Boeing B-29A Superfortress
| Crew |
10-14 |
| Dimensions | 141’3” x 99’ x
29’7” 43.05m by 30.18m by 8.46m |
| Wing area | 1739 square feet 161.6 square meters |
| Weights | 74,500-135,000 lbs 33,800-61,200 kg |
| Maximum speed | 358 mph (576 km/h) at 25,000 feet (7620 m) 295 mph (475 km/h) at 5000 feet (1524 m) |
| Cruising speed | 230 mph 370 km/h |
| Landing speed | 105 mph 169 km/h |
| Climb rate | to 25,000 feet (7620 m) in 43 minutes |
| Service ceiling | 31,850 feet 9708 m |
| Power plant | 4 Wright R-3350-23 Duplex Cyclone 18-cylinder radials each with two exhaust-driven turbochargers. 2200 hp (1640 kW) takeoff, 2430 hp WE |
| Armament | 4 GE twin-0.50
machine gun turrets above and below, sighted
remotely. Bell tail turret with one 20mm cannon and twin 0.50 machine guns |
| Bomb load | Internal up to 20,000 lbs (9100 kg) Could be modified to carry 2 22,000 lb (10 tonne) Grand Slam externally. Unarmed variant (“Silverplate”) delivered the first nuclear bombs. |
| Range | 3150 miles (5070 km) at 290 mph (467 km/h) with 20,000 lb
(9100 kg) bomb load 4700 miles (7600 km) max |
| Fuel | 5638-8198 gallons 21,340-31,030 liters |
| Production | 3970 by 1944-6 at Boeing Airplane Company, Seattle and Renton, Washington and Wichita, Kansas. |
| Variants | The F-13 was a photoreconnaissance
version. The Silverplate variant removed the armor and all but the tail guns to save enough weight to deliver nuclear bombs. |
The B-29 Superfortress is usually regarded as the ultimate strategic bomber of World War II. It saw service only in the Pacific theater. It was also the world's first nuclear-capable bomber (in its Silverplate variant) and dropped the two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that contributed to ending the war. It was a very sophisticated aircraft for its day, having fully pressurized crew compartments, sophisticated bombing radar, and remote-controlled gun turrets with computing sights.
It is perhaps unsurprising then that the aircraft initially had many design flaws. LeMay said that it "had as many bugs as the entomological department of the Smithsonian" (Hastings 2007). Of these, the worst was a regrettable tendency towards engine fires during takeoff, due to the use of magnesium engine components to save weight. One pilot recorded that "The airplane always felt like it was straining every rivet to be up there when you had it over 25,000 feet" (op cit.) In addition, the B-29 was a challenge to new crews, and it took some time for pilots to learn to milk the full range out of the aircraft. For all this, the B-29 was a terrifying threat to Japan. Japanese fighter pilots were stunned by its huge size, which often caused the pilots to underestimate the range and fail to hit the aircraft during firing runs.
Surprisingly few historians have addressed the
question of whether these aircraft were cost effective. Each aircraft
was hideously expensive at over half a million dollars apiece or
five times as much as a Lancaster.
Each required over thirteen tons of aluminum,
half a ton of copper, 600,000
rivets, nine and a half miles (15 km) of wiring, and two miles (3 km)
of tubing. Great things were expected from the aircraft, but they were
a failure in their original design role as conventional high-altitude
daylight strategic bombers.
They were more successful as low-altitude nighttime fire bombers, but
only because Japanese air defenses were pitifully inadequate. Their
employment as the world's first nuclear bombers, albeit in the
Silverplate variation, has probably muted what would otherwise be
justified criticism of the B-29 program. No other aircraft could
have delivered the bombs to Japan.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007-2008 by Kent G. Budge. Index
