A Brief History
On September 21, 1942, the first Boeing B-29 Superfortress made its first flight. This sleek bomber would become the highest technology piston engine powered bomber of all time, as well as the mightiest bomber of World War II. On top of that, it would also become the first nuclear bomber in history.
Digging Deeper
Needing a longer range bomber than the B-17 and B-24 “heavy” bombers already in service, especially in case Britain fell to the Nazi’s, American engineers feverishly worked on a new design that could fly farther and carry heavier loads than existing bombers. The new plane would have to have a pressurized crew compartment in order to fly higher, and would have to have increased speed as well as range. Boeing began developing the B-29 while Consolidated worked on the B-32 Dominator. Boeing won the competition and 3970 of the big bombers were delivered.
Innovations on the B-29 included the aforementioned pressurized crew compartments, a 20,000 lb bomb load, 357 mph top speed, a ceiling of over 31,000 feet, and a range of 3250 miles (about 5600 miles empty). The tricycle landing gear was dual wheeled, and the 5 twin .50 caliber machine gun turrets were remotely controlled with aiming computers. Even new metal alloys were used, and the B-29 cost triple the price of the B-17. In fact, the B-29 was the most expensive program of World War II.
Not available for combat until 1944, Allied planners deemed the B-29 unnecessary for the European theater as all targets were within range of the current B-17, B-24 and Lancaster bombers. The B-29 was needed in the Pacific where range was at a premium.
Pilots quickly found out they could fly above almost all anti-aircraft fire, and at high altitude they could not only outspeed Japanese fighters, the big bombers could actually out turn the fighters as well. Unfortunately for American commanders, it was also quickly discovered that getting up to such lofty altitude used up a lot of fuel, and bombing accuracy was abysmal due to the Jet Stream winds over Japan. Plus, teething pains with the new engines resulted in overheating and fires.
Curtiss LeMay was assigned as the new theater strategic bombing commander and he instituted new tactics, that of flying the B-29’s at low altitude at night, stripped of all their guns except the tail guns. The bomb load was modified to consist mostly of incendiary bombs, and B-29 raids set about burning Japanese cities to the ground. In fact, 311 B-29’s were sent from the factory without gun turrets (except the tail position) and remote sighting equipment to accommodate this new strategy.
With the anticipated development of the Atom Bomb, some B-29’s were modified to carry the 5 ton bombs, and crews were handpicked and specially trained. When the time came in August of 1945, the B-29 became the first bomber in history to drop atomic/nuclear weapons.
The B-29 served on active duty with the US Air Force until 1960 and as the B-50 until 1965. Used for reconnaissance, weather observation and hurricane hunting among other tasks proved the utility of the airframe. Of course, with the advent of jet powered fighter/interceptors, the B-29 could not perform its main mission without its own fighter escort, and the US worked quickly to develop jet powered bombers. The B-29 Superfortress lived up to its name and has a well deserved place in the history of aviation.
Question for students (and subscribers): Have you ever been inside of a B-29 Superfortress? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
LEGION: B-29 Superfortress, Bombers Over Japan 1944-45, Solitaire Board Game, 2nd Edition. Legion Wargames.
Simons, Graham. B-29: Superfortress: Giant Bomber of World War 2 and Korea. Casemate Publishers, 2012.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="11815 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=11815">28 Comments
It is fascinating to read about various bomber innovations. The common goal to be bigger, faster, and stronger certainly plays a role in the development of these aircrafts.
With Germany on the upswing of aviation the US made a great leap to caught up if not surpass Germany. The B fighter plaines were the first to carry atomic bombs in the aircraft. This is a major advancement and very scary to think about. The thought of nuclear ware far is distrubing because it can wipe out entire cities.
The B-29 is so historically significant due to the dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan. I never did know the Soviets recreated this humongous plane.
As the German began to pull away in the aviation race, the B-29 and the advantages this plane gave us, put us right back in the race. It carried a 20,000 lb bomb load, that is crazy, no wonder the plane was so big. Its also interesting to find out that the Soviets made their own version of the B-29, I never knew that.
Despite being such a difficult time for the United States due to being wartime, it is amazing to see how much innovation was also possible because of it. It also surprised me that the B 29 was the most expensive program of WWII. I would have thought it was the Manhattan Project.
The B-29 sounds like an impressive plane. It was able to fly higher and faster than enemy planes but had issues with fuel and engine fires. Later, the B-29 became the plane fated to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.
I was also surprised that this was the most expensive program in World War 2. I can not believe that it was able to carry a 5 ton bomb. If the Japanese knew this, they might have been able to predict what was coming their way.
It is really amazing to realize how many aircraft advancements were made during WWII. It makes me wonder if there was never a war, would we be as advanced as we are today in regards to airplanes? The B-29 was exactly what we needed to fight the Japanese. The B-29 was faster than the Japanese planes and more maneuverable. The B-29 even dropped the first A-bomb.
It is interesting to find out that Boeing made the first aircraft to drop atomic/nuclear weapons. The B-29 had such an advantage over opposing planes because of the altitude it could fly at, while still traveling at an efficient speed.
Just like the Germans created new planes, the US also decided that they would need to keep advancing technology to keep up. The B-29 was great in theory, but turned out to be relatively useless in the war, as it couldn’t be used in Europe, and had difficulty in the Pacific.
Even during war time there is room for improvement. As the war waged newer planes were being innovated and invented. Everyone wanted to have the best and fastest plane out there. The B-29 was good for longer distances, so they tried using it in the Pacific. It could fly at higher altitudes and was the first bomber plane to drop an atomic bomb.
This war had a lot of important warplanes. It is interesting to read about the history of the B-29, a very respected aircraft.
World War II was certainly a time for great advancements in military technology for all realms, from ground to air to sea. The B-29’s technological superiority was well ahead of its time, and helped America win the war.
A high altitude was imperative for a plane like this to carry out the purpose of an atom bomb. The B-29 was a good comeback against the Japanese.
Looking at the pictures of all the planes that were used during World War II is very interesting. You can tell that they are a lot more different that the planes used today, but the old bombers were definitely what lead many nations to success back then. Nuclear bombing is so scary. I wonder how the world would be different if planes like this one or nuclear bombs in general were not invented.
The B-29 was critical in ending the war. Since the B-29 was the airplane that dropped both atomic bombs, this airplane was crucial in effectively ending World War II.
The statistics regarding what the B-29 could do makes it obvious why it was such a crucial weapon. Even in the midst of war there was constant seek for advancements which clearly ended up paying off.
This aircraft earned its right in history. Dropping both atomic bombs to actually be used in war is definitely something to be remembered by.
I found it interesting that the B-29 was the most expensive program of World War II. It was the first nuclear bomber in history. This was an important weapon for the United States.
The B- 29 sounds like a beast of an airplane and makes sense that it was the most expensive programs of WWII. I did not know that these were the planes that dropped the only two atomic bombs used in war.
What a plane, the fact it was able to carry 5 ton bombs is amazing. On top of carrying such bombs it was able to be one of the fastest and strongest aircrafts at that time of war.
Insane how this was one of the fastest aircrafts at the time and yet it was carrying 5 ton bombs.
Very cool how they were developed into planes for NASA!
This shows how technology has grown overtime. Who would have thought that a bomber could hold a five ton bombs in it. Then in August of 1945 the first nuclear/atomic bomb was dropped.
It’s interesting to see that these planes influenced NASA.
It seems as though they anticipating dropping a lot of atom bombs.
The B-29 seems to be another example of the United States exhausting efforts to maintain a world power. Never have we seen a period of time when the USA was out-forced or out-smarted by another nation.
It’s crazy to think about the innovations and advances we make in just short periods of time. Obviously big plans were in the making if aircrafts like this are being made. And NASA gaining something from this is very cool!