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The Boeing B-29 Superfortress ( Boeing Model 341/345) was a four-engine heavy bomber flown by the United States Army Air Force. It was one of the largest aircraft of World War II to see active service. When it entered service, it was one of the most advanced bombers of its time, featuring innovations such as a pressurised cabin, a central fire-control system, and remote-controlled machine gun turrets. It was designed to be a high altitude daytime bomber, but was most used in low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing. It was the primary strike weapon used by the United States against Japan, and is best known for carrying the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unlike many other bombers, the B-29 remained in service long after World War II ended; by the time it was retired in the 1960s, some 3,900 planes had been built.


1 Development

Boeing began planning for a very large, long-range bomber in 1938, an aircraft far larger than any yet built. The project was very ambitious; many felt it was too ambitious. The Model 341 project was not Boeing’s first attempt at a giant bomber. In 1936, they began work on the XB-15 (Model 294). While only a single prototype was built, it dwarfed anything on active duty at the time; its empty weight was only 13% less than that of the B-29. A descendant of this project, the Y1B-20The Boeing Y1B-20 (Boeing Model 316) was designed as an improvement on the Boeing XB-15. Y1B indicates a funding source outside normal fiscal year procurement. It was slightly larger than its predecessor, and used much more powerful engines. It was presen (Model 316), was actually heavier by 17% than the B-29; this project never made it past the design stage. The famous B-17 Flying FortressThe B-17 Flying Fortress was the first mass-produced, four-engine heavy bomber. It is still one of the most recognised aeroplanes ever built. It was most widely used for daylight strategic bombings of German industrial targets during World War II as part had been almost as ambitious when it was first planned in 1934This is a list of aviation-related events from 1934: Events January Soviet pilots Fedossenko, Wassenko and Usyskin take the stratosphere-balloon Ossoaviachim I to 22,000 m (72,160 ft). January 10- 11 A flight of six US Navy Consolidated P2Y flying boats s. The B-17 did not fit the specifications requested by the Army Air CorpsWhat is now the United States Air Force (USAF) was formerly a part of the U. Army, namely the United States Army Air Corps or USAAC . It was established under this name by an act of Congress on July 2, 1926. During World War II its role grew greatly; the, but they were intrigued by its performance. In 1938, Boeing agreed to do a design study on a more advanced development of the B-17, which would feature a pressurised cabin. This design study (Model 322), submitted to the Army Air Corps in 1939This is a list of aviation-related events from 1939: Events January January 12 the RAF Auxiliary Air Force Reserve is formed February February 9 Alex Henshaw sets a new speed record for the round trip between England and Cape Town in 4 days 10 minutes in would become the B-29.

Around 1938, General Henry H. ‘Hap’ ArnoldHenry Harley Arnold ( June 25, 1886 January 15, 1950), often referred to by the nickname 'Hap', was an American pilot, commander of the US Army Air Corps from 1938, commander of the US Army Air Forces from 1941 until 1945 and the first General of the Air, the head of the Army Air Corps, was growing alarmed at the possibility of war in Europe and in the Pacific. Hoping to be prepared for the long-term requirements of the Air Corps, Arnold created a special committee chaired by Brigadier General W. G. Kilner ; one of its members was Charles LindberghCharles Augustus Lindbergh II ( February 4, 1902 August 26, 1974) was a pioneering United States aviator famous for the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Early life Lindbergh was born in Detroit, Michigan as son of Swedish immigrants.. After a tour of LuftwaffeThe Luftwaffe (literally, "air weapon", prounounced looft-vaaf-fa) is the air force of Germany. World War I Founded during World War I with the emergence of military aircraft, the Luftwaffe utilized a wide variety of aircraft. After the war ended, it was bases, Lindbergh became convinced that Nazi Germany was far ahead of other European nations. In a report in 1939, the committee made a number of recommendations, including development of new long-range heavy bombers. When war broke out in Europe, Arnold requested design studies from several companies on a Very Long-Range bomber capable of traveling 5000 miles (8000 km). Approval was granted on December 2. This request, R-40B, fitted perfectly with the research Boeing was doing at the time.

By 1940 January, the B-17 was just entering service and the somewhat larger Consolidated B-24 was still more than a year away. At this time, the Air Corps issued a request for proposals for a much larger bomber, which was to have the range for operation over the Pacific; this bomber would serve in the inevitable war with Japan. Four firms submitted design studies, which would be the Boeing XB-29, Lockheed XB-30, Douglas XB-31, and Consolidated XB-32. Douglas and Lockheed soon withdrew, in part because Boeing was significantly ahead of them in the design process. In 1940 September, Boeing and Consolidated were awarded development contracts for the XB-29 and the XB-32, respectively.

In early 1940, the Army Air Corps analysed the performance of bombers used in Europe against the Luftwaffe, concluding that for the B-29 to be successful, it needed several upgrades in its defence equipment. The Army Air Corps requested the addition of self-sealing fuel tanks, more machine guns, and upgrade to higher calibre guns. Boeing incorporated these into a redesign of the Model 341, and resubmitted it to the Army Air Corps as Model 345, which would become the XB-29.

The combination of Boeing’s extensive design work and its experience with huge bombers worked well for Boeing. Even before the prototype had flown for the first time in 1942 September, the Army Air Corps had placed a massive order for 1500 B-29s, impressed by the mock-up completed in the spring 1941. A long-range bomber was urgently needed, so the service testing proceeded largely in tandem with production. The first B-29 rolled off the assembly line two months after the first service test flight. In under a year, the B-29 was in full-scale production.

At the time it was built, the B-29 was a giant airplane, nearly twice as heavy as the heaviest previously serving bomber. Its exceptional range was achieved using mid-set wings with a high aspect ratio. To reduce the dangerously high landing speed of the B-29, it was fitted with enormous Fowler flaps. It had three separate pressurised crew compartments: one in the nose, a second one aft of the wing for the gunners, and an isolated compartment for the tail gunner.

Rather than fit the traditional bulky manned gun turrets, Boeing used small, remote-control units 'networked' together with a digital computer that compensated for factors such as air temperature and bullet drop. This system was very difficult to develop, but it proved effective. There are several accounts of 'healthy' B-29s peeling out of formation to drive off—successfully—fighters preying on damaged brethren.



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