapter 6 ­capable of delivering ato mic weapon s, with

•

ABOVE:The famed logo empl oyed by the Strategic Ai rCommand (SAC). USAF

RIG HT: A super cl ean B-29A-45-BN (44-617331poseswith its inspec tion -ready eleven -man crew,

probably in ear ly 1954. David W.Menard

This B-29-60-BW (0-469739) w as stat ioned at Edwards AFB, Califo rni a where it w as used for vari ous special weapon test evalu ations conduc ted

the re. The 0 preceding '469739' meant that it had been in serv ice for more than 10 years. Its origi nal serial number w as 44-69739. Stan Piet

12 1

ST RATEGIC AI R COM MAND

LEFT AND BELOW: Two views of thePACUSANDREAMBOATshowingboth its four- and three -bladedpropeller configurations . ThisB-29B-60-BA (44-84061l. after thepaddle -type three -bladed propellerswere installed. was redesignatedYB-29J. It was the personal B-29of General William Irvine.Peter M.Bowers andStan Piet

ABOVE: The famous Norden bomb sight. USAF

LEFT: A USAFai rframe and powerplant (A&PI mechanic perfo rms R-3350engi nemaintenance on the ramp. USAF

its spec ial fleet of sixty-five Silverplarc I)­

29s.The S09CG was based at Roswell Arm yAir Field in cw Mexico at th at time.

O n 18 September 1947 the Un ited StatesA ir Force (USAF) was esta blished as awhole and separat e mil itar y service. Eightdays larcr, on 26 September G enera l Carl

A . 'Tooev ' Spaarz was sworn in as rhe fir rC h ief of taff of the A F. Shor tly afte rthe USAF was born there were nu me rousdepartu res from U AAF doct rine. O ncsuch cha nge of important note was th at aBom b Group (BG ) became a Bomb W ing(BW) , although for some reason a few

122

B\'(Is were st ill be ing referred to as BGsunti l afte r the Korean \'(Iar - one exa mplebeing the 19th Bomb Group. A no the r wasth at an A rmy Ai r Ficld (AAF) became anA ir Force Base (A FB).

Four bomb wings that were equ ippedwith B-29s - the 22ml, 92 nd, 98th and

STRATEG IC A I R COM MAN D

TOP: A B-29bombardier at his station with the Norden bomb

sight. Griber via Stan Piet

MIDDLE: ABell-built B-29-15·BA(42·63418) with radio call-sign

'418' on its nose landing gear doors, The removal of its upper

and lower gun turrets is noteworthy. Stan Piet

BOTTOM: A pair of Iactorv-fresh B-29-35-BWs(42·24554 in

the background, and 42-24558) head oil to war. Both of these

Superlorts eventually wound up with SAC's 2BG in the late

1940s. AFFTC/HOvia Ray Puller and H. Wood

Strategic Air Command B-29 Bomb Wings

Year(s)

1947 and 19481949and 19501946 and 19471948,1949,1950, 1951and19521948, 1949,1950, 1951and 19521946, 1947and 19481946, 1952 and 19531946and 19471950, 1951, 1952and 1953194619521951 , 1952and 19531948, 1949, 1950, 1951and 19521946, 1947, 1948, 1949and 19501946, 1947and 19481946, 1947,1948 and 19491947, 1948,1949, 1950, 1951,1952and 195319521possibly 1951asweil l1946,1947,1949, 1950,1951and 19521951 and 1952195119491946, 1947, 1948,1 949, 1950,1951,1952and 195319511952and 195319521951 and 195219461946194619461946and 1947

Bomb Wing

2BW5BW7BW19BW22BW28BW40BW43BW448W58BW68BW90BW91BW92BW93BW97BW98BW

106BW301BW303BW305BW306BW307BW

308BW310BW320BW376BW444BW448BW485BW498BW509BW

123

STRATEG IC AIR COMMAND

Non-stop Around-the-World Flight byPatrickStinson

Here is the historyof the first around-the-world non-stop refuelling mission, accom­plished by KB-29Msof the 43rd and 509th Air RefuellingSquadrons.

Thesuccess of thenon-stopglobe-circlingmissiondependedupon theproficiencyofthe recently created 43rd Air Refuelling Squadron (ARSI. This unitwas activated onpaper as part of General Order Number 33 issued byHQ SAC on 12July 1948, andassigned to the43rdBombardmentWingat Davis-MonthanAFB, Arizona.At thesametime the509th ARSlikewise came intobeing aspart of the509th BombardmentWingat Roswell Army Air Fieldin New Mexico, whichwasrenamed Walker AFB before theendof theyear.

WithSAC representativeCapt Lyle Freedobservingtheworkat Boeing'sWichitaPlant2,thefirstKB-29Msbeganarriving in thefieldlate in1948.The509thARS wasmannedfasterand thereforegot a slight jump in actual trainingoperations. Infact, astheyear1949beganMajorDonald G. Foster, the DeputyCommander and acting COof the43rdARS, hadonly twoofficers and fiveairmenpermanently assigned tohisunit.

Asignificant milestone waspassedinearlyDecember that greatlyboostedconfidenceinthebasictechniqueof in-flight refuelling.A43rdBGaircraftcommandedbyLtColonelMichael N.w. McCoy flew a non-stop 9.870-mile (1 5.880kml course that included anundetected passoverPearl Harbor on7 December. HisB-50madesuccessful refuellingcontactswith509thtankers400miles(644kmlwest of SanDiegoandoverSanNicholasIsland. A tanker from the43rdalso rendezvousedwith thebomberover Bylas, Arizona.

The staffing problems of the 43rd ARS had improved considerably by the time LtColonel WilliamC.SipestookcommandofthesquadroninJanuary,but still not enoughto meet the demands of scattered deployment around the globe in support of a non­stopworldflight. Additional aircrews were drawn fromother squadronsinthewingforspecia l temporaryduty (TOY).Theycamefromnotonly the63rdand 64th BombardmentSquadrons,butalso the20th,49thand 96thSquadronsofthe2nd BombardmentGroup.

With flight crewsthrowntogether fromsomanydifferent units, theJanuarytrainingexercises took on added importance. Technical experts were present from Boeing­Wichita, aswell asWalker AFB, tohelp withthefamiliarizationbriefingsandLtForrestM. Jewell, theco-pilot for Colonel McCoy's earlierflight,shared hisfirst-hand experi­ences fromthat mission.

After the preliminaryorientationwas over LtJewell and his crew from the64th BSbegan flying practicemissions aboarda B-50named GLOBAL QUEEN. One ofhis flightengineerswas LUCKY LADYworld flight veteran T/Sgt. David E. Davis.

Thenext milestone fortrainingoperationswas passedon 17January whenaKB-29MpilotedbyLt FrancisH. Dolan, on TOYfrom 64thBS. carried outasuccessful fuel trans­fer. The manoeuvres for accomplishing that task required precise flyingskills. To anobserver on the ground the routine may have looked like an intricate aerial ballet.

Lt. ChesterK. Ballengee, 49th BS, was one of the pilots taking part in subsequentpractice flights over the Arizona desertand he explained the procedure as follows:

Thetankeraircraft approached thebomber.alsocalled thereceiver aircraft. fromthe rearonthe left side, trailing a weighted steel cable. The receiver now traileda steel cable with a

wind sock. pullingit straight outbehind the bomber. The tankerclosedto approximately10

feetbehindthebomberwiththecockpitabout evenwiththetopof thebomber'svertical tail.The tankerpilotusedright rudder toskid to the right across thecablebehind thebomber.

Theendof theweightedcabledangledbelow thereceiver's lineand engaged it withagrap­nel. Thetanker pilotthenpulled upand forward on the rightsideof the bomber.

Therefuelling operatoronthetankerreeledinthecable, bringing intheendof thereceiv­

er'slineand attachedit to thefuel transfer hose, whichwasmadeof canvas.Hethenreeledout thehose asa crewmanaboardthe receiver useda winch to haul in his cable. bringing

the hose with it, After the hose was secured to thebomber's refuelling receptac le, valveswereopenedandfuel transferwasstarted.Nopumpswereused. It wasstrictlygravityflow.

The tanker pilot triedtoget ashighabove the bomber ashe safely could to increase the

rateof transfer. Duringtrainingoperationsa lot of hosescollapsedandwere dropped onthedesert west ofTucsonwhen pilotsexceeded thelength of the hose.whichwasabout 200fl.

After the 43rdARSandits borrowed aircrews had logged a sufficient number of prac­ticeruns, it was time fordeployment overseas. Colonel WC. Kingsbury commanded air­craft assigned toTaskDetachment Number Onein theAzores. Detachment Two head­ed for Dhahran. Saudi Arabia, under the command of Colonel D.E. Bailey. Flyingwestward, Colonel WH. Blanchard led Detachment Three to the Philippines. whileColonel Sipes took Detachment Four to Hawaii.

On 16February1949,Colonel Sipes boarded tanker KB-29M(44-877771, pilotedbyLtBallengee. At thesame timethepilotofKB-29M (45-21 7781, 1stLt Sheldon A. Classon,welcomed aboard his tankeranobserver from HQ7thBombardmentWing. Capt Johnp. Glocker, whowasescortedby Major lR. Christian, 43rdARS Staff.

Major VincentP. HannleyandCapt GeorgeM.Lockhartfrom43rdARSclimbedaboardKB-29M(44-877791with 1stLt Harold W Sal isbury fromHQ 43rd BombardmentGroup.1st Lt Colin C. Hamilton, one of the toppilotsin thewing, ledthe 96th BSflight crew.

The special passengertransported bytanker KB-29M (44-87782) was MajorLouisA.Gazzanicoofthe21 02nd Weather Group, Mitchel Field, NewYork. Thepilotof thisKB­29M was 1st Lt George W Hagan. on TOYfrom49th BS. Hisco-pilot. 1st Lt WarrenC.Kohlman. was oneof the fewpilots already ontherefuelling squadron'sfull-time ros­ter.Once everyonewassettled and the crews had run theirpre-flightchecks, all fouraircraft in this formation took off from Davis-Monthan AFBand headed west for Hick­amAFB inHawaii.

Not longafterwardsa64thBS aircrewhadtanker KB-29M 145-217131onitswaywithColonel Blanchard aboard. Flying alongside it towards Hawaii was a C-54 (46-250).a1st Strategic Support Unit ca rgo plane. These two aircraft were now assigned toDetachmentThreeand. toavoidcongestion, landed at John RodgersField. adjacent toHickam. Fromtheretheystaged throughKwajaleinandGuamtoreach ClarkAFBinthePhilippinesby the21st.

The bulkof Detachment Three, led byLt Colonel Boyd B. White. CO64th BS. depart­edfrom Davis-Monthanonthe17thandproceededalongthe same routeColonelBlan­chard had followed. KB-29M tankers (45-21704, 45-21705.45-21716 and 45-21731)also reached Clarkbythe 21st. With one exceptiontheyweremanned by64th BS per­sonnel.Aircraft 45-21 704andcrew. however.werefrom the509th BombardmentWing,based atWalker AFB (formerly Roswell M F)outside of Roswell. New Mexico.

The final two 'planes in Detachment Four alsoleftArizonaon the 17th.They includ­ed a cargo 'plane in which Colonel James C. Seiser, CO 43rd Bombardment Wing,hitched a ride, and a KB-29M piloted by 1stLtCharles F. Nedball, 96th BS.

Whileall theseaircraft wereheaded westanequal numbercomprisingDetachmentsOneand Two were headedeast. staging through MacDili AFB, Florida. Colonel Kings­bury's tankers deployed at Lagens. Those under Colonel Bailey, including a KB-29MflownbyLt W Sontagfromthe509th, pushedonfor SaudiArabiaandeventually land­ed at Dhahran. The eastward-moving detachments were also in place by the 21 st.

Taking offfromDavis-MonthanAFB on22February, five B-5OsflewtowardsFortWorth.Texas. They landed at Carswell AFB. Texas, which was the starting point for thestill­secret around the world flight. Preparations for the mission were almost completed.

GLOBAL QUEEN majesticallyclimbed skywardonthe25thandheadedeast. Tomaintainsecrecy theflightplanfiledwith thetowergaveno destinationbeyondLagens. Lt Jewelldidnot expect to land there,but intended to flyontowardsDhahranafterrefuelling con­tactsovertheAzores. That second leg of the journey would be made under a flight planfiled byoneof thetankers, operating out of Lagens. whichwould later land backat thebase using GLOBAL QUEEN's tail number for identification. Inany radio communicationalong the Lagens-Dhahran route the B-50would respond with that tanker's tail number.

OverSaudi Arabia following the next refuelling another switch of tail numbers anddeclareddestinationswould take place. This was thepattern to befollowed for eachof the five separate legs of theglobal flight.

Darkness fell overtheAtlanticasthelonebomber continuedeastwardunderacanopyof stars.Pegasus, thewinged horse. had notyet set in the west. Overhead, the con­stellationOrion dominatedthewintersky.The tranquil scenewasshattered when num­ber two enginecaught fire. Flickering tongues of flame chased away all thoughts ofrefuell ing. Withonepropeller feathered GLOBALQUEEN reluctantly. but without argu­ment, landedat LagensAFBunderitsowntail number indawn's early light. Not realiz­inganattempt tomake aviationhistory had been thwarted bythismalfunction, outsideobservers paid only passing attention to the crippled B-50 making an emergencyapproach thatmorning. Crash trucks sprintedabout with their sirenswailing andthereweremomentsof tension until a safe landingwas attained.but on thesurface nothingmuch out of theord inary had happened.

Detachment Oneflight crews. briefed about themissiononlyafter Colonel Kingsburyhad received word of the bomber's departure fromCarswell, went back to thewaitinggame. They were.of course, notallowed to discusswhat they nowknewwith any ofthe regular base personnel at Lagens. Meanwhile. the majority of the tanker crewscoo lingtheir heelsat theother three support basesstill hadno idea what wasup. Not

124

STRATEGIC A IR COMMAND

until thebomber had actuallystartedonthenext legof itsglobe-circling journey wouldthecrews inthe next designated refuellingarea bebriefedonmissionspecifics.

Twenty-fourhoursafterthefirst bomberhad raceddowntherunwayat Carswell AFB,B-50A(46-0101stood ready for itsturnat bat.CaptJamesG.Gallagher, theaircraft com­mander, needed only to becleared for take-off. Theskyaround FortWorthon the26thwasovercastand threatening. Everyoneaboard rea lized'LadyLuck' wouldhave toberidingwith themif aweather cancellationwasto beavoided.

A guarded sense of optimismpervaded the cockpit of LUCKY LADY II, though, Theelementswerenot about tostopher. 1st LtArthur M. Neal andhisco-pilot. Capt JamesH. Morris, knew their 'planewas ready. While this B-50was not the one he normallyflew, Gallagher felt very comfortable in its left seat.

Theextent of hisflight experiencewasquiteimpressive. Hehad beenoneof theorig­inal members of the677th Bomb Squadron and had completed a global combat tourwiththe444th BombGroupduring WorldWar Two.Whenthe58th BombWing movedto West Field on Tinian in 1945, Lt Neal happened to be stationed at North Fieldwiththe504thBombGroupof the313th BombWing. Theknowledgethat LtNealwasmorethanreadytospell himwhenever neededenhancedCapt Gallagher'sconfidence insuc­cessas LUCKYLADYII awaitedclearance. It was in fact Neal'spiloting skills that hadlead to his transferto the63rd BSjust before itsstint inAlaska.

Instead of the eight or nine that operated a B-50 under normal conditions, LUCKYLADY IIwasset for the long, demanding flight aheadwith an expanded crew of four­teen, formedby mergingthecrewsofCapt GallagherandLtNeal.Since everyonefrombothcrewscouldnot go, experiencewasthedecidingfactor.Oneplaceaboardwent toanofficer fromHQSAC, Capt DavidB.Parmelee,whohadparticipatedintheearlyplan­ning for theglobe-circling mission.

Whencleared for take-off, Gallagher eased the 'plane into the air and ordered thelandinggear retracted.Thesecondattempt atthenon-stoparound theworldflight wasundervvay.AsLUCKYLADY IIdisappeared intothedistance,waitingondeckwasLONGRANG ER, piloted by 1st LtWallace F. VanDykeof the65th BS.

Themenassigned to that thirdB-50 followed progress reportswithmixed emotions.Certainlysuccess forthe 'planeintheair washoped for, but still ... it wou ldbe nicetoget a crack at the mission. Another 'plane from GLOBAL QUEEN's squadron waitedbehind LONG RANGER. Lt Patrick B. Lewisbrought up the rear in B-50A(46-043)withacrew fromthe same squadronas LUCKYLADYII.

Becauseof the cloudcover thefirst 850miles(1 ,370km)of thetriphadtobeflownat5,000ft (1 ,525m) which was half the desired cruising altitude. As a result fuel con­sumption inthedenser air was abit higher than themissionplannershadcountedon.Eastof the Mississippiit wasfinallypossibletoclimbto1O,OOOft, as intended fromthestart. Oneof the flightengineers, though, noticedafter they levelledoff thatavalveonnumber two fuel tankwasnot functioning exactly right. Theproblem didn't appear tooserious.Just somethingtokeepaneyeon.Someof thecrew might havewonderedthenif that was theway GLOBAL QUEEN's troubleshad started.

Meanwhile the navigator hadtokeepaclosewatch on windconditions. Almost 200miles(320km) beyondtheeast coast shoreline, as the'planeenteredlateafternoontwi­light, aweakweather front closed in. Toavoidfuel-depletingheadwindsLUCKY LADYIIsoaredto20,000ft anddecided tomaintainthataltitudeuntil nearingLagensandthefirst refuelling rendezvous.

Backdownto1O,OOOft shortlyafter local dawn on 27February,onlyonetrywasneed­ed to securethe fuel line fromthe first KB-29M. Everything went without a hitch. Anhour and ahalf later, when theB-50hooked up withanothertanker, it wasonthesec­ond attempt, but once the hosewas fastened the transfer ran smoothly. In two andahalf hoursof precisionflying almost10,000USgallonsofpreciousfuel hadbeenpouredinto tanks that had held less than 2,600 USgallonsbefore refue lling operationswiththe tankers out of Lagenscommenced. Underan assumed identity andwith the otherradio operator taking over so final contact with LagensTower would be ina differentvoice, theDhahranlegofthejourneybegannineteenhoursaftertake-off fromCarswell,whichwasby then4,000 nautical miles astern.

Theweather overNorthAfricawasroughandturbulent asthebomberbouncedalongbetween 10,000-1 3,000ft. Thebooster pumpfornumber twofueltankbrokedownanda set of propeller de-icers failed. Still Capt Gallagher and crew were able to fly onthroughanother night cycle. Arriving in the Dhahranarea two hoursafter themorningsunon the28th, heavycloudcover wasencounteredat 1O,OOOft. Breaking through thisat 9,000ft, thetankerswerefinallysighted.Good contactwiththefirst of twoKB-29Ms

wasmadeontheinitial passandthisrefuellingsessionstarted off smoothly.Just afterhookingupwiththesecondtanker,however, aseveresandstormtypica l of Arabian win­terssuddenlyengulfedboth'planes.Theswirlingcloudof fine, powder-likedustkickedupbythewindreached higher than13,000ft.WithunderstatementtheCOof theLUCKYLADYIIfelt thesecondrefuellingwas 'hairy'. Lt Nealconcurred: 'It wasa roughflight.'Capt Gallagher then declared 'Willie Sontag from Roswell really did a good job ...Believe thatwasa first. Refuelling on instruments.'

Lt Bonner. manning theradar stationaboard the B-50, agreed the tanker pilot'flew aperfect jobor wemight still bethere'. Full refuelling hadbeen accomplished undertry­ing conditions. Now, following another swap of tail numbersa climb backto 10,000ftwasexecutedandacourseheadingset forClark AFB inthePhilippines.Not farintothisleg theautopilot stoppedworking. That meant that for the remainder of the flight Gal­lagher, Neal or Morris would have to constantly fly the 'plane, instead of letting it goon its owneverynowand then.

Theywatched the sunset on the28th somewhereover India. In theveryearlymorn­ing hours of 1March they wereover South-east Asia, possibly flyingoverHueandDaNang,hiddeninthedarknessbelow.Theygreetedthesun's returnover theSouthChinaSea . When their B-50reached the vicinity of the Phi lippines local lighting conditionsindicated it wasmid-morning.The bombermadetwocompletecircles over ClarkFieldwhile five tankers fell into positionaround it. Flying across Luzon towards the PacificOcean, the entireformationthenset out in the general directionof Hawaii.

Contact with the first KB-29M was flawless and fuel started flowing at a rateof 88USgallons per minute, increasing slightly lateron, Since the leg ahead wouldbe thelongest of thetrip,theywantedtohold the refuellingconnectionswiththe Clark-basedtankers longer than the earlier contacts. For almost sixty-four minutes LUCKYLADYIIand KB-29Mtanker45-21713maintainedcloseformation.Then suddenly,withonlyfiveor sixminutesmorebeforethe linewould be releasedaftertransferring6AOO-US gal­lons,the 'planes pulledapartbeforeanyonewasready.Perhapsairturbulencewas thecause of this minor mishap. Thesystem hadbeendesigned fora clean breakaway insuchcircumstances, but the intended 'weak link' held firm.

KB-29Mtanker 45-2171 3, which had almost completed its taskanyway, lost a refu­elling nozzlewith little impact on the global mission. It returned immediately to Clarkfor inspection. Ofmore concernwasthe B-50's brokenwinchchain.Without addition­al fuel froma second tanker, LU CKY LADY II could not reach Hawaii anduntil, or if,replacing thechainwas successfully done, this fuel could not be takenaboard. Work­ing frantically,CaptParmelee discovered theextrachainsaboardwere6inchestoolongand would have to becut to fit properly. The bomber also happened to be carrying awhole new winch. He decided it would be faster to replace thewhole assembly, andwitha lot of helpfrom SergeantsM. Davis andTraughproceeded todo so. While theyworked KB-29M tanker 45-21716 was forced to head back duetoa turbo failure. Thatleft threeKB-29Ms inthevicinity. Lt Colonel Michael NW McCoy, theRefuelling Con­trol Officer, riding aboard KB-29Mtanker 45-21 731, signalled that KB-29M tanker 45­21705wouldmake thenext contact whenever it occurred .

For twohours CaptWilliamG. Fuller's 'planewaited patiently until refuelling opera­tionscouldat last be continued, As the loose formationof aircraft continued tocruisenorth-eastward, dusk began to approach. There was little Fuller or his co-pilot, CaptWilliamW. Taylor, coulddoabout thesituation. Aboardasanobserver, Lt Colonel JackS. Hunt, fromthe 18th Fighter Groupstationed at Clark, mayhavediscussedthepossi­ble necessity of the B-50 landing at his unit's home field if the damage was notrepairable intheair.Ofcourse nobodywantedthistohappen.Thetanker'screw,whichalsoincluded 1st Lt WilliamS. Roegles,1st Lt Robert C. McCormick, 1st LtEdwinW.Ryan, S/SgtArthur W. Stear, S/Sgt Andrew J. Brooks and S/Sgt Fred L. Shepherd, allrootedhard for their 43rd Bomb Groupbuddies to fix the problem.

Tostay inthewaningdaylightas longaspossible,Capt Gallagher reversedcourse 180degrees and the attending 'planes followed suit. At last given the green light, CaptFuller'sKB-29M(45-21705)madeperfect contact andremainedlinkedforalmost anhourand ten minutes, transferring close to 7,000 USgallons of fuel while the linked pair ofaircraft flew back towards thePhilippines. The exhausting job completed, the elatedcrewscheeredeachotheras thetwo 'planesparted company. OnceagainLUCKYLADYII executed a smart 180-degree turn, heading alonefor the distant Hawaiian Islands,

continued overleaf

125

STRATEGIC AIR CO~l M AN [)

Non-stopAround-the-World Flight continued

Thenext-to-last episodeof night flyingonthisglobalmissionoccurredover theWest­ernPacific. During thedarkness the International Date Line wascrossed, producing adoubled 1st of March. Capt Gallagher's B-50A began showing signs of strain from thelength of the epic journey. Eight hours from Hawai ian airspace, a problem cropped upwithrisingenginetemperature. Flight engineershad toperiodicallygotomanual oper­ationof theoil coolerstokeepthereadingswithinnormal limits.Then, fourhoursshortof Hawaii, number four enginestarted backfiring sporadically. Neither problem wasconsidered a showstopper andthe last of the scheduled in-flight refue lling contactstook placeasplanned in mid-morningof theencore1st of March.

As soon as Colonel Sipes received word that refuelling over the Philippines wasunderway, he calleda briefing forDetachmentFour flight crews. At lasttheywere letinonthe secret abouttheB-50trying to flyall thewayaround theworldwithout stop­pingonce. They learned thenthat it was headedtheir wayand they wereexpected toperformthe last scheduled refuellingof the mission. LtClasson was instructed to flyKB-29M tanker45-21778west fromHonolulu toa predetermined point overthe Pacif­ic Ocean and orbit there. Lt Ballengee, whohad once beenhis co-pilot, wasto be hiswingman,pilotingKB-29M tanker 44-87777. Co lonel Sipes decidedto have two otherKB-29M tankers, Lt Hamilton's 44-87779 and Lt Hagan's44-87782, orbit theJohnstonIsland area, several hundredmiles fartherout.

It wastheJohnstonIslandpair that intercepted Capt Gallagher's 'planethat morning.LtHamiltonandhiscrewflawlesslyledoff the final refuelling session forthemission .Afterthey werefinishedLt Hagan andhiscrew moved infortheir run. Contact withtheB-50wasmissed onthefirst attempt. but everythingworkedperfectlyonthenext pass.Overall it was the eas iest full transfer encounter since Lagens. AsLUCKY LADYII flewoninto the home stretch she passed bytheother tanker pair.Lt Ballengee got agoodlookat her and noted a number of black streaks frompossibleoil leaks.

Next land sightedbythe crew of the loneB-50 would be the California coast. Twohours' flying timebeyondHawaii it wasnoted that thecarburettorvapour eliminator tothenumber four enginewas stuckopenandasa result fuel consumptionwasupby50USgallonsperhourmorethandesired. If theconditiondidnotworsenandstrongheadwindswereavoided, the threat ofa forcedditching at sea was not yet a major worry.

The journey's toll on engineperformance continued to mount. Nagging incidents ofbackfiring previously confined to number fourenginespread to number two aswell. Afull fivehoursshort of thewest coast it wasdecidedtomanuallyenrich thefuelmixturefed theminaneffort tosmooth out the rough running. It worked. Withonemoreproce­dureadded tothe list of tasksrequiredof hiscrew tokeepLUCKY LADY IIairborne,CaptGallagher coaxedhis'planehomeward.Acouplehourslatertheintercoolerflaptonum­berthreeengineworked loose.With thespirit expressed in thestill popular WorldWarTwo song 'Comin' Inon a Wing and a Prayer' the aircraftand crew pressed onward.

Bathed ingoldenhuesofaglorioussunrise, the beautiful Cal iforniashorelinegreetedthereturnof theglobal flight toairspaceover thecontinental United States on 2March.Asaprecautionarymeasure, threeextraKB-29Msweredispatched fromDavis-Monthantoescort theB-50into Carswell and standby foran imprompturefuel lingif needed.NearTucson thetankerspickedupLUCKY LADY II inthedistance lookingabit like acomet.Asthebrightsilveryspeck witha faintsmokytail grew larger, these tanker crewmen couldalsoseethatthetired 'planewasstainedinplacesbyoil streaks. Encouragedbytheaudi ­ence, theproud aircraft covered theremainingdistancewithout incident on theremain­der of the fuel load received near JohnstonIsland. At 9:31 am FortWorth time,wheelsthathad left therunwayat CarswellAFB 94hours10minutes earlier touched downthereonceagain. Thusaglobe-girdling lapof 23.452 miles137,734km) wascompleted.

Capt Gallagher andhiscrew emerged fromtheir trusty aircraft. posing forpresspho­tographersasAirSecretaryStuart Symington,GeneralVandenberg andGeneralLeMaycongratulated them on a jobwell done. On that festive day inTexason 2 March1949,membersof theelite43rd Bomb Wing savoured the success that teamworkhadmadepossible. Frombasesaround theworld the KB-29Mswere recalledto their home fieldinArizona. GLOBAL QUEEN wasreturning fromtheAzoresand wouldsoonrejoinLONGRANGER and the twoother backupB-50s thathadwaitedat Carswell. LUCKY LADYII,however, was due fora thorough examination byStrategic Air Command specialistsinterested indetermining whateffectsonengine parts long-duration flightoperationshad. A few days later, while Gallagher, Neal. Morris and theothers continued withdebriefings, a flightcrew underLtLewiswasorderedtofly thenow-famousbomber toTinker AFB foranothercomplete physical.

Theinitial highspirits of the occasionwere latersubdued somewhat by tragicnewsfrom thePhilippines. Capt Fuller's 'planewouldnotbe returninghome.Onthewaybackto Clark following the delayed refue lling contact his KB-29M encountered deteriorat­ing weather. Descending toosoon through thickclouds over Rizal Province, the tankerstruck the summit of a mountain about 12 miles (19kml east of thenearest hamlet atLoobacand58miles193km)shortof theClarkAFBdestination.Nosurvivorswerefoundat thecrash sitewhen it wasdiscovered on 15 March. The USAirForce, though, wasnotabout to let an unfortunateaccidentrainon its paradeashad happened in theGulfof Adentheprevioussummer. In themishap report filedwith theSafety andInspectionOffice, NortonAFB, aircraft 45-21705was listedas aTB-29ona routine training mis­siontoobscurethefactit hadanythingto dowiththein-flight refuellingof LUCKYLADYII. The ir roles equa lly anonymousat the time, all the other KB-29Ms of the 43rdARSreturned safelyhometoDavis-MonthanAFB between4and 12March 1949. It hadbeena job well doneandnoone appreciated better the magnitude of the accomplishmentthan thecrew of LUCKY LADYII,whowereamongthevery few tohaveacompletepic­tureof thefirst non-stoparound-the-world flight.

30 7th - were assigned to SAC during th eKorean War. O ne bomb group (lat er bombwing), th e 19th , also served with B-29s inKorea. The latt er uni t was assigned to th e20th A ir Force wh ile th e form er units wereassigned to th e Far East A ir Force (FEA F).It rem ains unclear as to wh y th e 19BG wasnot ren amed 19BW at th e tim e,

In early 1948, ninety-two low-t ime B-29swere sen t to th e new ly reop en ed Boeing­Wi chita plant to und ergo co nve rsion tohose-type tank er aircraft; these were sub­sequen tly designat ed KB-29M .

End of the Road

By the end of 1949 SAC had sixty-two RB­29s and RB-29As - formerly F- 13s and F­13As - which had been fully updated with

th e most mod ern ph otographi c reconnais­sance equipment and elect roni c warfare sys­tems. By th e end of 195 1SAC had 116 KB­29P flying boom -type tank er aircraft to goalong with its ninety-two hose-type KG­29Ms, bringing the tota l of KB-29s to 208 .The hose-type refuell ing system was consid­ered to have numerous d isadvantages, espe­cia lly the length y time requ ired to hook-up,slow fuel transfer rates and th e limited air­speed imposed by th e flailing hoses them­selves. Boeing th erefore devel oped an aero­dynamically cont rolled swivelling andtelescoping arm ca lled the flying boom ,which is still preferred today by th e USA Ffor aerial refuelling man oeuvres. In late1952 SAC had a grand tot al of 4 17 B-29s.

These tot a ls above do not include theTB-29s used for ta rget-towing duties andfor pilot training and transition, V B-29s

126

used for V IP transportat ion or the WB -29sused for weather reconnaissan ce. Theyshow th e largest number of B-29s, KB-29sand RB-29s eve r employed by SAC, but byth e mid - 19 50s th e increasin g ava ilabiliryof B-36s, B-47s and B-50s made a longercareer for th e Superfort un likel y.

The Boeing 13-50, the refined 13-29 , firstbecam e operational in la te 1948 with the43rd BW at Davis-Monthan A FB, A ri­zona; at th e t ime th e 43BW ha d th irt y-fourB-50As, With th e arrival of th e garga n tu­an Conva ir 13-36 Peacem aker in th e ea rly1950s the 13-29 was demoted to become amed ium -cl ass bomber, since th e 13-36 wasso very much larger and ca rr ied a mu chheavier payload ; B-36s first en tered servicein June 1948 with th e 7th BW at CarswellAFB, Texas. The Boeing 13-4713 Srrarojc tfirst became ope rat iona l in th e autumn of

1952 on a limited basis with the 305th and306th Bomb W ings at MacD ill AF B, Flor i­da ; by Feb ruar y 1953 th ere were seven ty­eigh t operat ional B-47s assigned to th esetwo wings.

STRATEG IC A IR CO ~l ~IAN ()

So with three new bombe rs available toit and anot he r two on the near hor izon - theBoeing B-52 Srraroforrress and Convair B­58 Hustler - SAC opted to ret ire its fleet ofwar-weary B-29s, beginn ing in late 1953 and

early 1954 . O n 4 Nove mber 1954 the lastoperat iona l B-29 , a B-29A assigned to the307 th BW at Kadcna A ir Base on O kinawa,was retired to th e USAF reclamation andstorage facility at Dav is-Mo nt han AFB .

A B-29-60-BA (44-840881 with 'buzz' number BF-088.

Buzz numbers were applied to USAF aircraft for ati me so that when and if one 01them ever 'buzzed'

resident ial areas they could be easily identified

by i rate telephone callers. DavidW.Menard

BELOW; This B-29A-75-BN (44-62310; buzz number

BF-310) of 15AF.28BG has the stre amlined

lorw ard-top gun turret. David W.Menard

_......- ---=_.-

e•

12 7

This 2BG B-29A-75-BN

(44-623251 was photographed

at RAF l akenheath in the

summer 011948. A number 01SAC

B-29s were deployed to bases

in England to support the Berlin

Airlift. David W. Menard

STRATEGIC A I R CO ~ I ~ IA:-i D

A left-hand gunner/spotter at hisstation within a CFS compartment.Stan Piet

BElOW: This B-29-96-BW (45-21793)was litted with a cosmic raydetector and was used in theCosmic Ray Research programme01 the late 1940s. USA F

728

CHAPTER NINE

Washington

ABOVE: Three No. 15 Squadron Washingtons - KO-A. KO-B and KO-F- flying in

formation in 1950. Philip Jarrett

TOP: A Washington before it received its squadron markings. With USAF serial number

44-61599still visible. it is easily recognized to be a B-29A-35-BN. Philip Jarrett

Tupo lev Tu -4 'Bull', th e acq uisit ion of acred ible det err ent wa imperati ve.

A t th e tim e of th e j oe Jdetonat ion in th esummer of 1949, the Avro Type 694 Linco lnB.2 was the on ly RA F heavy bomber th atwas capable of reach ing strategic targets inRussia . It was essent ially an improved ver­sion of th e Av ro Lan caster tha t had servedwith distinct ion durin g Word War Two. T heLinco ln B.2 was powered by four I,750hpPackard -built Merlin 68, 68A or 300 inl ineV- 12 eng ines . It co uld carry a maximumbomb load of 14,0001b (6,350k g) for a d is­tance of 2,640 mil es (4 ,22 5km ); with aligh ter bo mb load it co uld fly a maximumdistan ce of 3 ,750 miles (6.000km ). It hada maximum speed of 295mph (475k m/h)and a cruising speed of 23 mph (383k m/h),and its serv ice ce iling was 22,OOOft(6,7 00m) . 1t was 79ft 3 .5in (24. 15m) long,spa nne d 120ft Oin (36 .57 m) and had awing area of 1,421sq ft (l 3 2sq m ). Itweighed 44,14 81b (20,021kg) empty and82.0001b (37.200kg) loaded.

T he RA F knew, of co urse , about thecapabilit ics of the B-29 Supcrforrrcss. It a lsoknew tha t the USAF was begin n ing toreplace th em with B-36s and B-50s. and th atth ey wer e close to be ing ph ased o ut. Yet ,wi th its h igh -al t itu de pressuri zed flyingcapabil ity it offe red a vast improvemen tover th e Lincoln. T hus, under th e US Mili­ta ry A id Programme (MAP), RAF BomberC o mmand began acce pt ing a tota l ofeigh ty-seven seco nd-hand Supcrforts, most­ly B-29A s, on 22 March 1950. In RA F ser­vice they were officially designat ed BoeingWash ington B. I, th ough the y were gene ral­ly kn own to RA F person nel simply as B-29s.

inc RA F bomb squadrons - 15. 35 (t he\Vash ingto n Conversion Un it or \VC U ),44. 57, 90 , 115, 149 . 192 and 207 - receivedeigh t Washi ngton B. ls eac h by 25 May195 1. The remain ing fifteen \Vash ingtonswere used for pilot train ing and tran sition .and used for spares. Two \Vash ingto n S . Iswent to the Royal A ustralian A ir Force(RAA F) in A ustralia (see below). T he B. Isquadrons were locat ed at RA F Con ingsby.RA F Marham and RA F Wat ton .

det errent to th e USSR, wh ich had explod­ed its first ato mic bo mb on 29 A ugust 1949- a device with a yield of about 20 ki lotonscodc- namcd joe J.Since the Sov iets had 'thebom b' and were within st riking distan ce ofth e U K th an ks to their B-29 looka likc, the

As the Cold \Var grew eve n more frigid inthe late 1940s and ea rly 1950s , commandersof the Brit ish Royal Air Force Bomber Com­mand decided th at they needed to field amore capable heavy bo mb er than theythe n had, to ncr as an add it ional n uclear

129

WASHI NGTON

RAFWashington crewmembers pose by an aircraft they flew in. RAFWashingtonsusually carri ed a crew of ten or eleven. not sixte en as shown here. Philip Jarrett

Sgt It C. 'Colin ' Wi lliams is a World WarTwo veteran and later served as a navigatoron Washingtons, first in 35 Squadro n (the\X!ash ington C on version Un it ) at RA FMarharn in Se pte mber 1952, then 15Squadron at RA F Con ingsby until Ap ril1953. During his tim e on \X!ashingtons heserved aboard W F334, W F343, WF499,W F497, \X!F505, WF507, WF552, WF554and WF559. He recalls:

Afte r World W ar Two , Bo mber C ommand slid

into a dull, co mforta ble ru t , repeat ing wh at had

gone before - d ropping prac tice bombs on tar­

gets in T he \Vash , simula ted blin d-bombing

runs on the C owley Works at Oxford, cross­

co unt ry runs out to withi n ten m iles of the Iron

C urta in , down it for a hundred miles and back

hom e aga in , occa sional mo nt h sruys in th e

C ana l Zone to main tain a prese nce th ere. No t

much of int erest the re .

Back in those days of Dead Reckoni ng navi­

gat ion, and wit h elec tron ics in its infancy, my

flying t imes were unr em itt ing ha rd labour, two

hou rs of preparat ion befo re rake -off, non -stop

effo rt whi le we were airborne. Ten hou rs of non-

Close-up view of KO-F of No. 15 Squadron . Philip Jarrett

sto p effort was common place . I won der now how

I d id it ! Ad d to whi ch , you couldn' t imagine a

wor se work ing envi ron me nt. The Lancaster and

Lincoln were cramped , deafen ing noisy, often

freezing co ld , and anyth ing but sta ble.

A fte r some years of that , th e B-29 Was h ing ton

was like parad ise. The navigati onal remit was

mu ch the same, no ad vanc e there, but wh at a

change in working cond it ions. The Wa sh ington

was the RA F's first pressur ized aircraft. It was

consequen tly quiet and at a ni ce, eve n temp er­

ature inside . You cou ld ac tua lly ta lk to one

ano ther with o ut reco urse to the in te rcom. not

have to wea r a cumbersome oxyge n mask.

wh ich in the Lancaster d ripped conde nsa t ion

constan tl y on to your chart s. It was ligh t an d

roomy, like work ing in your living room after a

lon g spel l in a dungeon . In my yea rs of flying, ir

was the best a ircraft I eve r flew in . It flew h igh ­

er and faster than Lancasrers and l. incolns, but

th is was of lit tle acco unt in na viga tion terms,

O ne would suppose that all th is would imp rove

my perfor mance , but we always go t what was

req uire d out of my navigat ion , and in the end it

was just so mu ch less wea ring Oil me .

After World War Two , the RAF di scontinued

the rank of bomb airncr , '1I1d too k to havin g two

na vigators, in the face of the dem ands of nell'

am i bett e r airbo rne radar. T here was a nav-plo r­

rer and a nav-radar. I was always a nav-p loucr. In

the Lincoln we sat side-by-side and the nnv-radar,

wh o S:lI nearest the front , di d the bomh aim ing.

He d id the radar bombing anyway, so it was co n­

vcn ienr . In th e Wa shi ngto n , the n av -ruda r was

in th e rear co mpa rt me nt wit h h is blind bomb­

ing equ ipment , so it was conve ni en t for me to

carry out the live homh ing .

Again , wh at a differen ce, but some reserva­

tions. In th e Lincoln and Lancas te r, the on ly

auto matica lly set bo mhing param et ers were th e

altitude . speed and co urse, th e rest be ing set man­

ually. \Vhil e th is was not cond ucive to good

accurac y - inside IOOyd was exc e llent and a hit

lucky - it diel affm d a degree of flexibility durin g

the bombi ng run . T he Norden bomb sight fill c'd

in th e Wash ington was fully aut om atic: th e alti­

tude, course and speed set in , th e defini tion of the

aircraft 's track and correc t bomh release poin t

being calcula ted by Dop pler effect during th e

run -up to the tar get. During the bo mbing run ,

the bornh-aim cr flew th e aircraft , via the autop i­

lot, hI' turni ng the homhsight. It was extre mely

130

acc unuc , and cvcntu.illv I could guarantee drop ­

ping a lxunb imi de th e IOOyd magic circle.

A ll very commendable, bu t no manoeuvre­

flex ibility dur ing a 5-mile st ra igh t-and -leve l

run -in , and I woul dn 't like 10 have tried it wit h

any rada r-pred icted tlak arou nd'

So the \Vashington was a beaut iful a ircraft 10

fly, and III Ill' and wor k in. I don 't have much

kno wledge on th e gunnery side , except 10

reme mber it was auto mate d. and O U f gunners

were imp ressed . I do see from my logh,x,k, how­

eye r, th at on 9 June 1950 , we spe nt ten hours in

a Lin coln sea rch ing the or th Sea for surv ivors

of an A merican 11-29 tha I had shol ilself down.

T( Xl much autom at io n can he a da ngerous th ing!

T he Wash ington 13. 1 served th e RA F wel land by lat e 1954 , ot he r than th e ones thatcrashed or were sc rapped in the U K, mostof them had been ret urn ed to the US A .T here were some stragglers th at rem ainedin th e U K (or spec ia l duties unt il 1958.

WA SHINGTON

RAF Washingt on Operat ions ­'Strike Hard , Strike Sure '

T he Berlin A irlift in 1948 and the Korean\Var beginning in 1950 sent out a loud andclear message that there woul d not be anyrea l peace in the world.

In the meantime, in 1949, RA F BomberC ommand began to replace its \Vorl d \VarTwo-era Lancasrers with Linco lns. But itreally needed a bett er bomber wh ile itwaited (or th e je t-p owered bom bers thenunder developme n t. So in early 1950 per­sonnel (rom 115 Squadron were sen t to theUS A to tra in on the Boei ng B-29s, wh ichwould serve until Brit ish-built je t bombersen te red service.

Being th e first RA F squadron to get 13­29s, 115 Squadron first bro ught their first(our Boeing Wash ingtons int o the U Kbeginning in March 1950, arr iving at RA FMarh am wh ich was to be their first base .

115 Squadron worked up to operatio na lstrcngrh and pa rt ic ipared in n umerous air­defence exerc ises. In 1951 and 1952 l ISSquadron was at th e forefront of RA FBomber C ommand and was ac tive in alltypes of exercises, deploying to Malta todevelop, among o ther thi ngs, operati onalradar-bom bing techn iques. In 1953, 115Squadron earned the Laurence MinotBombing Trophy (or its bombing expe rt ise.Ir d id not begin to convert to its EnglishElectric Canbe rra jet bombers until 1954.

Bomber C ommand \Vash ington 13.1operations were (or th e most pa rt basedupon heavy bombing train ing man oeu vresof the most serious kind - that is, dai lypreparat ions (or th e possibil ity o( a Wor ldWa r T h ree. T hese were cent red on th emu lti -engine pilot ing skills, bomb-a iming,fligh t engineer traini ng. co n ven tiona l andnu clear bombardmen t scena rios, gunneryperfection and na vigation al ab ilities, not

ABOVE: WF545 on the fl ight line wit h other Washington bombers. This Washington (code WP-D) was formerlya B-29A-65-BN (44-621531. Philip Jarrett

BELOW: No. 15Squadron's KO-A and KO-F in 1950.PhilipJarrett

131

WASII I:"GTOI\'

JL

KO-A (WF448) of No. 15Squ adron flies a lone .around 1950. PhilipJ arrett

BELOW: A Washi ngton of No. 15Squadron.Philip J arrett

to mcnt ion top notch airframe and eng inema in tena nce by h igh ly sk illed ground­crews. W ith the Wash ingto n 13.1, th e RA Fhad a ded icat ed stra tegic nu clear bombercapable of reaching any given ta rget in theworl d from its man y a ir base around thewor ld.

The W C U was formed in March 1950.Eigh t-week co nversion courses were heldfor th e squadro ns to be based at Marhamand C on ingsby. A s previously mention ed ,the first to become opera t iona l was 115Squadro n , in mid - 1950 , fo llowed by Nos149, 90 , 15,44, 20 7 and 35 Squadrons , ofwh ich the latt er was formed I cprernber1951 fro m th e W C and became theWash ington Tra ining Sq uad ron (WT S ).Nos 149 , 15 and 44 Sq uad rons mo ved toC on ings by whi le 115, 90 , 20 7 and 35staye d at Marham .

Marha rn-based \Vash ingto ns too k part inExerci e EIIl /)(~ror between 7 and 15 Octo­ber 1950. USAF 93 rd Bomb Group B-50salso took part in the exe rcise. In July 195290 Squadro n \Vash ingtons won the RA FBomber Command bombing compe tit ion .T he main part of th e co mpetit ion co nsistedof four separate cross-co untry n igh t fligh tsand visual bombing on a range, with pointsawarded for acc uracy and navigation skills.T h is led to the winn ing of th e Lauren ce

Minot Boml ing Trophy, awa rded to 9Squadron by Marshal of the RA F Sir JohnSlessor on 14 October 1952.

John Rob ert ' Bob' ole was an electri­ca l fitt e r assigned to 149 Sq uadro n at RA fCon ingsby. \Vhi!e Corpora l C o le wasthere he work ed on numerous \Vash ing­to ns , but primaril y o n WF498/LS-G, a 13­29A-40-B formerly 44 -6 168 , wh ich herefers to as 'h is' 'plane. He relat ed:

A fte r passing .out from the RAF Train ing

Sc ho o l at Hal ton in Au gust 1950 I rem oved the

Ap prentice wheel from my uniform ar m.

removed th e yellow ) win g hat ban d, and

beca me a Se nior Airc rnfrsman . a working ser­

vice man . Then it was t ime to report for dut y at

RA F Marh am, in No rfolk. Th is was bomber

co unt ry, with big A mer ica n a ir bases like

Swnffluu » and Lnken heatb . and RAF airfields

such as Watton . Marh .un hou sed a B-29 Su pe r­

(ortrc« co n version uni t, to train RAF air- and

groundcrews on these ai rcraft, whi ch were to be

ca lled ' \Vash ingron s' by th e RAE Consequent ­

II' Mar h.uu was a mixed RAF/USAF base.

O n Saturday n ights we would go to the da nce

ha lls at King's Lyn n or W isbech , wh ich were

always crowded with Amer ican and Briti sh air­

men , T hese were a lways a lo t of fun, and

althoug h occasiona lly a fight would break out

we stayed on pretty good te rms with th e 'Yanks'.

732

O ur new aircraft flew in from the U n ited

States and after we had com pleted th e accep­

tan ce tes ting we formed our squadron , N, >. 149,

and with our e igh t B-29s moved up to RAF

Con ingsby in Lincol nsh ire. Life with 149

Squ adron was in teres tin g . COll ingshy was rvp i­

cal Linco lnsh ire. Flat all the W'ly to th e North

Sea , and often beset by rain or sno w-lade n

clo uds swee pinu in from (he coas t. Our nearest

li t tle village was called Ne w York and the' near­

est big town was Hosron - rea lly! The H-29 was

a big, co mplex (for those da ys) aeroplane and

my ,bys were spen t out on the !ligh t line, doi ng

pr c-Ili uh r in spe ct io ns and m in o r trou blesh oot ­

ing. A di fferent crew did any major ,ervici ng

back in the han gar, bu t on th e !light lin e we h ad

'ou r own' aeroplane .

O n occasion it was necessary to fly o n air tests.

Anythi ng requiring full c lcc tricnl load , and exe r­

cises like pa rallel ing th e e ight alte rnators had to

be done in the air. and for th is I would just go up

as supernumerary crew, co mple te with fl ight suit

and parach ute o n regular train ing missions.

These could last anyt h ing from three or four

hours III' to - well. Illy longest !ligh t was nin e

an d a half hours. T h is. I rcrucml-cr, was a nigh t­

tim e co mbined na\'igat i<1I1{h unh ing exe rc ise

with a fliuht plan that led us "I' to the north of

co tlan d , down lh e WCSl coas t to Lands End ,

alon g th e south coas t ~nd th en " I' to the bom l»

ing ran ge near h ) the \Vnsh .

In Se ptem ber 19 5 1 I was to ld to joi n an a ir­

craft ta king parr in the Bartle of Britain Day fly­

past o ver Lo nd on . l lowcve r, lo w cloud co nd i­

tio ns ove r Lond o n caused th e fly-past to he

'scra tched ' , so ins te ad we were d ive rted lip to

\'(fest Frcu gh , in Sco tland , and instruc ted to land

at the RAF airfield there to hc pa rt o f th c 's ta t ic

d isp lay ' for th e ope n day. T h is we d id , land ing

desp ite the run way hc ing no m in all y 600yd too

short, and 'sto od hI" th e ai rc raft to exp la in it to

visitors. W e n ear ly burnt out rh e brakes whe n

landi ng on thei r short run way! S mo ke was po ur ­

in g fro m thcm by the t ime we stopp ed . A t the

end of the day, rh e skippe r ga the red us toge ther

for a pre -rake-off hrie fing and wa rned us tha t we

sho uld be prepa red for a rough ta ke-off. At the

ver y end of the run way he ran a ll four eng ine s up

to full powe r be fore rc lca sin g the brakes, and yes,

we s tag~ered in to the ai r, sec lu ing ly inches over

th e per ime ter fence . It was qui te ex c it ing .

For a young man in his early twe nti es it was a

grea t life . T h ere was a grca t deal of ca ma rade rie

amo ngst th e lads in the squad ro n . o ne of wh o m

was my o id roo mm ate fro m H alto n , H arry Rick­woo d . W c ha d our sha re o f 'c ha rac ter s' . in cl ud ­

ing one ai rman , so mewhat o lder th an most of

us, wh o had a neve r-en d ing supp ly of ou tru­

gco usly tall rules a bo u t h is ex plo its in life . hav­

ing the ab ility to h ypnot ise people .

A t the end o f 19 5 1 my promo t io n to Jun ior

Tech n ici an carne in , and I a lso went hack to

Marham to ra ke a t rade test boa rd for C or por a l

Technici an . T he new RA I' Tech nician ran ks

were in trodu ced in 19 5 1 (stri pe s wer e wo rn

upside down) an d presen ted a p rob lem , in tha t

fin ite periods of severa l yea rs ha d to spent in

each gradc befor e one co uld be q uali fied to

mo ve up to the next ran k, afte r a tra de test

ho ard . ( Evc n rually, af tcr I had Icft the se rvice ,

th e techni ci an ran ks wer e a bando nc d .) So

WASIl INGTO N

Bob Cole himse lf by his bird during a l ighter moment. Bob Cole Collection

WW355. for merly B-29A-70-BN (44-622391. w as deli vered to the RAF on 12 Jul y 1950.Philip Jarrett

- .. J

This Washington. formerly B-29A-45-BN 44·61787. is just rotating for lift-off. Peter M. Bowers

133

although I passed the board ther e would be a

lon g delay before the promotion could be pro ­

mulgated . A few mo nth s later, however, I d id get

promot ed to Corporal, a regula r ran k with the

str ipes up the righ t way. T h is had a drawback in

that I got tran sferred from 149 Squadron to the

sta tion technica l wing back in the han gar, where

we carried out more serious serv ici ng on aircraft

from all three squadrons at the airfield .

In February 1952, wh ile sti ll with the

Squadron , I h ad my first trip outside of the UK.

Several of our aircra ft had flown down to the

C anal Zone , in Egypt, to rake part in exe rcises and

one of th em ('my' aircraft ) developed an engine

fault on th e way back and made an emergency

land ing at RA F Luqa, on the island of Malta. A

groundcrew, including myself, was round ed up at

WASHI NGTON

Con ingsby, a spare engine was loaded into the

bo mb-bay of anot he r 'k ite ', and we were flown

down to Luqa to do th e eng ine change (after

being inocula ted against seemingly every disease

known to man ). Because of some prob lem with

the spare engine anot he r one was flown down,

whic h resulted in us being th ere for twelv e days.

O n several occasions some of the perman ent staff

at Luqa rook us visitors down to Valona , wh ich at

th at t ime was a major Royal Na vy base. T here was

an area of Valerrn known as ' the G ut' , an area of

narro w alleys full of bars, wh ich housed a world I

didn 't know even existed. It was defin itely no

place for anyone's maiden aunt .

Back at C on ingsby the good life co nt inued

unti l th e end of th e summe r. Fate ste pped in and

in October I was posted to a place called Nor th

Operation Home Run - Returning WF513 tothe USAF

C otes, a miserab le, desolate ho le on th e north

coast of Lincolnshir e , to th e south of G rimsby.

No squadron th ere , just a bu nch of N issan huts

and lo ts of RA F pol ice and unsmili ng non-com­

mission ed officers.

RAF Bomber Command lost severalWashington s and a n umber of th eir crew­men due to crashes . O ne such mishap cameabout at 5:55pm on 5 January 1953 whena 15 Squadron Washington (WF553)crashed at C laxby, killin g five of its ten-mancrew. O ne mem ber of the crew, Sgt/A irG unner Wi lliam R, 'Billy' Karr, receivedth e Q ueen 's Commendat ion for Braverybecause of his ac tions in the afte rmath ofth e crash , Through a newspaper cl ipping

At thebeginningof 1954RAFBomber Commandbrought the Canberraintoserviceandthe Washingtons that hadplugged thegap betweentheLincolnand the Canberra wasreturnedto the United Statesunder thecodenameHome Run. This isa brief recollec­tion.some forty-sevenyearsandsomemonthson, of one such repatriation.

Iwas a National ServiceAir Gunner serving in 207 Squadron based at RAFMarhaminNorfolk. National Service Air Gunnerswerecalled Widgets' byother aircrew trades, Iguess that wasbecausewedidnot havemuch todoand therewere four of us in eachcrew.When it was, as it alwaysseemedtobe, cold,thecrywouldgoup'Throw anoth­er Widget on the fire!' There beingnothing toshoot at, wewereexpendable.

TheWashington only required one gunner todoanything useful, other than to keepa look out, as the cockpit wasavery long wayin front of the tail and turnswouldoth­erwise havebeenblind. Theuseful bit oneof ushad todowas tostart theAPU(auxil­iarypower unit], thatwas apowergenerator runbya Ford petrol engine.We cal led it,amongother things 'the putt putt' because that waswhat it sounded like when start­ingthe beast on the ground when all elsewas quiet. It was a different story beforelanding, with the cacophonyof the four engines.

Anyway,backtotheplot.At 1520hourson 15February1954WF513roareddowntherunway with a crew of eight on board, en route for the wild west of America wheremost Washingtons where put out to grass. Oh yes those of you with anarithmeticalbentmay havenoticed that twopilots, twonavigators, anengineer,asignallerandonegunner add up to seven. The eighth member was a wing commander whowas 'bum­ming' a ride,and as he was in thecentre section with me I hadto behave. No craftydrags thought I, until he offered me one! I forgot to say that we stopped being 'gun­ners' whenweclimbedaboard aWashington, aswebecameCFC (Central FireControl]systemcentre, left and right scanners and tail gunner. My wing commander was leftscanner, althoughhespent most of thetime upthesharp end.

We headed north toPrestwick, Scotland, thatwas the jumping-off point fortrackingto NorthAmerica. This bit wasuneventful. We hadexperienced some minor pre-flightradioproblem andwhen Iwent out toWF513 later, becauseI had forgottensomethingor other, I found the radio technicianwas fiddlingabout with the equipment. I was upfront sittingin theCapt'sseat, pretendingto bea pilot, when the techniciancalled metodoaradio test tothetower onchannel two.Theonlyradiocommunicationthat I haddonewas on intercom and thatwas limited to 'putt putt on the line, sir', 'clear right,sir' and the occasionalacronym for 'send help its terrible' when something unnervinghappened. Anyway, I punchedthe channel two button and with great aplomb called'PrestwickTower, PrestwickTower, this is Royal Air Force 513 for radiocheck,how doyouread?'Back they came ina flash 'Royal AirForce513, readingyou loud andclear.'Theonlyproblem was, I laterfoundout, I hadforgotten tosay that it wasaground testand they are probablystill doing a searchfor themissingWashington.

On again at 0023 hours - yes, that's twenty-three minutes past midnight - we'reboundfor the Azores, which isavery longwayoverwaterand I hoped I could remem­ber mydinghydrill. 8hours10minuteslaterwe landed at Lages Fieldandwewereledto a parking bay by a truck with a big sign on theback which read 'SIGA ME'and myschoolboySpanishhad come in useful at last, for I knew what that meant. So did theCapt it seems, because he followed the truck. At 1251 hours thenext day we were offagain, over moreandmoreocean, arriving9hours20minutes later in Bermuda.Thankgoodness deepvein thrombosis hadn't been inventedyet!

I can't rememberwhen it waswe lost anengine. I think it must havebeen just beforeBermuda. Well, not literally lost it, that would havebeen careless, but it stopped run­ning.Thiswasnot unusual forWashingtonssowedidn't takemuchnotice. Aswewerecomingin to land I wasdoing my scanning bit when to my amazement I spied a B-17withadirtygreat lifeboathangingfromitsbomb-bay creepingupfrom astern, oringun­ner-speakat 6o'clock.Apparently theskipperhadtold thetower whenonhisapproachthat it would be a three-enginelanding, andthey alerted the US CoastGuard in casewe ditched. Very comforting, mind you, since that was before I knew anything abouttheso-called BermudaTriangle.

At 0251 hours the next day we were off again over even more ocean andon to theUSA.At onepoint oneof thenavigatorssaid'there'stheMississippi' and lookingdownfromabout 20,OOOft, I am sureIsaw apaddleboat.I tooka photobutyoucan't tell whatsort of boatit was.At last, after ashort tripof 3hours50minuteswe landedat theUSAir Force base nearDover, Delaware. We spent a fewdays there, aswewere to takeanother Washingtonon to Tucson, Arizona. I think WF51 3 was too tired to continue.Not us, though. Some of us hitcheda ride toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, and spent ourtime doing whatwe always did, sampling the local ale. We went to a nightclub andheardasinger nobody had heard ofcalledDeanMartin. When I thinkthat wewere inthe place where the USA was born with the Liberty Bell andthe Declaration of Inde­pendence just around thecorner.Oh well, I wasonly nineteen.

At 1830hourson24 February we headed forDavis-MonthanAir ForceBasenearTuc­son, a ten-hour flight in WF559. I can't remember the time differences but it was stilldarkwhenwe landedandwe taxiedfor whatseemed ages past parked aircraft.

Next morningwelooked outon a truly amazingscene. For as far as the eye couldsee,therewere rows of aircraft parked inthedesert. It wasimpossibletocount how manybutI have thememory ofhundredsof B-29 tail finsglinting in thehotsun. Wewent down toformallyhandWF559backtotheUSAF. Withinafew minutesthegunsand other bitsandpieceshadbeenremoved,all ofthePlexiglashadbeen cocoonedwithwhat Isuppose wasfibreglassand shewas up on jacks. Years later I saw asmall paragraph in a newspaperthat said the last of theB-29s fromtheArizonadesert had beenusedasamissile target.

Viabuses, commercial airlinersandtrains,thetripback to Englandandmyhome wasuneventful. My part of Operation Home Runwascomplete.

JohnForster

134

and Billy Kart 's log book , hi s neph ew DavidKarr provides thi s account :

As it happened , after a four-plus-hour radar exer­

cise flight , WI' 553 was return ing to RAF Con­

ingsby. W hile WI' 553 was ou t on her mission

RAF Coningsby had gotten severe ly fogged-in .

When the Wash ingto n returned to base, it was­

n't on ly foggy but it was dark. T he pilot, I'll Lr F:A. Rust, made several go-around man oeuvr es in

his att empt to brin g her in . A serious landing

attempt was made after the th ird go-around, but

the airplane had gOll en roo low, too fast to make

th e runway and went in . My uncle was all right

and he tried in vain to get the dying out of the

airplane . It was later ruled th at \VF553 should

have been diver ted to anot her air base, rhar the

crash and loss of life could have been avoided.

T hc Bocing \Vashi ngtons served RAFBomber C ommand very well indeed and,th ough bascd prima rily in G rea t Britain ,thcy also served at bases througho ut theBritish Empi re including A ustralia, C yprus,Ind ia, Malt a and New Zealand .

WASHINGTON

An unidentified Washington at RAF Coningsby. Bob ColeCollection

NB.AllbutthreeB.l aeroplanes wereBoeing-Renton·built B-29As.

Other RAF Coningsby Washingtons, Bob ColeCollection

Royal Aus tralian Air ForceWashingtons

Two Wash ingtons - W W353 (44-62049)and WW354 (44-6 1963) - were deliveredto the Royal A ustra lian A ir Force (RAAF) ,wh ich assigned them bot h to A ircraftResearch and Dcvclopmcnr Unit (ARDU )Tria ls Fligh ts 23 and 11, respect ively,As partof Au stralia's Wcapo ns Research Estab lish­ment (W RE) , ARDU received th eir Wash­ingtons in Septembe r and December 1952.

US A ir Force seria l number 44 -62049(formerly a B-29A-60 -BN ) was delivered to

th e RA F on 14 A ugust 1951 and rece ivedRAF serial WW353. It was del ivered to

Scor tish Av iat ion Ltd on 25 A ugust [95 l ,and then it was issued to rhe Minist ry ofSupply (M oS) on 25 Ju ly 1952 for tri als.A ftc r its dut y with the RA AF it wasretu rned to MoS on 25 Septe mbe r 1954,and it was scrapped 23 Septe mber 1957.T hough issued RA A F serial A 76- 1, itnever wore it.

USAF serial 44-6 1963 (former ly a B­29A -55-BN ) was deli vered to SA L formain ten ance and sto rage on 25 A ugust195 1 and rece ived RA F serial WW354, [twas delivered to MoS on 20 May [952 fortrials , Aftc r its service in A ustra lia itreturned to the U K on 25 Se pte mber 1956and was scra pped on 9 Octobe r 1957. Itwore RA A F serial A 76-2.

Powerplant:

Weights:

Dimensions:

Performance:

\

Specification - Washington B.l (based on B-29A specifications)

Four Wright Cyclone 18R-3350-23 radial engines

Empty 74,5001b 133,560kg); loaded 120,0001b (54,400kg)

Length99ft Din 130 17m); wingspan 141ft 3in143m);wing area 1.736sqft (16127sqm); height 27ft 9in18,45mj

Maximumspeed357mph(575km/h); cruisingspeed342mph (550km/hl;serviceceiling33,600ft(10.240ml; maximum range3.250miles(5.230km); maximum bombload 20,0001b19,000kg! for 1,000miles (1 ,600kmj

135

WAS IIINGTON

RoVal Air Force Washington 8.1s

RAF Serial Type USAF Serial Code Squadron(s) CommentsNumber Number

WF434 B-29A-35-BN 44-61599 FB-K scrapped in UK8/8/57WF435 B-29A-40-BN 44-61678 FB-L scrapped in UKB/B/57WF436 B-25A-45-BN 44-61792 FB-M scrapped in UK B/B/57WF437 B-29A-55-BN 44-696BO FB-N 35Sqnand207Sqn returned to USA 22/7/53WF43B B-29A-40-BN 44-27342 FB-O returned toUSA16/3/54WF439 B-29A-40-BN 44-61634 FB-P returned toUSA 31/3/54WF440 B-29A-20-BN 42-93976 FB-Q returned toUSA 22/3/54WF441 B-29A-45-BN 44-61714 scrapped in UK 17/4/5BWF442 B-29A-25-MO 42-65274 KO-J 115Sqn thenWP-P 90Sqn first 8.1delivered to RAF; deliveredB/6/50;

returnedto USA 7/7/53WF443 B-29A-50-BN 44-618B3 KO-D 115Sqn thenWP-A90Sqn returned to USA22/7/53WF444 B-29A-25-BN 42-94052 KO-C 115Sqn returned to USA 25/B/53WF445 B-29A-60-BN 44-62062 KO-F 11 5Sqn returned to USA 7/7/54WF446 B-29A-35-BN 44-615B4 KO-B 115Sqn returned to USA2B/7/53WF447 B-29A-65-BN 44-621 59 KO-G 11 5Sqn returned to USA 17/1 1/53WF44B B-29A-45-BN 44-61743 KO-A 11 5Sqn returned to USA 17/11 /53WF490 B-29A-60-BN 44-62074 OJ- 149Sqnthen35Sqn returned to USA20/10/53WF491 B-29A-65-BN 44-6219B OJ-T 149Sqn then90Sqn returned to USA 25/B/53WF492 B-29A-50-BN 44-61B95 OJ-U 149Sqn then90Sqn returned to USA 11/B/53WF493 B-29A-40-BN 44-61642 OJ-W 149Sqn returned to USA 20/10/53WF494 B-29A-65-BN 44-62155 OJ-X 149Sqn retu rned to USA1B/B/53WF495 B-29A-65-BN 44-62 12B OJ- 149Sqnthen115Sqn crashed in UK27/1/54WF496 B-29A-40-BN 44-61695 FB-N returned to USA22/3/54WF497 B-29A-60-BN 44-62012 LS-A 149Sqn then 15Sqn returned to USA3/11/53WF49B B-29A-40-BN 44-61 6BB LS- 149Sqn then 35Sqn returned to USA 22/7/53WF499 B-29A-50-BN 44-61BB9 LS-B 149Sqn then 15Sqn then 115Sqn returned to USA 22/2/54

(recoded B)WF500 B-29A-60-BN 44-62043 WP-C 149Sqn then 90Sqn returned to USA 7/7/53WF501 B-29A-55-BN 44-619B2 WP-N 149Sqn then 90Sqn returnedto USA 11/B/53WF502 B-29A-50-BN 44-61B94 WP-O 90Sqn crashed inUK B/ l /53WF503 B-29A-70-BN 44-62231 WP-B 90Sqn returnedto USA 2B/7/53WF504 B-29A-55-BN 44-6193B LS-C 15Sqn returnedto USA 11/B/53WF505 B-29A-55-BN 44-62001 LS-D 15Sqn returnedto USA 3/ 11 /53WF506 B-29A-35-BN 44-615B5 LS- 15Sqn returnedto USA 4/1/54WF507 B-29A-70-BN 44-62234 LS- 15Sqn returnedto USA 1B/8/53WF50B B-29A-45-BN 44-6172B 44Sqn then 90Sqn returnedto USA 22/1/54;to USAAFWB-29WF509 B-29A-55-BN 44-62003 44Sqn then 115Sqn returned to USA 22/1/54WF510 B-29A-55-BN 44-62005 44Sqn returnedto USA 2B/7/53WF511 B-29A-35-BN 44-61 559 44Sqn returnedto USA 1B/B/53WF512 B-29A-60-BN 44-62016 44Sqn returned to USA 1B/8/53WF51 3 B-29A-60-BN 44-62037 44Sqn then 115Sqn returnedto USA 15/2/54WF514 B-29A-70-BN 44-62280 KO-Y 115Sqn returned to USA 25/B/53WF545 B-29A-65-BN 44-62 153 WP-D 57Sqn then90Sqn returnedto USA 3/26/54WF546 B-29A-60-BN 44-621 01 149Sqn returnedto USA 22/7/53WF547 B-29A-70-BN 44-6232B 149Sqn returned to USA20/10/53WF548 B-29A-65-BN 44-62154 KO-Z 115Sqn returnedto USA 2B/7/53WF549 B-29A-60-BN 44-62013 WP-M 90Sqn then207Sqn returnedto USA 19/1/54WF550 B-29A-60-BN 44-62032 57Sqn then 90Sqn returned to USA 17/11 /53WF551 B-29A-60-BN 44-62050 57Sqn then 90Sqn returned toUSA 4/1/54WF552 B-29A-75-BN 44-62326 57Sqn then 15Sqn then 115Sqn returnedtoUSA 22/2/54WF553 B-29A-60-BN 44-62031 57Sqn then 15Sqn crashed 5/1/53;scrapped 2/2/53WF554 B-29A-65-BN 44-62129 207Sqn then 57Sqnthen 90Sqn returnedto USA 16/3/54WF555 B-29A-70-BN 44-62254 H 57Sqn crashed29/9/51; scrapped 3/1/52WF556 B-29A-60-BN 44-62101 57Sqn then 35Sqn then 90Sqn returnedto USA 4/1/54WF557 B-29A-65-BN 44-62177 57Sqn then 115Sqn returned to USA 25/B/53WF55B B-29A-55-BN 44-6197B 207Sqn then57Sqn then 90Sqn returnedto USA 5/1/54WF559 B-29A-60-BN 44-62014 FB-L 207Sqn then35Sqn then 11 5Sqn returned to USA 5/1/54WF560 B-29A-50-BN 44-61B9B 44Sqn then 115Sqn returned to USA 19/1/54WF561 B-29A-60-BN 44-62019 207Sqn then 44Sqn then 15Sqn returned to USA 1/12/53WF562 B-29A-70-BN 44-62256 57Sqn then 115Sqn(recoded Kl returned to USA 7/7/53

136

WASIl INGTON

RAF Serial Type USAFSerial Code Squadron{s) CommentsNumber Number

WF563 B-29A-55-BN 44-62006 57Sqnthen 90Sqn returned to USA 25/2/54WF564 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62259 207Sqn returned to USA 17/2/54WF565 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62243 EM-B 207Sqn returned to USA 15/2/54WF566 noother informationWF567 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62256 207Sqn returned to USA 16/3/54WF568 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62265 EW-W 207Sqn returnedto USA 15/1/54WF569 B-29A-6o-BN 44-62105 EM-V 207Sqn returned to USA 15/2/54WF570 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62241 FB-M crashed14/12/52; scrapped8/1/53WF57 1 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62257 FB-Q 35Sqn returned toUSA 11 /8/53WF572 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62266 FB-N 35Sqn returned to USA 15/1/54WF573 B-29A-6o-BN 44-62030 FB-S 35Sqn returnedtoUSA 15/ 1/54WF574 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62244 FB- 34Sqn returned to USA 17/ 11/53WW342 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62242 207Sqn returned to USA 3/11/53WW343 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62235 35Sqn returned to USA 7{l/53WW344 B-29A-6o-BN 44-62046 35Sqn returned to USA 22/2/54WW345 B-29A-6o-BN 44-62049 S 35Sqn transferred toVickersArmstrong for weaponstrials

20/5/52; returned to USA 27/2/54WW346 B-29A-55-BN 44-61937 S 35Sqn then1925qn(recoded D) scrapped7/4/58WW347 B-29A-55-BN 44-61983 90Sqn then 35Sqn returned toUSA 16/3/54WW348 B-29A-6o-BN 44-62058 a 35Sqn returnedtoUSA 5/1/ 54WW349 B-29A-55-BN 44-61968 destroyed inUKduring taxiing accident 29{l/55WW350 B-29A-65-BN 44-62227 T 35Sqn returnedtoUSA 22/2/54WW351 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62258 35Sqn returned to USA 15/ 1/54WW352 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62255 207Sqn returnedto USA 25/2/54WW353 B-29A-55-BN 44-61963 deliveredto RAF14/8/51; delivered to RAAFin

Australia 23/9/52(RAAF serial number A76-1);returnedtoUK25/9/54; scrapped23/9/57

WW354 B-29A-55-BN 44-61963 delivered to RAF 25/8/51; deliveredto RAAF11 /12/52(RAAF serial numberA76-2); returned to UK25/9/56;scrapped 9/10/57

WW355 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62239 delivered to RAF12{l/50;scrapped 17/4/54WZ966 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62283 55then1925qn(recodedA) scrapped 17/4/58WZ967 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62282 56 then1925qn(recoded B) scrapped 17/4/58WZ968 B-29A-7o-BN 44-62296 57 then1925qn(recoded C) scrapped 17/4/58

Total: 87

AnAvro lincoln named THOR_Althoughthe B-29. like the lincoln. was based on early1940s technology. it was far andawaymorecapableas a heavy bomber. RAF

73 7

WAS HINGTON

ABOVE: These are believed to be

pers onnel from No. 44

Squadron. Bob Cole Collection

LEfT.An RAAF W ashin gton.

RAAF

BELOW: A RAAF 8 -29 W ashington

in disrepair aw aits its fin al

fate . RAAF

138

CHAPTE R TEN

Korean War

A Lock heed F-80 Shooting Star escort peels oil. leaving this 92BG B-29A-20-BN(42-94009) to go it alone . USAF

Afte r World War Two and before and during the Korean War. the USAF Air TrainingCommand (ATC)acquire d numerous TB-29s for B-29 pilot tr ain ing and tr ansi tion . ThisTB-29 (formerly a B-29-40-BW, 42-24638)has been str ipped of all armamen t. USAF

had flown its last co mbat mission of WorldWar Two. Four years , ten months and th ir­teen days later th e B-29 went to war far th esecond t ime. A real war that was at firstcalled a 'police act ion ', but ultimately th eKorean War.

military a ircraft, a irfield han gers and run ­ways at Kimpo airfield became auth ori zedNor th Korean targe ts as well - Kimp o wasin South Korea but had been tak en over byNorth Korean forces, th us it was bombed.It was on 15 A ugust 194 5 th at th e 13-29

A t the end of Wa rid War Two 5,092 B-29son order at the time were canc el led,though the B-29s on the assembly lines andmajor preassembly pieces such as nose sec­tions and wings that were already on th etooling jigs were a llowed to be completed.O n 10 june 1946 th e last prod uct ionSupcrfort , a B-29A -75-BN (44-62328),was del ivered to th e USAA F by Boeing­Renton. Thus, not count ing th e three pro­to type XB-29s and fourteen service testYB-29s, th e USAAF received 3,953 B-29s,B-29As and B-29Bs, not 9,045 as had beenplanned . As with man y ot he r Wor ld WarTwo combat a ircraft types numerous B-29swent int o storage , but un like man y of thoseothe rs, they were pu t in to flyabl e storageand were not released to the c ivilian mar­ket as surplus. T hey were top-of-the -lineco mbat a ircraft and rio-one kn ew whenthey would be needed again . As it turnedout th ey would be needed far soone r th ananyone suspec ted.

O n 25 june 1950 Nort h Korea ( th eDemocrat ic People's Republic of Korea )invaded So uth Korea (the Repub lic ofKorea) . Two days later th e Un ited Na t ionsSec ur ity C ounc il vo ted as to whetherassista nce to South Korea would be given.The resul t of th at vote was un animous ­assista nce wou ld be given. U S PresidentHarry S Truman ordered Gene ral DouglasMacA rth ur, th en comma nder of the USoccupation forces in japan , 10 send combatun its to the thea tre . In turn , Gene ralMacArrhur dir ect ed Lr G en G eorge E.Srrarcmcycr to att ack orrh Korean forcesbet ween the 38 th Parallel, whi ch dividedNorth and South Korea, and the frontlines. Lt Gcn Srra rcrncycr was comman­der-in -chi ef of th e Far Eastern A ir Force(FEA F) at th e t ime.

The 19t h Bomb Group (M ed ium) hadtwent y-two B-29s dep loyed to A nde rsonField on G uam at th e t ime. Srrnrcmcycrordered the 19 BG (M) to redep loy toKadcn a air base at O kinawa, japan , to startbombing op erati on s aga ins t No rth Koreanstrategic targets such as supply roads,wh ich began on 28 j un e 1950. O n 29 j une ,

139

KOR EA N IVAR

74 0

ABOVE: Nice back-to-front view of a 98BWB-29-40-MO(44-27341) named DREAMER.Max Nelson

LEFT: It got very cold more than enough times duringthe Korean War. Here a 98BG, 91SRSRB -29A-50-BN(formerly B-29A-50-BN, 44-618171 named AHSO(with lots of other Osl stands tall in the snow.LtCol M ike MoHitt via David W.Menard

BElOW LEFT: This Superfort named 'NIPP 011I ESE'was a B-29-55-BW(42-24917)that once servedwith the 314BW. 29BG and 6BS in World War Two.Still sporting the very same nose art, it also servedwith the 98BG in the Korean War.Griber via David W.Menard

W hen the Korean \Var brok e out USA FSAC had 1,787 B-29, B-29A and 8 -29Bbombers, 208 KB-29M hose rankers andKB-29P flying-boom rankers, 74 8 -29tvIRhose receivers, 162 RB-29A pho tograph icreconnaissan ce aircraft and a number ofTB-29s, \lB-29s and WB -29s, whi ch weree ither in storage or operat iona l with fivebomb win gs, one bomb group and onestra tegic reconnaissan ce squadron - th e9 1st SRS (formerl y 3 1 SRG ), assigned to

th e 19BG (M) .In early Ju ly 1950 two B-29 bom b wings,

the 22 nel and 92nd , were d ispatc hed fromthe USA. For B-29 bombing operat ions aspec ia l FEAF Bom bardment C ommand(BC ) was esta blished on 8 July 1950, co m­manded by Maj Gcn Emm ett O' Donnell Jr.In lat e July Genera l MacArt h ur orderedMaj G cn O 'Do n nell to sta rt int erd icti onraids aga ins t key target s in Nort h Korea

KOREAN WAR

ABOVE: A B-29-40-BW (42-24584) unloads its bombs over North Korea in early

1951. Peter M. Bowers

RIGHT: An ordnance man services the top forward gun turret on this B-29-70-BW

(44-69999) of the 19BG named SURETHING at Kadena Air Base in J apan in

1952. David W.Menard

Crewmen prep are for a bombing mission in the Korean War. They are readying

a B-29A -45-BN (44-61727) of the 98BG appropriately named SO TIRED. Lt Colonel Mike

Moffitt via David W. Menard

clos e to the 38 th Parallel to int errupt theprocession of supplies t hat were feed ingNorth Korean forces in So uth Korea. Lat erin Jul y th e 98 th BW (M ) and 307th BW(M) arr ived in Japan fro m the USA to

become part of the FEAF Be. T he 19BG(M) , n BW (M ), 30 7BW (tv! ) and 9 lSRS(form erly 3 1SRG ) operated from th e islan dof O kina wa, wh ile the 92 BW (M) and98 BW (M) ope ra ted from bases in Japan .

Short ly afte rward, 19BG (M) , n BW(M ), 92 BW (M), 98BW (M) and 30 7BW(M ) Supe rforts began flyin g deep int erd ic­t ion missions against strateg ic target s inNo rth Korea, including bridges, marshallingyards, roads and railw ay routes.

O n 8 August 1950, newly appo intedFEAF BC co mmande r Lt G en G eorge E.Straremeye r ord ered now FEAF BC vicecommande r Maj G en O 'Donne ll to att ack

141

wit h two wings of B-29s eve ry th ird day inan all-out maximum effort to dest roystra teg ic target s. This had to be done withhigh -explosive bombs rather tha n incen­d iar ies, crea t ing addit iona l sort ies. For theB-29s in the Korean War, thi s led to theach ievement of more so rt ies flown andbomb to nnage drop ped than th e B-29s inWorld War Two. T hese five B-29 bombunits baffled FEAF planners' ex pecta tionsas wel l, in that they beca me so adept atradar bom bing th at weather did not sign if­ican tly ham per their efforts.

O ne of FEAF BC's first heavy-satura­t ion or ca rpe t- bomb ing missions came on16 A ugust 1950 wh en Maj Gen O'Donne llhimself led a flight of ninet y-e ight Supe r­forts on a mission aga inst a large area ofterra in near \X!aegwan in North Korea.

Subsequent raids pound ecl military tar­gets in and aro und the c it ies of C hongjin ,Hungnam, Pyon gyan g, Rashin (soonremoved from the target list due to its close­ness to S iberia) and Wons an in No rthKorea. A large number of these at tacks wereto take out tac tica l targets such as supplydumps, tanks, troops, trucks and an ti­aircraft art illery batteries. The B-29 was nota ligh t-att ack aircraft such as the DouglasA D Skyraidc r; therefore, it was not ve ry

well suited for these tact ica l ope rations. Asmore suitable tact ical aircraft types arrivedin th eatre, Superforts were cleared for purestrategic bombardment ope rations.

KOR EA ", WA R

ABOVE: HOMOGENIZED ETHYL. a KB-29M (44-69710)of the 98BW. Detachment4. After the KoreanWarit was assigned to the 43BW. 43ARS. Stan Piet

LEn: A B-29A-50-BN (44-61951) namedUR L:L ASSofan unknown unit. Lt ColMike Moffi tt via David W.Menard

.'JJA IIA III ('rJlIt I

BELOW: THE OUTLAW at Kadena Air Base. Japan in1950. It was a B-29-25-MO (42-65306) of the 19BG.28BS. David W.Menard

142

KO KEA N IVAK

NO SWEAT. a B-29-80-BW (44-87618) of the 19BG. 28BS. wings its way toa target over North Korea in late 1950. DavidW.Menard

NO SWEAT nose art. SIan Piat

Another view of NO SWEAT w ith CREAM OFTHECROP (44-61657. a B-29A-40-BN) in the background.CREAM OF THECROP belonged to the 30BSof the 19BG. DavidW. Menard

58-29 Super Dumbo

The M ilita ry A ir Tran spo rt Serv ice(MAT S ) was esta blishe d on I June 1948. Itwas created by conso lidat ing the A ir Trans­port C ommand (AT C) and the Na val A irTransport Service (N ATS ) under th e co n­tro l of the newly cre at ed US A ir Force on18 Se ptember 194 7. W ithin MAT S wasthe Ai r Rescue Service (A RS ) and in theKorean \Var its fleet of rescue aircraftincl uded the S B-29 Supe r Dumbo . (M ATSwas d isestablished on I Jan uary 1966 andwas rep laced by the Mi litary A irlift Com­mand, now A ir Mob ility Corn ma nd.)

In th e Korean War S B-29 Super Dumb ­os were on han d to effect sea rescues ofdow ned B-29 crews. Flight 'D' of the 11t hA ir Rescue Squadron (ARS) of the A irRescu e Serv ice MAT S was on hand withone of its 5 B-29 air craft on 26 February1952 when a 54th S RS WB-29 got in toserious troub le. T he co mplete tran script ofthat ac t ion is giyen in the box (see p. 144 ).

T he Korean War ended on 27 Ju ly 1953.In the 1,127 days of th is war th e one groupand four wings of B-29s flew more than2 1,000 sort ies - an average of 18.6 sor t iesper day. Superforts dropped almost 167,000to ns of bo mbs. Bo mb to nnage for the

143

Supc rfo rts ave raged IS,9001b (7 ,200k g)per sor t ie. T hroughout the 3-year, 33-dayord eal, with new cl uster ing techniqueswhereb y 192 IOOlb bombs co uld be carr iedra ther than 144 earlier in the war, bo mbto nnage had stead ily increased . During theKorean War thi rty-four Supe rforts werelost in co mbat - sixteen to fighters, four toflak and fourteen to var ious mishaps suchas eng ine fai lures. But th e losses were lessthan one a ircraft per 1,000 sor t ies flown .S uperfort gunners cla imed th irty-fourC ommun ist figh ters - co nfirmed , sixteenM iG - I5s; proba ble, seve n teen M iG - ISs;da maged , eleven M iG - ISs.

KOREAN WAR

Transcript ofFit'0', 11th Air Rescue Squadron (ARS) Mission Report On The loss ofa 54thStrategic Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) WB-29A-40-BN (44-61640) on26February 1952

FLIGHT '0', 11TH AIR RESCUE SQUADRON, AIR RESCUESERVICE MATS, APO 334, 54thStrategic Reconnaissance Squadron was launched torelieve the third SB-29 and(RCS: ARS-F2) with flaresremained inthedisasterareauntildaylightandvectored thesurfacevessela. Mission Number: 11-0-14-26February 1952. USSTombigee(Barge11)to theA-3 lifeboat. At 0600KBarge 11 recovered the first A-b. Typeof Mission: Escort, Searchand Rescue. 3 lifeboat with three survivors aboard and reported all uninjured. At approximatelyc. Objectiveor Flight Plan: AF1640/WB-29/Krueger/Andersen/IFR18500/ 011 5K the following message was received from COMARIANAS'TOCO 19THBOMBAndersen/210/Standard Icao/0730K/14- 15/18- 00/3-2/1st Lt. WINGI AM CONTROL OF THESARINCIDENT IN PR OG RESS COORDINATERESCUEd.Date of Suspension: 2 March 1952. WITH MY RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER. ' TheCO19th Bomb Wing sent the fol-e. Sourceand Ti me of Initial Alert: Guam Control by telephone toFlight '0' Operations lowing answer: 'REURAD DTG26/1329Z FEB25 STATI NGCOMARIN CONTROL SAROfficer 26 February 1952; 11 31K. INCIDENTINPROGRESS AN DDIRGTHISHQ TO COORDINATE EFFORTSWITH COMARf. Timeanddateof Initial ActionbyAirRescueService: SB-29 AF6303wasairborneat RESCOO RDINATION CENTER, THISHQ INRECOFNO DIRSCONTRARY TOPRESFEAF1144K, 26 February 1952. INSTRSMAINTGCONTROLOFSARINCIDENTUNTILFURTHERADVISED BY19THBMg. Brief Resumeof Action Taken: At 1131 KGuam Control advisedthat AF1640, WB-29, WGHIGHER HQ.COMPLETE COORDI NATIONWITH AN DASSTFR YO UR RESCOORDI-pilotKrueger, had lost propeller control on number one engine due to anoil leak and NATION CENTER HASBEEN IN PROG RESSSI NCE START OFINCIDENT. ' At 0530K 27wasunable to feather thatengine.TheWB-29departedAndersen, Foxtrack,destine- Februarysevencrewsassembled intherescuecontrolcentrebriefingroom forinstruc-tion Andersen, departure time 0730K, 18hours fuel, ground speed 210, position at tionsontheday's mission. Thecrews andaircraft were furnished bythe54thStrategic11 30K23°5N, 135°4E, altitude 18,500escort wasnotrequested(thisposition approx- ReconnaissanceSquadron, AndersenBase Fl ight,theTactica l Organi zationattachedtoimately800 nautical milesfromGuarn l. TheAircraft Commanderwasaborting his rnis- thisbase, and twoRescueaircraft. Oneadditional aircraft,aPBM from NASAganapar-sionand returningto Guam.The SB-29wasairborne at 1144K andproceeded out ona ticipated in the search, but wasbriefed by RCCGuam(Navy). The areasearched washeading of 315degreesclimbing to 11,000feet.Additional information was relayed to from 15°N to 16°50N between 141°00E to 143°00E and from 15°00N to 16°lONthe rescue aircraft that the WB-29 was descend ing to 10,000. Initial HF contact between 143°00Eto143°30E. Atotal of76hourswereflownbytheseaircraft and 100betweenaircraft was madeat 1225Kand the distressed aircraft was advised toplace percentcoverageof thearea was affected.Throughout theday numerousobjects andinto operation their emergency IFF, VHFto 137.88and to tune their radio compass to debris, apparently from the disaster,were located and pickedupby Barge 11, and at536kcstoaffect intercept.Positionreport at thistimeresultedinarecalculatedground 1438K the barge picked upthefourth survivor in a one man dinghy; position 15°09Nspeedof approximately 155 whichappeared abnormally slow. At l300Kall communi- 142°42E. An additional Rescue aircraft was airborne and orbited the area providingcations failed with theWB-29and the RescueAircraft continuedon its initial heading night coverage. At dawn 28 Februaryseven aircraft weredispatched to the area anduntil 1342K, fourteen minutes past origina l estimated time of intercept, and turned searched from 14°45Nto 16°15N between141 °35Eand 143°05E. Thearea of proba-around toparallel the inbound trackof 141 degrees. At 1403KVHFcontact wasagain bilitywasdetermined bywind anddrift vectorsobtained byWeather Central.Twoaddi-established and it was determinedby the utilization of the ARN 8 that thedistressed tionaI surfacevessels joined in thesearch.Afterrepeatedattempts toobtain informa-aircra ft was still behind therescueaircraft. The SB-29 turned 180 degrees and inter- tion from the four survivors as to the probability of additional crew memberscept was made head on with the distressed aircraft at 141 7K at an altitudeof 9,000 successfully abandoning the aircraft, the following message was received at 1715K;feet.TheSB-29flew formation escort foraperiodofonehourandthirty-eight minutes. 'SURVIVORS INTERVIEWED. FIRST THREE MEN BAILED OUT OF TAILSECTION SEC-Informationreceived forLieutenantKrueger, Aircraft Commander of thedistressedair- OND TWO MEN BAILED OUT OF MIDSHIP SECTION RUPTURED BY THROWN PRO-craft, shows that shortlyafter aborting hismission, due toanoil leak, he had triedto PELLER FIRST MAN TO LEAVE PLANE STATES SUBSEQUENTLY OBS ERVED ONLYfeather number one engine without success. Later the propeller obtained an exces- THREEPARACHUTES. THIRDTOLEAVE PLANE DEFI NITELYSAW SECOND LEAVEBUTsive lyhighRPM of3800 andhe subsequentlyshut it down, butthe propellercontinued IS DOU8TFUL THAT HE CLEARED SPI NNING TAIL ASSY. SECOND MAN PR OBABLYtowindmill at 2430 RPM. He reported novibrationbut expressed concernabout land- EQUIPPED WITH LIFEJAC KET PARACHUTEAND ONEMAN LI FE-RAFT. THIRD MANingatAndersenduetotheexcessivedragand low airspeed.Heeventua llycouldmain- STATES DOUBTFUL FOURTH MAN IN TAIL SECTION GOT CLEAR. ALL SURVIVORStain9,500 feet but could only indicate 155 MPH. At 1551 K the co-pilot notified the AGREEEXTREMELYIMPROBABLEFOUR MEN INFORWARD SECTIONGOT CLEAR.' Theescorting aircraft that there was a red ring just behind the propeller of number one aircraft returningthat dayhad negative reports, butagainanSB-29 flew night surveil-engine and that bits of metal were flaking off and sparks were coming out of the lanceinthearea.At 0430K 29Februarysixcrewswereassembled intheFlight '0' oper-nacelle.At 1555Kposition 15°33N 142°48Enumber one enginewasseen toburst into ationsbriefing room for instructions on theday's mission. These crewsagainconsist-flames, explodeand fall off theaircra ft. Theaircraft went intoagradual left turn with ed of personnel of the 54th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, the Tacticalthe bank becoming steeper until it entered the topof thecloud deck in a tight spiral. Organizationassigned thisbaseandcrewmembersof Flight '0.'Thearea searchedwasAn undetermined number of parachuteswere sighted. The RescueAircra ft dove after from 14°40N and 16°00Nbetween 142°lOEand 143°lOE. All crewsbriefedwere air-the plunging WB-29and after breaking out under the overcast discovered a large oil borne by 0645K. At 0810K one SA-16from Flight 'B', 2nd ARS, which had landed atslickandsaw twoparachutescollapsingonthesea.Apreliminarysearchwasmade of Andersen Air Force Base for refuelling and had beenheld for possible rescue assis-the area anda target of two men in MaeWest live preservers was usedfor the A-3 tance,wasdispatchedtoattempt toaffect transferof thefoursurvivorsfrom Barge11lifeboat.Releasewasmadeat 1607Kand theboathit sufficientlyclose toonesurvivor for interrogation by Mission Commander at Andersen Air Force Base. At the time ofthat hecrawledovertheco llapsed boat parachutetosafety(estimate thissurvivorwas takeoff Barge11reported: 'Conditionsoptimumfortransferofsurvivors.'Shortlybeforein the water elevenminutes]. Little debris was noted in thearea and the SB-29 kept theSA-16arrivedat thesceneof thedisaster Barge 11 reportedthat seaplane landingvigilanceover theareauntildark.At1603KasecondSB-29 wasairborne for threehours was 'not advisable' because of sea conditions. The plane commander concurred andat the scene of the disaster and identified part of the debris as survivors. Due to theSA-16returned to AndersenAirForce Base and landedat 1306K. At 1615KtheIol-mechanical difficulties the second SB-29hadto feather number twoengine and in an lowingwas received from Barge11; 'EVALUATION PROBABILITY OFPROBABLESUR-effort to effect additional support dropped the second A-3 lifeboat and returned to VIVORS BASED ON INTERVIEW OF SURVIVORS, SITUATION AT SCENE, EXTENT OFGuam. At 1655K, SC-47 arrived and due to the slower airspeed made a thorough low SERCH AN D LOG IE [sic]: FOUR MEN FORWARD WHEN PLANE EXPLODED AN Daltitudesearch inthearea . TheSC-47crew identifiedthreesurvivors in theoriginal A- CRASH ED XSURVIVAL CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE XSECONDMAN TOLEAVEPLANE3 lifeboat and one man in a one mandingy approximately a mile distant. The SC-47 PARACHUTE NOTNOTED INAIRBYFI RSTMAN TOLEAVE PLANE XDID NOTETH REEcrew dropped two life-rafts to this fourthman. At 1746KthethirdSB-29wasairborne OTHER PARACHUTES X TAIL ASSEMBLY SCRUTINIZED IN PASSING BY ONE X ONEtorelievetheescort aircraft and to remainforall night vigilance. At0142K 27 February SURVIVORFROM FORWARD XNO BODYORPARACHUTEATIACHED XCONCLUSIONthethirdSB-29 sightedaredflareand droppedanadditional A-3Iifeboat.ThethirdSB- X SECOND MAN POSSIBLY STUNNED BY SPINNING TAILASSEMBLY X SURVIVAL29reported they were unable to pickupsurvivors on radar and that when their flare CONSIDERED IMPROBABLE ORIGINALLY X NOW CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE INsupplywasexhaustedtheywouldbeunabletokeepsurvivors insight.AB-29from the VIEW TIME ELEMENT X FOURTH MAN IN TAIL SECTION X PARACHUTE POPPED

744

KO REA N WA R

PREMATURELY WHILEIN PLANEX INFORMED THIRD MANHEWOULD ATIEMPT TOOBTAIN SPAREPARACHUTEAND DIRECTED THIRD MAN TO JUMPX IMMEDIATELYTHEREAFTER PLANE EXPLODED AND CRASHED XCONSI DERSURVIVAL IMPOSSIBLEXALL SURVIVORS CONCUR IN FO RE GOI NGEVALUATIONXSIGNED ON SCENE COM­MANDER. ' At 2010K Barge 11 spotted a small oil slick position 15°55N and 143°03Ewith a flat brownishwhite object three feet by six feet in size. Object was discoveredto begelatinous in natureand a portionwasrecovered foranalyzation. Noothersight­ingsoroccurrences(sic)of consequence tookplace thisday.At 0700K 2MarchoneSB·29crewand oneSC-47 crew, both of Flight '0', were briefedas tile searchingaircraftfor the day. Area to be searched was from 14°45N to 15°45N between 139°40Eand140040E from 15°00N to 15°50N between 140040E and 141°35E from 14°10N to15°50Nbetween 141 °35Eto 142°15E. SC-47 landed at 1547K, SB·29landed at 1958Kand both reportednosightingsof anykindafter100percentcoverageof their assignedareas. At 1900Kthis daythe rescue incident involvingWB-29AF 1640 was suspendedafter exhaustion of all leadsandthorough search of all areas of probabi lity with con­tinued negative results. All facilities weredealertedat this time.

h. Location of Crash: 15°33'N 142°48'Ei. MissionResults:(1)Names of Survivors:Judge, Michael AO 866 660, CaptErickson, Edward N. AO2 221 699, 2nd LtJohnson, Kenneth D. AF14325859, SgtDeese, James L. AF 19 360 767, PFC12)Namesof Missing:Krueger. Walter AO 2 066 242, 1st LtGendusa,Vincent P. AO 944 068, 2nd LtShaw, RobertJ. AO 2 221 699, 2nd Lt

Leach, FrankP. AF36 112171 , M/SgtToland, FrancisAF13378416, CplParker, Donald E. AF 14 333 737, Sgt(31 Names of Deceased:Unknownj. Method of Rescue:Boatdrop andsurfacevessel.k. Resume of Rescue:At 0600K Barge 11 reported recovery of airborne lifeboat A-3-522 with three (3) sur­vivorsonboard, position15°23N 142°36E.At 1438K informationwas received that thefourth survivorhadbeen pickedupinaone-man dinghyby Barge 11at position15°29N142°42E.All survivorsarereportedtobeingood physicalandmentalhealth.Bargecon­tinuedsearch, with the foursurvivorsaboard. until dusk, 2 March52atwhich timethemissionwas suspended andthe Barge returnedto Guam. Barge 11 dock at Apra Har­bor at approximately 0815K 3 March 52.I. Cost Analysis:11) Sortiesandhours flown:la)Flight 'D' 11ARS SB-29 10Sorties97hoursSC-47 6 Sorties46hoursIb)AssistingARSFlight 'B' 2 ARSSA-1 6 1Sortie 5 hours(c) Other Agencies 18Sorties 197 hours(21 Vehicle mileage: Jeep 200milesWeapons carrier300 miles, cletrac 20miles(31 Officer ManHours: 1027(4)Airman Man Hours: 6327(5)TOY funds expended: None(6)AFForms 1034 and 15: None(7)Telephoneexpenditures: None(8) GasolineCredit card expenditures: None

A FEAF 98BG B-29A-20-BN(42-94000) namedTIGER 1Ilshow ing twenty-one bombmissions so far. Noteworthyis its use of atom bombmushroomclouds to denote those missions.Lt GolMi ke Moffitt photo via

David W. Menard

145

KOREAN WAR

8-29 Units of the Korean War

Command Bomb Group/Wing Detachment Group or Squadron

FEAF BC 19BG(M) 28BS IMI based at KadenaAir Force Base. OkinawaFEAF BC 19BG (M) 30BSIMI basedat KadenaAFB. OkinawaFEAF BC 19BG(M) 91SRGIVLR) basedat Yakota, Japan; formerly 31 SRG IVLR)FEAF BC 19BG(MI 93BSIMI based at KadenaAFB. Okinawa

FEAF BC 22BW(MI 2BS{MI basedat Kadena AFB. OkinawaFEAF BC 22BW (MI 19B5IM) sameFEAF BC 22BW (M) 33BS1M) sameFEAF BC 22BW (M) 408BSIMI same

FEAF BC 92BW(M) 325BS (M) basedat Yokota.JapanFEAF BC 92BW(M) 326BS (M) sameFEAF BC 92BW (MI 327BS(M) same

FEAF BC 98BW (M) 343BSIM) basedat Yokota. JapanFEAF BC 98BW (MI 344BSIM) sameFEAF BC 98BW(M) 345BS(M) sameFEAFBC 98BW (MI Detachment-4 same

FEAF BC 307BW(M) 370BS(MI based at Kadena AFB. OkinawaFEAFBC 307BWIM) 371BS(M) sameFEAFBC 307BW IM) 372BS (M) sameFEAF BC 307BWIM) 424BS(M) same

146

ABOVE: A lone B-29-45-BA (44-839471 from anunknown unit wings its way overNorth Korea .Some aircraft commanders did not apply namesandnoseart to their aircraft - they just salutedandgot on with their jobs. Stan Piel

lEFT: A B-29-35-MO 144-27263)of the 22BG namedMISSION INN. AFFTC/HOvia Ray Puffer

Colel Warrior

At least e igh t ve rsions of th e Supcrfortwere used during th e Korean \'(1ar. Theseincluded B-Z9s. B-Z9As, B-Z9Bs. KB-Z9s,RB-Z9s. S B-Z9s. VB-Z9s and W B-Z9s. Butsince th e Korean War was over - with outan offic ial truce between Nort h and SouthKorea ever bein g imp lem ented - th e B-Z9once more becam e a Cold \'(1ar war rior. a tleast for a short t ime: by the tim e th eKorean War ended, on Z7 July 1953. th erewere num ero us B-36s. B-45s, B-4 7s and B­50s in opcrat ion with SA C.

Korean War 8-29 Operat ions

19th Bombardm ent Group (Medium)

Immedi ately afte r th e commun ist inv asionof So uth Korea. the 19th BG (M ) movedfrom G uam to Ok ina wa. In it ially und er theope ra tiona l con trol of ZOth Air Force, after8 July 1950 it was at tached to FEAFBomber C ommand (Provision aI). The firstB-Z9 un it in th e war. the group atta cked

or th Korean storage tanks, marsh allingyards and armour on 2 June. In the firsttwo mont hs it flew more th an 600 sorties,support ing U n ited ations ground forc eshy bombing enemy troops, veh icles, andsuch co mmun ica tions po int s as th e HanRiver bridges. In the north , its targetsincluded an o il refinery and port fac ilit iesat \Vonsan , a railroad br idge at Pvon yan gand an airfield at Yonpo.

After U N ground forces pushed th ecommun ists out of So uth Korea, the 19thBG turn ed to str ategic ob ject ives in o rrhKorea, incl ud ing indu strial and hydroelec­tr ic fac ilit ics. It a lso cont inued to atta ckbridges, marsh allin g yards, supply cen tres,art illery and tro op positions, bar racks, portfac ilit ies and airfields. It inactivat ed on IJune 1953.

Co mlJat C omponents: 28th BS (l'vI ), 30 thBS (l'vI ) and 93rd BS (M) .

SWtiol1.l : Andersen AFB , G uam, to 5 July1950; and Kaden a AB , O kina wa, 5 July1950 to I June 1953.

Commandcrs: C o lonel Theodore Q. Graffto 26 Se pte mber 1950; C olonel Payne Jen ­nings Jr from 26 Se pte mber 1950; ColonelDonald O. Tower from 29 March 1951 ;Colonel Ad am K. Breckenr idge from 26Ju ly 195 I ; Colone l Juli an M. Blcycr fro m 6February 1952; Colone l Will ard \V Smithfrom 8 July 1952; and Colonel Harvey C.Dorney, 24 December 1952 to I june1953.

Cam/)(lign Strcamers: UN Defensive; UNO ffensive ; CCF In tervent ion ; First UNC oun teroffensive; C C F Spring O ffens ive;UN Summer- Fall O ffensive; Seco ndKorean \Vinter ; Korea, Summe r- Fall19 52; T h ird Kor ean \Vinter ; and Korea,S ummer 1953.

Decorations: Distinguished n it C itat ionfor ac t ions 28 June to 15 September 1950;and Republ ic of Korea President ial U n itC ita t ion for period 7 Ju ly 1950 to I June1953.

UniLIJadge: A zure, within the square of th econs te lla t ion of Pegasus, a winged 'word ,po int to base, a ll O r.

MotLo : IN A LiS V I CI MUS - O n W ingsWe Conquer. Approved for the 19th G roupon 19 O cto ber 1936 and for the 19t h Wingon 9 May 1952.

KOREA N WA R

19th Bombardment Wing (Medium)

O n I June 1953, the 19th BW moved 'onpaper' from Andersen A 13, G uam, to O ki­nawa, absorb ing the personnel and equip­ment of th e 19th BG . U n til the end of thewar, th e wing exerc ised co nt ro l over th etacti cal squadro ns , whi ch maint ained th e13-29 interd iction programme and provid­ed some close ai r suppo rt for U N groundforc es. In the course of the war, th e 19 thGroup and 19th Wing flew almos t 650co mba t missions .

Combat Components: 28 th BS (M ), 30t hBS (M ) and 93 rd BS (M) .

SWLiol1.l : Kaden a A B, O kinawa.

Commanders: Co lone l Harvey C . Dorney.

Cam/>aign Streamers: Korea, summer 1953.

Decorations: Rep ublic of Korea Presiden ­t ial n it C itat ion for period I June 1953to Z7 July 1953.

22nd Bombardment Group (Medium)

Detached from the 22 ml BW, the 22 ndBG deployed it B-Z9s in ea rly July 1950from March A FB, C a liforn ia, to O kina wa,wh ere it ca me unde r control of FEAFBom ber Comma nd ( Prov ision al) . O n 13July, the gro up flew its first m ission aga ins tth e marshall ing yards and o il refinery at\Vonsan , North Korea. By 2 I October,it had car ried out fifty-seven missionsaga inst th e enemy, at tacking br idges, fac­to ries, industri al target s, troop concen tra­tions, a irfie lds, marsh alling yards, com­mu n icati on s ce n tres and port fac ilit ies.During four months of comba t, th e 22ndBG flew 335 sort ies with on ly fou rteenaborts and dropped over 6 ,500 to ns ofbombs. It red ep loyed to the U n ited S ta tesin lat e Octo be r and November 1950.

CombatC om/)()nents: 2nd B (M ), 19th BS(M ) and 33rd BS (M ).

Stat ions : Kadcna AB, O kina wa.

C ommanders: Colone l James V. Edmund ­son .

C ampaign Streamers: U N Defensive; UNO ffens ive.

Decorcuions: None .

74 7

Unit IJadge: A zure , a cougar's left gamberased palcwise claws to base or armedG ules.

MotLo : DUC EMUS - We Lead . A pprov edon 19 June 1941 .

92nd Bombardm ent Group (Medium)

In early July 1950, 92nd BG B-29s arrivedfrom the Un ited Sta tes at Yokot a A B,Japan .By the tim e the ent ire group completed itsdeployment on 13 July, its aircraft hadalready flown a leaflet mission to Seo ul anda combat mission against the \Vonsan mar­sha lling yards in North Korea. Unde r con­tro l of th e FEAF Bombcr Command (Provi­sional) unti l 20 October, th e 92nd bombedfactor ies, refineries, iron works, hydroelec­tric plant s, airfields, bridges, tu nnels, troopconce n trations, barracks, marshall ing yards,road junctions, rail lines, supply dumps,docks, veh icles and ot he r straregi andint erd iction target. The 92nd BG retu rnedto Spokane A FB, Washington in late to­ber and ove mber 1950.

C ombnrComponents: 325 th B (M ), 326thBS (M ) and 3Z7th BS (M).

SWLiol1S: Yokota AB, Japan .

C ommandcrs: Colonel Claude E. PutnamJr.

Cmn/>aign Streamers: UN Defensive; UO ffens ive.

Decovouons: None .UniLbadgc: A zure, a pterod act yl (pr crnn ­odon ) vo lant , in ben d or, Iangued G ules,eyed Vert.

MOLLo: HIGH ER ST RO G ERFAST ER. A pproved on 9 March 1943.

98th Bombardment Group (Medium)

The first B-29s and crews of th e 98 th BG ,detached from the 98 th BW in SpokaneAFB , \Vash ingto n , arrived at Yokot a AB,Japan , on 5 A ugust 1950. Two days laterthey flew aga inst marshallin g yards atPyongyang, North Korea. T he 98 th BGengaged primarily in in terd iction of ene mycommun icat ions cent res but also .upport­ed UN ground forces. Int erdiction targetsincluded marshall ing yards, o il cen tres, ra ilfacilit ies, bridges, roads, troop co nce n tra­t ions, a irfields and mil itary installati ons.

A ltho ugh not forma lly inactivated untilJune 1952, group headqu art ers became anunm anned un it on 1 A pril 195 1, whencont rol of tactical operations passed to th e98th BW.

Combat Co m/)()nems: 343rd BS (M), 344thBS (M) and 345th BS (M) .

Stations: Yokota A B, Japan .

C ommande1'.l: C o lonel Rich ard H . Car­mich ael.

Cam/Xl ign Streamers: U N Defen sive; UNO ffensivc ; CCF Int erven t ion; First UNCountcroffcns ivc.

Decorat ions: Repu blic of Kor ea Presiden ­tial U n it C ita tion for the period 7 A ugust1950 to 3 1 March 195 1.

Unit badges: Azu re, a bend inden tedbetween a dext er mai led hand co upled atth e wrist , in bcnd , grasping a drop bomband an o live wrea th , a ll O r.

Mot to: FO RCE FOR FREEDOM . A p­pro ved for 98th G roup on 29 July 194 2.Not forma lly approved for the 98th Wi ngunti l 1956.

98tll Bombardment Wing (Medium)

O n I A pril 19 51, the 98th BW deployed'o n paper' with out personnel or equipmen tto Yokota A FB, Jap an , where it assumedthe tacti cal ro le of th e 98th BG . Int erd ic­t ion of ene my co mmun icat ions, support ofU N ground forces and pro pagand a leafletdro ps co ns tituted th e wing's missions. InJan uary 1952, to avo id daylight intercep ­tion by ene my figh te rs, th e 98 th BWbegan to nyn igh t missions almost exclu­sively. In th e spring , its B-29s att ackedrailway insta lla t ions and a irfields, then inth e summer ind ustri al targets. T he wing'slast bombing mission , flown on 25 July1953, was fo llowed on the last day of th ewar with a propagan da lcaflcr drop .

Combat C omponents: 98th BG (M),assigned but not opera tional, I Ap ril 195 1to 16 j une 1952; the 343rd BS (M) , 344thBS (M ) and 345th BS (M) were all at tachedfrom I A pril 195 1 to 15 Jun e 1952 andassigned from 16 June 1952.

Sta tions: Yokot a A B, Japan .

KOR EA N WA R

Commanders: Colonel David Wade from 1April 195 1; Colonel Edwin F. Harding [rfrom c. 15 September 1951 ; C olonel LewisA. C urt is from No vember 195 1; C olonelW int on R. C lose from May 1952; C olonelC harles B. Westover from 26 Octobe r1952; Colonel Edgar S. Davis from 17[unc1953; and C olonel G eorge L. Rob insonfrom 6 July 1953.

Cam/Jaign Streamers: First U N Counrerof­fensivc: CCF Spring O ffcns ivc ; U N Sum­mer-Fall O ffensive ; Second Korean Win­ter; Korea, Summe r- Fall 1952; Thi rdKorean W inter; and Korea, Summe r 1953.

Decorations: Dist inguished Un it C itat ionfor ac t ions I December 1952 to 30 A pril1953; and Rep ublic of Korea Presiden t ia lU n it C itation for th e period I A pril 1951to 27 Jul y 1953.

307tll Bombardment Group (Medium)

O n I A ugust 1950, the 307th BG dep loyedwith its B-29s from MacDill AF B, Florid a,to Kaden a A B, O kina wa. O ne week laterth e Supcrfortresscs went int o act ion overKorea. From A ugust to Se pte mber th eyatt acked strat egic objec t ives in NorthKorea, such as th e enemy's rran sporrat ionsyste m and industr ial faci litics. Following acampaign in November 1950 againstbr idges over the Yalu River into Man ­churia, the B-29s struck in rcrdiction rar­gets, includ ing commun icat ions and supplycent res, and supported U N ground forcesby h itt ing gun emplace ments and troopconcc n rrat ion s. ot officially inactivru cdunti l Jun e 1952, th e 307 th G roup becamean unmanned organ izat ion on 10 February1951 , rep laced by th e 30 7th BW.

Combat Components: 370th BS (M ), 37 1stBS (M ) and 372ml BS (M) .

Stat ions: Kadena A B, O kinawa.

C ommanders: Co lonel John A . H ilger.

Cam/Xl ign Streamers: U N Defensive; UNOffensive: CCF Interven t ion ; and FirstUN Counte roffens ive.

Decorations: Repu blic of Korea Prcsidcn ­tial U n it Ci tation for period Au gust 1950to 9 Feb ruary 1951 .

Unit badge: Azure , a four-pet a lled dog­wood bloom slipped O r. A pprov ed for the

748

307 th Group on 2 1 December 1942 andfor th e 307th W ing on 23 December 1952.

307tll Bombardment Wing (Medium)

T he 307th B\V' moved without personnel orequipment to Kadcna A B, O kinawa, on 10February 195 I and absorbed the resources ofthe 307th BG . For the next few months thewing's bombers parti cipated in FEA F'sbridge-bust ing campaign, nying numerousmissions against key spans. T he 307th BWalso helped UN ground forces blunt a com­muni st spring offcnsivc. O n 23 May, it par­ticipated in a tremendous night -t ime closeair support effort , sh redd ing ene my positionsalong the en tire battlefront with radar­aimed fragment at ion bombs. Until the endof the war, it cont inued at tacks againstind ustr ial targets, bridges, troop concent ra­tions, airfields, supply dumps, rail yards,enemy front linc position s and lines of com­mun icati on s. By late 1952, th e 307 th BWusually flew nigh t shoran missions, withenemy airfields and dams as primar y targets.As th e truce talks neared conclusion in July1953, th e wing helped spoil an enemyground offensive, earn ing a DistinguishedUn it C itation. By the end of hostilit ies, the307th BW and 307th BG combined hadflown over 5,800 combat missions.

C ombat C omponents: 307th BG (M ),assigned but not operat iona l 10 Februar y1951 to 16J une 1952; the 370th BS (M ),37 1st BS (M) and 372ml BS (M) wereattac hed from 10 Febru ary 1951 to 15 June1952 and assigned from 16 Junc 1952.

Stat ions: Kad cna A B, O kinawa.

C ommanders: Colonel John A . H ilger from10 February 1951 ; Colone l John M.Reyno lds from 15 March 195 1; Colone lW illiam H. Hanson from 20 A ugust 195 J;Colonel John C. Jennison Jr from 4 Febru ­ary 1952; Brig Gcn Raymond L. W inn from8 May 1952; Colone l C harles S . O verstreetfrom c. I Oc tober 1952; and C olone lA ust in J. Russell from 29 December 1952.

Cam/Jaign Streamers: First U N Count erof­fensive; CCF Spring O ffensive; U N Sum­mer-Fail Offens ive; Second Korean W in­ter : Korea, Summer- Fall 1952; T h irdKor ean winter; and Korea, S ummer 1953.

Decorations: Distinguished U n it C ita tionfor ac tions I I to 27 July 1953; and Repub licof Korea Presiden tial Un it C ita tion.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

8-29 Derivatives, Variants and Spin-offs

A very fine in-flight study of a B-29-45-BW (42-24688) somewhere over Kansas in early1944. Boeing-Wichita-built B-29s were the first Superforts to see combat in WorldWar Two. USAF

T he Boein g Ai rplane Company, Bell Air­craft C orpora tion and G lenn L. Mart inCompany worked in conce rt to produce3,953 producti on 13-29 Supcrfortress aircraftbetw een September 1943 and May 1946.Boeing had built seventee n others - th reeprotot ype XB-29s and fourteen service testYB-29s. In add ition to these seven teen ,Boeing built 2,759 B-29s and B-29As, Bell

built 668 B-29s and B-29Bs and Mart in built536 B-29s, includin g the spec ial sixty-fiveS ilvcrplarc 13-29 atom ic bombers. T hu s thegrand to tal of B-29s built was 3,970.

Successful ai rcra ft designs ofte n lead to

the develop ment of spec ia lized deriva­t ivcs, import ant varian ts and outgrowthspin-offs. The Boei ng 13-29 S upc rfortresswas indeed a successfu l de sign and it gen­e ra te d man y.

8-29 Derivatives and Variants

During \Vor ld War Two, and in th e co urseof several post-war vears, Boeing pro posedn ume rous fo llow-on versions of its h igh lyrespected B-29 S upe rforrrcss. W h ile anumber of these offerings were not accept­ed , a number of o the r one s were . Mostimp ortan tly, th ese included th e KB-29M

and KB-29P aerial refuelli ng tankers wh ichfilled that ro le unti l the ad vent of the Boe­ing KC -97 tanker/cargo aircraft in the mid­1950s. A nother important version of th eSuperfor t was the B-29MR, which servedas bot h a receiver and ran ker. But the mostsign ificant of th ese advanc ed designs wasBoeing's proposed B-29D, whi ch ultima te­ly appeared as th e 13-50 , a major devel op ­men t of th e 13-29.

749

B-29-BW, B-29-BA and B-29-M O

Boe ing-Wi chi ta, Bell-Atlanta and Martin­O maha built 2, 3 1 B-29-BWs, B-29-BAsand B-29B-BAs, and B-29-MO s - respec­tively 1,627 , 668 and 536 exa mples. Inadd ition to th e fourtee n service test YB-29­BWs, Boein g-W ich ita buil t 1,613 prod uc­tion B-29-BWs in twenty-e igh t producti onblocks nu mbering from one to 100. In addi ­t ion to five pi lot -sh ip B-29-BA s, Bell­A tla nta built 663 producti on B-29-BA sand B-29B-BAs in seve nteen prod ucti onblocks numbering from one to sixty-five.A nd in add it ion to five pilot - "h ip B-29­Ma s, Marti n -O mah a prod uced 5 I B-29­Ma s in sixteen pro duction blocks ran gin gfrom one to sixty. (The ten B-29-BA/-Mpilot sh ips were full-scale develop ment air­craft that served as guide assemb lies forsubsequent full-sca le prod uction B-29s.)B-29-BW: The 1,627 produ ct ion B-29­BWs were all powered by th e Wri gh t R­3350-23 eng ine . T he first exa mple madeits first n igh t at \X!ich ita on 14 Septe mbe r1943. From block 55-BW and on , th e20m m cannon was replaced by a th ird .50­ca libre mach ine-gun . W ichit a product ionreach ed its zen ith in Ju ly 1945, B-29-BWswere being built a t a rat e of 4.2 per day.T he last B-29-BW was del ivered to theUSAAF on 10 Octo be r 194 5.B-29-B A : T he 357 B-29-BAs were pow­ered by the Wrigh t R-3350-23 eng ine.These were built with the Supc rforts fullco mpleme nt of ten machine-guns and asing le 20 mm ca n no n. From block -5 andon , the tail-mo unted 20mm ca nno n wasremov ed and replaced by a th ird mach ine­gun .B-29-MO: The B-29-MO s were poweredhy the Wr igh t R-3350-23 eng ine . Thesewere nearl y identical to the B-29-B\X!s andB-29-BA s. From block 25-MO and on , the20mm ca n no n was replaced with a th irdmachine-gun. However, th e sixty-five spe­c ially bui lt S ilvcrplarc B-29-MO atomicbombers were manufactured without th eupper and lower gun turre ts, C FC sysrcmand 20mm canno n.

B-2'1 DERIVATI VES. VARIANTS AND SPIN-nFl'S

A rare shot of a B-29B-40-BA (42-83872)showing

its clean lines sans upper/lower gun turrets. Theonly problem is that it is marked with serial number42-83872, a non-existent serial number ; it should

read 44-83872. USAF

BELOW: A B-29-40-MO (44-86270) featuring wing-t ip

pods, possibly fuel tanks. The aircraft's purpose

remains a mystery . Peter M. Bowers

B-2.9A-BN

Boeing-Ren ton built 1, 122 product ion B­29A -BN aircraft in sixteen productionblocks nu mbering from one to sevent y-five.

T hey were powered by th e Wr ight R-3350­57 engine . The first B-29A mad e its firstn igh t at Renton on 30 December 1943.From block 20-BN and on , the 20 mm can ­non was rep laced by a th ird mach ine-gun .

The last B-29A was del ivered to rheUSAA F Strategic A ir C ommand on 10Ju ne 1946.

The B-29A was built with a differentwing cent re section . That is, it was a two­piece assembly bolt ed together at its cen­treline. It was insta lled as a sing le uni t,wh ich passed all the way th rough th e fuse­lage to support the engine nacell es. T hisincreased the Supcrfort 's wing span to 142ft3 in (43.37m) bu t red uced the fuel capac ityby 260 US gallons (2 16.4 Imp gallons/984Itr ). Moreover, th e B-29A was the on lySuperfort to feat ure four mach ine-guns inits upper forward gun turret. Some B-29A shad a strca rn lincd forward top turret.

A factory-fre sh B-29A-l -BN (42-93837) on a manufacturer's test flight near the

Cascade mountain range in Washington State. Peter M. Bowers

750

B-2.9B-BA

T he 3 11 B-29B-BAs were powered by th eW righ t R-3350-51 engine. Essent ially thesewere stripped-down Supcrforts that weremanufactured with out th e upper and lowergun turrets, but which ret ain ed th e tai l tur ­ret minus th e 20mm can no n (a th irdmachine-gun too k its place) . T he B-29Bwas essen tially a night -time bomber usingthe advanced A N/A PG - IS radar system forboth bom bin g and ta il gun a iming/firing.

B-29 DER IVAT IV ES. VA RIANTS A ND SPIN -OFFS

B-29A-75-BN (44-62310) with the strea mlined forwa rd top gun turret installed. Peter M. Bowers

\Vith th e absen ce of th e four upper andlower gun tu rrets and the Cen tra l Fire Con­tro l (CFC) system, th e B-29B 's a lt itude,range an d speed increased substan t ially.

e.z»:T he B-29C was a proposed fo llow -on tothe B-29A hut with improved and morere liable fuel- in jec ted Wrigh t R-3350-4 1eng ines with reversible propell ers, verysimila r to th ose used on th e S ilve rp lare B­29s. Like th e 13-29A it was to he built inRen to n , bu t sinc e there was no other di f­ferences othe r th an the engine/prope llerchange , th e proposed B-29C pro duct ionpro gramme was not proceeded with .

B-29D

As ori gin ally offered to th e USA A F, Boe­ing 's pro posed B-29 D was a sign ifica n t

improvement over its B-29, B-29A and 5­29B predecessors. It featured numerou sadvancemen ts over th e Supe rfo rt , wh ichincl uded a much more powerful 3 ,500h pPratt & Whi tn ey R-4360 cngine. Esscn­ria lly, a B-29A -5-B (42-93845) served asthe 13-29D prototype when it was deliveredto Pratt & \Vhitney for the insta llation andeva luation of its new R-4360 eng ine. T h isun iq ue machine was de signat ed XB-4 4(de scribed in deta il on page 164 ).

T he B-29D was subseq uen tl y orderedinto produc tion and it was to he built a tth e Boeing-Re nton plant . But righ t afte rVJ- Day, since th ere was no im med iat eneed and it had no t yet en te red produc­t ion, th e B-29 D progra mme was canc el led.The USA A F had ordered 200 13-29 Ds butnone of the m were eve r built. After th ewar, however, wit h the esta blish me nt ofth e USA A F's S tra tegic A ir C o mma nd andthe need for mo re mod ern st ra teg ic

bombers, th e B-29D programme was resus­c ita ted in the form of the 13-50 program meme tcxplaincd lat er in text ) .

B-29F

The B-29F de signa t ion was give n to sixspec ia lly prepared B-29s bu ilt at Bocing­Wi chita th at served with the SA FA laskan Command, Pac ific Air Force( PACAF) at Eiclson AFB, so me 26 miles(42km) fro m Fairban ks, Alaska . Afte rth ese specia lly winte rized B-29s co mple tedthe ir d ut ies at Eielson th ey were re turn edto t he USA and brough t back up to 13-29­BW sta nda rd for normal ope ra t ions .

BIKB-29K

T he de signat ion B-29K (a lso KB-29K ) wastemporari ly applied to what becam e theKB-29M series of hose-type ae rial ranker

B-29Fsat Ladd Field. Alaska. around 1947-48 . Peter M. Bowers

151

1l· 29 DERIVATIVES. VA RIANTS AND SPIN·OFFS

KB-29P with the boom operator in place. Boom operat ors were nicknamed 'Clancy:leading to the old American adage 'Clancy lowered the boom'. Peter M. Bowers

..

The F-13A named THE BELLE OF BIKINI was forme rl y a B-29A-50-BN . It w as

photograp hed on Kw ajalein on 30 July 1946 for Operation Crossro ads. David W.Menard

152

aircraft (described on page 153 ). The oneB-29K (formerly a B-29-BW ) th at hadbeen crea ted, after it was used to test th ehose-t ype ae rial refuelling system, waslat er used exclusively as a ca rgo transport .

B-29L

T he B-29L design ation was to be appliedto mod ified B-29 receiver/tan ker aircraftusing the Brit ish-developed hose-type in­flight refue lling system. T he 'L' suffix wasdropped and rep laced with 'M ' th en 'MR'(see be low).

B-29M and B-29MR

For merly kno wn as the B-29M , the B-29MRserved as both receiver and tanker aircraft.Boeing built sevent y-four B-29MRs at itsWichita facility in the late 1940s. The B­29MR (the suffix R for receiver) aircraft hada 2,300 US gallon (1,9 15 Imp gallon/8,7051tr) fuel tank in the aft bomb-bay. Th isfeat ure, of course, reduced th e bomb loadsthat were carried by the B-29MR aircraft.Yet with a full load of fuel, th ese bomberscould still carry 10,0001 b (4,500kg) ofbombs: nuclear ones, in the ir forward bomb­bay and for very long distances indeed . T heaft-facing hose receptacle was of a cone­shaped configurntion ; it was located on thelower right side of the fuselage, just belowth e hor izont al railplan cs.

F-13/ -13A

The Boeing B-29 Supcrforrrcss was thefirst large and heavy a ircraft to be used forthe all-important photograp h ic reconnai s­sance and ma pping mission in World WarTwo. Dur ing Wor ld \Xlar Two, US photo­graph ic reconnaissance and mapp ing a ir­craft carried th e F for Reconna issan ce­Photographic prefix. Th us, the 8 -29s andB-29As tha t were mod ified to serve in thi sca pac ity were designated F- 13 and F- 13A .

T he need for a very lon g-range photo­reconnaissance aircraft became crit ica lwhen the USA started its strikes againstthe home islands of Japan in 1944. Andsince th e B-29 was the longest-range air­craft in US AA F inven tor y it was a naturalcho ice for th at important mission . T he re­fore a relat ively large number of \Xli chi ta ­built 8 -29s and Rent on-built 8 -29As weremodified at Boeing's modificat ion cen tr e atDen ver, C olorado for such duty.

The W righ t R-3350-23 engine poweredth e W ich ita 8 -29-8 W s, wh ile the R-3350-

B-29 DERIVATI VES. VARIA:-iTS AND SPIN-OFf'S

F-13. F-13NRB-29. RB-29A Squadrons (partial)57 eng ine power ed the Renton B-29A ­B s. The to p speed for both types was inexcess of 330mph.

Fo r th e most pa rt the F- I3 /- I3 A s wer eequipped with six side- and bell y-m ou ntedcameras. T hese were comprised of th ree K­17Bs, one K- 18 and two K-22 cameras. Amod ified B-3 Drifrmctcr W<lS operate d bythe pho to-n avi gator in th e bomb ardier'sco mpa rtme n t. To mai ntai n and ope rateth e ca meras while in flight , a came ra spe ­c ia list crewma n was prov ided . T h e sixca me ras were mount ed bel ow and <1 ft ofth e rem crew co mpa rtme n t.

In June 194 8, th e surv iving F- l3 s wereredesign ated RB-29 (RB meani ng Recon­naissance Bomb er) and th e F-13As wereredesign at ed RB-29A . (This was wh en th eUSA F recl assified a number of its a irc rafttypes, for exa mple F for Figh ter ins tead of Pfor Pursu it, and so on . Thus, a ll remaini ngF-13 s and F-13 As were red esign at ed <IS RB­29s and RB -29As.)

£B-2.9

O ne B-29-96-BW (45 -2 1800) was modi ­fied to car ry a loft and launch the Bell X- Irocke t-po wered a ircra ft. It was redesignat edEB-29 and on 14 O ctober 1947 it laun ch edC apt C harles E. 'C hu ck' Yeager in th e nu m­ber one Bell X- IA (46- 062), ni ck n amedG LA MOROUS G LE N IS after h is wife ,and for th e first t ime in h istory <I pi lot flewfaste r th an the speed of sound , at 750mph( 1,207 km/h) . T h is spec ia l EB-29 was a lsoused to launch the o the r two X- IAs, th e X­IB, th e X- I D and the X- IE .

Squadron

1st SRS (Photographic)

1st PRS(VeryHeavy)Iredesignated 1st ReconnaissanceSquadronIVeryLong Range, Photographic-Radar Countermeasures)on 10/4/45 and1st Reconnaissance Squadron IVLR, Photographic)on 11 /13/45)

3rd PRS(VH) (redesignated3rd RSIVLR, Photographic- RCMIon9/19/45 and 3rd RS(VLR. Photographic)on1/16/46)

5th SRS (photographic)

9thRS(VLR, Photographic)

16th PS

23rdRS(VLR, Photographicl (redesignated23rd SRSIPhotographic) on 6/16/491

24th Combat MappingSquadron

31st RS(VLR, Photographicl (redesignated 31 st RS (VLR, Photo, RCM)on 12/23/47 and 31 st SRS IPhotographic)on6/16/491

38th SRS (Medium, Photographic)

46th RS (VLR, Photographic- Weather)(redesignated46th RSIVLR, Photographic)on 10/23/46)

72nd RS (VLR, Photographic)

77th SRS (Photographic)

91 st SRS (Medium - Photographic)

99th SRS (photographic)

129th SRS (Medium. Photographic)(redesignated 129th SRS IMedium) on 6/16/52)

PRS- PhotographicReconnaissance SquadronPS- Photographic SquadronRS- ReconnaissanceSquadronSRS - StrategicReconnaissance Squadron

Dates

10/10/48 to3/31/50

11/10/44to3/10/47

5/19/44to3/15/47

5/1/49 to3/31 /50

6/20/46 to 10/19/47

1/47 to 12/16/47

10/20/47 to 11/ 13/50

1/46 to6/15/46

10/20/47 to 11/ 15/50

11/1/50 to 12/51

11/15/45 to 10/13/47

10/13/47to 12/48

4/ 1/50to7/15/50

7/6/50 to 12/19/54

5/1/49to3/31/50

8/1/51to 10/15/52

£B-2.9A

In th e ea rly I950s th e USA F in vestigatedth e possibi lity of rag-a- long escort figh te rs todefend its strategic bombers withi n ene myairspace, T he idea was to rend ezvous a pa irof figh ters with a bom ber right afte r take -offand attach them to it with th e ir wing-t ips,so they could ride a long during th e bomber'smission . O nce in ene my airspace th e friend­ly fighters - having started thei r now idlin gengin es - were to detach from their carr ierbomber and fend off host ilc fight ers if'ju mp ed' . T here were seve ral programmesthat in vestigated th is and sim ilar concepts.

O ne such ope rat ion ca lled Ti/)Tow useda modi fied B-29A -60-B (44-62093 ) andtwo mod ified Republ ic F-84 D-I -RE Thun ­der jc r fighters under Project MX - I0 18.These th ree a ircraft , redesign ated EB-29Aand EF-84D respec t ivel y, pe rformed a

nu mber of succ essful flight tests in O pe ra­t ion Ti/) Tow. But unfort un a tel y on 24April 1953 one of th e EF-84 D airc raftun exp ected ly brok e away from the righ twing-ti p of th e EB-29A, causing it to enterinto a long, spi ra lling fla t spin from whi chit d id not reco ver. A ll thr ee a ircraft c rash edinto Peconic B<l Y, Long Island and the rewere no surv ivo rs.

£B-2.9B MONSTRO

A n EB-29 B named MO NSTRO was crea t­ed from one modi fied B-29 B-65- BA (44 ­84 111) to serve as an a irbo rne ca rrier andlaunch vehicle for th e Mc Donnell XF-85Goblin in th e para ire fighter programme,under Project MX -4 72 . As plan ned, if th etests were successful, operat iona l F-85 Gob­lins wou ld be ca rried on trapeze-like assem ­blies within the aft bomb -bays of B-36

153

Peacemakcr bombers from rake-off to land­ing. S ince there were no B-36s ye t ava il­able , the EB-29B was used in th e test fligh ts.

Two XF-85s were built for use in th e par­as ite fight er programme and on 23 August1948 a t Mu roc AA F a rat h er sh aky but suc­cessful in -flight b unc h . fligh t and recov eryW<lSaccomp lishe d with XF- 5 number two(46 -524 ). T h e number one XF-85 madeone free fligh t wh ile nu mber two made six.T he parasite figh ter programme proved notto be feasib le and was term ina ted in m id­1949. It rem ai ns unclear as to what h ap­pened to MO NSTRO .

KB-2.9M

The desig na t ion KB-29M was assigned to

ninety-tw o B-29As and B-29Bs that wereco nverte d to ae rial tankers at Boeing's\Vichita Plant. The con version involved

1l-29 DERIVAT IV ES. VAR IA NT S A ND SPIN -O!' FS

154

THIS PAGE

ABOVE: An F-13A-35-BN namedSWEET'N LOLA(44-615781of the 16thPhotographic ReconnaissanceSquadron at Kwajalein . It served with the 509BGduring the Bikin i atomic bombtests in 1946.PeterM. Bowers

u rr; THE ANGELLIC PIG,an F-13A-55-BN (44-61991)at Kwajalein on 30July 1946. DavidW.Menard

BelOW: An F-13A-55-BN (44-619601 named MARYLOU at Kwajalein on 30July 1946. DavidW.Menard

OPPOSITE PAGE

TOP: A dramatic close-up view of the cockpitgreenhouse on an RB-29A(45-21773; formerlya B-29-95-BW, it later became a F-13A).Peter M. Bowers

BOTTOM: The only EB-29B (45-21800; formerly aB-29-96-BWI with a Bell X-1 tucked up withinher belly, It was on 14October 1947 that thisEB-29B dropped X-1 number one, and flownby Captain Chuck Yeager, it became the firstaircraft to exceed the speed of sound.Peter M. Bowers

1l-29 DERI VAT IV ES. VAR IA :\'T S A :\' lJ SPIN -OFFS

755

This EB-29A 144-62093;formerly a B-29A-60-BN)

was modified to carry a

pair of Republic EF-84DThunderjet fighters in

the Operation Tip Towexperiments. In practice.two F-84s would rendezvous

with a B-29 mother 'plane

and attach themselves toher. Once this was done they

would ride along until theywere needed to fend off

enemy fighters. after whichthey were to re-attach for

the trip home. EF-84D(48-641) is on the left wingtip while EF-84D (48-661)

rides on the right. Peter M.

Bowers

BELOW: The EB-29B named

MONSTRO is about toretri eve a McDonnell XF-85

Goblin near Edwards AFB.Formerly a B-29-60-BA

(44-841111. MONSTRO

successfully completeda number of launches and

recoveries of the Goblinparasite fighter. Peter M.

Bowers

11 -29 DERIVATIVES. VARIANTS AND SPIN-OFFS

756

removing all gun tur rets and hom hingequipment. A 2,300 US gallon ( I,900 Impgallon/S,7051tr) jctri sonablc fuel tank wasinstalled in each bomb- bay. Fuel lines wererouted to a 200ft (60 m) hose on a d rum thatwas reeled out of I hc ran ker by a steel cablefrom the receiver B-29 or B-50. The met hodof hook-up is explained in the sto ry below.T he fuel transferred to the receiver in it iallywent int o a 2,500 US gallon (2,100 Imp gal­lon/9,463lt r) fuel tank in th eir afl bomb­bays. Seventy- four B-29s were converted toreceivers and designated B-29MRs.

T he first two squadrons to get the KB­29M were the 43rd Ai r Refuell ing Squadro n(A RS) at Dav is-Monrhan AFB. A rizonaand th e 509th A ir Refuelling Squadronbased at Walkcr (formerly Roswell) AFB,

cw Mexico. T h cy were ac riva rcd on 19July 1948 and at th at t ime th ese two airrcfuclling units (t he first in the USA F) were

B-29 DERIVAT IVES_VARIANTS AND SPIN-OFFS

KB-29M Production (partial)

SerialNumber Unit Comment Serial Number Unit Comment SerialNumber Unit Comm nt

44-27268 421ARS exB-29-35-MO 44-69958 exB-29-70-BW 44-87781 exB-29 90BW44-27280 421ARS ex B-29-35-MO 44-69960 ex B-29-70-BW 44-87782 43ARS ex B-29·90-BW44-27282 exB-29-35-MO 44-69962 ex B-29-70-BW 44-87783 exB-29·90-BW44-27325 exB-29-35-MO 44-69981 ex B-29-70-BW 45-21 693 2ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-27329 421ARS ex B-29-40-MO 44-70019 ex B-29-75-BW 45-21695 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-27330 ex B-29-40-MO 44-70024 ex B-29-75-BW 45-21696 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-27333 ex B-29-40-MO 44-70044 ex B-29-75-BW 45-21697 ex B-29-90-BW44-27338 ex B-29-40-MO 44-70047 ex B-29-75-BW 45-21699 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-27340 ex B-29-40-MO 44-70081 ex B-29-75-BW 45-21693 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-27349 ex B-29-40-MO 44-70144 ex B-29-80-BW 45-21700 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69681 ex B-29-55-BW 44-841 44 ex B-29-75-BA 45-21701 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69685 ex B-29-55-BW 44-86270 ex B-29-40-MO 45-21 702 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69699 ex B-29-55-BW 44-86277 ex B-29-45-MO 45-21702 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69704 ex B-29-55-BW 44-86389 exB-29-55-MO 45-21 703 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69709 ex B-29-60-BW 44-86418 421ARS ex B-29-55-MO 45-21 704 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-6971 0 43ARS ex B-29-60-BW 44-86420 ex B-29-55-MO 45-21 705 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69729 55ARS ex B-29-60-BW 44-87601 ex B-29-80-BW 45-21706 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69731 exB-29-60-BW 44-87610 ex B-29-80-BW 45-21713 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69782 ex B-29-60-BW 44-87611 ex B-29-80-BW 45-21716 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69798 ex B-29-60-BW 44-87622 ex B-29-BO-BW 45-21731 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69806 ex B-29-65-BW 44-87680 43ARS ex B-29-85-BW 45-21734 Oetachment 43 ex B-29-90-BW'44-69807 ex B-29-65-BW 44-87725 ex B-29-86-BW 45-21738 ex B-29-90-BW44-69809 ex B-29-65-BW 44-87742 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW 45-21741 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-6981 5 ex B-29-65-BW 44-87747 2ARS ex B-29-90-BW 45-21 764 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69841 ex B-29-65-BW 44-87758 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW 45-21765 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69853 ex B-29-65-BW 44-87770 ex B-29-90-BW 45-21769 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69860 ex B-29-65-BW 44-87776 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW 45-21778 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69875 ex B-29-65-BW 44-87777 43ARS ex B-29-90-BW 45-21785 509ARS exB-29-90-BW44-69951 ex B-29-70-BW 44-87778 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW 45-21788 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69953 exB-29-70-BW 44-87779 43ARS exB-29-90-BW 45-21792 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW44-69957 exB-29-70-BW 44-87780 509ARS exB-29-90-BW 45-21864 509ARS ex B-29-90-BW

45-21865 509ARS ex B-29-90-BWARS: AirRefuelling Squadron*Modified with threedroguehosesas YKB-29T

on ly made up of sta ff members: they d id notreceive th ei r a ircraft unt il 1949 . The crewstha t [lew the 'planes were from sister bom bgro ups - the 43BG and 509 BG . By mid ­1950 th ese sq uadrons were fully mannedand tra ined .

KB-29P Flying Boom Tan/?er

T hc hosc rcfuclling syste m used by th eprev iously d iscussed KB-29M -aeroplanesturned our to be cxrrcmclv cumbersomeand di fficu lt to use in service. T hc tim e

needed (or ranker and receiver to makeco nt ac t was usually qu ite long, th e rate offuel transfer was slow, and the ae rodynamicdra g imp osed by th c hoses limited airspeed.

Boeing wen t to work on th e prob lem andca me up with the ' t1 ying boom ' technique

A 421ARS KB-29M on the ramp at Fairchild AFB. Wash ington. duringthemid1950s. Peler M. Bowers

757

B-29 DERI VATIV ES, VARIA NT S AN D SPIN-OFFS

KB-29PProduction (partial)

Serial Number Unit Comment

42-65389 exB-29-35-MO44-27346 exB-29-40-MO44-27348 exB-29-40-MO44-27353 509ARS ex B-29-40-MO44-69672 ex B-29-55-BW44-69674 420ARS ex B-29-55-BW44-69687 exB-29-55-BW44-69693 exB-29-55-BW44-69700 420ARS ex B-29-55-BW44-69702 exB-29-55-BW44-69716 exB-29-60-BW44-69761 exB-29-60-BW44-69797 exB-29-60-BW44-6981 9 exB-29-65-BW44-69821 exB-29-65-BW44-69822 exB-29-65-BW44-69823 exB-29-65-BW44-69826 exB-29-65-BW44-69828 exB-29-65-BW44-69837 exB-29-65-BW44-69846 exB-29-65-BW44-69847 exB-29-65-BW44-69858 ex B-29-65-BW44-69878 27ARS exB-29-65-BW44-69904 exB-29-65-BW44-6991 4 exB-29-70-BW44-69915 exB-29-70-BW44-83937 509ARS exB-29B-45-BA44-84071 509ARS exB-29B-60-BA44-841 89 ex B-29-75-BA

The PACUSAN DREAMBOAT

T he PA C USA N DREAMBO AT was aspec ia lly mod ified B-29B -60-BN (44­8406 \ ) commande d by th en Colone l

of aerial refuelling whi ch is st ill in usetoday, T he actual de velop ment of the fly­ing boom aerial refuel ling syste m turnedout to me a monumenta l undertaking, butonce it was perfected it prov ed to be high ­Iy succ essful.

The design ation KB-29P was assigned to1\ 6 modified B-29s tha t were co nv erted toflying boom aerial refuelling tankers in·1950- 5 1, T hese were crea ted at Boeing'sRen ton, Wash ington Plant 3 fac ility, T heKB-29P was the world's first operat ionalflying boom aerial refuelling tanker, pre­ced ing the USA F fleets of Boein g KB-50s,KC- 97s and KC-135s, and lat er th eMcDonnell Douglas (n ow Boeing) KC -l Os- all equipped by th e flying boom syste m,S ince th e adven t of the KB-29, FlyingBoom operators arc st ill kn own as 'Clancy,'wh ich is derived from a classic A merica nba llad, 'C lan cy Lowered th e Boom',

".

SWit CH O PERATE S

ELEVATION lIl.AITSWITCH O PERATES

The 'fl ying boom', Pater M. Bowers

A KB-29P (44·86383; formerly a B-29-50-MOI refuels an F-86to demonstrate the type ofreceptacle now in standard use within the USAF. AFFTC/HOvia Ray Puffer

158

1l-29 DERIVATIV ES. VARIA NT S AN D SPIN ·OFFS

ABOVE: General Bill Irv ine 's personal B-29B-60-BA (44-84061). which he

named PACUSAN DREAMBOAT. Fitted with specia l fuel -in jected R-3350­

CA-2 engines it was used to set eighteen world records for distance and

speed in 1945 and 1946. David W.Menard

BELOW: Formerly a B-29-95-BW (45-21787), then a P2B-1S (BuNo 840291. FERTILE

MYRTLE launched th is Douglas 0 -558-2 Skyrocket with NACA test pilot A. Scott

Crossfield to achieve a record speed of Mach 2.005, w hi ch was then the fastest

speed ever attained by a manned air vehicle. AFFTC/HO via Ray Puffer

C larence S. Irvin e whil e he was based atA ndrews Field (lat er A ndrews A ir ForceBase), Maryland. near Washington DC.This partic ular B-29B was fitt ed with fuel ­inject ed R-3350-CA -2 en gines housed in'Andy G ump ' nacel les. It was a lso strippedof all of its ar ma men t and had large-cap ac­ity fuel ta nks install ed in its two bom b­hays. It wa in th is configurat ion th atC olonel (later Gene ral) Irvin e plannedand established eigh tee n wcighr -ro-alr i­tude and weight -to-speed records in lat e1945 and early 1946. His first record in

ovcmber 194 5, from G uam to Wash ing­ton DC, was set at a d istance of 7,9 16 miles( 12,737km ). A nor her record, Los A ngelesto Ne w York C ity. was esta blishe d at 5hou rs 27 minutes. S till anot he r mor efamo us record - flying non-stop 9 ,500miles (15 ,300km ) from Honolu lu. Hawaiito C a iro . Egypt during 4-6 O ctober 1946- was acco mplished in 39 hours 36 min ­utes. The PAC U A DREA MBOAT waslat er fit ted with spec ial padd le-type three­bladed propellers and was red esignat ed aYB-29J.

159

P2B-lS/ -2S

O n 14 March 1947 th e US Navy bough tfour low-t ime B-29s to serve as long-rangesea rch and destr oy an ti-shi pping patrolbombe r aircraft. Two of th ese were desig­nat ed P2B-I S . th e o the r two P2B-2S. O neP2B- lS (US Nav y Bureau umber 840 29)was lat er modified for use by ACA (now

ASA) for the ae rial launch ings of theDouglas D-55 -2 Skyroc ke t.

This P2B-I S, n icknam ed FERT ILEMYRTLE. was form erly a B-29-95 -BW

1l-29 DERIV AT I VES_VARIANTS AN I> SPIN -OFFS

(45-21787). It was used on 20 ovember1953 when NAC A test pilot A . SCOllCross field raced to Mach 2.00 5 to becometh e first person to fly at twice th e speed ofsound. FERTLE MYRTL E was saved and islocated at the Internat ional Sport Av ia­tion Museum in Lakeland, Florid a.

Opera tion Bans hee

In 1947 , an operat ion ca lled Banshee wasput in place whereby specia l-purpose B-29swou ld be filled with various loads of h ighexplosives and nuclear weapon s, for one­way radio-controlled flight s into ene myterritory for pre-planned detonat ion uponarriving at ce rta in strateg ic targets. T h iswas a feasibility study under USAAF A irMateriel C ommand Project MX-767.

A similar programme - O perationA/Jhrodile - was ac tua llv imp lement ed inWorld War Two, using Boe ing B-17s andConsolidated B-24s redesignated BQ-7 andBQ-8, respectively. (T he prefix 'B' stood for

Bomber, 'Q ' stood for Drone .) T hese aircraftwere flown to th e northern bord er of Ger­man y where th eir crews baled out to bepicked up in the English C ha nnel. Justbefore the crews baled out an escor t ing'mothe r 'plane' would tak e over the con­trols via radio co ntrol and fly th e BQ air­craft 10 its pre-design at ed target. T hemother 'p lane guided th e BQ aircraft to apoint with in 152nm (282km) of th e ta rgetwhere two ot her mother ai rcra ft took over.T hese a ircraft, using th eir SHORA( 1-IO rt RA gc) radar syste ms, prec iselyguided th e BQ aircraft to the targets. O neC onso lidated BQ - .Toadcd with 2 1,170lb(9,600kg) of Torpcx explosive, mysteri­ously and prcmature ly ex ploded on 12A ugust 1944 , killing Joseph P. 'Joe'Kennedy [ r, th e late Presiden t John EKennedy's o ldes t bro ther. Kennedy's plan ewas intend ed to have h it an un dergroundV-2 rocke t fac ility.

In Operation Banshee, B-29s were to beused just like the BQ-7s and BQ -8s had

been . T hey were to ca rry a maximu m h ighexp losive load of 10,000 to 12,0001 b(4 ,500-5,400kg) and their one-way missionrange was to be 3,742nm (6,930km). A tleast one B-29 was modified to BQ standardunder O peration Banshee and was del iveredro the US A F in February 1948, but howman y ot hers were created remains uncl ear.

QB-29

In the mid - to late -1950s there were anumber of new and advanced fighters andfight er in terceptors employed by th eUS A F's A ir Defen ce Comma nd (ADC )and Tact ical A ir C ommand (TA C) . Anu mber of previ ously moth balled Super­fo rts were resuscit at ed and converted to

serve as radi o-con trolled Q B-29 targetdron es for air-to -air gun ne ry, missile androcket -firing evaluat ions. A fter their mod­ificati on to QB-29 sta nda rd at Davi s­Mont han A FB, A rizona , they were ferr iedto Eglin AFB in Florida. O nc e th ey were

RIGHT:TheFERTILE MYRTLE logo. AFFTC/HOviaRay Puffer

ABOVE: FERTILE MYRTlElax is w ith the Bell X-1Aprior to its historic Mach 2.44numberfli ght w ith USAF Major Chuck Yeager at the controls. With this fli ght. Yeager regainedhis status as the fastest man alive. AFFTC/HO viaRay Pu ffer

Comment

8-29-95-8W8-29-95-8W- FERTILE MYRTLE mother ship;Douglas 0-558-2 5kyrocket launch plane8-29-95-8W8-29-90-8W

US Navy P2B-l Sand P2B·2S Inventory

Bureau Number

84030. formerly 45-21 79184031, formerly 44-87766

84028. formerly 45-21 78984029. formerly 45-21787

Designation

1'28-151'28-15

1'28-251'28-25

760

B-29 DERIVAT IVES. VARIANTS AND SPIN-OFFS

Recollections ofan RB-29Ctew in Japan:Alone With The Enemythere th ey were used for airbo rne targetpractice by ADC and TAC weapon s train ­ing un its. For the most part these newfigh tcrs and int erceptors were scrambledou t of Eglin to in tercep t and th en dest roythe alread y airborn e and now incomingQ B-29s th at approac he d from the cas t,north-east and south-c ast, O nce theyin tercepted the Q B-29s, wh ich were act ­ing the part of enemy bombers, th ese figh t­ers and in tercep tors proceeded to shootthem down.

RB-2.9/ -2.9A

Beginn ing in 194 8 the surv iv ing F- 13 andF- 13A ai rcraft were redesignated '1\13 ' for(P ho tograph ic ) Rcconnaissancc 130mher

or RB-29 and RB-29A . In add it ion to th enew 'ea vesd ropping' elect ron ic listen ingequipmen t and elect ron ic counte rmeasure(EC M) systems, th ese RB-29s con tinne d toca rry the phot ograph ic came ras emp loyedby F-13s. Some of th ese cameras, however,were improved and updated versions of theirpredecessors. O ne j apan-based RB-29 crewin the Korcan \Var is recall ed in the box.

SB-29 'Super Dutnbo '

T he SB-29 'Su per Dumho' was one of themost important and un ique versions of theSu pcrforr. T hcy were ded ica ted searc h andrescue aircraft for aircrcws in both WorldWar Two and th e Korean \Var. T hese six­teen spec ially buil t SB-29s carried a largeEDO Model A -3 lifeboat in thei r mod ifiedbomb -hays. T he acronym EDO stands forEarl D. O sborn , th e well-known Britishman ufacturer of floats for sea planes,

Early in Wor ld Wa r Two, the Britishgovern ment had assigned the EDO C om­pany the task of crearing a large unsink ­able lifeboat, co mplete with surv iva l gear.T he EDO firm went to work and createdits Model A -3 , wh ich was acc epted forproduction . T hese were first used by RoyalAi r Force bombers, wh ich carried them onlong over-water co mba t mission s ro rescueaircrcws th at had safely baled out of th e irstr icken a ircraft or had made success fulbelly land ings at sea. O nc e it was reicasedfrom its ca rrier a ircraft th e relatively heavyA -3 lifeboat wou ld drop int o the wat erunde r four parach utes.

The UK-based USA A F also used thi s sys­rem, first with mod ified B-17s, designa ted1'-171-1 and named 'Dumbo', th en withmodifi ed B-29s in th e Pacific , design atedSB-29 and nam ed 'Super Dumbo',

From a copyof aPacific Starsand Stripes article, pub­lished on30December 1950, The article was about the31stand91st Recon Squadrons andwas in a Sundaysupplement of theStars andStripes, The storyis pro­vided courtesy of William F. (Bifl) Welch, crewmemberonLtEarleAmbrose 's crew.

It is the story of the highly secret mission of a little­known groupof men and airplaneswithin theUS Far EastAir Forces thatcan now be told, It isa storyof danger­ous, unescorted, lonely, single-'plane flightsdeep with­inenemy territory bycrews of the31st Strategic Recon­naissance Squadron, located at an airbase in Japan,

Duringthedark days inJuly 1950, whenworldatten­tion was focused on theUnited Nations' va liant fightagainst numerically superior Communist forces in theshrinking Pusan perimeter, interest was momentarilydivertedtoareport originatinginthefarnorthalongtheManchurianboundary line.

The enemy reportedAmerican 'planes flying in thatarea,Were thesebombersready toattack? Whatwerethey doing in that sector, when all the fighting wasgoingonhundredsof milesto thesouth?

What the enemy didnotknow then can betoldnow,The 'planes, loneRB-29Superfortresses flyinghigh anddeep into enemy territory, were operating on recon­naissance missions asmembers of the 31st StrategicReconna issance Squadron. (The squadron was laterredesignated the91st SRS ,1

Starting four days after the North Korean Commu­nistsplunged across the38th Parallel.a 'planefromthe31 st went aloftand headed west and north from anairbase in Japan, Dai ly thereafter, these 'planes wentdeep into enemy territoryonphotographic, reconnais­sance and surveillance sorties, Dai ly they reported tohigher ground and air headquarters thedispositionofenemy troops and supplies, movements of enemyforces, weatherconditions, sea travelandother intelli­gence information,whichassistedUnitedNationscom­manders to virtually forecast the enemy's every step,

Since the start of hostilities, crews of the 31st haveflown more than 250 sorties, stacking up more than2,800 combathours, Their missions have been amongthelongest of the war, with fifteen- and sixteen-hourflights not uncommon, Nearly all of them averaged tento twelve hours flyingtime,

Duringmost of the time theRB-29 crews have beensubject to enemy fire and some have been attacked byenemy fighter 'planes,On9November, atailgunner, CplHarry J, Laveneof St Louis, Mo. shot down a MiG-15whena flight of enemy jetsattackedhisRB-29, He thusbecame one of thefirst airmen to score on the prizedMiGs, He was later decorated with theDistinguishedFlying Cross,

After the first FEAF Bomber Command attacks onWonsan, low-hanging clouds hindered photographicefforts for several days, Finally a 31st Superfortressflown by Lt Earle Ambrose of Greenville, SC, roareddown to 1,500ft andskimmedover thecitytomake pic­tures, drawingenemy firefrom thecityandnearbyhills,

On 27August, LtEarl Myersof Grand Island, Nebras­ka, andhiscrewspottedninety tanks inonearea afew

161

miles west of Hamhung, Fighters and light bombersroared in to bring the concentrationunder attack; pho­tographstaken thenext day revealed amajor partofthetank force destroyed,

Flash reports from crews of the 31 st played animportant part in helping stem theflowof troops andsupplies from acrosstheborder into Korea in Septem­ber. On 16 September, Major Robert T. Ray of LittleRock, Arkansas, and his crew spotted 200 vehic lesmoving to the battlefront. Air support was moved inquicklyaftertheflash report tostrafe,bomb, androck­et thevehicles,

It was a lone RB-29 from the31 st. flownbyLtRobertT. Ebey of Topeka, Kansas, that took the first pho­tographs of Sinuiju, a Korean cityon the banks of theYa lu River and twin city on the Manchurian border. Aflash report from Ebey on 1 November disclosed thepresence of more than 50enemy airplaneson the fieldthere, A few hours later, flight after flight of LockheedF-80 Shooting Stars and North American F-51 Mus­tangsof theFi fthAir Forceraked the fieldwith rocketsand,50-calibremachine-gun bulletsand left theenemyairconcentration broken and burning,

Still anotherRB-29from the31st, piloted byLtDavidL Muller of NewYork City, hovered lowover theCom­munist stronghold of Kanggye on 5 November, whilehigh above, other B-29s from FEAF Bomber Commandrained thousands of fire bombs on the supply centreand communicationshub,

The following day, 'before andafter'photos of Kang­gye were spread over the desks of intelligence andoperationsofficers atFEAFBomber Command and FEAFforanalysisof damage inflicted,

Thesamething happenedearly inthewarbeforeandafterstrategic strikeson the Wonsan oil refinery, theKanan munitions and chernical complex, the Seoulbridges, important marshallingyards and more recent­ly in the fire-bombing of eighteen resupplycentres infar North Korea near the internat ional border, and theShinuiju bridge complex, In all these cases the 31stStrategic Reconnaissance Squadron crews pho­tographedthetargetspriortomissionsandafterbombswere dropped,

Thesquadron was in the Far East theatre - at Oki­nawa - when the war brokeout. It was in action fourdays later. It hasbeenfunctioningever since,under thecommand of LtColonel EdwardD, Edwards of Altade­na, Cal ifornia, and with a cloak of necessary secrecywrapped around it.

Reconnaissance made it possible to destroy militarytargets with fire bombs, and leave untouched homesand hospitals in thesame general area, The industrialarea a' Konan was obliterated, whileworkmen's hous­es nearby were left untouched,

Suchprecision bombing ismade possible byaccuratereconnaissance furnished by the 31 st - until now ananonymousair element engaging inextremely danger­ous operations high in the air over enemy territory.

Thecombat-proved RB-29s andRB-29Assoldiered onuntil theywerefinally replacedbyRB-36s, RB-45s, RB­47s, RB-50s and RB-52s in the mid- to late-1950s,

1l-29 DERIV AT IV ES. VAR IA NTS AND SPIN-OFFS

A fine study of an 5B-29 in flight. formerly a

B-29-80-BW (44-70119). Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: A 5B-29 on Rogers Dry Lake with an A-3

lifeboat at Edwards AFB. This 5B-29 was once a

B-29-70-BN (44-622121. AFFTC/HOvia Ray Puffer

INSET: An 5B -29 (44-61671) drops an A-3 lifeboat.

Peter M. Bowers

BonOM: The A-3 lifeboat w ith its detachable

ground-handling wheels. Its outward-canted

wings were used for aerodynamic stab ility dur ing

airdrops. Peter M. Bowers

162

B - ~ <j DERI VATI VES. VAR IA :" TS A:"D SPI:" -OFF S

It is not cle ar how many B-29s w ere converted to serve as VB-29 VIP transports .Here a VB-29 (44-87755; former ly a B-29-90-BW ) is shown in its USAFSAC markings.

David W. Menard

TB-29s were all -important to the training and transit ion of B-29 pilots, co-pilots andcrew members. While it remains uncle ar exactly how many TB-29s were in servicethere w ere undoubtedly quite a few. This TB-29 was orig inally built as a B-29-55-MO(44-86385). Peter M. Bowers

Californ ia, in 1946; it scrv 'd II

A not he r was TB-29-75-B'\' (that ope rated ,11 G ri({js A FB,with 47 13th REVRO N (EJune 1959.

In a seconda ry role some T B-2l) -rv Ias row-rarger aircraft {or fighl er un u I II

prac t ise high -altitude gunne ry. Th . (arlo: I

reeled o ut some 200{t (60m) beh ind rhe B­29 , on a cable {rom a spoo l that wasatt ached to a spind le mounted undcm cathth e former ta il-turret posit ion; th e tai l tur­rets were removed {rom I he tow-target TB­29s. Tow-target TB-29s operated wit h th eA laskan Ai r Command. 9t h A ir Force inthe US A and th e 12th A ir Force in Europ e.

Some T B-29s were employed by th eA rmy, provi d ing practice targets {or sur­face-to-a ir missile systems such as th eDouglas SA M- A- ? N ike-A jax and A M-

-25 j ike-He rcu les ground-based int er ­ceptor missiles.

A n ADC rada r evaluation TB-29- I5­MO (42-65234) had th e d istincti on ofbe ing th e last Supcrforrrcss in service, whenon 2 1June 1960 it was offic iallv retired in aceremo ny at Hamilton AFB . Californ ia.

In th e US A F aircraft designation systemthe prefix 'V' sta nds {or Very Importan tPerson (V IP). T h us th e VB-29 was a V IPtran sport . At least one V B-29 (44-84033 )was crea ted {rom a B-29 B-55-BA, bUI itrem ain s unclear as to ac tua lly how man yVB-29s there were.

VB-29

WB-29

T he WB -29 was a {ully co mbat -capablewenth er reconna issance bomb er. Fromea rly 1946 th e USA F Ai r Weather Se rvice(AWS) ope rated many W B-29s, primari ly{o r weather reconn aissan ce, bu t with theiroffens ive syste ms intac t. That is, th eir fivegun turret s were rem oved and {aired over,but th ei r hombin g ca pability was ret ain ed.A n astrodo me took th e place o{ th e topfor ward gun turret. (D uring th e Korean\Var a large nu mb er of WB-29s had theirgun turret s reinsta lled ; some just had th e irta il turret rcinsrall ed .)

From 26 June 1948 to 30 September 1949a large nu mber o{WB-29s flew out of Eng­land in support of th e Berlin A irlifr. O n aregula r hasis these W8-29s flew {rom RAFair bases in th e U K out over th e North Sea10 mon itor weather situations that migh t bepresent 24-48 hours later in th e air corridor

and B-29Bs. The T B-29 was primarily usedin the traini ng 0{ B-29 pilo ts, bom bard iers,gun ne rs and fligh t enginee rs. These Train­er-Bomber 29s work ed with both th e A irDefence C omma nd and Strategic A irComma nd.

In th e case of th ose th at worked with theA DC, a nu mber of T B-29s were spec iallymod ified {or th e purpose o{ calibratingradar sta tions and ana lysing their detect ioncapability to track host ile air craft . O nesuch ADC TB-29 (a T8-29-60-BA , 44 ­840 76) was assigned to th e 4754 th RadarEvaluat ion Fligh t (REF) at Hamil to n A FB,

TB-29, TB-29A and TB-29B

The EDO Model A -3 Ii{ehoat co uld carryup to fourtee n persons and it was 30{t(9. 15m ) long wit h a ran ge of 500 miles(800km ). To make room {or the A -3 , whichcovered th e length o{ both bomb-bavs, onthe S B-29, the A lfA PQ-13 searc h rada rsystem was moved forward {rom its norm alposit ion bct wccu the two bomb -hays to justart o{ the forward vent ral gun turret .

The designation T B-29 was app lied tolarge numbers o{ former B-29s, B-29As

163

/ABOVE: The XB-29G was formerly a B-29-55-BA

(44-84043) that was used to test General Electric

turbo jet engines such as the J47 and J73 by lowerin g

them into the air strea m from its spec ial trapeze

assembly mounted with in its modi f ied bomb-bays.

David W.Menard

RIGHT: The XB-39 (41-36954; formerly the number one

YB-29) w as baile d to All ison for in-fl ight evalu at ion

of its massive 24-cylinder V-3420 engine. The XB-39

was named SPIRIT OFLINCOLN. Peter M. Bowers

1l-2Y DER IVATIVES. VARIA:"TS A:"D SI'I:"· OFFS

hcrwccn \Vest Germany and Berlin wherecargo aircraft would he flying.

During 1949 and 1950 a num ber o( W B­29s were used to detect Soviet n uclearbomb rad iat ion (a llout. T hese had redA rcti c markings and a special deviceca lled 'bug ca tc her' in place o( the upperrear gun turret , which sampled the part ic­ulates in th e air.

As a noteworthy aside , wh ile it was co n­ducti ng a spec ial research fligh t to studyelectric ity in th e air over the Paci ficOcean a USA F AWl S WB -29 reached analt itude o( 48 ,562(t (I 4,802m ). wh ich isundeni ably th e h igh est ever recordedflight of a Supc rfortress.

XB-29E

T here is very lit tle documented h isto ry onth e sing le XB-29E, other th an tha t it wasused to fligh t-test various fire-con tro l andradar systems; it was formerly a B-29-45­B\V, its USA F seria l nu mber unk nown.

XB-29G

T he sole XB-29G was forme rly a B-29B­55-BA (44-84043) . It was modi fied byGene ral Elec tric and served as a flyin g tur­bojet eng ine rest-bed. T he turbojet eng ineswere filled to a trapeze-like assembly in the

'plane 's modified bomb-hay. O nce airborneand cruising, the jet eng ine wou ld he low­ered inro th e slipstr eam (or its test runs.A fte r testing, the jet engine would heraised back up int o the homb-hay to get itout o( the way (or land ing.

XB-29H

T he single XB-29 H was a B-29A built atBoeing-Ren to n th at was used (or the spe­c ial insta lla t ion and test ing of advancedarmamen t systems.

XB-39

T he A llison eng ine d ivision of the G ene r­al Moto rs Corpor at ion acquired YB-29num ber one (4 1-36954) to install its new2,600h p liquid-coo led V-3420 in line 24­cylinde r engine (or fligh t-test eva luations.A fter bein g rc-cn gincd, t h is aeroplane wasredesigned XB-39 and bore th e name

PIRI T O F LINC OL N. W ith th e (our V­3420 eng ines running at full power at35, 000ft ( 11,000 m), th e XB-39 atta ined amaximum speed of 405111ph (652km{h) .W h ile some 35 mph (56km{h) (aste r th anoperat iona l B-29s, the increase in speedwas not enough to warrant a new breed ofB-29s po wered by V-3420 engi nes , so nosuch a ircraft were built.

764

XB-44

The lone XB-44 (42-93845 ) was formerlyone of twenty B-29A-I -BN aeroplanes . Itwas sent to Pratt & W h itney, who fitt ed itwith (our 28-cylinder 3,500 hp R-4360 (uur­row \Vasp Major radial engines housed inredesigned nacel les. The XB-44. then , actu­ally served (or the most part as the prototype(or th e B-29D, which ultimately became theB-50. (Since the XB-44 was created hyP& W some referen ces refer to it as being thePratt & W h itney XB-44, hut it is officiallylisted as the Boeing XB-44.)

The Tall Tai l and 'Andy GUlTlP ' B-29

O ne B-29 -35-BW (42-245 28) was spec ial­lv fit ted with 'A ndy G ump' eng inenace lles and a ta ll vert ical ta il. The tallervert ical tai l was to improve d irecti on al sta­bility (or the pro posed B-29D at h igh speedand alti tude. T he 'Andy G ump' eng inenacelle - so na med (or its sma ll ch in, rem­in iscent of the ch in le 's Andy G ump car­toon strip characte r - was slated for insta l­lat ion on lure-mode l B-29As with th eR-4360 Wasp Major engine.

T he A ndy G ump engine nacell e config­uration was never ap plied to any produc­tion B-29, apart (rom some lat e-productionB-29As. It was employed, however, on the

11 -29 DERIVATIVES. VARIANTS AND SPIN-OFF S

ABOVE: The unique XB-44 (42-93845; formerly a B-29A-l -BN)was an engine test-bed for the Pratt & Whitney R·4360engine. If built. this is what the B-290 would have lookedlike. Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: This B-29-35-BW (42-24528) was specially modified with a tall tail and 'Andy Gump' enginenacelles to serve as both the prototype for the B·290 (with the additional vertical tail area) andthe subsequent B-5OA (with R-3350 engines).which evolved from the proposed but unbuilt B-290.Peter M. Bowers

six Boeing service rest YC -97 transport air­craft, as well as the lon g-range, spec ially­mod ified B-29B-60 -BA (44- 406 1) namedthe PAC USA DREAMBOAT, which seta nu mber of world records (see page 15 ).Post -war service test YB-29Js were alsofitt ed with the A nd y Gump nacelles.

U ltimat ely the prop osed B-29D becam ethe product ion B-50A , wh ich had th e

taller vert ica l tail, A ndy Gu mp enginenacel les and R-4360 Wasp Major eng ine .T h us, in essence , rhi s B-29 served in pa rtas th e proto type B-50A.

YB-291

The YB-29J ae roplanes were fitt ed withfuel-injected Wri gh t R-3350-C A-2 eng ines

165

and the revised 'A ndy G um p' eng inenace lles. T hi s co mbina tion was to be usedon late-model B-29As, and the YB-29Jsserved as serv ice test aeroplanes for it. Atleast five YB-29Js were crea ted, but thi srem ains uncl ear. It is known, however, thattwo exa mples (44-86398 and 44 - 6402)were co n verte d to serv e as YKB-29J ser­vice rest a ircraft for the forthco ming KB-

Serial Number44-27349. exB-29-40-MO44-62027. exB-29A-60-BN44-84061. exB-29B-60-BA44-86398. ex B-29-55-MO44-86402. ex B·29·55-MO

B-29 DERIVATIVES. VARIA:"TS AND SPIN-OFFS

YB-29J Production (partial)

CommentYB·29J to YKB-29J toYKB·29MYB-29J onlyYB-29J toTB·29B- lormerly thePACUSAN DREAMBOATYB-29J to YKB-29JYB-29J toYKB-29J

June 1946 Boeing had , in the int er im,tooled to produce its C/KC -97 aircra ftth ere, so th e B-50A prod uction line wasset up at Boeing's Seat tle Plant 2 fac ilityinstead ; thus the new a ircraft were event u­a lly designa ted th e B-50A -BO .

71le B-50

and a co nt rac t for 200 producti on B-29Dshad ac tua lly been signed in Ju ly 1945 , butthi s was ca nc elled in late Se pte mbe r 1945du e to th e war's end.

In the post-war years th e AAF setabout mothballing low-time and scrappingh igh-time neet s of \'V'orld Wa r Twobombers, incl udi ng man y war-weary B­29s. Then on 2 I March 1946 the USAA Fesruhlishcd its Strateg ic Ai r Comma nd(SAC) and raced forward to acquire a flee tof modern stra teg ic nuclear bom bers.

However, the so-ca lled jet age had arrivedand it was difficu lt to sel l th e USAA F 'new'13-29 models, eve n th e much improvedB-29D. St ill, the newly estab lished USA F,fou nd ed as a sepa ra te service on 18 Se p­tem ber 194 7, needed in terim heavybombers wh ile it wait ed for jet-power edbom bers such as the North A meri can 13-45Tornado, Boein g B-47 Srrarojcr and Boein gB-52 St rarofortress. At th is t ime th e US A Fwas gearing up to receive its first bat ch ofConvai r 13-36 Peacem aker bombers, bur italso wanted, and needed, Boein g's can­ce lled B-29D.

Knowing that it would no t fare all thatwell wit h a request to bu ild B-29Ds, th eUSAAF/USAF redesignat ed the D modelof th e B-29 the B-50A . Its newer and morepowerful engines and larger verti ca l stabi­lizer were the excuse used for thi s rcclcsig­na tio n. T he ploy work ed an d on 30 June194 7 a co ntract (A C 13013 ) was approvedfor th e initi al bat ch of fifty-n ine B-50A ­13 s to be built at Ren ton. But since B-29produ cti on at th at fac ility had ended in

29P tanke r ai rcraft program me; at least twomore served as RB-29J ph otographi c recon ­na issance a ircra ft.

>'KB-29T

ne YKB-29T was created from a KB­29M (45-2 1734, formerly a B-29-90-BW ).It was co nve rte d in England to use theRAF's three-h ose ae rial refuell ing system,with which it co uld refuel three fighteraeroplanes at th e same time. Two of th ethree hoses reeled out from wing-tip tankswhil e th e third reel ed out from the rail sec ­t ion . T h is thr ee-h ose syste m was later usedon KB-50 ae roplanes.

T he last Bell-A t lan ra bu ilt B-29 was deli v­ered in Janu ary 1945 (B-29-65-BA , 44 ­84 104 ) and th e last Bell-A tlan ta B-29Bwas delivered in Se pte mber 1945 (B-29B­65-BA , 44- 4 156). The last Martin ­O maha B-29 was deli vered in Septe mber1945 ( B-29-60-MO , 44 - 6473) . The lastBoein g-\'V'ichi ta 13-29 was deli vered inOcto ber 1945 (B-29-100-BW, 45-21 872 )and th e last Boeing-Renton B-29A wasdel ivered on lOjunc 1946 (B-29A -75 -BN,44-623 28) .

8-29 Spin-Offs

A lmost imm edi atel y afte r VJ-Day on 2cprcmbcr 194 5 the re were numerous

ca ncel lat ions and redu cti ons in militaryaircraft procurem ent and produ ct ion pro­grammes. It was no different for Boe ingand its B-29 Supe rforrress, st ill in produc­t ion at hoth its Wi chita and Ren tonplants. By this tim e both Bell and Martinhad co mpleted th eir respect ive 13-29 man ­ufacturi ng pro gram mes. In all, afte r all ofthe 13-29 produ ction ca nce lla tions weremade, Boe ing, Bell and Martin delivered atot al of 3,970 Supe rforts out of9,052 B-29sth at had been orde red prior to VJ- Day;thu s 5,082 B-29s were ca nc el led.

During th e war years Boe ing had co n­t inued to devel op and impr ove its B-29

Powerplant:

Weights:

Dimensions:

Performance:

T he Boeing Model B-345 -2-1, the B-50A ­130 , was classified as a medium-class stratc­gic bomber. O n 30 Jun e 1947 a USAA Fco ntrac t (AC 13013 ) was approved for th emanu facture of sixty B-50A s as fo llows: fourB-50A -I -BO (46-002/ -00 5), ten B-50A -5­130 (46-006/-0 15) , ten B-50A-IO-BO (46­0 16/-025), ten B-50A- 15-BO (46-026/­035 ), ten B-50A-20-BO (46-036/-045), andsixteen B-50A-25-BO (46-046/-06 1). Thesixtieth example, 46-06 1, was event uallycance lled: it was to be taken off th e prod uc­tion line to undergo modificati on to the YB­50C configurat ion as prototype of the pro­jected B/R B-54A aircraft, described below,

To the untra ined eye the B-50A lookedfor the enti re world like a B-29 in its ove r­a ll outward appea rance . But upon closerex amina t ion two majo r d ifferences wereread ily detect ab le: a h igher vert ical srabi­lizer , ab le to fold over for hanger clearance;and a new nacell e design to house a neweng ine. O the r less noti ceab le changesincluded th e switch from th e use of 24 STalumin ium alloy to 75 ST a lumin ium alloyfor th e structure and skin . The new a lloywas both t ron ger and ligh ter. For exa m­ple, a B-29 win g bu ilt with it was moreth an 600lb (Z70kg) light er, bur 16 per centstro nge r! T he B-50A retained th e B-29'sbasic armame nt hut it was built from th eoutse t to serve as a nu clear bomber if needbe. A sign ificant d ifference, hidden und erits new nacel le, was its new engine - th e28-cylinder, four -row 3,500hp Pratt &Whitney R-4360 Wasp Majo r, wh ich gavea 59 pe r cent power increase over th e B­29's 2,200hp Wr igh t R-3350 engine .

Specification - B-5OA

FourPratt & Wh itneyWaspMajorR-4360-35radial engines

Empty 81,050lb(36,760kg); loaded 168,7081b 176.525kg)

Length991t (30.1ml: wingspan 141ft 3in(43.1ml; wing area l ,720sq It (159.8sqm]: height3211 8in (1 0m)

Maximumspeed385mph(620km/h); cruising speed 235mph(380km/h);service ceiling37.00011 (11 .300m);maximum range 4.650miles(7.500km); maximum bombload20.000lb 19,OOOkg)

166

T he first B-50A (46-2) made its maidenflight on 25 June 1947. It was not a proto­type per sc, but a bona fide production air­craft. It and the othe r fifty-e igh t B-50A ­BO s were lat er ferried to Boeing's W ich itafaci lity to undergo an 'extend ed range 'mod ificat ion programm e, whereby th eywere fin ed with receptacles to use th e hose­type in-fligh t refuel ling system develop edby the Brit ish RA E These were later modi ­fied to use Boeing's own 'flying boom ' sys­tem . It co uld ca rry a maximum bomb loadof 20,000lb (9 ,000kg) and was armed withtwelve .50-c alibre machi ne-guns and a sin­gle 20mm canno n . Its maxim um ran ge wasunlimited with aerial refuelling.

In add it ion to the factor y-built B-50As,B-50 Bs, B-50Ds and T B-50 Hs there werenumerous of othe r versions of the B-50 cre­ated from modificat ion progra mmes, whi chare beyond the scope of thi s reference. Inall, Boe ing-Seat tle produced 371 B-50A, B­SOB, B-50D and TB-5m-1 aircraft.

T he forty-five B-50 Bs were imp roved B­50A s with an increased gross weight of170 ,0001b (77,OOOkg). Most were co nvert­ed into RB-50B reconnaissan ce bo mbers,and then KB-50J tankers before th eirreti rement .

T he 222 B-50Ds were the ult imat e vari­ants of th e B-50 series, with a 173 ,0001b(78,S00kg) gross weight. T hese had exte nd­ed range with two 700-US gallon (580 Impgallon/2 ,650Itr) ex terna l fuel tanks mount­ed on pylons ben eath either wing. From B­SOD number 16 onwards, th ey wereequipped for in-fligh t refuel ling via the fly­ing boom system.

The twenty-fo ur TB-50 Hs se rved asunar med bombardi er/n av igato r tr ainersunt il lat er co nve rted into KB-50K tankers.

The B-54

T he never-bui lt Boeing B-54A and RB­54A bombers fell vict im to Boeing's ownsuccess in build ing two of the je t age 's mostsign ifican t je t-powered bom ber aircra ft ­B-47 Strarojct and B-52 Stra rotorrrcss. Yetth eir story is interesting because, if built ,they would have been the epito me bot h ofB-29 develop ment and of piston-engin edbombers, wh ile st ill looking very muchlike th e original XB-29 S upcrfort ress.

Respecti vely designated B-50C and RB­SOC at first, th e B-54A and RB-54A were tobe high ly adv anced versions of the B-29/B-50 series. Bot h were to be powered by four4,S00hp Pratt & Whitncy R-4360-5 1 WaspMajor turbo-compound 28-cylinde r radial

B-29 DERI VATI VES. VA RIANTS AN D SPIN -OFf'S

An impressive view of a BoeingKB-50J(49-03911. formerly a B-500. sportingtwounderwing 700USgallon (580 Impgallon1external fuel tanks and two 5.200lb thrustGeneral Electric J47turbojet eng ines.which raised topspeedto444mph (715km/h).AFFTC/HO via Ray Pu ffer

B-50A. B-50B. B·50D and TB-50H Production

Designation Ouantity SerialNumber Comment

B-50A-l -BO 4 46-002/ -005 contract AC 1301 31approved30/6/47)B-50A-5-BO 10 46-006/-01 5B-50A-l0 -BO 10 46-016/-025B-50A-15-BO 10 46-026/-035B-50A-20-BO 10 46-036/-045B-50A-25-BO 15 46-046/-060B-50A-25-BO 0 46-061 cancelled; to YB-50C prototype

(laterYBIYRB-54A; not completed]B-50A-30-BO 15 47-098/-11 2 contract AC 15587 1approved 26/11 /47)B-50A-35-60 5 47-113/-117B-50B-40-BO 10 47-1 18/ -1276-50B-45-BO 10 47-128/ -1 376-50B-50-BO 10 47-1 38/ -147B-50B-55-BO 10 47-148/-1576-50B-60-BO 5 47-158/-162B-500-65-60 8 47-163/-1706-500-70-BO 7 48-046/-052B-500-75-60 10 48-053/-062B-500-80-60 10 48-063/-072B-500-85-60 10 48-073/-082B-500-90-BO 10 48-083/ -092B-500-95-BO 10 48-093/ -102B-500-100-60 10 48-1 03/ -1 12B-500-105-60 15 48-11 3/-127B-500-1 10-BO 33 49-260/-292 contract AC198231approved3/2/491B-500-1 15-60 33 49-293/ -325B-500-120-60 33 49-326/ -358B-500-125-60 33 49-359/ -391TB-50H-BO 24 51 -447/-470 contractAF14809 (approved24/10/511

Total:370

167

1l-29 DERI VATI VES. VA RIANTS AN D SPIN -OFFS

TOP: Anartist' s impression of the gargantuan Boeing B-54. Peter M. Bowers

MIOOLE: The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation (BAHF) restored thisC-97G (52-2718), named DELIVERANCE, to appear as the C-97A (45-59595) thatparticipated in that historic undertaking . BA HF

BonOM: A B-377Stratocru iser in American Airlines markings. Apart from its double-deckconfiguration and different nose treatment, it resembled the B-29. Northwest Airlines

168

eng ines; th is version of the Wasp Major wasalso known as a Variable Dischargc Turbin e(VDT) engine and was once slated for useby the Conva ir 13-36 as well.

In May 1948 th e USAF ordered an in i­t ial batch of th irty B/RB -50C s, USAF seri­al numbers 49-200 to 49-229. T hc B/RB­50C full-sca le eng inee ring mock-up wasinspect ed and approved in Novembe r 1948.T hen a B-50A-25-BN (46-06 1) was pirat edfrom th e Scattic product ion line to he co n­verted to the service test YB-50C. In early1949, due to its man y d ifferences from andimp rovement s over the 13-50 , the USA F re­designat ed the B/RB-50C to B/R B-54A.

Wind-tun nel eva luations and engineer­ing data in reference to th e R-4360 engine'simmense power d ictarcd that the B/RB-54Aneeded to he qui te a bit longer than previ­ous B-50 models, with an increasedwingspan as wel l. T heir project ed lengthwas to be 111ft (33.8m) with a wingspan of16 1ft 2in (49. lm). Moreover, due to thi sincreased size and weigh t, these aircraftwould have been about 50,0 001b (23 ,OOOkg)heavier than the heaviest 13-50. However,with the adven t of the six-jet B-47 andeigh t-jet 13-52, the B/RB-54A became obso­lete and the programme was correctly rer­ru inated . T he YB-50C/YB-54A service testaircraft, some 75 per cen t fin ished at can­cel lat ion, was not completed.

As mentioned ea rlie r th e B-29 servedas the basis for two o the r successfulBoe ing types: rhe military Model 13-367Strarofrcighrer, wh ich evolved in to the C ­97 and KC -97 series of a ircraft ; and th ecivilian Mode l 13-377 , wh ich was th efamed Srrarocruiscr airl iner. Boe ing pro ­duced 888 C -97s and fifty-six Strarocru is­crs. O f the 888 C-97s built, 2 19 were builtas KC- 97E/Fs and 592 as KC-97G s. T heC/KC -97 a irplanes were bu ilt between[944 and 1955 wh ile th e Stratoc ruiscrswere prod uced from 194 7 to 1950.

A n int eresting modificat ion of rhe Srra­tocruiser was the Model 377-PG , the 'Preg­nant G uppy'. Aero Space Lines C orpora­tion bough t a single Pan A mericanA irl ines 13-377 - 10-26 (N 1024V ) and hi redO n-Ma rk Engineering C ompany to mod ifyir to transport Sat urn moon-rocket assem­blies. Ne xt ca me the even larger SuperG uppy (3 77SGT-20 I ), created to trans­por t Int ernational Space S tation modu les.

Finally, a lit tle-known use of B-29 tech­nology was the near ident ica l rail groupassembly (albe it sca led down ) employedby the three Model 13-400 Bocing XFSB- Ifigh ter-bomber prot ot ypes bough t by the

1l-29 DERI VAT IV ES. VAR I ANT S A ND SPIN -OFr-S

--- ----- -----

---~

TOP: The Aero Spacelines B371PG Pregnant Guppy

prior to a series of flight-tests and pilot familiarizationeval uati ons at Edwards AFB in October 1962. NASA

ABOVE: The Super Guppy in NASA mark ings at theDryden Flight Research Centre (DFRC) at Edwards

AFB. NASA

The tai l group on this XF8B-1 prototype clearly

shows its close relationship to that of the B-29.

USN

---~......---

169

1l-29 DER IVATIVES. VARIA01TS A01D SI' I01 -0FFS

A KB-29M of the 301st Air Refuelling Squadron in

the Korean War. Peter M. Bowers

US <1VY. T he se were powered by sing le3 ,000hp Pratt & Whitney 1\-4360 WaspMajor four-ro w, 2 -cylindc r rad ial eng ines,giving them a top speed of 430mph(690km/h ).

It is t ruly amazing just how far a basica irframe ca n be modified and stre tche d togene rate newer and better types of aircraft.This truism certain ly applied to the B-29:in on ly six years, from the appea rance ofth e origina l XB-29 in 1942 ro the ca nce l­lation of th e proposed B/RB -54A in 194 ,the Superfort had successfully mcramor­ph osed int o at least twenty ot he r variant s.

- E ~ '---~

I ,

Line drawing s of a B-29A.

Lloyd S. Jones

25 r::FFT

BELOW: A KB-29M (formerly a B-29-90-BW, 45-21734), later redesignated YKB-29T,

refuels three RAF Gloster Meteor fighters via its standard fus el age hose and

added wing-tip pod hoses. Peter M. Bowers

770

A KB-29M (closest to camera) refuels aB-29MR via the hose system developedby the Brit ish. This system was less pop­ular than the hose-and-drogue system.and far less favoured than the flyingboom system. Peter M. Bowers

BELOW: A KB-29B refuels a BoeingB-47A Stratojet near Edwards to verifycompatib ility between the two types ofaircraft. AFFTC/HO via Ray Puffer

BonOM: An exce llent c lose-up view ofthe KB-29P's fl ying boom conf iguration.This KB-29P was formerly a B-29-60-BA(44-84071). Peter M. Bowers

1l-29 DERIV ATI VES. VARIANTS AN )) SPIN -OFFS

777

1l - 2 ~ DERIVATIVES. VARIANTS AND SPIN-DFFS

172

TOP: This EB-29 (42-62205; formerly a B-29A-60-BN)was modified to serve as a receiver for early flyingboom system tests . The tanker, formerly a B-29A-l 0­BN (42-93921I, was one of the first Superforts to beconverted to KB-29P standard . The wh ite -paint atopthe EB-29's fuselage was applied to show patternsof fuel spillage. Peter M. Bowers

ABOVE: A KB-29M of the 301BG, 301st Air Refuelling

Squadron. Peter M. Bowers

MA (44-27352) in the lead, and PA (44-61551 )trailing her over Edwards AFB, during the mid1950s. MA w as a B-29-40-MO modified w ith a

low -drag rece ptac le assembly astern, to refuelPA IB-29A-35-BN) w hic h was equipped with arefuelling probe in test evaluations of this uniqueaeria l refuelling procedure. Once PA's probeentered int o MA's receptac le, fuel w as transferredto PA. This in -flight refuelling system, how ever,was not proceeded w ith. AFFTC/HOvia Ray PuHer

CHAPT ER TWELVE

Survivors

The 8-29 bone yard at the US Navy China Lake facility in southern California. This

facil ity provided numerou s spare parts for 8 -29 restoration efforts. and it has providedthe w orld's only two fly ing 8 -29s, FIFIand. soon, DOC. AFFTC/HOvia Ray Puffer

reign as the wor ld's on ly flying upcr on I

about to end.As thi s hook went to press in ea rly 200 3,

a second B-29 was be ing restored 10 Ilyinco nd it ion ; it is owned by th e nircd nuAvia t ion Museum (Western I ivisinnbased at Inyokern , C aliforn ia. It is a B-270-BW (44-69972 ) which was r .. u15 A pril 199 from the US nv vC h ina Lake and subseq uen tI mo IU A M (WD) faci liry ar lnvok In III2000, Boeing-W ichita in K;II\ a I

provide hangar space and f I II I

orgun ization of the vo lun t ' ' I

wou ld be necessary to su C ' (11 11the a ircraft to flying uuu s. Itqu cnt ly moved to the I II

W ichita, Kan sas (whcr ' it \ ', I I I Irestorat ion to flying ond it \I n Iand for mer Boeing em] 1,1

. '

- ~--- - '

Beginning on 3 1 March 1971, CAF vol­un teers worked ni ne weeks to make the air­craft flyab le. To do thi s th ey restored all th ecrit ical syste m by rep lacing fue l, hydrauli cand o il lines, and fligh t co n tro ls and instru ­men ts. Prior to fligh t th ey tested theengines and landing gear. T hen on 3A ugust 197 1, flying 1,250 miles (2,000k m )non-stop to C A F headquarters in Harri ng­to n , Texas, 44-62070 safely landed afte rflying for th e first tim e in fiftee n years. ud­dcn lv, th e wor ld co uld once more enjoy aflying Superfor t , whi ch in late 1974 wasch ristene d FIFI (c iv il registr at ion 529 B).

For nearly thi rty yea rs since , FIFI haskept a busy sche dule and has appea red atnu merous air sho ws th roughout th e ni t­ed Sta tes. Ir remains one of the most pop ­ula r stars of these air sho ws and it is fullyapprec iat ed by th ose in attenda nce . But its

Flying 8-295

From early Septe mbe r 194 2 unti l mid-M ay1946 the Boe ing Ai rp lane C ompany, inco nc ert with the Bell A ircraft C orpo ra­t ion and the G lenn L. Martin Compa ny,pro duced nearl y 4,000 B-29 , B-29A and B­29 13 aircraft. A relat ively large number ofthem were claimed by co mbat act ion in\'(Iorl d \'(Iar Two, whil e many othe rs weretake n by gene ra l a tt rit ion and unfort unatemish aps. Yet , more than 2,500 of th em .ur­vived the war. A fa irly large number ofth ese - gene ra lly th ose of th e new ly estab­lish ed USA AF Stra teg ic A ir C omma ndand speci fica lly th ose of the 509t h Bo mbG roup (for me rly Compos ite Group ), theworld's first and then on ly n uclear bo mbgroup - rem ained in service whi le a host ofo thers were placed in flyable stor age. T heywere not to be so ld or scrapped , like manyo ther types of World \'(Iar Two aircraft , forthe B-29 was the most ad vanced bomberin th e world .

C ombat ac tion in the Korean \'(Iar tooka nu mber of othe r B-29s, not to ment ionthe add it iona l losses from attrit ion andmish aps between the wars and afte r th em.W ith the ad vent of more advanced heavybornbcrs the B-29s were fin all y st rickenfrom USAF inv en tory and placed into dis­persal yards to he so ld and/or scrapped .Tod ay, fewer than forty remain in ex is­tence out of th e 3,970 B-29s that werebu ilt. T hese few serve as h isto ric disp laysand museum pieces, and one was co m­plet e ly rebui lt to flying co nd it ion in 1974and has been flying ever since.

The 13-29 that was brought back to becom ea flying upcrforr once aga in is pro ud lyowned by th e Confede rate A ir Force(C AF ). It was ori ginally bui lt as a B-29A ­60-BN (44-6207 0 ) and was placed in no n­co coo ned storage at C h ina Lake N ava lWeapons Centre, C aliforn ia, in Octo be r1956 . During its service with the US A F ita lso served as a T B-29 and VB -29 on sev­eral occas ions .

173

SU RV I V O RS

FIFI of the Confederate Air Force (CAF) has long w owe d the crowds of aviati on fans at many ai r show s.It conti nues to do today. Boeing viaW. Allen

T his 13-29 was delivered to the US A A Fin March 1945, and after th e war it pri ­mar ily served in th e elect ron ic co un ter­measures (EC M) ro le at G riffis AFB,Rom e, ew York. It was decommissionedin Octo ber 1956 and flown to C h ina Lake

ava l Weap ons Cen tre where it rem a inedunti l it 199 rescue.

W hil c it was in service at G riffis A FBth is 8 -29 fea tured th e Walt Disney ca rtooncharac ters now \Vh ite and th e evenDwar fs, high ligh ting Doc, one of the more

pop ular of the seven dwarfs, hence theplan e 's name - DO C.

At the tim e of writ ing, DO C was sched­uled to ta ke Oight in the spring or summerof 2003. In any eve nt, whether DO Cmeet its projected first fligh t chc d ule, itwill be no less than marvel lous to see thesetwo 13-29 5 Oying toge the r when that eve ntac tually occurs.

There was a th ird Oying Supc rfort ofwh ich littl e informati on has been bro ugh tto ligh t. It is a B-29A -45-B (44-6 1748)

nam ed IT'S HAW G W ILD rluu wasdo nat ed to the Imperial \Var Museum atDuxford , England . Much like FIFI, it wasrescued from C h ina Lake in the late 19705and was made flyable with the use ofn umerous bi ts and pieces from a number ofC hi na Lake B-29s. A fter it was restored to

Oying co nd it ion it was flow n to Eng land in19 0 (Brit ish regist rati on G -BH DK) andit is on disp lay at th e A merica n Ai r Muse­um in Duxford in 307 BG co lours andmar kings.

The condition in which DOC was found at China Lake. Boeing via Dick Ziegler

774

DOC arriving at Boeing-Wichita. BoeingviaDickZiegler

SU RV IVORS

Non-Flyi ng 8-295

The most histo rica lly sign ificant I

surviving B-29s is of co urse th e III

E O l A GAY. T h is of co urse is the I IIma/Little Boy atomic bomber, wlu Imany years was stored in bits and 1'1th e Paul E. G arber Preservat ion . 1rion and Sroragc Facilirv of rhe mith II

Inst itut ion - spec ifically, the Nationaland Space Museum ( A SM ).

In the early 1990s, in prepa ra t ion for II50t h an n iversar y of its drop ping LilliI' BIIon Hi roshi ma to help bring aho ut th e n Iof Wor ld War Two, EN O LA G AY \ aun dergo ing restorati on in prepa rat ion forits assembly for stat ic d ispla y to beginso met ime befor e 6 A ugust 1995. But th ' rwas co nt rove rsy over just how E l.GAY should be di spla yed . It was finall ydecid ed that on ly the nose sec t ion II

ENO l.A GAY would be d isplay xl, II Ibeginning in lat e Jun e 1995 th is hi! itwent on disp lay at the NASM .

One of DOC's R-3350engines. BoeingviaDickZieg ler

175

S RVIVORS

776

ABOVE: DO C restoration . Boeingvia Dick Ziegler

LEFr. DOC nose art . Boeing via Dick Ziegler

S inc e mid - 1995 all th e rem aining sec ­t ions of EN OLA G AY have l-ccn restor ed .It is to be fully assembled and put on per ­man cnt stat ic d isp lay at th e new NASMA ir and Space A nnex at wh at is ca lledDulles Center a t Washingto n Du lles Inter­national A irport, Virgin ia.

The second most recogn ized 13-29 isthe agasaki /F ar Man a t om ic bomberBO CK SC A R, whi ch rem ains on penna­ncnt sta t ic disp lay at th e US A ir ForceMu seum, Wr ight-Patt erson AFB at Day­ton, O h io.

Another sign ificant 13-29 was the carrieraircraft (m ot her plane) for th e US avvhigh -speed , high -altitude Douglas D-558-2Skyrocket program me. It began life as a 13­29-95-BW (45-2 1787) but was given ove rto th e US Navy in th e late 1940s, wh ichredesign ated it P213- 1S (US Bureau um­her 40 29) . During its heyday at EdwardsA FB in the 1950s it was ni cknam ed

SU RV I VO RS

FERTILE MYRTLE, and in 19 4 it wasdonated to an av iat ion museu m in O akland,C alifor n ia. lr was larcr bought by the Kermi tWecks Fantasy o( Flight Museum near [)lJlkCi ty, Flor ida where it remains roday (c ivilregistrat ion n umber j 29KW).

TOP: DOCin Boeing-Wichita Plant 2 facto ry, where it w as or iginally built nearly sixty year s ago.

Boeingvia Dick Ziegler

ABOVE: The B-29-35-MO (44-27297) as it w as in desert stor age prior to being restored for perm anent dis play at

the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio . Brian Baker via Peter M. Bowers

Stat ic Display 8-29s

ENOLA GA Y, B-29-45-MO. 44-86292

O wne d by rhc ationa l A ir and SpaceMu seum, on Slat ic d isplay heginning in2003 at th e A SM Ai r and pace A n nex

(called Dulles Cen te r) at Wash ingronDulles Int e rn at ional A irpor t , Virgin ia.

BOCKSCAR. B-29-35-M O, 44-27297

US A ir Force Mu seum, \X1righ t-PattersonA FB, Day to n , O h io.

177

DUKE OF ALBUQUERQUE,13-29-97-BW, 45-2 /748

Sand ia National Atomic Mu seum , Kirt ­land A FB, A lbuq uerque , cw Me. i o;former ly d ispla yed at C han ute A FB Mu s '.11111 , Illinois.

SU RV I VORS

LEAGLE EAGLE II, B-29-9D-BW, 44-87779 B-29A-70-BN, 44-62220

So uth Dakot a A ir and S pace Museum, Kclly AFB Museum , San A nt on io, Texas,Ellswo rth A FB, Rapid C ity, So uth Dako ta.

B-2.9A-15-BN, 42-93967

Georgia Veterans Mem or ial Park , Cordele,Georgia.

B-29-80-BW, 44-87627

Barksda lc AFB, Sh reve po rt, Louisian a.

HAGERTY'SHAG, B-2.9-55-MO, 44­86408

Hill Aerospace Museum, H ill AFB, Ogden,Utah.

HERE'S HOPING, B-29-75-BW, 44-70102

Recov ered from C h ina Lake, Ca liforn ia to

replace DO C at th e Bud McG cc Avi ationPark, lnyokern , Californ ia.

MAN 0 ' WAR, B-29-60-BA, 44-84076

Strategic A ir C ommand M useu m, O maha,Nebraska.

B-29-55-BA, 44-84053

Warncr Robins AF B, M ariet ta , Georg ia.

TINKER HERITAGE, B-2.9-40-MO, 44­27343

T in ker A FB Ai r Park , O klahoma C ity,O klahoma.

RAZ 'N HELL, B-2.9A-35-BN, 44-61535

C astle A FB, Merc ed , Ca liforn ia; mad c upof rh rcc B-29s - win gs from 44 -84084,n ose fro m 44-70064, am i tai l from the realRA Z'N H ELL (44-615 35) .

FLAGSHIP 500 (ex ML5SION INN) , B­2.9A-40-BN, 44-6166.9

March A FB, Ri vers id e, C a liforn ia; to bemark ed in its origina l 500 BG, 883 BS mark ­ings with Z tail code and squad ron number49.

THE GREAT ARTISTE, B-2.9A-40-BN,44-6167/

W hitcman AFB, Knob Nosie r, Missouri.(It is inappropriatel y named ; actually, THEG REAT A RT IST E was a Martin-bu ilt 13­29-40- MO, 44 -27353.)

T SQUARE 54, B-2.9-60-BW, 44-69729

Muse um of Fligh t , Sea t t le , Washi ngto n .

SENTIMENTAL .JOURN£}~ B-29-7.5-BW,44-70016

Pima A ir and S pace M useum , Tucson ,A rizona.

B-29-80-BW, 44-70013

Dobbins ARB, Mari et ta, G corg ia .

MI.s:5 AMERICA '62, B-29-25-MO, 42­65281

Travis A ir Force Museum, Travis A FB,Fairfield , Californ ia .

FERTILE MYRTLE, P2B-1S, USNBureau Number 8402.9

forme rly B-29-95 -BW, 45-21 7 7, T heKe rm it Weeks Fantasy of Fligh t Museum ,Po lk C ity, Flor ida .

B-29-.90-BW, 4.5-21739

O n sta t ic display ar a c ity park in Seoul,Ko rea.

B-2.9-80-BW, 44-87627

Eigh th Air Force M useum, Barksda le AFB ,Louisian a.

SWEET ELOISE, B-2.9-80-B W, 44-70113

ava l A ir Stat ion ( AS ) Atlanta, A tlant a,G eo rgia,

PEACHY, B-2.9A-60-BN, 44-62022

Pueb lo \Veisbrod A ircraft Muse um, Pueb loM emoria l Ai rport , Pu ebl o , Colorado.

FIFI, B-29A-60-B1\~ 44-62070

C onfede ra te A ir Force, M idla nd, Texas.

DOC, B-29-70-BW, 44-69972

US Aviation Museum, Inyokern , Califor­ni a; bc ing restored to flying co nd it ion atthe t ime of writing.

178

B-2.9A-55-BN, 44-61.9 7.5

New England A ir Mu seum, Brad lcy In te r­nat ional Ai rport, W ind sor Locks, C on­nccr icut; 10 be disp layed as JACK'S '-lAC K,B-29A -35-B , 44- 6 1566, of th e 46 BG ,794BS at a larcr dare.

IT 'SI-IAWG WiLD, B-29A-4.5-BI\~ 44­61748

Imperial War Museum/Ameri can A irMuseum, Duxford, England; 30 7BG co loursand mark ings.

COMMAND DECISION, B-2.9A-6.5-BN,44-62139

Wa lk-t h rough exh ib it a t US A ir Fo rceMuseum .

B-29B-60-BA, 44-84084

A cro Trader, C h ino, Californ ia; sta tusunclear.

LADY OF THE LAKE, B-29B-45-BA, 44­83.905

Modified to KB-29P ; crashed on land ingand is parti ally ubmcrgcd in a lake ncarEic lso n A FB, Alaska; may bc reco vered forparts.

BEETLE BOMB, B-29-60-BW, 44-69800

U nde rwate r in Lake Mead, e vada : maynever bc recovered.

F-I3A, 42-.93.967

Formcrlv a B-29A - 15-B , G eorgia Verc r­an 's Park, A ugusta , Georgia,

KEE BIRD, B-29-9.5-B W, 4.5-21763

KEE BIR D was restored to flying co nd it ionin th e field on a frozen lak c in G reen land .A s it was being prepared to fly out on 2 1May 1995 it caugh t fire, burned and sankth rough the melt ing icc. It rem ains thereto thi s day.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Summaries

B-29 sc rap heap. Stan Piet

T he Boeing B-29 Superfort ress was th eworld's first strategic n uclear bomber. T hatis, it was the first bomber in the world tha twas capable of very lon g range, very h ighalt itude and very large payloads - includingn uclear weapons. It went from first fligh t (2 1September 1942) to first combat (5 Jun e1944 ) in just twent y mon th s and fifteendays. To accomplish such a feat wh ile it wasundergoing numerous dev elo pme n t prob ­lems is no less than amazing. T hen th ere was

the challenge of train ing its a ircrews to han­dle such a co mplicated mach ine as the B-29;some of them were a lready experienc ed onB- 17s and B-24s, but man y ot hers, freshout of fligh t tra ining schools, had on ly flownone - and two-cn gincd airc raft. It was atrem endous undertaking to say the least ,but th e XX and XXI Bomber Commands ,lOili and 20 th A ir Forc es in theC h ina - Burma- Indi a and Pac ific theatresmor e than met th at most difficult cha llenge .

179

T he 13-29 Supc rfortress was th e mostadvanced bomb er of \Vodd War Two. Itslo ng range of 3 ,000 m iles (4 ,800km)allowed for round tr ips from Ti ni an Islandto the Japanese home islan ds and its heavy20 ,OOOlb (9,OOOkg) bo mb loads destroyedmany c it ies and st ra teg ic ta rget s. But in itsin fancy it was fraught with a n umber ofdevelopm ental problem s, espec ially with itsre la t ively new, un developed engine , wh ichhad a ten dency to ove rhea t, swallow valves,

The streamlined top forward gun turret that w as mounted atop some B-29As.Reportedly. this streamlin ing effort did not bear any frui t. Peter M. Bowers

catc h fire and prema turel y fail. Bur wh enth e eng ine woes and other sign ificant d im ­cult ics were addressed and co rrec ted th eSupe rforr became the dep end able wor k­horse it was.

It was in September 1943 when the20A F, 58BW began to accep t the first com­hat -bou nd Supcrforrs. Duri ng th e ensuingrwcn ry-th rcc months of war, fourt een ofth ose months being ac tua l co mbat , th e20A F was forc ed to rake the B-29 matrixand mould it in to the 'Super Bom ber' itbecame. U nder XX Bombe r C ommand inth e C BI ( LOth A ir Force ) and XXI BomberC ommand in th e Pacific, th e fleer of 20A F8-29s new th e longest combat missions everattempted up to that t ime, and under I hemost dem and ing cond itions. That is, theyhad to nymore th an 1,000 miles ( 1,600km)over wate r, and in a lot of cases th ey had todo it dur ing foul weat her. Moreover, whenat high alt itude, they had to co ntend withsometh ing quir e new, wh ich is now calledthe jet stream, often figh ting th e severe tur­bulence found with in.

From June to Octobe r 1944 th e 20A Fnew Ior tv-ninc co mbat missions in the C BI.From th e four forward air bases in C h ina ,5 rh Bom b Wing (VI-I ) B-29s destroyednumerou s Japanese air fields, naval bases,h ipbuild ing yards and reel-producin g fac­

rorics, T hese four air bases were created byhundreds of very hard-working, low-paidC h inese c ivilians.

From ovcrn ber 1944 to A ugust 1945the 20A F [lew 24,665 bom bing sorties dur­ing 25 1 co mbat missions dropping 155,04 1IOns ( 140 ,65 \ metri c ronncs) of bombs andmin es. During thi s nine-month per iod ,un fortun atel y, many comba t crews wereki lled or captured and 3 18 B-29s were lost

T he Supcrlort was used for othe r types ofcombat missions in \Vorld \Vm Two as well,even minelaying. T hese included n ine pho­togra ph ic reconnaissan ce flight s, seventy­three radar reconnaissan ce, 405 weatherreconnaissan ce, 180 weath er and phot o­graph ic reconnaissance, 150 radar and pho­tographi c reconnaissan ce, 106 weatherreconnaissan ce and leaflet drops, and 110sea search and rescue missions. During theweather reconnaissan ce and leaflet dropmissions anoth er seven crews and th eir B­29s were lost. The 3rd Photographic Recon­naissance Squadron alone flew 427 photorecon naissance sort ies, losing six crews andtheir F-13 and F-13A aircraft.

During th e last five months of th e warth e 20A F destroyed five major industr ialareas: Kobe, Na goya , O saka , Tok yo and

S U ~ I ~IAR I ES

Yokoham a. It was during thi s time thatth ese ind ustr ia l ce n tres rece ived 44 .1 pe rce nt of all 20AF B-29 to nnage. effectivelyeliminat ing at least 50 per ce n t of th e air­craft indu stry in those areas. Moreover,sixty-four other c it ies were burned todestru ction . The low-level raids aloneburned out 175 square mi les (450sq km) ofurban terri tory in th ese sixty-n ine c it ies.

Thc Supe rfort was the wor ld's first mod­ern heavy bombe r and the embod iment ofstrategic bombers to come. \Vh ile it is truethat a number of 'h eavy' bombers hadexisted before, rhe B-29 had no eq ual, T hcC onso lidated B-32 Do minator was createdto bc th e B-29's equa l - a backup, if youwill - but afrcr only a shor t t ime the B-29easily demon stra ted its superiority ove rth e B-32.

W ithout a doubt, as far as Wor ld WarTwo aircraft arc conce rned, the B-29 wasby far the most expensive bomber in theworld to develop and produce . In fact, insome c ircles, th e 8 -29 programme isreferred to as th e 'T h ree Billion DollarGamb le'. Yet , to th ose who were assoc iar­cd with it and whose lives it saved , it wasworth ev ery ni ckel th at was spent upon it.

Afte r \Vor ld \Var Two and until theadven t of th e 8 -36 and B-50, and th e jet­powered B-45, 8-47 and B-52, it was th e B­29 th at reigned supreme. It was on ly afte r

th ese new bomber types sta rted enteringservice , in June 1948 for bo th the B-36Aand B-50A , June 1950 for the B-45, O CIO­ber 195 1 for th e B-47 and June 1955 for theB-52, th at the ac tual ph asing-ou t of theSupc rfo rr bomber fleet began , in lat e 1954 .

A nd un t il the arr iva l of th e piston - andjet -powered Boeing KC -97G tanker, anu mber of KB-29M, KB-29MR and KB­29P Supc rforrs stayed on to serve as aeria ltank ers. Moreover, a number of RB-29s,TB-29s and WB-Z9s co nt in ued to serveunt il th ey were repla ced by RB-50s, TB ­50s and W8-50s.

Just two months afte r th e Korean \Varbroke out in June 1950, B-29s were flyingcomba t missions ov er North Kor ea . T hesemissions laste d thr ce full years, fromA ugust 1950 to A ugust 1953 , and eventh ough B-36s, B-45s, 8 -47s and B-50swere av ailab le, the B-29 was the bomber ofcho ice. As it tu rned out in fac r, none ofthose o th er aircraft ever fired a sho t inanger; instead , it was th e tri ed and ·trustedSupc rfo rr th at was used . A nd Korean \VarSupcrforrs had 10 fend off 1 orrh KoreanMiG -15 jet fighters nown by experienc edRussian pilots.

The 8 -29 Supc rfortress was a so lid air­frame and powerplanr co mbina tion thatspawned a number of important fo llow-onaircraft. It gave birth to ae rial refuelling

180

tankers and recei vi ng aircraft , soph ist icat ­ed ph otographic reconnaissance and map ­ping aircraft , avion ics, eng ine and weaponsystem test -bed aircraft , and eve n Russia 'sfirst heav y bo mber and large c ivil tr an s­por t a ircraft. From its first combat missionaga inst j ap an ese forces in Ban gkok, Thai ­land on 5 june 1944 to th e dropping of twoatomic bombs on 6 and 9 August 1945. th e13-29 more th an made its presence fe lt.

Tru ly a tech no logica l wonder in theea rly- to mid - 1940s, the 13-29 could flyh igher, fart her and with more bom bs th anany other bomber in the wor ld . It wasdesign ed in an era wh en A rt Deco stylingwas st ill in vogue . A erodyna m ica lly, it wasso st reamlined tha t its pa rasite drag actu­a lly do ub led when its lan ding gear wasexte nded. Its wide array of weapons ­wheth er con ven t iona l or nuclear - couldbe dropped from very hi gh alt itude . A ndits adva nced fire -co ntro l system providedgood de fenc e against japan ese figh te rs.

The Supe rfort had bee n design ed fro mthe outset for h igh -alti tude day time preci -ion bombing. But on man y occasions in

Worl d \'(1ar Two , B-29s were used for m is­sions for whi ch they wer e not pr imaril ydesign ed : low alt itude night-time ar eabombing, com mo n ly referred to to day asca rpet bombing.

In th e fina l analysis the Boeing 13-29Supcrforrress was far more successful thanman y expec ted it to be . But with the adventof th e 13-36 and 13-50 , an d subsequen t jetbombers, th e re ign of th e 13-29 Supc rfortwas finally ove rtaken by the numerou stechnologies it helped to produce. In th ebox (see p.184 ), famed Boei ng test pilo t BobRobbins has summed up the n umber oneX13-29 fo llow-on flight test programme th atcontributed so much to th e succ esses of th eSu pcrfortrcss,

The Boeing B-29 SuperfortressTurns Sixty

Wi th littl e fanfare . 21 September 2002marked the 60th an n iversary of th e Boeing13-29 Supcrfortress. Havin g been out of th epot lighr since 2 1 Se ptember 1992, when

th ere was a big 50th ann iversary celebrationat Boeing, th e Superfort is now anot he r fulldecade older. So metime in 2003, th e secondfully restored 13-29, named DO C , was sched­uled to take wing. Then, along with FIFI, itwill be truly ma rvellous to sec two Superfortsin the air - in th eir prope r en vironment,th eir righ tful place .

SU~1 ~I ARIES

The 468BG of the 58BWcalled itself ,.he General Billy Mitchell Group'. TIME'S AWASTIN!. an unidentified B-29of the 468BG. is shown here in mothballs. Note thegroup logo. Schirmer viaSIan Piel

This mothballed B-29-45-BW(42-247371carried the nose art KAGU TSUCHI - TheScourge of the Fire God; it belonged to the 58BW. 40BG. Schirmer via SIan Piel

787

S U~ I ~l A R I ES

782

TOP: A fine study of an SB-29 with its A-3 lifeboat

tucked away in her belly. While the unarmedSB-29s were not as glamorous as the armed ones,

they were every bit as important to the war effort.

Stan Piet

ABOVE: A formation of B-29s. The Circle X and

white-coloured cowls/tail fins denotes they were

from the 313BW. 9BG. Stan Piet

DAUNTLESSoom.A Square 1 (later A 1) of

the 73BW. 497BGand 869BS. This B-29-40-BW

142-24592) led the first daylight high -altitude strikeagainst Tokyo, Japan . on 24 November 1944. 73BW

commander Br ig Gen Emmett O'Donnell led the 110­plane attack from Isley Field. Saipan. His co-pilot,

Colonel Robert Morgan. had earlier commanded the

famed B-17 named MEMPHIS BELLE.the first FlyingFortress to complete twenty-five missions in Europe.

Stan Piet

S ~ I ~ I AR I ES

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SPEE D BE EXCEEDED.

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A bomb loading chart showing the B-29's overload capacities, USAF

783

S U ~ I ~IAR IES

TheXB-29: From Chaos to Victory

ByRobertM. Robbins, Boeing Experimental TestPilot onXB-29Number OneItwasat 12:26pmon18February1943whenthemounting fortunesof thefledglingXB­29 flight-test programme catastrophically hit rock bottom. For it was when Boeingresearch test pilot EdmundT. 'Eddie' Allen alongwith his entirecrew perished in thecrash of heavily instrumentedXB-29 number two.This is the story about thepainfulaftermath of that tragic crash, the road to recovery, the ultimatesuccess of theXB-29flighttest programme, and some of my involvement therein.

AfterEddie'saccident.of course all of theXB-29pre-crashproblemsremainedandnowthere were a lot of newones. Eddie Allen, his crew and the number two XB-29 proto­typeweregone.Thecause orcauses forEddie'saccidenthadsomehow tobefound fromthemeagre remains inall thedevastation- andthey hadtobe fixedbefore thenumberoneXB-29orany subsequent B-29airplanes would flyagain. And every efforthadto bemade at thesametimeto fix themany problems that hadplagued Eddie.

The remaining two XB-29s[the third XB-29 didnot fly until 26June 1943J and pre­sumably theB-29s fillingthe productionlinesweretoodangerous to flywithout majormodifica tions.

Boeing flight test was decimated, devastated, demoralized. In less than eight yearsBoeing had lost threechief test pilots andthree bigexperimental airplanes andcrews:AIReed, Eddie'sChiefofFlight Testand ChiefTestPilot. wasnowtheonlyman alive whohadeverpilotedanXB-29.Tothebest of my knowledge, AInever flew againafterEddie'saccident. AIReed left Boeinga fewweeksafter Eddie's death anddropped fromsight.

Theend of Marcha man bythename of N.D. Showalter became the new Chief ofFlight Test.Hehadbeen BoeingChief MilitaryProjects Engineeranddeeply involved inboth theB-17 andB-29 programmes.He had flownwith EddieAllenon the testing ofthenumber two Model B-307 Stratolinerafter JuliusBarr had been killed in the 1939crash of the first one. N.D. wasa good pilotbut had notpursued that asa professionanddidnot have much opportunity tofly.Whenhecould hewould flyoccasionallywithsome of us as co-pilot. Under N.D.'s skillful guidance morale improvedand flight testgraduallygot back on its feet.

In the meantime a very comprehensive investigation into the cause or causes ofEddie'scrashwasunderway. Witnesseswere interviewed, fallenbitsandpiecesalongtheflight pathwerecollectedandstudied, debrisfromthecrashsitewassiftedthroughforall the evidence that cou ld be found, the remains of engines andpropellers weredisassembled and examined and many, manyground tests and engineeringanalyseswererun.

Extensive airplane modifications resulted. Possible conditions, which could causefuel leaks, were eliminated. Fuel filler necks were relocated, fire stop bulkheadswereinstalled,better sealing in someplacesand better ventilation inotherplaceswas pro­vided. Dams andoverboard drainswerealsoprovided togetridof anyfuel that mightleak. These and manyother improvements were incorporated in the number one andthree XB-29sandall production airplanes.

Shortlyafter Eddie's accident,BrigadierGeneral K.B.Wolfewasdirectedby GeneralArnold to take overall aspects of the B-29programme. Oneof his directiveswas thattheArmy AirCorpswould takeovertheentireB-29 flighttest programmeandthenum­ber oneXB-29 flight test programmewould bedoneat Wichitawhereconditionsweremuch more favourable. The weather was better, runways were longer and wider,approaches were clearer andgoodalternativefieldswere relatively close. TheBoeingWichita plant would provide support. The numberoneXB-29 pilot and co-pilot wouldbe Air Corpsofficers. Other than that theairplane would beoperated and maintainedinaccordancewithBoeing flighttest proceduresandbyBoeing peoplewho werefamil­iar with the largeamount of highly specialized instrumentation. I wasasked to be theprimary interface betweentheAir Corpspilotsandthe Boeingtestcrews- essential­lytobetheFlightTestProject Pilot butwithout anypiloting duties. Unresolvedwasanyconsideration ofwhetherI wouldever beallowed to fly theairplane.

On30August 1943thenumberoneXB-29wasflown fromSeattletoWichitabyColonelOlson.Since thelossof thenumbertwoXB-29, thiswastheonlyheavily instrumentedB­29 inexistence- averyva luableairplanefrom whichalot of datawasneededinahurry.Colonel H.S. Esteswastheco-pilot.Theyverygenerouslysignedmeonalsoasaco-pilotand let me fly fora coupleof hours ontheway toWichita. InWichita they arranged formetoget some transitiontime. My first flight there waswith MajorSullivan on3 Sep­tember 1943fromWichita toSalina in thebrand-new YB-29 service test airplane, serialnumber41-36963(YB-29 number101. MajorSullivangavemefour flights, five take-offsandsix landings on 3and4 September at SmokyHill andWalker in 'SixtyThree'.

In the weeks of number one XB-29 flight testing that followed, I was allowedto flyasco-pilot onevery flight andgiven theopportunity toget asmuchexperience with theairplaneasour test requirements permitted. On 8 October Colonel Estes checked meout asAircraft Commander and Ed Martin asmy co-pilot. and, except for a fewaddi­tional flightswithusover thefollowingtwoweeks, turnedthenumberoneXB-29 flighttest programme overto us in itsentirety After 21Octoberthe numberoneXB-29 flighttest programme wasa total. 100 percent Boeingresponsibility onceagain.

Nine unidentified 8-29s flying in three-ship formations to create a nine-ship box formation. Griber via Stan Piet

784

SUMMARIES

By 28 October 1943 we had finished the initial testingwith the number one XB-29.Theairplaneandtestinghadgoneextremelywell. In fiveandahalfweekswehadmadetwenty-four flights in seventy-two hours of flying. There had beenno engine failuresandnosignificant problems.We hadgottenlargeamountsofcrucial performanceandengine cooling data and make take-offs upto 130,OOOIb159,OOOkg). We flew a 3,000­mile (4,800kml. fourteen-hour simulated bombingmission with a 1D,OOOlb (4,500kglsimulated bomb load.

Therewas no longer any doubt that theB-29wasgoingtobeafineairplane. AndtheseveretraumasufferedbytheBoeingFl ight TestOrganizationfromEddieAllen's18Feb­ruary crashwas largely healed. N.D. Showalter,thesuperb Boeing managerand Chiefof Flight Test. had restored the Flight Test Organization to the superb teamthat EddieAllenhad built. He had alsoearned the respect of K.B. Wolfeand the Air Corps. N.D.had stayed in Wichita during the entire time the number oneXB-29was there to doeverything possible to helpachieve the huge successesthat had been realized.

It wastimeto takethenumberoneXB-29backtoSeattleforconfigurationand instru­mentationchangessowecouldget onwith the next seriesof testsandtoexplorenewideasand potential improvementstomaketheB-29 fleetassafeandcombat effectiveas possible. It wasa triumphal return.

In December we flew another 37 hours 25 minutes andstill had no enginefailures.Th ingsweregoing great - afar cryfromthefierceproblemsEddieAllenhadbeenfight­ingayear before.

ThenumberoneXB-29hadearnedtheright toaname.After careful considerationandin viewof its past and probable future of experimentation and exploration, it seemedright to name her 'THEFLYINGGUINEA PIG'. To the end, it was an appropriate name.

AB-29-75-BW(44-70077) 01the 19BG IromKadena Air Base in J apan, circa 1952.

Packed within its belly we re 20,OOOIb 01100lb bombs. Stan Piet

On15August1945whenthewarended,therehadbeen9,062B-29sorderedof which3,970werecompleted.After thewar endedwecontinued thenumber oneXB-29 flighttestingat asomewhat slower pace.The last timeI ever flew THEFLYING GUINEA PIGwason9 May 1947 whenweusedit asa landingsimulator fortheXB-47Stratojet, onwhich I was to make the first flightthat December.

On 11May 1948 thenumber oneXB-29wasscrapped. It hada total of 576 hourson it;EddieAllenhad flown it for twenty-seven hours. I hadbeenonboardatotal of 545hoursandhad beenpilot incommand for 496of those. From21 October 1943totheendof thewaron 15August 1945,1hadbeentheProject TestPilotandaircraft commanderoneveryflight of XB-29 number one - 312 flights, totalling 458 hours in twenty-two months.

There is a picture that shows THEFLYI NG GUINEA PIGin the scrapyard fading away.After fouryearsofvery closeassociationandbeingalmostmyentirelife'swork for twoof thoseyears, it issaddeningtoseesomethingthat served mankindsowell just be leftin solitude, ignored, to fade awayalone. She started as an incorrigible; developed toserve mankind well; was fun to fly. Andwhile she has physically passed into oblivion,hermemoriescontinueon. I'll never forget thenumberoneXB-29flight-test programme.

However, I was fortunate that mynext programme, the XB-47 Stratojet, was evenmore fun to fly andevenmoreexhilarating. Also it was thebiggest peacetimebomberprogramme ever. For 2,042 B-47swereultimately produced for the USAir Force.

B-29weight and balance

diagram. Note that thepressurized bulkheads

are 01a convex shap elike the exter ior of a sphere.

USAF

185

S U ~ntA R I ES

ABOVE: The Boeing B-50 was no more than a modernized B-29 used tosupplement the USAFheavy bomber fleet until jet-pow ered B-47s cameon li ne. An Ai r Force Reserves (AFRES) B-50B (47-1621 is shown here. Stan Piet

This B-29. marked w ith 20th Air Force logo and Number 1 on its tail. wa s oneof three modif ied B-29Bs that flew non-stop some 6.000mil es (9.700km) fromJapan to Washington DC after VJ-Day. It was commanded by Lt. GeneralBarney M. Giles. deputy chief of US Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific. USAF

A trio of 314BW. 29BG B-29s have departed North Field. Guam in Apr il of 1945to once more atta ck a very stubborn Japan. It is most unfortu nate that Jap anopted to fight on rather than surrender. prior to the devastation caused by theatom bombs. StanPiel

_,.,.., ..... J ... . - .

. ----- ' ; ~ ~ ' . . .. . . . .......~~ ..~ '" ...-..-. -..-... • • a . ~ ... • _ ~._ . _ _ -

The B-29 w as at one time the world's largest operational bomber, That was the case unti l the Convair B-36'Peacemaker' came along. Their relat ive sizes are dramatically shown here. USAF

186

I I

APPENDIX I

8-29 Production

Contracts

Dcsigiuuio» Amoun: C ontract N umber Date of ContractA/JIJroval

XB-29-BO 2 AC 15429 6/9/40XB-29-BO I AC 15429 (amended) 14/ 12/40YB-29-BW 14 AC 19673 16/6/41B-29-I -BW 50 AC 19673 6/9/41B-29-5-BW 50 AC 19673 6/9/41B-29-10-BW 50 AC 19673 6;9/41B-29-15-BW 50 AC 19673 6/9/41B-29-20-BW 50 AC 19673 6/9/41B-29-25-BW 50 AC 19673 31/1 /42B-29-30-BW 50 AC 19673 31/ 1/42B-29-35-BW 50 AC 19673 31/ 1/42B-29-40-BW 100 AC 19673 31/ 1/42B-29-45-BW 100 AC 19673 31/1 /42B-29-50-BW 100 AC 19673 31/1/42B-29-55-BW 50 AC 19673 31/1/42B-29-I-BA 14 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-5-BA 16 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-10-BA 20 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-15-BA 50 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-20-BA 50 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-25-BA 50 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-30-BA 29 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29B-30-BA 41 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29B-35-BA 70 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29B-40-BA 45 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-40-BA 4 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29B-40-BA 12 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29- I-MO I AC 117 30/6/44B-29-5-MO 7 AC 117 30/6/44B-29-10-MO 8 AC 117 30/6/44B-29-15-MO 16 AC 117 30/6/44B-29-20-MO 28 AC 117 30/6/44B-29-25-MO 50 AC 117 6/30/44B-29-30-MO 69 AC 117 6/30/44B-29-35-MO 18 AC 117 6/30/44B-29A- I-BN 20 AC 19673 19/9/42B-29A-5-BN 30 AC 19673 19/9/42B-29A-IO-BN 50 AC 19673 19/9/42B-29A-15-BN 50 AC 19673 19/9/42B-29A-20-BN 50 AC 19673 19/9/42B-29A-25-BN 50 AC 19673 19/9/42B-29A-30-BN 50 AC 19673 19/9/42B-29-35-MO 67 AC 11 7 30/6/44B-29-40-MO 33 AC 117 30/6/44B-29A-35-BN 100 AC 19673 30/6/44B-29A-40-BN 100 AC 19673 30/6/44

187

B-29 I'ROD UCTI O"

Contracts continued A B-29A-40-BN (44-61604) of the314BW, 19BGfrom North Field, Guam. DavidW.Menard

Designation A mo un t C ontract j umber Dale of CammerA/J/n'Ol}(l!

13-29A-45-B 100 AC 19673 30/6/4413-29A-50-B 100 AC 19673 30/6/4413-29A-55-13 100 AC 19673 30/6/4413-29A-60-13 100 AC 19673 30/6/4413-29A-65-BN 100 AC 19673 30/6/4413-29A-70-13 100 AC 19673 30/6/4413-29A-75-BN 19 AC 19673 30/6/4413-29-55-BW 50 AC 19673 13/6/4413-29-60-BW 100 AC 19673 13/6/4413-29-65-BW 100 AC 19673 13/6/44B-29-70-BW 100 AC 19673 13/6/4413-29-75-BW 100 AC 19673 13/6/4413-29-80-BW 50 AC 19673 13/6/4413-29B-40-13A 5 AC 27730 19/7/4413-29-40-13A I AC 27730 19/7/4413-29B-45-13A 42 AC 27730 19/7/4413-29-45-13A 25 AC 27730 19/7/4413-29B-50-13A 23 AC 27730 19/7/4413-29-50-13A 23 AC 27730 19/7/4413-2913-55-13A 24 AC 27730 19/7/4413-29-55-13A 24 AC 27730 19/7/44B-2913-60-BA 24 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-60-BA 23 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29B-65-BA 25 AC 27730 19/7/4413-29-65-BA 24 AC 27730 19/7/44B-29-40-MO 35 AC 11 7 6/9/44B-29-45-MO 39 AC 11 7 6/9/44B-29-50-MO 55 AC 11 7 6/9/4413-29-55-MO 55 AC 117 6/9/44B-29-60-MO 48 AC 11 7 6/9/4413-29-80-BW 50 AC 19673 30/6/44B-29-85-BW 50 AC 19673 30/6/44B-29-86-BW 50 AC 19673 30/6/44B-29-90-BW 50 AC 19673 30/6/44B-29-90-BW 50 AC 19673 13/1/45B-29-95-BW 65 AC 19673 13/1/45B-29-96-BW 20 AC 19673 13/1/45B-29-97-BW 15 AC 19673 13/1/45B-29-100-BW 30 AC 19673 13/1/45

188

11 -29 I'ROD UCT IO;-.l

ProductionDe$i[!;lUHion N unioe: BlIilc Serial i lImber($) Designauon N lImber BlIilc Serial i lImber(s)

XB-29-BO 2 41 -002/-003 B-29-30-MO 69 42-65315/-65383XB-29-BO I 41 -1 335 B-29-35-MO 1 42-65384/-6540 IYB-29-BW H 41 -36954/-36967 B-29A-I-13N 20 42-93824/-93843 (first B-29As

(41-36954 ro XB-39) built and the first B-29s ( 0 beB-29-I-BW 17 42-6205/-6221 built at Boeing's Renton

(first production B-29s) Washington plant)B-29-I-BA 1 42-6222 (first Bell-built 13-29) B-29A-5-13N 30 42-93844/-93873B-29-I-BW 1 42-6223 (42-93845 to XB-44)B-29-I -BA I 42-6224 B-29A-10-B 50 42-93874/-93923B-29- I-BW 4 42-6225/-6228 B-29A-15-BN 50 42-93924/-93973B-29- I-MO 4 42-6229/-6232 B-29A-20-BN 50 42-93974/-94023

(firs: Martin-buill B-29s) B-29A-25-BN 50 42-94024/-94073B-29-I-BA 42-6233 B-29A-30-BN 50 42-94074/-94123B-29-I-BW 42-6234 B-29-35-MO 67 44-27259/-27325B-29-I-BA 42-6235 B-29-40-MO 33 44-27326/-27358B-29-I-BW 42-6236 13-29-35-13 100 44-61510/-61609B-29-I-MO 42-6237 B-29A-40-BN 100 44-61 610/-61709B-29-I-BW 5 42-6238/-6242 B-29A-45-BN 100 44-61710/-61809B-29-I-BA I 42-6243 B-29A-50-BN 100 44-61810/-61909B-29-I-BW I I 42-6244/-6254 B-29A-55-BN 100 44-619 10/-62009B-29-5-BW 50 42-6255/-6304 B-29A-60-BN 100 44-620 I0/-62109B-29-10-BW 50 42-6305/-6354 B-29A-65-BN 100 44-62110/-62209B-29-15-B\'(1 50 42-6355/-6404 B-29A-70-BN 100 44-6221 0/-62309B-29-20-BW 50 42-6405/-6454 B-29A-75-BN 19 44-62310/-6232B-29-25-I3W 50 42-24420/-24469 B-29-55-13W 50 44-69655/-69704B-29-30-BW 50 42-24470/-2451 9 B-29-60-BW 100 44-69705/-69804B-29-35-BW 50 42-24520/-24569 B-29-65-BW 100 44-69805/-69904B-29-40-BW 100 42-24570/-24669 B-29-70-13W 100 44-69905/-70004B-29-45-BW 100 42-24670/-24769 B-29-75-BW 100 44-70005/-70 I04B-29-50-BW 100 42-24770/-24869 B-29- 0-13W 50 44-70105/-70154B-29-55-BW 50 42-24870/-24919 B-2913AO-BA 4 44-83890/-83893B-29-1-I3A 14 42-63352/-63365 B-29-40-BA 1 44-83894B-29-5-I3A 16 42-63366/-63381 B-29I3AO-BA 1 44-83895B-29-10-BA 20 42-63382/-6340 I B-2913A5-BA 4 44-83896/-83899B-29-15-BA 50 42-63402/-63451 B-29A5-BA I 44-83900B-29-20-BA 50 42-63452/-6350I B-29B-45-BA 3 44-8390I/-83903B-29-25-BA 50 42-63502/-63551 B-29A5-BA I 44-83904B-29-30-BA 29 42-63552/-63580 B-2913-45-BA 3 44-83905/-83907B-29B-30-BA 41 42-63581/-63621 B-29-45-BA I 44-83908

(first B-29Bs) B-29BA5-BA 2 44-83909/-83910B-29B-35-BA 70 42-63622/-63691 B-29-45-13A I 44-83911B-29EH O-BA 45 42-63692/-63736 B-29B-45-BA 2 44-83912/-83913B-29-40-BA I 42-63737 B-29-45-BA I 42- 3914B-29EHO-BA 6 42-6373 /-63743 B-29B-45-BA 2 42- 3915/-83916B-29-40-BA I 42-63744 B-29-45-13A 20 44-83917, 44-83920,44-83923,B-29BAO-BA 5 42-63745/-63749 44-83926, 44-8392 , 44-83930,13-29-40-BA I 42-63750 44-83932, 44-83934,44 - 3936,B-29IH O-BA I 42-63751 44-83938, 44-83940, 44-83945,B-29-I-MO 3 42-65202/-65204 44-83947, 44-83949, 44-83951 ,B-29-5-MO 7 42-65205/-65211 44-83953, 44-83955,44 -83957,13-29-10-MO 8 42-6521 2/-6521 9 44-83960 and 44-83962B- 2 9-1 5 - ~10 16 42-65220/-65235 B-2913-45-BA 2 44-83918/-83919B-29-20-MO 28 42-65236/-65263 B-29B-45-BA 3 44-83920/-83922B-29-25-MO 50 42-65264/-65313 B-2913-45-13A 3 44-83923/-83925

(42-65314was cancelled; B-29B-45-BA 7 44-83927, 44-83929,44 -83931,no other information) 44-83933, 44-83935,44 -83937

and 44-83939

189

1l-29 PROD UCTI ON

Production continued

Designation Numbev Bllil l Serial IImber(s) Designation N umber Bllill Serial N llmber(s)

B-29B-45-BA 4 44- 3941/- 3944 44- 4075,44-84077,44- 4079,B-29B-45-BA I 44-8396 J 44- 40 1,44-84083,44- 40 5,B-29-50-BA 23 44-83964,44-83966,44- 3968, 44- 40 7,44-84089, 44- 4091,

44-83970,44-83972,44- 3974, 44- 4093,44-84095,44- 4097,44-83976,44-8397 , 44- 3980, 44- 4099,44-84101 and44-83982,44-83984,44-83986, 44- 410344-83988,44-83990,44-83992, B-29-65-BA 24 44-841 04,44-841 06,44-841 08,44-83994,44-83996,44-83998, 44-841 10, 44-8411 2,44-841 14,44-84000,44-84002,44-84004, 44-841 16, 44-8411 8, 44-84120,44-84006 and 44-84008 44-84122, 44-84124,44-84126,

B-2913-50-BA 23 44-83963,44-83965,44-83967, 44-84128,44-84130,44-841 32,44-83969, 44-83971,44-83973, 44-84134,44-84136,44-84138,44-83975,44-83977,44-83979, (44-84140 cancelled),44-83981 ,44-83983,44-83985, 44-84142,44-84144,44-84146,44-83987, 44-83989, 44-83991, 44-84148, (44-84150 cancelled),44-83993, 44-83995,44-83997, 44-84152, (44-84154 cancelled)44-83999,44-84001,44-84003, and 44-8415644-84005 and 44-84007 B-29B-65-BA 25 44-84105,44-841 07,44-841 09,

13-29-55-BA 24 44-8401 0,44-8401 2,44-84014, 44-84111 ,44-84113, 44-841 15,44-8401 6, 44-8401 8, 44-84020, 44-8411 7, 44- 41 19, 44-841 21 ,44-84022,44-84024,44-84026, 44-84123,44-841 25,44-841 27,44-84028,44-84030,44-84032, 44-841 29,44- 413 1,44-84133,44-84034,44-84036,44-84038, 44-841 35, 44-841 37,44-841 39,44-84040,44-84042,44-84044, 44-84141 ,44-84143,44-84145,44-84046, 44-84048, 44-84050, 44-84147,44-84149,44-841 51 ,44-84052,44 -84054 and (44-84153 cancelled) and44-84056 44-84155

13-2913-55-BA 24 44- 4009, 44-84011 , 44-84013, B-29/-29B-BAs 44-841 57 to 44-8438944-8401 5,44-8401 7,44-8401 9, cancelled44-84021,44-84023,44-84025, B-29-40-MO 35 44-86242/-8627644-84027, 44-84029,44-84031, B-29-45-MO 39 44-86277/-8631544-84033,44-84035, 44-84037, B-29-50-MO 55 44-8631 6/-8637044-84039, 44-84041, 44-84043, B-29-55-MO 55 44-86371/-8642544-84045,44-84047, 44-84049, B-29-60-MO 48 44-86426/-8647344-8405 1, 44-84053 and B-29-MOs 44-86474 to 44-8669144-84055 cancelled

B-29-60-BA 23 44-84058, 44-84060, 44-84062, B-29-80-B\XI 50 44-87584/-8763344-84064,44-84066,44-84068, B-29-85-B\XI 50 44-87634/-8768344-84070,44-84072,44-84074, B-29-86-B\XI 50 44-87684/-8773344-84076,44-84078,44-84080, B-29-90-B\XI 50 44-87734/-8778344-84082,44-84084,44-84086, 13-29-90-B\XI 50 45-21693/-2174244-84088,44-84090,44-84092, B-29-97-B\XI 15 45-21743/-2175744-84094,44-84096,44-84098, B-29-95-B\XI 35 45-21758/-2179244-841 00 and 44-841 02 B-29-96-B\XI 20 45-21793/-21 12

B-29B-60-BA 24 44-84057,44-84059,44-84061 , B-29-95-B\XI 30 45-21 813/-21 84244-84063,44-84065,44-84067, B-29-100-B\XI 30 45-21 843/-21 7244-84069,44-84071,44-84073, B-29-B\XIs 45-21873 to 45-22792

cancelled

Totals: XB-29-BO (3), YB-29-B\XI (14), B-29-BA (357), B-29-B\XI (1 ,630), B-29-MO (536),B-29A -BN (1,119), B-29B-BA (311) - 3,970 B-29s total; the last production B-29, a B-29A-75 -B(44-62328), came off the Boeing-Renton production line on 28 May 1946.

790

A B-29 from an unknown unit named "l AUE" HO!is shownhere in mothballs at Oavis-Monthan AFB.Arizona after it was cocoonedfor long-durationstorage. Schirmer via Sian Pial

PHODUCTlON - KEY

BA Bell-Atlan((l , Georgia

BN Boeing-!{enton, \VClShington

130 Boeing-Seattle, Washington

13\'(1 !3oeing-Wichi((l , Kansas

MO lvlartin-Omaha, Nebraska

B-29 PRODUCT IO N

F-13 and F-13A Production (partial)Original Serial No. Formerly Commen: Original Serial No. Formerly C onnnen tDesignation DesigllMion

F-13 42-6412 13-29-20-13\'(1 served as F-13 F-13A 42-93850 B-29A-5-BNproto: vpe F-13A 42-93851 B-29A-5-BN

F-13 42-24566 13-29-35-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93852 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24567 13-29-35-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93853 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24583 13-29-40-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93854 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24585 13-29-40-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93855 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24586 13-29-40-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93856 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24588 13-29-40-13\'(1 r -13A 42-93863 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24621 13-29-40-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93864 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24803 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93865 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24805 13-29-50-8\'(1 F-13A 42-93866 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-2481 0 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93867 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24811 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93868 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-248 13 13-29-50-8\'(1 F-13A 42-93869 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-2481 6 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93870 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-2481 7 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93871 B-29A-5-8NF-13 42-24819 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93872 B-29A-5-BNF-13 42-24821 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93874 B-29A-IO-BNF-13 42-24829 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93879 B-29A-IO-BNF-13 42-24833 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93880 B-29A-IO-BNF-13 42-24860 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93900 B-29A-10-BNF-13 42-24869 13-29-50-13\'(1 F- 13A 42-93903 B-29A-IO-BNF-13 42-24870 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93912 B-29A-IO-BNF-13 42-24871 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93914 B-29A-IO-BNF-13 42-24877 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93919 B-29A-IO-BNF-13 42-24881 13-29-50-13\'(1 F-13A 42-93926 B-29A-15-BNF-13A 42-93849 B- 29A-5-BN F-13A 42-93933 B-29A-1 5-BN

191

1l-29 PROD UCTIO N

F-13 and F-13A Produc tion (partial) continuedO rigina l Serial No. Formerl)' Comment O rigina l Serial 1 o . FOllnerl)· C ommentDesign{l(ion Dcsignaiun:

F-I3A 42-93965 B-29A-15-BN F-I3A 44-61 933 B-29A-55-BF-I3A 42-93967 B-29A-15-BN F-I3A 44-61 934 B-29A-55-BF-I3A 42-9396 B-29A-15-BN F-I3A 44-61 939 B-29A-55-BF-I3A 42-93987 B-29A-20-BN F-I3A 44-61 945 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 42-93992 B-29A-20-BN F- I3A 44-61 946 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 42-93993 B-29A-20-BN F-13A 44-61 947 B-29A-55-BF-13A 42-94000 B-29A-20-BN F-I3A 44-61 94R B-29A-55-BF-13A 42-94022 B-29A-20-BN F-13A 44-61 951 B-29A-55-BF-13A 42-94054 B-29A-25-BN F-13A 44-61 960 )-29A-55-BNF-13A 42-94074 B-29A-30-BN F-13A 44-61 961 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 42-94080 B-29A-30-BN F-13A 44-619R1 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 42-94081 B-29A-30-BN F-13A 44-61986 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 42-94113 B-29A-30-BN F-13A 44-61989 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 42-94114 B-29A-30-BN F-13A 44-61991 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 44-61528 B-29A-35-BN F-13A 44-61999 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 44-61531 B-29A-35-BN F-13A 44-62000 B-29A-55-BNF-13A 44-61 533 B-29A-35-BN F-13A 44-62216 B-29A-70-BNF-13A 44-61 577 B-29A-35-BN F-13A 44-62282 1)-29A-70-BNF-13A 44-61 57 B-29A-35-BN F-13A 44-6228 ) 1-19. -70-BNF-13A 44-61 583 B-29A-35-BN F-13A 44-622 4 B-29A-70-BF- I3A 44-61 659 B-29A-40-B F-13A 44-62285 B-29 -70-13F-13A 44-61 727 B-29A-45-B F- I3A 44-622 6 B-29A-70-BF-I3A 44-61 8\ 0 B-29A-50-B F-13A 44-622<7 B-29.'\-70-BF- I3A 44-61 813 B-29A-50-B F-I3A 44 -6 22R~ B-29A-70-BF- I3A 44-61 815 B-29A-50-B F-I3 A 44-622 'l) 13-29.'\-70-BF-13A 44-61 817 B-29A-50-B F-13A 44-6229 1)-29.'\-70-BF-13A 44-61 8\ B-29A-50-B F-I3 A 44-622l)1 B-29A-70-BF-13A 44-61 819 B-29A-50-B F-13 45-21- B-29-9 -BWF-13A 44-61822 B-29A-50-B F-13 45-2171 B-29-95-BWF-13A 44-61 832 B-29A-50-B I F-13 45-21 - B-29-95-B\'(IF-13A 44-61 843 B-29A-50-BN F-13 4 5 - ~ 1 7 » ) B-29-95-B\'(IF-1 3A 44-61 847 B-29A-50-BN F-13 45-21766 B-29-95-BWF-13A 44-61854 B-29A-50-BN F-13 45-21 68 B-29-95-BWF-13A 44-61 855 B-29A-50-BN F-13 45-21773 B-29-95-BWF-I3 A 44-61 857 B-29A-50-BN F-13 45-21775 B-29-95-BWF-13A 44-61860 B-29A-50-BN F-13 45-21777 B-29-95-BWF-I3A 44-61862 B-29A-50-BN F-13 45-21790 B-29-95-BWF-13A 44-61 866 B-29A-50-BN F-13 45-21812 B-29-96-BWF-13A 44-61 924 B-29A-55-BN F-13 45-21846 B-29-1 00-BWF-13A 44-61 929 B-29A-55-B F-13 45-21 847 B-29-100-BWF-13A 44-61 930 B-29A-55-B F-13 45-21 84 B-29-100-BWF-13A 44-61 931 B-29A-55-B F-13 45-21 856 B-29-100-BW

F-13 45-21859 B-29-100-BW

Kn own to tal: 139

792

APPENDIX II

Individual Aircraft Names

BABY SAN 44-86290 SAC98G AKA PHIPPENS PIPPE SBABY'S BUGGY44-61 61 8 SAC92GBABY'S BUGGY42-93964 314W330G459S AKA CITYOF

ROCK ISLA DBACH ELOR QUARTERS 42-24507 58W444G67 SBAD BREW42-24594 73W497G869SBAD BREW II 42-63539 73W497G869SBAD CREW 42-24594 73W497G869SBAD ivlEDICI E 42-24 50 3 13W505G482SBAD PE Y42-65274 58W40G45SBAI BRIDGE BELLE42-63525 313W505G4 2SBALD EAGLE (THE) 314W39G60SBALL OF FIRE42-65344 313W505G483SBANANA BOAT 42-63551313W6G40SBA ANA BOAT 44-86261 28GBARBARA A 42-24652 73W500G8 2S and 883S AKA

DEVILS DELIGHTBARBRA A 44-61685 73W500G882SBARRO ESS. TH E 42-24675 73W500G8 3SBATAA AVE GER 44-69753 3 13W6GBATTLIN BETTY 42-24606 73W498G875SBATTLIN BETTY 44-69847 313W6G40SBATTLl BETTY II 42-24760 73W498G875SBATTLI BETT Y III 44-69772 73W498G875BATT LI BEAUTY42-24457 5 W40G25SBATTLI . BEAUTY42-63457 5 W462G769SBATT LI BITCH IIBATTLI N BONNIE42-24907 3 13W9G ISBATTLI N BONNIE 1144-87737 3 13W9G ISBATT LI BULLDOZER 42-93908 314W330G458S AKA

CITYOFCEDAR RAPIDSBEAUBOMBER II 42-63442 73W499G 79SBEAT ME 42-93943 314W330G45 AKA CITYOF

r RT MOUTHBEDRO M EYES 42-24610 73W498G874SBEETLE 13 MB 44-69800 98G 344S K AKA CITY OF SAN

FR N I 03 14W330G29SBEE LE BOMBERBEI-IR ' BROOD 42-93955 314W330G45 S AKA CITY

F EOLA AKA CO LLEEBELL RI ER 42-63464 5 W468G794SBELL R TH 42-24680 73W500G881SBELL 13 RTION 42-63355 58W468G793SBELL E F BI KINI. THE 44-61 882 16 PRS AKA HEAVENLY

L I : 16 PRS AKA DESTINATION UNK OWN,}44 K

B1~ ,AL LANCER 42-6348 58W40G44SBI~ L LANCER 42-24487 58W468G793BE RAIDERS 44-69725 73W500G883SBET Y3 13W9G99S

B

13 A BI RD 42-93896 3 13W9G 1S AKA BIG GAK

BABYGA IL 42-2491 7 314W29G6IPPER AKA CITYOF MILW

CITY

ABLE FOX 42-24466 5 W40G45A-BROA D WITI-I ELEVE YA KS 44-70083 73W499G 77SACE BASEACE IN THE WHOLE44-61872 98G K AKA SACS APPEAL

98GADAMS EVE 42-24600 73W500G883SAGITATOR, TH E 42-6399 58W444G678SAG ITATOR II, TH E 42-24899 58W444G67 SAH SOO 44-61 17 9 G K/SAC91SRSAIRBOR E 42-652685 W444G794SALL SHOOK 98G345S KAMARILLOS FLYING SOLENOID 41-36959 58W468GAMERICAN BEAUTY 42-24686 73W500G882SAivlERICAN BEAUTY 42-24703 58W468G792SAMERICA BEAUTY III 44- 7661 5 W468G792SAMERICA MAID 42-24593 73W497G869ANCIE TMARI ER, THE 44-70113 73W500G 83SANDYGU MP 42-24528ANDYS DA DY 42-65208 58W468G794SANGEL I DISGUISE 58W40G45SANGELLlC PIG, THE 44-61 991 58W40GA DEE 42-65249 73W500G 3SA 1 GARRY III 313W 6G39A GARRY V 44-87650 3 13W6G39SA NIE 42-6224 5 W468GANTAGO IZER 314W39G6 1SA TO I ETT E 42-24751 73W498G875SANTOll ETT E II 44-70135 73W498G875SA YTIME9 G345S KAPESHIP 44- 6330 98G343S K AKA BULL BUTT ING

BOMBAPESHIP 98G KARKANSAS TRAVELLER 44-69892 314W29G52SARKA SAS TRAVELLER 42-65331 73W498G873SARSON INC. 44-70129 58W444G677S AKA FLAK MAIDASSID TEST 42-65336 58W462G769S AKA ASSID TEST II

58W462G769SATOMIC TOM 44-69 62 19G93 K AKA CITYOF FLAT­

BUSH

A

793

INDI VID AI. AIRCRAFT NA\ IES

BETT ER' j ' UTI 42-2453 58W444G676BETTY BEE 73W499G87BETTY MARION 44-699 10 314W39G60S AKA CITYOF

SPOKA EBIG AINT IT 42-65273 58W444G677SBI G BLOW 44-86339 98KBIG CHIEF 42-63 2 58W462G770SBIG DICK 313W9G99SBIG FAT ~ l AMA & PATRICA LY N 42-9390 1

3 13W6G39SBIG GAS BIR D, THE 44-86400 98G344S KBIG JOE42-24885 313W6G24SBIG MIKE 42-63619 3 13W505GBIG PO ISO 42-6353 5 W444G677SBIG POISON 2ND DOSE 42-6')270BIG SCHMOO 44-69963 58W44G678SBIG SHMOO 44-62063 19G93S KBIG STICK, THE42-24661 73W500GBI G STI K 44-27354 3 13W509G393S AKA DAVE'S

DREAMBIG TIME OPERATOR, T HE 42-247913 13W9G ISBIG WHEEL, THE 42-652 3 313W9G99BLACK BARTS REVE GE 44-69706 73W49GBLACK HILL BABY44-84054 28GBLACKJACK 42-6292 58W444G45SBLACKJACK 11 314W39G60SBLACK JACK TOO 42-63451 58W444G678SBLACK MAGIC 42-24672 73W500G881SBLACK MAGIC 42-6276 58W40G45S AKA OLD CRACK-

ER KEGBLACK MAGIC 1142-24718 58W40G45SBLACK HEEl' 314W39G6 1S A KA CITYOF AUSTINBLI D DATE 41 -24429 5 W468G794SBLIZZARD WIZARD 44-62216 308WRG375WRC AKA

DUFFY'S TAVERBLUE BO ET BELLE 42-6307 58W444G676SBLUETAILFLY42-65272 19G30S KBOCKSCAR 44-27297 313W509G393SBOMBIN BUGGY 42-6306 58W40G44SBOMBING BUGGY II 42-24541 58W40G44SBON IE LEE 42-6322 58W40G44SBOOMERANG 44-61 81BOOZE HO D 44-69746 73W500G881SBRIGADE 5BROOKLY BES IE42-93 545 W40G IPRC13- \VEET 42-6425 58W40G25SB-SWEET II 42-24522 5 W40G25SB-SWEET II I 42-6349 58W40G25S AKA LAZY BABYB-SWEET IV 44-70094 58W40G25SBUB 44-61 815 19W 19G30S-KBUCKIN BRONC 44-70136 73W882SBUCKI ' BRONCO 42-63436 73W500G882SBUGGER 42-6361 0 3 15W331G355SBUGS BALL BUSTER 44-6163 19G28S.K AKA GO I G

MY \VAY314W I9G2 SBULL BUTT ING BO~'lB 44-86330 9 G343S K AKA APE

SHIPBURK JERKS 45-21 721 9 KBUR ING DESIRE 314W39G62SBUSHWACKER 315W

BUST' 1TH E BLUE 9 G KBUTT ER FLY BABY 44-61854 SAC98G

cCABOOSE44-69870 314W39G6 1SAKA CITYOF AURO-

RACADEN MAIDE 315WCAIT PAOR AT 42-9382 58\V40G395SCAjU QUEE 144-69982 58W444G676SCALAMITYjA E 42-245 9 5 W40G25SCALAMITYSUE 42-636 58W46 G794SCAMEL CARAVAN 42-6333 58W468G793SCAMI NI GO 344S KCAN UCK, TH E42-24668 73W500G882SCAPT. SAM AND THE TEN SCENTSCAPT. CLAY42-6351 4 3 13W6GCARALANI 42-65213 58W462G770SCATG IRL 44-62053 19G2 AKA ROCK HAPPYCELESTIAL PRI CESS, THE 42-2459 5 W462G770SCELESTIAL QUEEN 44-876605 W40G44CE SORED LADY 44-69810 314W39G60S AKA CEN-

SORED AND OLD P-47CHALLE GER, THE 42-62 4 5 W468G794SCHARLEY'S HA T 3 13W9GCHARLI E'S WAGO 44-69746 SAC22GCHAT' NOOGA CHOO CHOO 42-24471 58W468G782SCHERRY HORIZONTAL CAT 42-63564 3 14W29G52SCHICAGO QUEE 3 15WCHICAGO SAL 44-61 562 58W468G792SCHIEF MAC TEl LITTLE I lDIAN 44-621 86

SAC98G KCHIEF SPOKANE, TH E RED ERA OR 44-61 25

SAC9 G KCHOTTO MATTE 44-86400 98G344CITY SERIES OF THE 330BG. 457, 458 AN D 459BSs:45713544-69696 - CITY OF REDBANK AKA HAPPYSAVAGE42-93982 - CITYOF H. WORTH44-69817 - CITYOF ROANOKE AKA READY BETTY42-93957 - CITYOF DULUT H AKA SHE WOLF AKA

DO 'T WORRY ABOUT A THI G42-93971 - CITYO F COU CIL BLUFFS AKA THE

GERM42-9397 - CITYOF jACKSO lVILLEAKA MISS TAKE42-93980 - CITYOF ST. PETERSBURG AKA MY GALCITYOF WILLIAMSPORT42-94062 - CITYOF CHATTANOOGA AKA PLUTO42-93935 - CITY OF HIGH MAN AKA SHILLELAG HCITYOF BEDfORD44-69928 - CITYOF BERKELEY AKA jE REVIE42-94024 - CITYOFCLAYTO N AKA OUR BABY42-94016 - CITYOf OMAHA AKA x«: AMARA'S BAND44-69795 - U AMED42-93969 - U AMED42-94032 - CITYOF SA JOSECITYOF ST PETERSBURG AKA MY GAL II44-69996 - CITYOF GARY42-94029 - CITYOF KANKAKEE AKA LUCKYSTRIKE

794

(l':DIVIDUAL AIRCRAFT l':A:>IES

458I3542-93970 - CITYOF WEST PALM BEACH44-69790 - CITYOF B1 RMI GHAM AKA OLE

BOOMERA G42-65371- CITYOF OMAHA AKA YO KEE DOLL-AH44-69800 - CITYOF SA FRA CISCO42-93943 - ITYOF PORT MOUTH AKA BEATS ME42-93943 - CITYOF SpRI GFIELD AKA JANIE42-93908 - CITYOFCEDAR RAPIDS AKA BATT LI

BULLDOZER44-8961 4 - CITYOF NIAGARA FALLS AKA KNIPP'S V .

NIPS42-69814- CITYOF INDIA APOLI S AKA MARY

KATHLEEN42-93945 - CITYOF PORTSMOUTH AKA BEATS ME II44-69997 - CITYOF SPANISH FORKS AKA HEAVENLY

BO DY42-94052 - CITYOFTERRA HAUTE AKA STAR DUST42-93955 - CITYOFOSCEOLA AKA BREI-IE 'S BROOD42-93996 - CITYOF RICHMOND AKA REBEL'S ROOST44-69995 - CITYOF KNOXVILLE AKA ER IE PYLE42-94037 - CITYOF HERSHEYAKA THE WILLFUL

WITCH44-70016 - CITYOF QUAKERCITYAKA SE lTIMENTAL

JOURNEY44-70010 - CITYOF HATCH AKA CITYOF PACIFIC

PALISADES AKA CUE BALL42-63517- CITYOF PORTSMOUTH AKA ROUND

RO BI44-69799 - CRASHED ON FIRST MISSIO 12 APRIL 1945CITYOFGRASS VALLEYAKA BUSTY BABE BOMBER459I3542-69741- CITYOF COLUMBUS AKA TEN UNDER PAR42-93946 - CITYOF ROCK ISLAND AKA BABY'S BUGGY42-69786 - CITYOF RENO AKA HERE TO STAY42-69772 - CITYOF PATT ERSON AKA KOEHANE'S

KULPRITS42-65370 - CITYOF MIAMI BEACH AKA OL' SMOKER II42-65363 - CITYOF AKRON AKA LADYjA E42-69766 - CITYOF BURBANK AKA OLD SOLDIER'S

HOME42-69801- CITYOF MEDFORD AKA LIGHTENI G

LADY42-93837 - CITYOF MIAMI BEACH AKA OL' SMOKER44-6991I - CITYOF RICHMOND AKA VIVACIOUS

LADY42-93961 - CITYOF ABERDEE42-94059 - CITYOF FARMI GTO AKA LO ESOME

POLECAT42-93912 - CITYOF GLENDALE AKA MOTLEYCREW42-94047 - CITYOFJAMESTO\V AKA THROBBI G

MONSTER44-69897 - CITYOF LARAMIE42-94040 - CITYOF ROCHESTER AKA FEATHER

MERCI-IA TS42-94071- ITYOF EVA STO N AKA CITYOF

GAl ESVILLE, CITYOFOKLAHOMA CITY42-63539 - CITYOF HIGHLAND FALLS44-61664 - CITYOF LYNNCOC K SURE

OLLEEN 42-93955 314W330G458S AKA BEl-IRE SBROOD AKA CITYOFOSCEOLA

OMEON A MY HOUSEOU R BABYCOMMA D DECISIO 144-87657 19WI 9G28So FEDERATE SOLDIER 314W39G60S AKA CITYOFYOUNGSTOWo STANT YMPH 42-63487 73W500G882S

CO VINCER 44-61 521 58W468G793SCORAL QUEE 42-2461 5 73W497G869SCO RALQU EE 42-63499 3 13W504G398SCOUNTRYGENTLEMA 42-24793 313W505G482SCOX'S ARMY 42-63544 3 13W9G5SCRAIG COMET, TH E 42-63445 58W468G794SCRAMER'S CRAPpER 44-83897 3 15W331G356SCREAM OFTHE CROP 44-61657 19G30SCROSS OVERTHE BR IDGECULTURED VULTURE 42-2490 1313W6G39SCUNNUCK, THE 42-24668 73W500G

oDANGEROUS LADY 42-24 Z3 313W505G AKA HIGH 'EH

DOC! AKA 27TH NCB SPECIALDANNYMITE 44-69777 73W49 G874SDARK EYE 42-63555 58W40G45SDARKSLIDE 44-27296 JP RC AKA U ITED OTIO S

SAC 98Gj92GDARLI G DON A ;:3 42-24820 313W9G99SDAU TLESS DOTT Y42-24592 73W497G869SDAVES DREAM 44-27354 313W509G393S AKA THE BIG

STINKDEACONS DELI GHT (THE) 42-24818 313W505G484SDEACONS DISCIPLES 42-24492 58W44G44SDEADJUG 19G93S KDEAL ME IN 44-69805 98G KDEARLY BELOVED 44-70069 3 13W6G40SDEE-FENCE BUSTER 44-62274 301G3SRSDESTINYS TOT 42-65284 3 13W9G5SDESTINYS TOT 42-65293 73W497GDEUCES WILD 42-6222 58W40G45SDEUCES WILD 44-69809 313W505G482SDEVILS DARLIN 42-24629 73\V498G873SDEVILS DELIGHT (THE) 42-24652 73W500G882S AKA

BARBARA ANNDEVILISH SNOO KS 42-63527 5 W40G44SDICKERTS DEMO S 44-86361 98G344S K AKA LONELY

LADY98K AKA LONE OME POLECATDI A MIGHT 42-652 03 13W504G29SDI AH MIGHT 42-65286 313W9G ISDING HAO 42-6358 58W468794SDING HOW 42-6358 5 W468G794SDING HOW 42-6313 5 W40G45SDING HOW 42-6225 5 W444G676SDIXIE BABE 19 KDIXIE DARLIN 42-63423 73W497G871SDO IT AGAIN 42-65229 313W6G39SDO 44-69972DOC SAID ALL I NEED WAS AFFECTION 42-65266

3 I3W504G

795

INDI VID UA L A IRCRA FT NA \ I ES

DOCS DEADLY DO E 42-24780313 W504G39 SDOPEY44-70016 AKA CITYOF QUA KER CITY&

SENT I1v1ENTALJOURNEYDORIS AN 142-24677 58W444G792SDOTT IE'S DILEMMA 42-24796 313W9G5SDOUBLE EXPOSURE 42-24877 JP RCDOUBLE EXPOSURE 42-93855 58W IPRCDOUBLE OR NUT HI 19G KDOUBLE WI-IMvlMY44-87734 19G93S KDOW S CLOW 44-862 4 9 G KDRAGG I LADY42-24694 73W500G 81DRAGO BEHI D 44- 624758W444G676SDRAGO LADY42-93892 313W9G99SDRAGON LADY 73W497G871SDRAGON LADY 44-61 835 19G30S KDRAGON LADY (TH E) 42-63425 73W497G871S AKA

TERRIBLETERRYDRAGON LADY 42-69663 58W468G793SDRAGO LADY42-63525 3 13W505G482SDREAM BOAT 'i8W44GDREAM GIRL 42-634 05 W462G76 SDREAM GIRL 42-24673 73W499G879SDREAMER 44-27341 3 15W9 G343SDROOPYDRU KARD - STAGGER IN 44-615665 58W40G25SDUCHES ALMOST READY 3880 344KDUCI-IESS 42-63411 58W444G677SDUCI-IESS (THE) 42-93880 98G KDUFFYS TAVERN 44-62216 308WRG 375WRS AKA

BLI ZZARD WIZARDDUKE OF ALBUQUERQUE 44-69829 73W500G881SDUMBO 42-6257 58W444G

E

EAGER BEAVER III 42-24750 73W498G876SEARLY BIRD 42-63556 3 13W9G5SEARLY BIRD 44-86303 3 13W6GEARTHQUA KE MCGOON 42-24866 3 13W6G40SEDDIE ALLE 42-24579 58W40G45SEDDIEALLE 1144-701 51 58W40G45SEIGHT BALL 44-62237 98G KEIGHT BALL CHARLI E42-65328 5 W40G44SEILEE 42-6323 58W444G678SEL PAjARO DE LA GUERRA 42-24 74313W6G24SELEA OR 42-65337 58W444G676S AKA j oELLIE BARBARA A D HER ORPHANS 42-63605

315W I6GEMAN-ON 58W40G44SENOLA GAY44-86292 3 13W509G393SERNIE PYLE 44-701 18 3 13W504G458SERNIE PYLE' MILKWAGONESSO EXPRESS 42-6242 58W46 G794SEVERY MA A TIGER 44-61830 SAC98G KEXCA LI BUR 42-6316 58W462G76 S

F

FA CY DETA IL 42-24696 73W500G882SFANCY NANC Y313W9GFANNY-TI-IE ATOM & 144-86384 3 13W509G398SFAST COMPANY42-24691 58\V468G792SFAST CO MPA Y42-63495 73W499G877SFAT CAT (THE)FAY 42-65210 73W49 G874S AKA FILTHY FAYFEATHER MERCHANT 42-6308 58W40G45SFERTILE MYRTLE 45-21787FEVER FROM THE OUTH 42-63497 73W500G882SFICKLE FINGER 42-63426 73W497G 71SFIF144-62070FIGHTING PA C1-IITO (TH E) 44-69724 73\V497GFILTH Y FAY42-65210 73W498G874S AKA FAYFILTHY FAY 2 42-93999 73W498G874SFILTHY FAY3 44-69852 73\V498G874SFIRE BALL 44- 62281 98G345S KFIRE BELLE 44-61653 58W444G677SFIRE BUG 44-69944 73W500G882SFIRE BUG 42-63566 314W29G52SFLAG SHIP 42-63504 313W504G39 SFLAG SHIP 500TH 44-61 669 73W500G883S AKA MISSIO

INN SAC22G2S & 19\V19GFLA K ALLEYSALLY42-24878 313W6G39SFLAK MAGNET 44-61634 58W40G44SFLAK MAID 44-70129 AKA ARSON INC 58W444G677SFLAK SHACKFLEET ADMIRAL IlvllTZ 42-63650 3 15W501GFLUFFY FUZZFLUFFY FUZZ 2FLUFFY FUZZ3 315WFLUFFY FUZZ 4 3 15WFLUFFY FUZZ 5FLYIN' I-lOME 42-24909 58W468G793SFLYIN JACKASS 42-24580 5 W444G676SFLYI NG FOOL 42-24698 73W499G877SFLY ING GUINEA PIG (T HE) XB-29-1, 41 -2FLYING PARTS 44-86438FLYING STU D 42-6320 58W44GFLYING STUD 2FORBI DDEN FRUIT 42-24607 73W498G875SFOREVER MvlBER 44-69839 3 13W6G40FOREVER AMBLI G 44-62231 43RCFOUR-A-BREAST 44- 6323 19G28S KFRENCH 'S KABAZIEWAGO 44-70011 3 13W9G99SFRESHLY MAID'CAPT PEO AND HIS 10 ACS' 343KFRI ENDLY UNDERTAKER 44-62213 SAC 98GFRISCO NANNY42-93889 73W500G882SFRY 'IN PAN (TH E) 44-69812 SAC98K345S AKA

SUC J-IOSIN!FUBAR 42-63378 58W444G676SFUj lGMO 44-621 66 19G KFU-KEMAL 42-6352 58W444G676SFU-KEMAL-TU 42-24720 58W444G676SFULL HOUSE 44-27298 313W509G393S

196

(NI>IVIl) UAI. AIRCRAFT NA ~IES

G

GAl lOPI GOOS E 42-6390 58W468G794SGAME COC K 'TI-IE' 313W 504GGAS GOBBLER 44-623 14 43GGEAR BOX (THE) 42-24704 58W468G793SGEISHA GERTIE 42-24763 73W498G874SGE ERAlA DREW 44-69888 314W39GGE ERAl H. H. AR OLD SPECIAL 42-6365

58W46 G794GE IE 42-63455 58W40G25SGE 11:;=244-61 12 58W40G25SGEORGIA PEACH 42-63356 5 W468G793S AKA l ASSIE

VA LKYRIEQU EENGERTRUDEC 42-6334 58W468G794SGHASTLYGOOS E (THE) 42-63541 73W497G871SGLOBE GIRDlE MYRTLE 42-24581 58W462G770SGODS Wlll42-248313 13W9G 1SGOIN ' jESSE 42-63561313W9G5SGOING MY WAY44-6163 3 14W I9G28S AKA BUG'S

BAl l BUSTER I9W I9G2GO E WITH THE WIND 42-6331 5 W40G25SGO A MAK'ER 42-65231 73W497G871SGOOD DEAL 42-24852 313W504G421 SGRAVEL GERTIE42-63500 58W468G792SGRAVEL GERTIE 42-64221 73W500G882SGREAT ARTISTE (THE) 44-27353 3 13W509CG393SGRIDER GIRL 42-24884 3 13W6G39SGRIM WOOD GREMLI NS 315WGRYM GRYPHON 314WGUARDIANS OF PEACE 44-62224 SAC98G344S AKA

WA DERER SAC 98G345S KGU GA DII 42-635658W468G792SGUSHER 42-6356 5 W468G792SGYPSY (THE) 44-61 948 98G /1 9G AKA SHEER MADNESS

H

HAD A CALL 19KHAGARTY'S HAG 44-86408 98K1-I Al EY'S COMET 42-24615 73W497G870SI-l AM'S EGGS 42-24670 73W499G879SHAP'S CHARACTERS 42-63424 58W46 G792S(-lARRYMIl l ER 42-24740 58W40G45SHASTA LUEGO 42-24647 73W499G87 SHAULIN A 44-621 03 SAC 98G343S KHAULI NASS 42-24461 73W499G878HAULINGS TURBO 10 (TI-IE)HAWG WILD44-61 748 SAC 307GI-I EARD OF BALD GOATS 44-70005 3 13W505G482SHEARTS DESIRE98GKHEARTS DESIRE 2 98G343S KI-IEATS ON (THE) 42-24605 73W498G873SHEAVENLY 44-69696 314W I9G30SHEAVENLY BODY42-6281 58W40GHEAVENLY BODY 42-6351HEAVENLY BODY 44-69997 314W330G458S AKA CITYOF

SPA ISH FORKSHEAVENLY BODY 42-63510 73W498G

I-lEAVE lY FLOWER 42-94025 3 13W9G99S AKA JUDYANN LITTLE EVIL

I-lEAVE lY l ADE 44-61 22 16PRCHEAVENLY lADE 45-21 822 91HEAVENLY l ADEN 45-21522 98G344SGHEl l ON WINGSHEl l ON WINGS 42-93857 58W444G677SHEl l S BEllE-BEll RUTH 42-24680 73W500G88SGI-IEllS BEllS 73W499GHER MAJESTY42-63375 58W444G677SHERE TO STAY44-69786 3 \4W330G459S AKA CITYOF

RE 10HERO HEATERS 44-61702 58W468G793SHI STEPPER 42-65275 58W468G794SHIGH 'HI DOC 3 13W505G482S AKA 27TH NCB SPECIAL

AKA DANGEROUS l ADYHO HUM 44-701 23 58W462G768SHOBO QUEEN 41-36963 58W462GHOG WilD 42-63436 73W500GHOG WilD 44-70 136 73W500G 88S1-IOllEY HAWKHOl l YWOOD COMMA DO 42-24724 5 W444G677SHOLTO 'S BAR'l 92GHOLY JOE 42-63489 73W500G881SHOMB IRCCISMUS 58WHOMERS'S ROAMERS 42-24794 73W498G873SHOMING BIRD 42-24824 313W505G483SHOMOGENIZED ETHYL 44-6971 0 43W43AREFSHON. SPY REPORT 42-24876 3 13W9G99SI-IONEY 42-24659 73W499G879SHO EY BUCKET HO SHO 44-61 929 91HONEYWEll HONEY42-2473 58W40G45SHONGCHOW 44-27308 28GHONORABLE T T WAGO 42-63484 3 13W505G484SHO SHU HAWK 42-63444 73W498G87SHO SHU HURRICANE 73W499G87SHOODLUM I-lOUSE#2 42-24475 58W462G768SHORE-ZONTAl DREAM 58W444G678SHOT BOX 19GHOT PANTS 42-63485 73W497G869SHOT T' TROT 44-69727 98G345SHOT TO GO 42-65352 19G93S also with SAC98G KHOUND OF HEAVEN (THE)HOUSTO FLYER313W9GHOUSTO I-IONEY 42-63475 73W49 G875SHULL'S ANGEL 42-63362 58W462G770SI-lUMP HAPPY MAMMY42-624I AKA MALFU CTION

JUNCT ION AKA YEllOW ROSEOFTEXAS all ass. to

58W40G44SI-lUMP HAPPY PAPPY42-6254 58W40G45SHUMPI N I-IONEY42-6299 58W462G770SI-lUMP'S HO EY 44-24648 73W497G87ISI-IUN-DA-GEE 44-61546 58W444G678SHURRICA E HATTIE 44-87750 373WRCHURRICA E HU TERS 44-69987 53WRC

79 7

INDIVIDUAL AIRCRAFT NA.\ IES

K

HIBAN 44-61 807 91SRSTH E MOOD 313WCHCLI FFE CASTLE 44-61 543 58W444G67 SDIA MAID 67TH SEABEE 42-24806 313W505G482SDIA A 42-63546 313W9G99S

I DIA A I142-94010313W9G99SIINSPIRATIO 42-63427 73W499G8SIRISH GIRL 42-63614 313W505GIRISH LASSIE 42-6524_ 73W497G8SIRISH LULLABY42-24830 313W6G24SIRON GEORGE 44-87640 58WIRON SHILLALAH 42-63519 73W487GISLAND GIRLISLAND PRINCESSISLAND QUEEN 313W504GISLAND QUEEN 19G28S

.J

jABBITT III 44-27303 3 13W509G393SJACKPOT 42-24797 313W505G4 4SjA K'S I-lACK 44-61566 5 W46 G794SJAKE'S JALOPY 44-69985 313W9G99SJANICE E,THE 42-93947 73W500G883SJANIE 44-70101314W330G458SjE REVIENS 44-70101 73W500G882S; formerly jA IE (see

above)j ITA 19G93Sio 42-65337 58W444G676S AKA ELEANORJOE'S JUNK 42-24883 314W19G28SJOHNNY REBAL 44-61674 58W468G794SjOI-I N'S OTHER WIFE 44-86349 SAC22GjOKENS WILDJOKERS WILD 42-24626 73W497G87ISJOKERS WILD II 42-24897 58W444G677SJOLLY ROGER 468GJOLLY ROGER 42-6341 5 58W468G793SJOLLY ROGER3 13W6GJOLLY ROGER 42-63475 58W468G793SjOLTIN' JOSIE: THE PACIFIC PIONEER 42-24614

73W498G873SJOOKGIRL 313W505GJOURNEY FOR MARGAREETjOY-OUS VE TURE 44-61821 5 W444G678SJUDY A , TH E 42-94025 313W9G99SJUG HAID IIJUG HAID III 44-69676 314W29G60SJUG HOU D JALOPY3 15WJUMBE, KI G OFTHE SHOW 42-6341 8 73W497G871SJUMBO II 42-24855 73W497G871SjUMPI G STUD , THE 42-63414 73W497G871SJUS' ONE MO' TIME 315W501GJUKE BOX 42-63353 58W468G792S

KAGO TSUCHI 42-24737 5 W40GKAGO TSUCHI 315WKAMODE HEAD 44-62000KAMRA-KAZE 44-61583 16PRSKA SAS FARMER 73WKATIE 42-6298 58W40G25SKAYO KID, THE 44-69987 73W49 G873SKICKAPOO II 42-6232 58W468G792SKICK-A-POO JAY IIIKICKAPOO LOU 42-24678 58W460G792SKING SIZE 42-6347 58W462G796SKITT EN 42-63380 SAC98G AKA SPITT IN KITTINKLONDIKE KUTEY 42-24612KOEHANE'S KULPRITS 44-69774 3 I4W330G459SKOZA KID44-87661 I9G29SKRI STY ANN, THE 42-93886 3 13W9G ISKRITZER BLITZER 42-63542 58W40G44SKRO'S KIDS 42-24788 3 13W504G

L

LA BOHEM E 44-61851 54WRCLADE MAIDE (THE)LADY BE GOOD 42-65227 58W468G792SLADY CHATEAU 44-87674 5 W468G793SLADY EVE 42-65211 73W49 G875LADY EVE II 42-24663 73W498G875SLADY FRA CIS 44-61670 58W444G676SLADY HAMILTON 42-6274 58W468G794SLADY HAMILTON :2 42-24542 58W468G794SLADY IN DIS DRESS 44-86446 SAC98G344S AKA LOS

ANGELES CALLING SAC98G AKA RANKLESSWRECK SAC98G also with 19W 19G93S

LADY IN WAITING 44-84068 58W444G AKA SHAHABSORBER 3 I6W346G462S

LADY JANE 42-65363 314W330G459S AKA CITYOFAKRON

LADYJAYNE 44-69874 3 13W9G5SLADY LUCK 315WLADY MARGE 42-24975LADY MARGE 42-24485 58W444G676SLADYMARGE : 2 42-63399 5 W444G676SLADY MARYANNA 42-24625 73W498G875SLAGGIN' DRAGON 44-86347 313W509G393SLAGGI WAGO 42-65390 98G92SLAKE SUCCESS EXPRESS44-69980 9 K SAC 22GLANCER314W39G62SLASSIE 42-63356 58W468G793SLASSIE:2 42-24769 73W499G 78SLASSIE COME HOME 42-24609 73W498G874SQLASSIETOO 42-63460 58W468G793SLASSIETOO 42-93984 58W462G768SLASSIE VALKYRIE QUEE 42-63356 58W468G793S AKA

GEORGIA PEACHLAST OPER FLT 42-65234LAST RESORT 42-63394 58W40GLEADING LADY42-24766 73W500G882S

198

IND IVIDUAL A IRe RA I'T NA ~I E S

LEGAL EAGLE44-841I 28G714LEMON (TH E) 42-63462 5 W40G44SLEMO! DROPKID 44-7001 2 19W19G2 S KLES'S BEST 3PRCLETHAL LADY 42-6370 58W468G793SLI BERTY BELLE 315W? 92K?LIBERTY BELLE;:2 39GLIFEOF RILEY 42-652413 13W504GLIFEOF RUBY (THE)LI L ABNER 44-69657 73W500G882SLlL DARLIN 44-86272 SAC98KLIL' jODINE 42-24875 313W9G ISLIL ' jODI E 44-69748 313W9G ISLIL LASSIE 42-24693 73W499G878SLIL LASSIE 11 42-24769 73W499G878SLIL ' SPOOK 44-86346 313W505G AKA SPOOK

3 13W509G393SLI L YUTZ 42-24892 58W468G794SLI MBER DUGA N 42-6230 58W468G792SLIMBER DUGA N ;:2 42-65315 58W468G792SLIMBER RICHARD 44-70072 313W9G99SLITTLE BUTCH 42-94014 73W498G873SLITTLE CLAMBERT 42-245 2 58W40G44SLITTLE EVIL 3 13W9GLITTLE FELLOW 44-61 782 73W500G881SLITTLEGEM 42-24596 73W497G869SLITTLEJEFF 44-69 55 313W6G40SLITTLEjO 42-24611 73W498G873SLITTLE MIK E 42-63422 58W444G677SLITTLEORGA A IE42-24893 58W46 G794SLIVE WIRE 42-24 53 313W9G ILOA DED DICE 42-63688 315W 16G 15SLOADED LEVE 44-69803 SAC98G AKA LUCKY LEVE1.0 ELY LADY 44-86361 SAC98G AKA DICKERT'S

DEMO S 98G344SLONESOME POLECAT 44-62151 375?LONESOME POLECAT 44-86272 98G843SLONESOME POLECAT 42-94059 3 14W330G459S AKA

CITYOF FARMINGTONLONESUM POLL CAT 44-62151 58WLONG DISTA CE 42-24544 73W498G875SLONG JOH SILVER 42-63502 58W462G769SLONG WI DED42-63509 3 13W9G99SLOOK HO!vlEWARD ANGEL 44-69736 3 13W6G39SLOR DS PRAYER 44-6991 4 314W39G60SLOS A GELES CALLI G 44-86446 AKA LADY I 1 DIS

DRESS SAC98G AKA RA KLESS WRECK also with19W I9G93S

LOVELY LADYLUBRICATI G LADY 44-6175 1 19G28SLUCIFER 45-21 745 19G30SLUCKY 1344-701 49 58W444G676SLUCKY DOG 19GLUCKY IRISH 42-63432 73W497G874SLUCKY IRISH 42-24622 73W497G870SLUCKY LADY 44-62304 315W43G AKA MISS LACE

315W I6G I7SLUCKY LADY 42-24863 313W504G398SLUCKY LADY 42-24584 58W444G678SLUCKYLADY 44-61 734 73W498G873S

42-24685 73W498G873S42-93956 313W9G I42-93951 313\Xl6G24S

LUCKY LEVE 44-69 03 AC9 G AKA LOADED LEVELUCKY LYN 42-2459 1 73W497G 69SLUCKYSEVE 142-6407 5 W468G794SI. CKYSTRIKE 44-6201 0 SAC 98G K AKA I. CKY

TRIKE;:2 SAC 92G344SI. CKYSTRIKE 44-62070 310L CKYSTRIKE42-63552 3 13W6G39SL CKYSTRIKE 42-94029 314W330G457S AKA CITYOF

KANKAKEELUCKYSTRIKES 42-94030 73W498G873SLUELLA JEA 44-61795LUKETHE SPOOK 44-86346

M

M P I 44-86247 98G344SMAC'S EFFORT 44-70073 98GMAIDENS PRAYER 44-61678 73W498G874SMAl OU I 44- 643698G343SMALE CA LL 42-63537 58W444G676SMALFU CT IO jU CT IO 42-6241 AKA HUMP HAPPY

MAMMY AKA YELLOW ROSE OFTEXA all with5 W40G44S

MAMMY YOKUM 42-63536 5 W468G792SMA 0 ' WAR 42-6346 5 W462G768SMA O' WAR;:2 42-635113 13W9G ISMA I' HAPPY RETURNS 3I4W39G60SMARGIE'S MAD GREEK ;:3 44-61 43MARIA A BELLE 44-69 833 13W9G ISMARIAN A BELLE 44-70015 58W40G44SMARIANNA RAM 44-69732 73W497G869SMARY ANN 42-24550 73W499G878SMARY ANN 42-24494 58W468G792SMARY ANN 42-24693 73W499G878S AKA LI L' LASSIEMARYANNA 42-65253 313W505G482SMARYANNA ;:2 44-69962 313W505G482SMARY K 42-24525 58W468G793SMARY KATHLEE 44-69814 3 14W330G458S AKA CITY

OF INDIANAPOLISMARY LOU 44-61960 611 EGMARY LI GAY (THE) 44-71 13 73W500G883SMARY'S LI L' LAMBS 44-63332 58W444G678MASON'S HO EY 44-61721314W29G6SMAX EFFORT 19G93SMAXIMUM EFFORT ;:3 44-69893 314WI9G93SMAXIMUM LOAD 42-63564 3 I4W I9G30SMAYA'S DRAGOI 42-94022 3 13W6G39SMEETI G HOUSEMEMPHIS MAID 44-70 120 58W444G678SMIGHTY FI E 44-61655 73W498G873SMILLION DOLLAR BABY 42-65247 73W500G883SMILLION DOLLAR BABY42-6397 58W468G793SMILLION DOLLAR BABY ;:2 42-63532 58W46 G793SMIS-CHIEF-MAK-ER 42-24896MISS AMERICA '62 42-24896 3 I3W6G24SMISS SEA HAVEN 44-69805 98G

199

I:-I DIVIll UAL AIRCRAFT i\'A).,lES

MISS BEHAVE ' 42-24655 73W497G881SMISS BEHAVI ' 44-69685 314WI 9G28S AKA CITYOF

BOSTOMISS BEHAVI ':2 42-63523 73W497G 71SMISS CARRIAGE 42-63364 3 13W504G680SMISS DO A LEE 42-24915 58W40G45SMISS FO RTU E 19G28SMI S HAP 42-24774 73W497GMISS JACKIE THE REBEL 19GMISSj UDY44-61 555 5 W462G770SMISS LA E 42-63554 73W498G874SMISS LACE 44-87658 58W462GMISS LACE 44-62304 3 15W I6G 17S AKA LUCKY LADY

3 15W43GMISS LEAD 42-24734 58W468G794SMISS MARGARET 42-63427 73W497G870SMISS MEGOOKMISS MINNETT E 42-6272 58W468G794SMISS MINOOKI 44-86415 SAC98G K AKA SQUEEZE PLAY

SAC 98G 343S KMISS MI-NOOKY44-69764 313W9G99SMISS N.C. 44-86376 19G28SMISS PATCH ESMISS PEGGY44-69565 58W468G793SMISS ROSEMARY42-2484 3 13W505G4 2SMISS SA DY44- 76595 W46 G793SMISS SHORTY42-65272 5 W46 G793SMISS SPOKA E 44-27332 98G344SMI S SU SU 42-2481 2 3 I3W504G42ISMISS TAMPA 44-86340 19GMISS YOU 44-70100 5 W40G44SMISSION IN 44-61669 SAC22G2S also with 19W I9G AKA

FLAGSHIP 500TH 73W500G883SMISSION I 44-27263 22BG KMISSION TO ALBUQUERQUE 42-24849 73W500G881SMISSION TO ALBUQUERQUE : 2 42-93909

313W505G482SMISS-LEADING LADYMISSOURI BELLE 42-63557 58W444G678S AKA SURE

TI-IING 58W444G678S also wirh 19W I9GMISSOURI QUEEN 42-6359 58W462GMONSOON 42-6294 58W40G45SMONSOON : 2 42-24846 58W40G25SMONSOO GOON 42-93828 58G468G794SMO SOO GOON ;:2 42-24891 58W444G676SMO STRO 44-841I I, XF-85 Goblin parasite fighter program

mother planeMOON'S MOO BEAM 44-61 8 15 SAC91SRS AKA

MOON SHI E RAIDERS 315W331GMOO NSHINE RAIDERS 44-61 81 5 315W331G AKA

MOON'S MOONBEAM SAC9 1SRSMOOSE IS LOOSE42-24851 3 13W504G39 S AKA

OMAHA ONE MOR ET IME 3 13W504G421S AKA THEONE YOU LOVE 504G

MOOSE IS LOOSE42-24834 SAC 98KMRS T ITTY MOUSE 42-6521 2 73W498G875SMULETRAIN 44-86261 SAC 22GMUS'N TOU CH 44-61548 58W40G44SMUSNT TOUCH 42-24657 73W500G883SMY ASSAMDRAGON : 3 19G

MY BUDDY 42-65279 58W468G794SMYGAL SAL 44-69660 58W468G794SMY AKED 42-63725 315W50IG485SMY AKED42-63725 315WI6GMYA KI AS 44-621 0 98G343SMYA'S DRAGON 42-94042 315W6G39SMYASIS DRAGON 98GMYSTERIOUS MISTRESS 42-6312 58W462G77 1S

N

AUGHTY NANCY42-63496 313W505G also with58W444G677S

NECESSARY EVIL 44-86291 313W509G393SNEVER HOPPEN 44-61 562 19G28SNEVER HOPPEN 44-62196 22GNEXT OBJECTIVE 44-27299 3 13W509G393SNIGHT PROWLERNIGHT MARE 42-6311 58W462G77 ISNIGHT-MARE! 44-87661 19G28SNIGHTMARE 44- 7661 19G30SNI A ROSS 42-24689 73W500G881S

II' CLI PPER 98KIP FINALE 313W9GII' NEMESIS 44-69733 3 13W9G ISIP 0 ESE NIPPER 42-93917314W 19G93S AKA CITYOFMEMPHISII' 0 NEES 44-622619 G344SIP-ON- EE 44-62261 98343KII' PON-ESE 44-87760 19G93S

NIP-PO -ESE 44-6161792GNIPP 0 NESE 42-24917 314W29G6S AKA NIP ON ESE

NIPPER AKA borh CITYOF MILWAUKEE &OKLAHOMA CITYAKA BABY GAIL

NIPPON NIPPER;:2 42-63503 58W40G44SNIPPON NIPPER:3 42-24729 58W444G44SNO BALLS ATO LL 42-93925 314W29G43S AKA CITYOF

ARCA DIANO PAPA 42-6325 58W444G676SNO SWEAT 44-87618 19G285NOA I--rS ARK 44-27334NOA H'S BORSHUNS 315WNEXT OBJECT IVESNIGHT PROWLER 315WNO SWEAT 44-8761 8 19G28S KNO SWEAT 44-70134

oOGOS HI I!0 1-1BROT HER 502GOILY BOlD 42-24912 314W29G6SOL ATCHRAL3 15WOLD 574 42-63574 313W9G99SOLD 900 42-24900 313W9G99SOLD ACQU AINTANCE 58WOLD BITCH-U-AIRY BESS 42-6273 58W462G769S also with

98G345S K

200

INDIVID UAL AIRCRAFT NA ~ I ES

OLD CAMPAIG ER 42-6272 58WW468G794SOLD DOUBLE DUCE 44-62022 SAC9 IG AKA PEACHYOLD EIGHTY ONE 314W39G60SOLD IRO SIDES 42-24436 73W500G882SOLD MALU ALUM 315WOLD MA MOSE 5 W462GOLD OVERCAST 314W39G61SOLD SOLDIERS [-lOME 44-69766 314W330G459S A KA

CITYOF BURBA KOLD WILDGOOS E 44-697719 G345SOLEGAS EATER 42-24798 58W40G45SOLE MISS IV 45-21793OLE MISS 45-21793OLE SMOKER 44-69857 314W330G459SOMAHA ON E MORE T IM E42-24851313W504G42IS AKA

THEON E YOU LOVE 504G AKA THE MOOSE ISLOOSE 504G398S

ON E YOU LOVE (THE) 44-69727 3 13W504GOREGO EXPRESSO'REILLYS DAUGHT ER 42-6264 58W468G792SO'REILLYS DAUGHT ER: 2 44-61 703 58W468G792SOU IJA BIRD 58W40GOUR BABY42-24597 73W497G869SOUR GA L 19GKOUR GA L 42-244 4 5 W486GOU R GA L 44-61 932 SAC 9 G 343SOU R L'LAS 44-61 951 98G KOUTLAW (THE) 44-69668 5 W40G45S AKA TH E WILD

GOO E 98G344SOUTLAW (THE) 42-6'5 306 19G2, S KOUTLAW (THE) 42-24685 5 W40G44SOVER EXPOSED44-61 999 16PRCOVEREXPOSED 44-61 13 55RG31SRS A KA PACIFIC

PRI 1 ESS 5 W444G

p

PACIFIC QUEEN 42-63429 73W500G882SPACIFIC UNIO 42-24595 73W497G869SPACUSAN DREAMBOAT 44-84061PAMPERED LADY42-6306 58W40G395SPAPA TOM'S CABIN 44-87668 58W468G792SPAPPY'S I' LUvlA 42-24882 313W504G42ISPAPPY'S PULLMA :2 42-634 I 313W504G42ISPARTY GIRL 42-6389 58W468G792SPASSIO WAGO 42-63524 313W505G4 4SPASSIO WAGO 42-94043 313W9G ISPASSIO WAGO 42-63 9 58W44GPATCHE 42-24822 313W9G5PATCHES 42-24624 73W49 G875SPATCHES 44-70085 58W40G45PEACE MAKER 19GPEACE MAKER44- 6433 9 GPEACE 0 EARTH 42-6341 2 73W497G 70SPEACE 0 EARTH 44-61 790 92GPEACEMAKER 44-86433 92G325SPEPPER 42-62I7 58W468G792SPERSUADER-HER 19G28SPETROL PACKIN' MAMA 42-6219 58W462G

PHIPPE 'S PIPPERSPHONY EXPRESS 42-24 01 58W462G770S1'10 EER 42-6208 58W46 G793S1'10 EER :2 42-63546 58W468G793S1'10 EER:3 42-63534 58W468G793SPOCOHA TAS 42-24601 73W498G 74SPOISO! IVY 42-245 5 JPRCPOLAR QUEE 44-621 57 375 WRCPOLAR QUEE 44-621 63 5 WRCPO DERO PEN 42-63431 73W497G 71 SPORCUPINE44-61 55 3 13W6G24SPOSTVILLE EX PRESS 42-6279 58W468G792SPRIDE OFTHE YANKEES 42-24676 73W500G882SPRINCESS EILEEN 42-24462 58S444GPRINCESS EILEEN: 2 42-6323 58W484G678SPRINCESS EILEEN : 3 42-63559 58W444GPRINCESS EILEEN : 4 42-65327 58W444G678SPRINCESS PAT #2 44-70103 3 14W I9G28S AKA CITYOF

LI NCOLNPRI NCESS Pf\T : 3 44-83946 315W331G357SPRI NCESS PATSY42-6344 58\V40G25S A KA OLD FIRING

BUTTPRI NCESS POKEY42-63517 3 13W505G4 2SPUNCHI 'J UDY 42-6571 9 73W500G 81SPURPLE HEARTLESS 44-69760 3 13W9G5SPURPLESHAFT 42-65361 19G 93S & 30S

QQUAKER CITY44-7001 6 314W330GQUA YI CHA ARA 42-93853 3PRCQUAN YIN CHA ARA 42-93853 IPRCQUEEN BEE 42-24840 3 13W9G ISQUEEN OFTHE AIR 42-6380 234QUEEN OFTH E ECHES 44-84065QUEEN OFTHE STRIP 3 15WQUEEN IE 42-93831 58W40G45S

R

RABBIT PUNCHRAIDER MAIDEN 42-6265 58W468G793SRAI El ' MAIDE 2 42-65276 58W468G793SRAMBLI RECK 42-24471 5 W468G792SRAMBLI ROSCOE 42-24664 73W500G 2SRAMP QU EE 73W499G 77RAMP TRAMp : 2 42-24904 58W462G770S alsoserved with

3 13W505GRA KL S WRECK 42-63420 5 W40GRAPID RABBIT 1776 9 / 19G ?RATTLE 'ROLL 44-61 803 313W6G4RAZ ' HELL 45-21 746 19G2 SREADY BETT IE 73W499G878SREADY BETTY 42-24879 58W46 G792SREADY TEDDY 42-6408 58W468G792SREADY TEDDY 42-635613 13W9G5SREAMATROID 44-69672 313W6G39SRED HOT RIDER 42-65338 73W497G

20 1

INDIVIDUAL AIRCRAFT NA ~IES

REGI A COELI 44-83906 315W I6GRELUCTANT DRAG' ON (TH E) 44-62253 98G345SRENEGADE 314W39G61SRIPVANWRI KLE 42-24868 3 13W6G39SR.J . WILSON 42-24714 58W468G794SROAD APPLE 42-63600 3 I5W50 lGROC (THE) 73W499GROCK HAPPY44-62053 19G93SROCKET TH E 42-24742 73WRODGER THE LODGER 42-6243 58W46 G792SRO ALIA ROCKET 42-24656 73W500G881SROUGH ROMA 19GROUND ROB! ROSIE 444GROUND TRIP TICKET 42-6262 58W444G678S AKA

BLACKIE!RUSH ORDER '13-13' 42-63393 58W462G768SRUSHIN' ROTATION 42-6341 7 58W468G792S

sSACS APPEAL 44-61872 98G K AKA ACE IN THE HOLESAD SACK 44-61 676 9 G343S KSAD TOMATO 42-652 5SALEM WITCH 44-61 533SALT PETER RESISTOR 42-65307 314W19G30SSALVO SALLY42-24699 73W499G877SSASSYLASSY42-24867 3 13W505G484SSAN ANTONIO ROSE 42-24587 58W40G44SSATANS ANGEL 42-65202 58W444GSATAN'S LADY 42-24779 3 13W504GSATAN' SISTER 42-65453 73\'(I499GSENTIMENTALJOURNEY 44-70016 314W330G A KA CITY

OFQUAKER CITYA KA DOPEYSEPTEMBER 0 G 44-69746SHACK RABBIT 44-83934 SAC9 G K AKA INDECIDEDSHADY LADY 42-24619 73W497G870SSHADY LADY 42-65357 98G345S KSHAFT ABSORBER 44-84068SHAG'N I-lOME 42-93859 58W40G45SSHANGHAI LI L 42-6277 58W444G676SSHANGHAI LI L RIDES AGAI 42-24723 58W444G676SSHE HASTA 3 13W505G484SSHEER MAD ESS 44-61 94 98G

HEEZA GOER 45-2171 6SH ~vl00, THE 19G93S KSHRIKE, THE 5 WSHRIMPER 73WSHUTT ERBUG 42-93864 IPRSSILVER STREAK, THE 73W499G879SSIR TROFREPUS 42-6237 58W40GSISTER SUE 42-6342 58W40G395SSITT ING PRETTY 42-24814313W504G421SSKYCHIEF 44-70002 58W444GSKYOCTA NE 45-2171 6SKY-SCRAPPER 42-63463 73W497GSKYSCRAPPER 42-24599 73W497G869SSKYSCRAPPER 42-65364 314W39G6 1SSLAVE GIRK 44-27307SLEEPT TIME GAL 42-24620 58W40G44S

SLICK CHICK 42-24906 314W I9G93SSLICK CHICKS 42-24784 3 13W505GSLICK DICK 42-24700 73W500G882SSLOW FREIGHT 44-61834 98GSMILI N' JACK 42-24888 58W40G25SSNAFU-PER PRT 42-63435 73W500G881SSNAKE BIT 44-86390 98G K AKA TROUBLE BREWER

SAC98G343S KS ATCH BLACH 42-65302 314W29G52S AKA CITYOF

LOS ANGELESS OO KY'S BRATS 42-93877 5 W46 G792SS 10 0 PIN' KID 42-93865 IPRSS OO PY DROOPY44-69746 54WRS A KA IT SHOULDNT

HAPPEN 73W500G881SSNUDES DUDES 314W39G62S AKA CITYOF

MOOREHEADSNUFFY42-24873 58W444G676SSNUGGLE BUN Y44-69667 3 13W6G40S; alsoassigned to

98G343S KSO TIRED 44-61727 91 PRSSO TIRED, SEVE -TO-SEVEN 44-61 727 313W9GSOFT TOUCH 19GSOME PU KINS 44-27296 509GSOUTH SEA SINNER 19G2 SSOUTHERN BELLE 42-63478SOUTHERN BELLE 44-61 667 58W468G793SSOUTHERN COMFORT 44-61749 19G30SSPACE MISTRESS 44-8631 6 SAC98G344SSPEARHEAD, TH E 44-69975 3 13W9G ISSPECIAL DELI VERY42-24628 73W97G870SSPIRIT OF FDR 42-93846 3 I3W504G482SSPIRIT OF FREEPORT 44-62060 22GSPIRIT OF LI COLN 41-36954SPOOK 44-86346 3 13W509G393S AKA LIL' SPOOK

313W505GSQUEEZE PLAY44-8641 5 98G343S K A KA MISS MINOOKI

SAC98GSTAGGER INN, BEER& ALESTAR DUSTER 19GSTAR DUSTER 42-24782 73W499G878SSTAR DUSTER 42-93858 73W497G870SSTAR DUSTER 42-6305 58W462GSTAR DUSTER, TH E 42-94067 313W9G99SSTAR RIDER58WSTATESIDE REJ ECT 19G93SSTI G SHIFT 44-69742 73W500G 82SSTO RK CLUB BOYS 42-24 643 13W504G398SSTRAIGHT FLUSH 44-27301 313W509G393SSTRANGE CARGO 44-27300 3 13W509G393SSTRATO WOLF 314W39G61S AKA CITYOF NEWBERNSTRATO WOLF II 3 14W39G61SSTRIPPED FOR ACT IONSU SU BABY 42-24721 73W500G881SSUELLAJ 44-61 577SUPER WABBIT 73W499G879SSUPI ESUE 42-24653 73W500G883SSURETHI G 42-24653 73W500G883SSURETHING 44-69999 19GSWEATER OUT 42-24513 58W40G25SSWEATT OUT 73W497G

202

SWEET CHARIOT 315W50 lGSWEET JENNIE LEE 313W9GSWEET N' LOLA 44-61578 16PRSSWEET SUE 73W498G875SSWEET SUE 44-70012 3 I3W9G ISSWEET TH ING

INDIVIDUAL AIRCRAFT NA ~IES

TROUBLE BR EWER44-86390 SAC98G342S AKA SNAKEBIT

TUMBLI NG TUMBLEWEEDS 42-93959 73W498G875STYPHOON GOON II 44-69705 54WRS

uT

TABOOMA 44-69906 58W40G25STABOOMA 11 42-63374 58W40G25STAIL WIND 42-24761 73W500G883STAIL WIND 45-2172198G345S KTAKE IT OFF 42-93939 313W6G40STALEOF MISS FORTUNE IITANAKA TERMITE 42-24749 73W498GTARGET FOR TONIGHT 44-70007 19G93STARZON TEST BED 45-21748TDYWINDOW 44-86335 98G343STEASER 42-63526 73W479GTERRIBLE TERRY 42-63425 73W497G871STEXAS DOLL 42-24627 73W497G870STHAT'S IT 19G93STHERE'LL ALWAYS BE A XMAS 42-24643 73W500G881STHING, TH E 45-21824 514WRSTI-IIS IS IT 42-6321 58W444GTHREE FEATHERS 42-24671 73W500G883STHUMPER 3 13W504GTHUMPER 42-24623 73W499G870STHUNDERBIRD 42-63454 58W462G770STHUNDERBIRD 42-63570 314W29G6STHUNDERHEAD 42-24641 73W497G871 STHUNDERIN' LORETTA 42-249 13 3 13W9G ISTIEN LONG (SKY DRAGON) 42-65362 314\V39GTIGER LlL42-94000 98G KTINNY-ANN 3 13W6GTINNYANNE 44-6981I 313W9G ISTN-TEENY42-65278 3 13W9G IST N-TEENY II 44-69920 313W9G lSTO[)DLlN' TURTLETOjO'S NIGHTMARE 44-70 124 3 13W6G40STOKYO-KO 42-24859 313W9G5STOKYO LOCAL 42-24587 73W500G882STOKYO ROSE 42-93852 3PRSTOKYO TW ISTER 42-24682 73W499G877STOP OFTHE MARK 19G28STOP SECRET 44-27302 313W509G393STORCHY42-24646 73W498G874STORRID TOBY42-93830 58W462GTOTIN' TO TOKYO 42-6454 58W468G793STOT IN' TO TOKYO 42-63530 58W468G793STOUCH AND GO 44-87601TOWN TUMP 44-27282TRAINING PLANE 'BLIND DATE' 42-24429 58W468G792STRIFLI N' GAL 44-83919 314W301G32SRSTRIGGER MORTIS 44-69744 313W6G39STRIGGER MORTIS 11 44-69744 3 13W6G39S

UMBRIAGO 42-63545 3 13W9G5SUMBRIAGO II 42-940413 13W9G5SUNDECIDED 42-24580 58W444G676SUNDECIDED 44-83934 SAC98G AKA SHACK RABBITUNDER EXPOSED 42-93849 58W IPRSUNINVITED, THE 44-69754 313W9G99SUNINVITED 314W39G62SUNINVITED 42-6409 58W468G794SUNTOUCHABLE 42-24506 58W462G768SUP AN' ATOM 44-27304USS COMFORT'S REVENGE 44-61554 58W40G45SUSS PI NTADO 3 13W39G60S

vVICTORY GIRL 42-24731 58W444G678SVICTORY JEAN 44-83946 315W331G357SVIRGINIA DARE 3 13W9GVIRGINIA TECH 44-65129 58W40G45S

wWADDY'S WAGO! 42-2459873W497G869SWANGOBA G0 44-87653 314W 19GWAR WEARY 42-24633 73W499G877SWARSAW PIGEON 44-69849 3 13W9G5SWE DOOD IT 44-69860 314W l9G30SWHAM BAM 42-22469 58W468G793SWI-IAT HAPPENED 42-93829 58W40G395SWHEEL 'N' DEAL 42-24604 73W497G870SWHITE HUNTRESS 42-24776 313W6G40SWHITES CARGO 44-69872 314W30S AKA CITYOF OAK-

LANDWICHITA WITCH 42-24654 73W498G874SWICHITA WITCH 42-24442 58W468G793SWILD HAIR 42-24505 58W462G770SWILLI AM ALLEN WHITE44-701 21 3 13W505G482S; also

assigned to 3 13W9G99SWILLI E MAY42-24663 73W498G875SWIMPY'S BLlTZBURGER 42-6290 58W40G44SWINDYCITY42-6253 58W468G794SWINDYCITY II 42-24486 58W468G794SWING DING 42-63458 58W444G676SWINGED VICTORY II 42-24538 58W40G44SWOLF PACK44-86340 98G345S KWOLF PACK, TI-IE 42-94063 313W6G24SWRIGHTS DELIGHTS 44-86392WUGGED WASCAL 42-24658 73W499G877S

203

INDIVID AL AIRCRAFT " AMES

y

YACATAN KIDS 44-61587 58W40G44SYONKEE DOLL-AH 42-653713 14W330G458SYANKEE DOLLAR 314W39G60S

zZATS ALL FOLKS! 42-24453 314W330G458S

Miscellaneous

8 BALL, TH E 44-70070 3 13W9G5S20TH CENTU RY FOX20TH CENTU RY LIM ITED 44-6 1797 313W9G99S20T H CENTU RYSWEET HEART 42-24451 73W500G20TH CENTU RYU LIMIT ED 42-6281 A KA HEAVENLY

BODY 58W40G45S42-24574 5 W40G45S

A IRCRAFT N AMES - KEY

AKA also known as

A[~S Air [~efllelling Sqlladron

G Groll/)

K Korean \Var

PS Photo Sqlladro n

P[~S Photogral)!Jic Reconnaissan ce Sqlladron

S Squaaror:

SAC Strategic Air Command

W Wing

WRS \X!eather [~ econnaissance Sqlladron

A B-29-40-BW 142-24590). The tail code T 3 (formerlyT Square3; the square had been eliminated ) means itwas from 20AF. 73BW, 498BG and 875BS on Saipan.Schirmer via Stan Piet

204

Bibliography

Bowe rs, Pet er M., Boeing 13 -29 SII!JeJ!orrress Warb ird Tcch Series ,Volume 14 (Specialty Prcss, 1999 )

Bo\\'crs, Peter M., Boeing Aircraft since 191 6 (A ero Publishers,1966 )

Campbe ll, Richard H ., T hc)' \V'erc Callcd Si!vcr!J!at c (S ilvcr plarcA ssoc iates, 200 I )

C o llison , T homas, T he SU!Jel!o rrrC.l.l i.l Born : The Story of tlv: 13 -29(Duel l, Sloa n & Pearce, 1945 )

Dav is, Larry, 13-29 SII!Jcrforrre.l.l in ac tion (Sq uadron/S ign al Puhli­ca t ions , 1997)

Hess, Wi lliam H ., johnsen , Freder ick A. and Marshall, C hes te r,Grern Bombers of \Vorld \Val' II (MBI Publishing, 1998 )

Howlcrr, C h ris (cd .), \Vashingwll Timc.l Newsletter Issue No. I,Fall 200 1; Issue No. 2, Wint cr 200 2

T iv: Pacific SUlr.land Stri!Jcs, 30 December 1950 , 'A lo ne W ith T heEnemy: Recollect ions of an RB-29 C rew in Japan '

205

Aero Spacclincs 169Air Force:

Srh 94l Orh 76, 88, 17920th 81,88, 94, 179

Airborne Early Warning (AEW) 120aircraft designations:

B- I7F 20B- I7G 19B-24 20B-29 149B-29-BA 149B-29-BW 149B-29-MO 149B-29A 170B-29A-B 150B-29B-BA ISOB-29B-BA ISOB-29C lSIB-29D lSIB-29F lSIB-29L 152B-29M 152B-29MR 152B-50 18,1 66B-54A 167B/KB-29K lSIC-74 23C-97 168EB-29 153EB-29A 153F- I3 152- 3F-13A 152- 3KB-29M 153KB-29P Flying Boom Tanker 157KB-50J 167KC-I O 15KC-97 17KC-97E/F 16KC-97G 16KC-135 158P2B-I S 176P2B-2 176PT-1 9A 22RB-29 153RB-29A 153XB-15 19- 20XB-17 20XB-19 19- 20XB-29 23- 7, 149

IndexXB-29E 164XB-29G 164XB-29H 164XB-30 21, 23- 4XB-31 22, 23- 4XB-32 22-5XB-33 23, 41XB-39 164XB-42 23XB-44 164XBLR-I 19XBLR-2 19XBLR-3 19XF8B-I 170YIB-20 20YB-29 36- , 149YB-29J 165YB-50C 1681'B-54 1681'KB-29T 166

Allen, Edmund T. 'Eddie' 21, 30- 5Ambrose, Lr Earle 161A /APQ-7 Eagle radar l-o m bnrd rn c n r

system 54,67A/A PQ-13 radar system 64AN/A PQ- 15B radar system 54,64AN/A PQ-23 radar system 67AN/APQ-30 radar system 67Arnold, G cn Henry H. 'Hap' 21,40,

75

B-4 Programme I 10B-29 bases in World War Two 94B-29 production 42B-29unic of the Korean War 146B-29 units in World War Two 94Ball, John 21Battle of Kansas, the 39Beall, Wcllwood 21Bell Aircraft Corporation 40

Bell-Atlanta (BA) 40BEETLE BOMB 17BIG STI K 10Bock, Capt. Frederick C. 107BOCKSCA R 9, 103, 176- 7Boeing, William E. 'Bill' 10- 11,Boeing Airplane Company 7, 9, 10- 11,

39-40Boeing-Renron (BN) 41Boeing-Renton Plant 3, 42

206

Boeing-Seattle 39Boeing-Seatt le (130 ) 39Boeing- catt le Plant 2,39Boeing-Wichita (BW) 39Boeing-Wichita Plant 2,38- 9

Boeing model numbers:B-40/-40A 12B-80 1313-214/-2 15 13B-247 13B-294 19B-299 2013-307 14, 24B-314 15B-316 2413-332 24B-333 24B-333A 24B-334 16, 24B-334A 2413-341 2113-345 21, 2413-345-2 113-367 16- 17, 16813-377 17, 16B-400 170C- IF I I

Bomb Groups:6BG 949BG 9416BG 941913G 94, 146N I3G 9439BG 9440BG 76, 94330BG 94331BG 94333BG 9434613G 94444BG 76, 9446213G 94468BG 76, 94472BG 76, 94497BG 9449813G 94499BG 94500BG 9450l BG 94502BG 94504BG 94

50513G 94509CG 94

130mb Squadrons (medium):ms 1461913S 1462813S 1463013S 1463313S 1469313S 14632513S 14632613S 14632713S 14634313S 14634413S 14634513S 146370BS 14637113S 14637213S 14640813S 146424BS 146

130mb Squadrons (v ery h eav y) :IBS 945BS 946BS 9415BS 9416BS 9417BS 9421BS 9424BS 9425BS 9428BS 9430BS 9439BS 944013S 9441 BS 9443BS 9444BS 9445BS 9452BS 9460BS 946113S 9462BS 9493BS 9499BS 94355BS 94356BS 94357BS 94393BS 94395BS 94398BS 94402BS 94405BS 94411 13S 9442113S 94430BS 9443513S 9445713S 94458BS 94459BS 94460BS 94

INDEX

461 13S 9446213S 94463BS 94482BS 9448313S 94484BS 94507BS 9454013S 9454113S 94676BS 9467713S 94678BS 94679BS 94680BS 94768BS 94769BS 94770BS 94771BS 9479213S 9479313S 94794BS 94795BS 94808BS 94809BS 94810BS 9481113S 9486913S 94870BS 9487113S 9487313S 9487413S 9487513S 9487713S 9487813S 94879BS 9488013S 9488113S 94882BS 94883BS 94884BS 94

Bomb Wings (medium) :n BW 14692BW 14698BW 146307BW 146

Bomb Wings (ve ry h eavy):58BW (VH) 75, 81,9473BW (VH) 88, 94313BW (VH) 88, 94314BW (VH) 88, 94315BW (VH) 88, 9431613W (VH) 94

Bombardment Group (Medium):19th 14698th 147307th 148

Bombardment Wing (Medium):19th 14798th 148307th 148

207

Campbell, Richard H. 105Cash, Col Melvin G. 'Mel' 91China- Burma- India (CBI) Thcatrcs of

O perat ion 179Cole, John Robert 'Bob' 132-4COMMAND DECISION 178Confederate Air Force (CAF) 173-4Convair 13-36 ' Peacemake r' 186C orke r, William R. 'Bill' 89

DAUNTLESS DOTTY 182DAVE'S DREAM 107Davis, David R. 70Davis wing 70DOC 176,1 78DUKE OF ALBUQUERQUE 177

Einsre in . Albert 97English Electr ic Canbe rra 129ENOLA GAY 9, 100, 103, 176, 177ERNIE PYLE, THE 77ERNIE PYLE'S MILKWAGON 93Euler, Don 21

Fairchild nFar East Air Force (FEAF) 61Fat Man 54,89,99- 100, 105FERTILE MYRTLE 177- 8FIFI 173- 4, 178FLAGSHIP 500 (ex MISSION INN)

178FLEET ADMIRAL NIMITZ 75FLY ING GU INEA PIG, THE 35Forster, John 134Fowler- type wing flaps 72Frye Mea t Packing Company 26

'G adget , Thc' 97General Elec tr ic Company 25

B- l l ty pe rurb osupercharger 25Cen tra l Fire Control (CFC) system

53- 4GENERAL H.H. ARNOLD

SPECIAL, THE 40Glenn L. Martin Company 41G loste r Me teo r 170GREAT ARTISTE, TH E 178

HAGERTY'S HAG 178Harmon, Col. Leona rd '[akc' 26Hem isph ere Defence Bomber 20HERE'S HOPING 178HOMING BIRD 91-2

IT'S I-l AWG WILD 178Irvine, Col. Clarence S. 159

Johnson, Phil 21

KEE BI RD 178

Kenney, Gcn George C. 121Korean War, the 139-4

LADYOF T HE LAKE 178LEAGLE EAGLE II 17Ld vl<ly, Gen Curtis E. 75Lilt!c Boy 54, 89,99- 100, 105LUKE THE SPOOK 106

MA and PA 172MacArth ur, Gen Douglas 139MA 0' WAR 178Manhattcn Project 97Martin-Omaha (MO) 4 1MISS AMERICA 178Model M-2 .50-calibre machine-gun 53Model M-3 20mm cannon 52MONSTRO 153, 156MX-472 (Parasite Fighter Project ) 153

National Air and Space Museum 175NECESSARY EVIL 106

imitz, Admiral Chester W. 75on-stop around-the-World flight 124- 6ordcn bomb sight Inordcn Model D- bomb sight 54

O' Donnell, [r, Maj Gcn Emmett 140Operation Homc Run 134

PACUSA DREAMBOAT, T HE 15 - 9PEACHY 17Peoples Liberation Army Air Force

(PLAAF) 114Pierce, Lyle 21Pregnant Guppy, The 169Pyle, Ernest T. 'Ernie' 93

RAAF Aircraft Research andDevelopment Unit (ARDU) 135

RAAF \Veapons Research Establishment(WRE) 135

RAF Washington squadrons:15 Sqn 13435 Sqn 13044 Sqn 12957 Sqn 12990 Sqn 129115 Sqn 131149 qn 132192 Sqn 129207 Sqn 129

RAMP TRAMP 109-1 0RAZ' I-IELL 17Red Barn, the I I

INDEX

Reed, Al 25Req uirem en t R-40-B 21Robbins, Robert M. 'Bob' 27,30, 35, I 4Rodgers, Russ 25Roosevelt, President Franklin D. 97Royal Air Force (RAF) Bases, Coningsby,

Marham and \V<l ttnn 129Royal Air Force Washington B. Is 136-7Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) 135Royal Australian Air Force \Vashingtons

135

Sachs, Dr Alexander 97SB-29 Super Dumbo 143Schairer, George 21SE T IME TALJO URNEY 178Showalter, oah D. 21,27-8Shvcrsov Ash-73TK 11 0Sikorsky 19Silvcrplatc 97- 8Silverplatc B-29 Production 108Spaatz, Gen Carl A. 'Tooey' 105Stinson, Patrick 124STRA GE CARGO 105

trategic Air Command (SAC) 121 -7Strarcgic Air Command B-29 Bomb

Wings: 1232BW 1235BW 1237BW 12319BW 123n BW 12328BW 12340BW 12343BW 12344BW 12358BW 12368BW 12390BW 12391BW 12392BW 12393BW 12397BW 12398BW 123106BW 12330 l BW 123303BW 123305BW 123306BW 123307BW 123308BW 123310BW 123320BW 123376BW 123444BW 123

208

448BW 1234 5BW 123498BW 123509BW 123

Srrntcmevcr. Gen George E. 139Super Guppy, Th e 169Supcrhomber 19Surface, 2nd Lt Claude E. 9 I

WEET ELOISE 17winharr, Earl

Tlil codes 95Tal/l3o)' bomb 59T11I Tail and 'Andy Gump' B-29 164Thin Man 54, 99T HOR 137THUMPER 83Tibbets, jr, Brig Gcn Paul W. 103T INKER HERITAGE 178TOP SECRET 105Trinity test site 98Truman, President Harry S 139T-SQUARE 54 17Tupo lev a ircraft:

Tu-2R 109Tu-4 'Bull' 11 2, I 15, 120Tu-4A 112Tu-4D 11 2Tu-4K 11 2Tu-4LL I12Tu-4T 11 2Tu-6 109Tu-70 'Cart' 11 6-1Tu-75 118Tu-80 'Bull' 11 2, 11 8Tu-85 'Barge' 112, 118-1 9

USS !ndiww!JO!is 103

Very Long Range Bomber 20

Washington B. I 129- 38Welch, William E 'Bill' 161Wells, Ed 21Westervelt, Lr George Conrad 10Willi<lms, Sgt R.C. 'Colin' 130-1Wolfe, Gcn Kenneth B. 75, IWorld Wm Two 75- 94Wright 5

Cyclone I 58-9R-3350 5 , 66-7R-3350-23 66

XX Bomber Command 75-89,94, 179XX I Bomber Command 75- 89, 94, 179