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Boeing B-29 Superfortress variants
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a United States Army Air Forces long range, strategic heavy bomber that was produced in many experimental and production models from 1943 to 1946.
The XB-29, Boeing Model 345, was the first accepted prototype or experimental model delivered to the Army Air Corps, incorporating a number of improvements on the design originally submitted, including more and larger guns and self-sealing fuel tanks. Two aircraft were ordered in August 1940, and a third was ordered in December. A mockup was completed in the spring of 1941, and it first flew on September 21, 1942.
Testing was conducted on the XB-29 until February 18, 1943, when the second prototype crashed. The flight was conducted by Boeing's chief test pilot, Edmund T. "Eddie" Allen on a two-hour powerplant performance test. The accident happened when leaking fuel from a filler cap in the wing leading edge ran down inside the leading-edge and ignited. The fire spread to the engines, and due to the much reduced power, the aircraft, unable to climb, crashed into the Frye meat-packing plant. The crash demolished the majority of the packing plant and killed all eleven XB-29 crew, 22 employees at the plant, and one fireman. Many leading Boeing personnel involved in the design perished in the accident; the pilot, Allen, was chief of the Research Division. After the crash, the United States Army Air Forces and a congressional committee headed by then-Senator Harry S. Truman investigated the B-29 program, issuing a scathing report, prompting the Army Air Forces to take control of the program.
The YB-29 was an improved XB-29 and 14 were built for service testing. Testing began in the summer of 1943, and dozens of modifications were made to the planes. The engines were upgraded from Wright R-3350-13s to R-3350-21s. Where the XB-29 had three-bladed props, the YB-29 had four-bladed propellers. Various alternatives to the remote-controlled defensive systems were tested on a number of them, particularly the fourth one delivered. After alternative arrangements had been fully tested, defensive armament was standardised at ten .50-calibre machine guns in turret-mounted pairs. The YB-29 also featured a better fire control system.
The B-29 was the original production version of the Superfortress. Since the new bomber was urgently needed, the production design was developed in tandem with the service testing. In fact, the first B-29 was completed only two months after the delivery of the first YB-29. Forty-six B-29s of this variant, built by the Glenn L. Martin Company at its Omaha plant, were used as the aircraft for the atomic bomb missions, modified to Silverplate specifications.
Some 2,513 B-29s were manufactured by Boeing-Wichita (1,620), Bell-Atlanta (357), and Martin-Omaha (536).
The B-29A was an improved version of the original B-29 production model. This is the definitive wartime variant of the B-29. All 1,119 B-29A's were built at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington, formerly used by the United States Navy.
Enhancements made in the B-29A included a better wing design and defensive modifications. Due to a demonstrated weakness to head-on fighter attacks, the number of machine guns in the forward dorsal turrets was doubled to four beginning with production block 20. Where the wings of previous models had been made by the sub-assembly of two sections, the B-29A wing was built up from three. This made construction easier, and increased the strength of the airframe. The B-29A was produced until May 1946, when the last aircraft was completed. It was employed up to, and through, the Korean War, after which it was then quickly phased out when the B-47 Stratojet became operational.
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Boeing B-29 Superfortress variants
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a United States Army Air Forces long range, strategic heavy bomber that was produced in many experimental and production models from 1943 to 1946.
The XB-29, Boeing Model 345, was the first accepted prototype or experimental model delivered to the Army Air Corps, incorporating a number of improvements on the design originally submitted, including more and larger guns and self-sealing fuel tanks. Two aircraft were ordered in August 1940, and a third was ordered in December. A mockup was completed in the spring of 1941, and it first flew on September 21, 1942.
Testing was conducted on the XB-29 until February 18, 1943, when the second prototype crashed. The flight was conducted by Boeing's chief test pilot, Edmund T. "Eddie" Allen on a two-hour powerplant performance test. The accident happened when leaking fuel from a filler cap in the wing leading edge ran down inside the leading-edge and ignited. The fire spread to the engines, and due to the much reduced power, the aircraft, unable to climb, crashed into the Frye meat-packing plant. The crash demolished the majority of the packing plant and killed all eleven XB-29 crew, 22 employees at the plant, and one fireman. Many leading Boeing personnel involved in the design perished in the accident; the pilot, Allen, was chief of the Research Division. After the crash, the United States Army Air Forces and a congressional committee headed by then-Senator Harry S. Truman investigated the B-29 program, issuing a scathing report, prompting the Army Air Forces to take control of the program.
The YB-29 was an improved XB-29 and 14 were built for service testing. Testing began in the summer of 1943, and dozens of modifications were made to the planes. The engines were upgraded from Wright R-3350-13s to R-3350-21s. Where the XB-29 had three-bladed props, the YB-29 had four-bladed propellers. Various alternatives to the remote-controlled defensive systems were tested on a number of them, particularly the fourth one delivered. After alternative arrangements had been fully tested, defensive armament was standardised at ten .50-calibre machine guns in turret-mounted pairs. The YB-29 also featured a better fire control system.
The B-29 was the original production version of the Superfortress. Since the new bomber was urgently needed, the production design was developed in tandem with the service testing. In fact, the first B-29 was completed only two months after the delivery of the first YB-29. Forty-six B-29s of this variant, built by the Glenn L. Martin Company at its Omaha plant, were used as the aircraft for the atomic bomb missions, modified to Silverplate specifications.
Some 2,513 B-29s were manufactured by Boeing-Wichita (1,620), Bell-Atlanta (357), and Martin-Omaha (536).
The B-29A was an improved version of the original B-29 production model. This is the definitive wartime variant of the B-29. All 1,119 B-29A's were built at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington, formerly used by the United States Navy.
Enhancements made in the B-29A included a better wing design and defensive modifications. Due to a demonstrated weakness to head-on fighter attacks, the number of machine guns in the forward dorsal turrets was doubled to four beginning with production block 20. Where the wings of previous models had been made by the sub-assembly of two sections, the B-29A wing was built up from three. This made construction easier, and increased the strength of the airframe. The B-29A was produced until May 1946, when the last aircraft was completed. It was employed up to, and through, the Korean War, after which it was then quickly phased out when the B-47 Stratojet became operational.