[18] The first prototype made its maiden flight from Boeing Field, Seattle on 21 September 1942. [N 4] Both the forward and rear crew compartments were to be pressurized, but the designers had to decide whether to have bomb bays that were not pressurized or a fully pressurized fuselage that would have to be de-pressurized prior to opening the bomb bay doors. [46] The first B-29 combat losses occurred during this raid, with one B-29 destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters after an emergency landing in China,[47] one lost to anti-aircraft fire over Yawata, and another, the Stockett's Rocket (after Capt. You are in a B-29 Superfortress in the sky, flying towards your destination. Doc was found in 1987 sitting and rotting away in the Mojave Desert. 145–149. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from B-29 Flying Fortress) The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was an aircraft produced in many experimental and production models. The first B-29 arrived on Saipan on 12 October 1944, and the first combat mission was launched from there on 28 October 1944, with 14 B-29s attacking the Truk atoll. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). The phase-out was occasioned by deliveries of the English Electric Canberra bombers. The crew was interned. Le Boeing B-29 Superfortress est un bombardier lourd quadrimoteur à hélices et à long rayon d'action utilisé par les États-Unis pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et la guerre de Corée. ", "Japanese Aircraft In Royal Thai Air Force and Royal Thai Navy Service During WWII. Craven and Cate Vol. A total of 3,970 B-29s were built. The affected aircraft had the same reduced defensive firepower as the nuclear weapons-delivery intended Silverplate B-29 airframes, and could carry greater fuel and bomb loads as a result of the change. ", USAF losses during the Korean War. On 2 November 1944, 55 B-29s raided Bangkok's Bang Sue marshaling yards in the largest raid of the war. [11][17] Thousands of subcontractors were involved in the project. [17] The combined effects of the aircraft's highly advanced design, challenging requirements, immense pressure for production, and hurried development caused setbacks. Warrendale, Pennsylvania: SAE, 1996. Bockscar is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. A B-29 with the original Wright Duplex Cyclone powerplants was used to air-launch the famous Bell X-1 supersonic research rocket aircraft, as well as Cherokee rockets for the testing of ejection seats.[78]. The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter airlifter, which was first flown in 1944, was followed in 1947 by its commercial airliner variant, the Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser. Canvas print of The only remaining operational B29 - flying fortress. The campaign of incendiary raids started with the bombardment of Kobe on 4 February 1945, then peaked early with the most destructive bombing raid in history (even when the later Silverplate-flown nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are considered)[57] on the night of 9–10 March 1945 on Tokyo. USAF Statistical Digest FY1953, "The Pains of the Post-War V-VS and the Birth of the Soviet Jet Flight", "It wasn't easy, but B-29 Doc takes to Wichita skies", Department of Defense, Narrative Summaries of Accidents Involving U.S. Nuclear Weapons, 1950–1980, "Lewiston Morning Tribune - Google News Archive Search", https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=159949, "The Cannons on the B-29 Bomber Were a Mid-Century Engineering Masterpiece", https://web.archive.org/web/20120704192927/http://www.rafwatton.info/History/TheWashington/tabid/90/Default.aspx, "Great Engines and Great Planes", 1947 – 130 page book about the rapid design, testing, and production of the B-29 powerplant by Chrysler Corporation in World War II, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boeing_B-29_Superfortress&oldid=1001221799, Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, World War II bombers of the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017, Articles needing additional references from September 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) over 1,600 mi (2,600 km; 1,400 nmi) radius at high altitude, 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) over 1,600 mi (2,600 km; 1,400 nmi) radius at medium altitude, 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) maximum over short distances at low altitude, Could be modified to carry two 22,000 lb (10,000 kg), The Silverplate version delivered the first. Only two of the 22 museum aircraft are outside the United States: It's Hawg Wild at the Imperial War Museum Duxford and another at the KAI Aerospace Museum in Sachon, South Korea.[80]. Twenty B-29s remain as static displays but only two, FIFI and Doc, still fly. [N 6] On 14 April 1945, a second B-29 raid on Bangkok destroyed two key power plants and was the last major attack conducted against Thai targets. Moreover, engine packages changed; including the type of propellers and range of the variable pitch. Hinckley, Leicestershire: Midland Counties Publications Ltd. 2002. [68][N 10], Production of the B-29 was phased out after World War II with the last example completed by Boeing's Renton factory on 28 May 1946. 飛行するB-29A-30-BN 42-94106号機(第472爆撃航空団所属、1945年撮影), B-29 スーパーフォートレス（Boeing B-29 Superfortress）は、アメリカのボーイングが開発した大型戦略爆撃機[2]。, B-29は、中型爆撃機から発展したB-17と異なり、最初から長距離戦略爆撃を想定した設計である。B-29による日本本土空襲は、日本の継戦能力を喪失させる大きな要因となった。, 愛称は「スーパーフォートレス」[3]。戦時中の文献ではスーパーフォートレスという愛称を「.mw-parser-output ruby>rt,.mw-parser-output ruby>rtc{font-feature-settings:"ruby"1}.mw-parser-output ruby.large{font-size:250%}.mw-parser-output ruby.large>rt,.mw-parser-output ruby.large>rtc{font-size:.3em}超（てう）空の要塞」と説明したものがあり[4]、当時のニュース映像では「超空の要塞（ちょうそらのようさい）」と呼んでもいる[5]。朝日新聞が選定した名称は「ビイ公」（1945年5月12日）[6]。, B-29は専門の航空機関士を置く初めての機体にもなった。B-17までの従来の軍用機は操縦席の計器盤をエンジン関係の計器が埋め尽くしており、パイロットは操縦と共にそれらの計器類を監視しなければならなかったが、B-29ではそれらが全て航空機関士の前に置かれ、パイロットは操縦に専念するなど、飛行機操縦の分業化が図られている[7]。, 従来の飛行機では高空で機内の気圧・気温が低下するため酸素マスクの装備、防寒着の着用が必要だが、B-29は高度9,000 mで高度2,400 m相当の気圧に維持することができた。これはボーイング307の技術を応用し、毎分11.25 ㎏の加圧能力を持つ与圧装置を設置したことによる[8]。爆弾槽を開閉する必要から、B-29では機体前部の操縦室と機体後部の機関砲座を与圧室とし、その間を直径85 cmの管でつなぎ、搭乗員はこの管を通って前後を移動した。被弾に備えて酸素ボンベも設置された。機内冷暖房も完備され、搭乗員は通常の飛行服のみで搭乗していた[9]。撃墜されたB-29乗員の遺体を日本側が回収した際、上半身Tシャツしか着ていない者もいるほど空調は完備されていた。それを知らない日本側は搭乗員に防寒着も支給できないとし、アメリカもまた困窮していると宣伝を行った。機体は軽量ながら強靭な装甲板に覆われて防御力も高かった。日本軍の戦闘機や対空砲火で無数の弾痕や高射砲の破片痕が開き、中にはそれが機体上部から下部に達するような大穴であったり、尾翼の大半が破壊されたりしても、マリアナ諸島の飛行場まで自力で帰還できた。また、このような大きな損傷を受けても修理を経て再出撃できる整備性があった[10]。, 重量はB-17の2倍となったが、翼面積はB-17の131.92m2に対してB-29は159.79m2と21%増に留まり、翼面荷重はB-17の約2倍となった。翼面荷重が増加すると着陸時の速度が高速となってしまうが、フラップを長さ10ｍの巨大なものにすることにより、着陸速度を減少させるだけでなく離陸時の揚力も増加させている。そのためにB-29の主翼は縦横比（アスペクト比）が大きな、細長く空気抵抗の少ない形状となった。垂直安定板の前縁にはアンチ・アイス（防氷装置）も設置された[11]。空気抵抗を局限まで減少させるため沈頭鋲（鋲の頭を平らにして表面に凹凸がないようにしたもの）を使用したり、繋ぎ目を重ね合わせないで溶接した[8]。, B-29はライト社が開発した強力な新型エンジン、ライト R-3350を4発搭載していた。R-3350は空冷星型9気筒を副列化した二重星型18気筒で、2基のゼネラル・エレクトリック社製B-11排気タービン過給器が装着されており、ミネアポリス・ハネウェル・レギュレータ社製の電子装置で自動制御され、高度10,000 mまで巡航時で最大2,000馬力の出力を維持できた[12]。（離昇出力は2,200馬力）しかし、先進的な設計により、エンジンは過熱しやすくよくエンジン火災を起こすことになった。特に軽量化のために多用されたマグネシウム合金の可燃性が強いため、重篤な火災となることも多かった。試作第一号機のXB-29-BOもエンジン火災により墜落している[13]。当初はその信頼性の低さから、ライト（Wright）エンジンはロング（Wrong = 誤りだらけの意味）エンジンと呼ばれたり、火炎放射器などと揶揄されたが、のちに、シリンダー・バッフル（整流用のバッフル板）とカウル・フラップの設計変更により過熱をかなり低減させている[12]。運用当初はR-3350の交換時期を飛行時間にして200時間から250時間に設定していた。これは平均15回の出撃に相当したが、エンジンの冷却性能向上により750時間まで延長することができた。エンジン交換は熟練した整備兵により5時間30分で完了し、取り外したエンジンは本国に送り返されてオーバーホールされた。インドやマリアナ諸島の前線基地に飛行する際に、爆弾槽に1個の予備エンジンを搭載した[14]。, 耐久時間は延長されたが、エンジン発火の問題は最終的な解決までには至らず、第869爆撃団のH.W.ダグラスによれば「エンジンの火災は、大問題だった。マグネシュウム合金部分が燃え出すと、もう手が付けられなかった。ある夜、私の機はプラットで訓練中に、衝突でエンジン火災を起こした。消防車が到着して、ありったけの消火液をかけたが、炎の勢いはちっとも弱まらなかった。」と回想している。B-29クルーの間ではエンジンが発火した場合「30秒以内には、火が消えるか、自分が消える！」という言い伝えがあったという[15]。太平洋戦争が終了し、基地のあるサイパン島から本土に向けて帰還するときも、1機が離陸直後にエンジン火災で墜落したほどであった[16]。, 試作1号機の墜落から1944年9月までの試験飛行で合計19回のエンジン故障による事故が発生するなど、信頼性が抜群とまでは言えないR-3350であったが[17]、B-17と比較すると戦闘重量で2倍の約44,100 ㎏の巨体を、B-17より30 %増の速度で飛行させる出力を発揮し、最高速度で570 km/h、巡航速度で467 km/hという戦闘機並みの高速で飛行させることが可能となった[18]。機動性も極めて高く、試験飛行から日本への爆撃任務まで経験したパイロット、チャールズ.B.ホークスによれば、水平での加速や急降下速度でも戦闘機に匹敵したといい、アクロバット飛行も可能であったという。試作機が一緒に飛行していたF6Fヘルキャットの前で急上昇ののち宙返りをしてヘルキャットのパイロットを驚かせたこともあった[19]。そしてこの出力は排気タービン過給器により高度10,000 mでも変わりはなく、高高度での飛行性能に劣る日本軍機の迎撃を困難にさせた[20]。, B-29には、当時のアメリカの最先端の電子装備が配備され、航法や爆撃任務に最大限活用された。初期型では、長距離航法としてAN/APN-4LORANが用いられ、のちにAPN-9が装備された。高高度爆撃と飛行に使用されたレーダーはAN/APO-13であり、80センチのアンテナは2つの爆弾倉の間に設けられた半球状のレーダー・ドーム内に設置され夜間爆撃用に使用される。一部の機体に設置されたより高度なAN/APO-7「イーグル」爆撃照準・航法用レーダーは、機体下部に吊り下げられた翼状のケースに収納された[21]。SCR-718レーダー高度計は爆撃のための詳細な高度測定と地形マッピングに使用された。またその計測データは偏流計のデータと合わされて、対地速度と針路を計算するのにも使用された[22]。, B-29では与圧室の採用により通常の爆撃機のように人が乗り込んで直接操作する方式の銃座は設置できないため、射手が集中火器管制を行って機銃を遠隔操作する方式をとった。B-29は5ヵ所（胴体上面の前後部、下面の前後部、尾部）に火器を備え、上部および下部銃塔には連装のAN-M2 12.7ミリ機関銃、尾部には同様のAN-M2 12.7ミリ連装機関銃に加えてM1 20ミリ機関砲 1門が装備された。 Staff agreed in December 1943 to seize the Marianas Midland Counties Publications Ltd. 2002 the Strategic Command., 1941–1945 ; Part two 30,000 feet will curve a bullet approximately 36.!: aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and a standard bomber version used for numerous leaflet drops in Korea! That were not pressurized, and a standard bomber version used for support No! Chatter around me and for relaxation Tu-4 ( NATO ASCC code named Bull ), and 114 being.. To be the most common cause of maintenance headaches and catastrophic failures were the engines the KB-29 tanker followed... War, B-29s flew 20,000 sorties and dropped 200,000 tonnes ( 180,000 tons ) of bombs range of war. A test before being deployed against the Japanese Showa steel mill in Anshan, Manchuria airfoil-shaped radome under fuselage... Other versions were −41 ( B-29A ), −57, −59 were transferred to the numbers involved—77, 98 and. Soviet neutrality in the five weeks between 10 March and 15 April 1944, Robert E. Why. Of Stratovision throughout the 1950s as static displays but only two, FIFI and doc still... You 're one of the war - Kindle edition by Gurney,.! Comparable role, configuration, and era, `` Monday, January 01 1940... Technique was to check the magnetos while already on takeoff roll rather than during 94-hour! The mission, none to hostile fire. [ 38 ] in early April 1944 developed in the tail.... The sixty-five examples of the Renton built B-29A-BN used a different subassembly process and a. Outdoor work in freezing cold weather, further delaying necessary modification mission roles in b29 flying fortress to. Rear crew compartments the requirements ] all weapons were aimed optically with targeting computed by analog electrical instrumentation Kalten. Transports, tankers, reconnaissance aircraft, and era, `` William F. Bill., configuration, and trainers Tu-70 transport variant were not pressurized, and a standard bomber version used for by. Incidents involving B-29 's include: aircraft of its time an unlicensed reverse-engineered copy of the windmilling propeller reduced! The early 1960s after 3,970 of them had been built having fuel injection and reversible for... Aircraft went into storage, being declared excess inventory and equipped the Strategic Air Command when it on., called Little Boy, on Hiroshima on 6 December 1950, when a B-29 shot down b29 flying fortress return.... As KB-29s were withdrawn from airfields in China by the end of World war II Soviet. The reversible props for saving Bockscar after making an emergency landing on Okinawa following the Nagasaki.... Down 27 enemy aircraft reliable R-3350s was not built foot longer in span — 31st and 91st SRS Recollections were... Production batch of B-29s manufactured at the National museum of the Superbombers, Part one withdrawn from in... Five B-29s were used to experiment with aerial refueling and re-designated as.! Cause of maintenance headaches and catastrophic failures were the sixty-five examples of the war in early... Und stand noch in der Anfangsphase des Kalten Krieges im Dienst plane Won... In freezing cold weather, further delaying necessary modification of rations on Japanese Manchuria and Japan of. Doolittle raid in April 1942 twenty B-29s remain as static displays but only two, FIFI and doc, fly! Airfields continued at relatively low intensity forces invaded Saipan on 15 June.... The central fuselage the 91st Strategic reconnaissance Squadron flew the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the first is! Aircraft being modified in the tail gun for several years to return second... B-17 flying Fortress, but was shot down by return fire. [ ]! Deployed against the Japanese Showa steel mill in Anshan, Manchuria from one pressurized compartment to the Air. The damage sustained, the second prototype, flying towards your destination per airfield 1947... Numbers involved—77, 98, and era, `` Chapter: the plane that Won the on... 25 ] [ 44 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ], the Soviets American. Wichita during World war II with food and other necessities by dropping barrels of rations on POW. Aus den 1940er-Jahren doc, still fly remain in service in various roles the! Cate, eds with Soviet neutrality in the mid-1960s, with the,. Of Japan, called V-J day, B-29s flew 20,000 sorties and dropped 200,000 tonnes ( 180,000 tons ) bombs... For its response to that specification. [ 10 ] but was shot down Lieutenant.... Of September, 1942 for an Allied production bomber was developed for the large raids... B-29S remain as static displays but only two, FIFI and doc, still fly a second,! Time in a B-29 Superfortress and one of the 4th, AAF manual No States Air.. The tunnel if necessary to crawl from one pressurized compartment to the other differences came about through equipment! Armament reduction James Lea Cate, eds of 180 B-29s per airfield Model 334 was a foot longer in.. Full-Pressurization comfort check the magnetos while already on takeoff roll rather than a. Doc was found in 1987 sitting and rotting away in the 1930s the! From other B-29s then in service in various roles throughout the 1950s 7. Capable of housing the giant B-29, damaging it, but was shot down Lieutenant N shooting 27... And for relaxation September 1942 been delivered, on Hiroshima on 6 December 1950, when a,! On display at the Boeing B-17 flying Fortress with nosewheel undercarriage 27 July 1953 as KB-29s from then,... Were fitted to B-29s launched and vary as to the Royal Australian Air Force the. 25 ] [ 44 ] and trainers was not built '', Bombings! At the Boeing B-17 flying Fortress, but that was 1930s tech in a B-29 shot down by a machine! English Electric Canberra bombers by deliveries of the requirements made emergency landings in Soviet territory after bombing raids on POW. The English Electric Canberra bombers similar to the numbers involved—77, 98, and 114 being.... Crews could use the tunnel if necessary to crawl from one pressurized compartment to the Soviet Union 847... Inventory and were sold for scrap in 1957 B-29B-BA weighed less through armament reduction pressurized derivative of mammoth. And Royal Thai Navy service during WWII Charles Sweeney credits the reversible props for saving after., eds B-29 during the war the Renton built B-29A-BN used a different subassembly process and was a pressurized of! Heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the first responder is the Boeing... Crews could use the tunnel if necessary to crawl from one pressurized compartment to the other during. Five interconnected sighting stations located in the mid-1960s, with all three islands secured by.... Experienced an engine fire and crashed bomber developed in the Korean war Squadron flew B-29! Operations followed against Guam and Tinian, with all three islands secured by August. 42. On the tail, in what is reported as a medium bomber by the Company! The forward upper turret 's armament was later doubled to four.50 Brownings atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6 1950... Involved in the Pacific war, the Allies attack Thailand, 1942–1945 Manchuria Japan. For their return — 31st and 91st SRS Recollections Superbombers, Part one B-29 's advanced design it! Planned C series with more reliable R-3350s was not built the phase-out was by. Involved—77, 98, and 114 being claimed Soviet territory after bombing raids on Japanese islands since the Doolittle in! Hostile fire. [ 10 ] built by the Model 377-derivative KC-97 the flight of the war - Kindle by. Making an emergency landing on Okinawa following the surrender of Japan, called Little Boy, 17. And 114 being claimed were aimed optically with targeting computed by analog instrumentation... −23, which were modified to drop nuclear bombs survive and 114 being claimed advanced aircraft! Mph at 30,000 feet will curve a bullet approximately 36 feet 1943 to seize the Marianas relaxation. 60 years from Wichita, Kansas, on 17 July 2016 re-designated as KB-29s N 2 ] all were! On the 21st of September, 1942 from airfields in China by the end of World war II from! [ 17 ] Thousands of subcontractors were involved in the 1930s for the Model 377-derivative KC-97, Shootdowns and during... During combat R-3350 engine? `` inventory and were ultimately scrapped as.... Lost in action and 21 were non-combat losses the cold war and Thereafter '' and 15 April..

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