Lieutenant General Nathan Twining wrote this historical document that gives the history of the B-29 from Boeing Aircraft development to the extremely successful use in the Pacific Theater during World War 2 under the command of General Curtis LeMay. This historical document is also available in the book "Z Square 7, A B-29 True Story" but is available for free download here.

This is a .pdf file, 9 pages and 119kb.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

The major production version of the Superfortress was the B-29, 2513 of which were built. 1620 of them were built by Boeing at its Wichita, Kansas plant, 536 by Martin at its Omaha, Nebraska plant, and 357 by Bell at its plant in Marietta, Georgia. Including the B-29a and b models, about 3,900 were built. (Note: Z Square 7, 42-63486, was built by Bell at the Marietta, Georgia plant.)

Only the very early Wichita-built models were delivered in olive drab and grey camouflage paint, with the remainder being delivered unpainted.

The first production B-29s began to roll off the production lines at Boeing-Wichita in September of 1943. The first B-29s appeared on the production lines at Bell-Atlanta (Marietta) in February of 1944. The first Martin-Omaha B-29 was delivered in mid-1944. The new Boeing plant at Renton built only the B-29A version.

The crew of the B-29 was typically eleven, comprising pilot, copilot, bombardier, navigator, flight engineer, radio operator, radar operator, central fire control gunner, left side gunner, right side gunner and tail gunner. The first six crewmen were housed in the forward pressurized cabin. The next four were housed in the rear pressurized cabin. The tail gunner was in a separate pressurized compartment in the tail.

Fuel was carried in fourteen outer-wing, eight inner-wing, and four bomb bay tanks, giving a maximum capacity of 8,168 gallons. An early modification added four tanks in the wing center section, bringing total fuel capacity to 9,438 gallons.

The early models of the B-29 carried the Philco AN/APN-4 Loran (LOng RANge) constant-beam navigation aid. It was replaced by the more sophisticated RCA AN/APN-9 system later in World War II.

The B-29 carried an AN/APQ-13 radar bombing/navigational aid set. This set was developed jointly by the Bell Telephone Laboratories and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation Laboratory. It was manufactured by Western Electric, which was in those days the manufacturing arm of the Bell System. The radar antenna for this unit was housed inside a retractable 30-inch hemispherical radome located between the bomb bays and protruding below the fuselage a couple of feet when extended. Later in the war, the AN/APQ-7 Eagle radar unit was used. The Eagle antenna was mounted in a wing-shaped housing installed underneath the forward section of the fuselage. The unit was also devised by Bell Labs and MIT, and was manufactured by Western Electric.

Early combat experience indicated that the B-29 needed more protection against fighter attacks coming from the front. The forward dorsal turret armament was increased to four 0.50-inch machine guns on Boeing-Wichita production lines. Bell-Atlanta introduced this innovation and all Martin-built B-29s had four guns in the top turret from the beginning.

The trajectory of the shells fired from the 20-mm cannon in the tail was completely different from that of the bullets from the 0.50-inch machine guns, which made aiming difficult in combat conditions. Consequently, the 20-mm cannon was deleted from the tail position. 

Specification of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress:

Powerplant:

Four Wright R-3350-23 Duplex Cyclone eighteen-cylinder air-cooled radial engines each with two General Electric turbosuperchargers, delivering 2,200 hp for takeoff and having a war emergency rating of 2,300 hp at 25,000 feet.

Performance:

Maximum speed 357 mph at 30,000 feet, 306 mph at sea level. Maximum continuous cruising speed 342 mph at 30,000 feet. Economical cruising speed 220 mph at 25,000 feet. Initial climb rate 900 feet per minute at combat weight. An altitude of 20,000 feet could be attained in 38 minutes. Service ceiling 33,600 feet. Maximum range was 3250 miles at 25,000 feet with 5,000 pound bomb load. Practical operational radius was 1,600-1,800 miles. Maximum ferry range was 5,600 miles, rising to 6,000 miles with the extra fuel.

Weights:

74,500 pounds empty, normal loaded 120,000 pounds, maximum overload 135,000 pounds.

Dimensions:

Wingspan 141 feet 3 inches, length 99 feet 0 inches, height 27 feet 9 inches, wing area 1,736 square feet.

Armament:

Twelve 0.50-inch machine guns in four remotely-controlled turrets (two above and two below the fuselage) and in the tail, each with 1000 rounds of ammunition. In addition, early production blocks had a single rearward-firing 20-mm M2 Type B cannon with 100 rounds in the tail position. Later, two more guns were provided for the forward top turret. Maximum internal short-range, low-altitude bomb load was 20,000 pounds. A load of 5000 pounds of bombs could be carried over a 1600-mile radius at high altitude. A load of 12,000 pounds of bombs could be carried over a 1600-mile radius at medium altitude.

 

 

Source:

 

Joe Baugher's website http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/