B-29 Superfortress | The Birth Of The American Super Bomber
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- čas přidán 14. 07. 2023
- The birth of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The WW2 North American Bomber.
This is a documentary on the history of the B-29 Superfortress and its crucial role in the devastating attacks on Japan during World War II. Join us as we delve into the stories, technical details, and strategic significance of this iconic aircraft and the events that unfolded during that tumultuous period in history.
We explore the operational history of the B-29, shedding light on its immense impact on the outcome of the war. Discover the awe-inspiring engineering feats that propelled this heavy bomber into the skies, along with the remarkable innovations that set it apart from its contemporaries.
Witness the challenges faced by the Allies as they sought to design and produce an aircraft capable of reaching deep into enemy territory with an unprecedented bomb load. Through detailed accounts and gripping archival footage, we will explore the B-29's long-range capabilities, including the revolutionary pressurized cabin, remote-controlled gun turrets, and the iconic bombing system that transformed the face of aerial warfare.
Prepare to be transported back in time as we recount the intense strategic bombing campaign against Japan. Experience the heart-pounding moments as B-29 squadrons embarked on perilous missions over the Pacific, facing fierce opposition from Japanese fighters and flak defenses. Learn about the courageous crews who risked their lives, enduring harsh conditions and demonstrating an unwavering determination to achieve their objectives.
Gain insight into the controversial decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ultimately brought an end to the war. Through expert analysis and historical perspectives, we will navigate the complex ethical, moral, and strategic considerations surrounding this momentous event and its long-lasting ramifications.
Whether you are a history enthusiast, a military aviation aficionado, or simply curious about the events that shaped our world, our channel offers an immersive experience that combines educational content with compelling storytelling. Dive into the gripping narratives, stunning visuals, and expert analysis that will transport you to a pivotal time in human history.
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat.
One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 was designed with state-of-the-art technology, which included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets. The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $45 billion today), far exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project, made the B-29 program the most expensive of the war. The B-29 remained in service in various roles throughout the 1950s, being retired in the early 1960s after 3,970 had been built. A few were also used as flying television transmitters by the Stratovision company. The Royal Air Force flew the B-29 as Washington until 1954.
General characteristics
Crew: 11 (Pilot, Co-pilot, Bombardier, Flight Engineer, Navigator, Radio Operator, Radar Observer, Right Gunner, Left Gunner, Central Fire Control, Tail Gunner)
Length: 99 ft 0 in (30.18 m)
Wingspan: 141 ft 3 in (43.05 m)
Height: 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Wing area: 1,736 sq ft (161.3 m2)
Aspect ratio: 11.5
Airfoil: root: Boeing 117 (22%); tip: Boeing 117 (9%)[97]
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0241
Frontal area: 41.16 sq ft (3.824 m2)
Empty weight: 74,500 lb (33,793 kg)
Gross weight: 120,000 lb (54,431 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 133,500 lb (60,555 kg)
135,000 lb (61,000 kg) combat overload
Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-3350-23 Duplex-Cyclone 18-cylinder air-cooled turbosupercharged radial piston engines, 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) each
Propellers: 4-bladed constant-speed fully-feathering propellers, 16 ft 7 in (5.05 m) diameter
Performance
Maximum speed: 357 mph (575 km/h, 310 kn)
Cruise speed: 220 mph (350 km/h, 190 kn)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
Range: 3,250 mi (5,230 km, 2,820 nmi)
Ferry range: 5,600 mi (9,000 km, 4,900 nmi)
Service ceiling: 31,850 ft (9,710 m) [28]
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
Lift-to-drag: 16.8
Wing loading: 69.12 lb/sq ft (337.5 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.073 hp/lb (0.120 kW/kg)
#aviationhistory #aviation #b29 - Věda a technologie
Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes, and their stories, and missions: www.youtube.com/@Dronescapes
My great grandfather was a Boeing engineer who helped design the B-17 and the B-29. He claimed his contribution was ONLY the tail. Very modest about his accomplishments
That time period is a remarkable testament to human achievement. I visited the Hoover Dam for the first time this summer and they said it's a 5 year project that is the largest feat of modern human engineering that was finished TWO YEARS AHEAD of schedule. TWO YEARS ahead of schedule. When was the last time you hear of any government project being finished years ahead of schedule
Smaller govt then, less corruption. See solyndra and the other leftist companies that got hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, kicked back to dem party and candidates then folded shop within two years.
That was a government that wasn’t bogged down with trying to be a nanny state, but was focused in being a unified nation
It was during the Depression, where men waited in line for a CHANCE at the jobs.
My father was a navigator and bombardier on a B 29 out of Saipan during WWII, his bomber was named " Sna Pe Fort " Thank You for this Post.
Bless your Dad Stephen. Feel free to share an memory of his service
I knew a guy that was a crewmember on a B29, a radio operator if I remember correctly, that flew off of Guam, he had a couple of harrowing stories especially the one about the flags on each side of the runway at a certain point going down it, they marked the "point of no return", or maybe the point of not being able to abort anymore if you will, at the distance down the runway that from then on if something went wrong they were forbidden to attempt an abort because they'd never get one stopped before the end of the runway, they were afraid if someone tried they'd just wind up as a burning wreck full of bombs that'd jam up the runway making it impossible for any more to take off resulting in a scrubbed mission if only a few were already airborne, their orders were to just keep all the throttles at take off power and pray.
The end of the runway was a 30 foot cliff that dropped straight down to the sea, he said every time they got off the ground just as they felt good about themselves and wanted to start cheering they'd look down and there was the remains of 3 or 4 of them at the bottom they could see because it wasn't that deep there, all of the sudden they'd feel bad about wanting to cheer for themselves because those B29's down there had some of their friends in them that didn't make it out after they hit the water, since there was a war going on the Navy couldn't spare the resources to send diver's down to get their remains out.
God bless your dad and all of those B29 crewman, everyone knows about what the bomber crews in Europe went through (my family lost someone in the 15th Air Force flying out of Italy that was a B24 navigator), but they don't know about the things B29 crews went through like the "flags of no return" that I'd mentioned, unlike in England where the 8th Air Force bombers had long paved runways to take off from those B29's were taking off from improvised runways made from crushed coral and other "available" materials that were shorter than Boeing recommended for the weight they were loaded to, Mr Riley told me that the most afraid they were on every mission was during take off, followed moments later by flying over your dead friends, it's like I've explained to people "How'd you like to start out every mission like that?".
One thing that was of great interest to me because I've been collecting US military shotguns for some years was a picture he had in his photo album of him on Guam holding a Remington Model 11 semi auto shotgun, most everyone's familiar with the "trenchguns" that the military had made up from police riot shotguns outfitted with handguards and bayonet lugs for WW1 and WW2, but not many know that during WW2 the military also procured regular length full choke barrel shotguns of every style, pump, semi auto and even single shot for aerial gunnery practice for the defensive gunners of bombers (and for high ranking officers for "leisure time" activities such as hunting and the other things high ranking officers get to do), in the states the defensive gunners would train and practice at skeet ranges and in the field like with his unit on Guam they'd practice by throwing clay pigeons, when the high ranking officers weren't using those shotguns 😂enjoying their leisure time activities of course, like the trenchguns those shotguns were also US property marked.
Mr Riley passed away too many years ago for me to be able to ask him better questions about the B29 and the missions he flew, when I knew him was before I started doing serious research about the B29 such as reading books from credible sources and watching the videos from the CZcams channel WWII US Bombers, all of his videos are fantastic and are absolutely the most accurate when it comes to anything about the US bombers of WW2, every scrap of information he presents is backed with the pictures of pages from USAAF documents, pictures of the equipment and actual bomb strikes along with charts and graphs from all the information, he even did a series of videos on the special submarine hunting bombers and the special bombs, rockets and depth charges they used, one particularly fascinating video he did in that series was about the aerial dropped "smart torpedo" called Fido that had it's own on board sonar system that once in the water and it locked onto a submarine the sub was doomed since there were no apparent countermeasures for it.
If you haven't you should check out his channel, I'm sure you'll find his series on the B29 to be the best you'll ever see concerning it, the channel's called WWII US Bombers.
Love the name.
Mine was the youngest Army Airways radio communications officer on the base at Saipan. They might have met at the O club my dad and his pals built out of wood from shipping crates.
@@77Cardinal
Isn't it amazing how all those guy's on the islands in the Pacific could always manage to build an improvised officers club before they'd build something to live in so they didn't have to live in a tent, even more amazing is that somehow or the other they'd even managed to stock the bar.
Truly the greatest generation.
That's what I always say and I was thinking it right before I read your comment my dad and my uncles all were involved .my mom worked at the Hingham Shipyard covering pipes with asbestos which ended up killing her .they came back and lived productive lives and kept the horror that they saw buried deep inside themselves,but you could see it in their eyes.a lot of younger people have no idea how this country truly came together
And the american revolution generation
The Axis countries totally underestimated the USAs ability to manufacture.
Add to that the manufacturing capability of Australia, Canada, South Africa and the UK and they had lost war even before it started.
Not realy ! Albert Speer , Hitlers armanents minister, was highly impressed with how Ford operated his car factories. He introduced many American manufacturing techniques in to the German war effort. Germany's main problem was lack of access to materials like aluminum, petrolium, high octane fuels, etc.
WWII was a much more close-run thing than you suggest. Look at the havoc and misery three relatively small powers visited upon the world.
Agreed. From a manufacturing capacity point of view, Axis wasn't anywhere in the same league.
That's why their starts of hostilities were built around surprise and quick conflict resolution. Hitler's initial fuel reserves would hardly get him past Poland. Japan had to immediately take oil fields. They both had to rely on short conflict, and everything breaking their way.
Like sucker punching an unsuspecting opponent. If you're weaker, you'd better hope you can put him down for the count.
I'd say, for all their treachery, stealth & cunning, they didn't pull it off, to their utter devastation, and everlasting shame.
There's a saying that pride goeth before the fall. Germany & Japan thought they were on top of the world at end of '41. By end of '42, the Axis was doomed.
Had Hitler & Tojo been able to gaze ito a crystal ball, and see inside U.S. factories in '44, I wonder if they'd have coughed twice and passed.
Probably not. Hubris & stupidity can be boundless.
More to the point they over estimated their own manufacturing prowess "When I saw P51's dog fighting over Berlin I knew the war was lost" From a Luftwaffe officers diary
@@somedumbozzie1539 The Germans were good but not good enough. I read another German dairy where the German soldier witnessed the Operation Overlord landings. He described seeing armoured vehicles emerging out of the sea. He knew it was game over and was captured later that day.
Thank you to the generation that freed the world from certain tyrrany. To all our soldiers, officers who served: thank you for your service and sacrafise. To all the women who rose to the occasion and served our nation and the free worl, thanl you for your massive undertaking. You all did a great job.❤
My dad was in the 869th on Saipan, A/C flew 40 missions, Had 4 separate engine failures. 35 missions over Japan. A[]3.
Bless him
It's sure nice to see Quasimodo is still working...😅
Cant sneak up on that girl.... shell catch you coming everytime
The pre flight check for this beast is very interesting to see,Great video to watch about this beautiful machine. Awesome. Thankyou.
Our pleasure!
I saw a story saying that some missions required a few B-29’s to land in Russia (our “Allie”) and they confiscated the plane and refused to return them to the US. They then of course built replicas. That’s probably billions of $ r&a they didn’t have to pay for.
Yes the Russian Federation did do that ,and they discovered the fatal. flaw of the b52 the original motor cooling flaps slowed the plane down when opened, Boeing redesigned these , because with a strong headwinds flying in the Jetstream the original planes were only travelling just above stall speed,
It was copied down to the last screw as Tu-4. No flying examples currently survive.
They did what the Japanese did to Britain after the war. Import machinery, break it down and reversed engineer them. They even managed to superceed the efforts of the British engineers and build a better more reliable product.
@@xandervk2371The Tupelov supersonic transport plane was "very" similar to Concorde ! Unfortunately it crashed at the Paris airshow.
@@den264 Do you have an example?
The material was excellent. I know that the channel survives off the revenue gained by advertising, but the commercials every 5 minutes were so distracting that I couldn’t watch it nor will I visit this site in the future. I’m saddened that this information wasn’t more watchable because the content was outstanding.
There are options that allows you to not see any commercial at all, such as CZcams Premium
Outstanding compilation. Thx. A herculean effort by the Greatest Generation. It's a shame that our greatest engineering achievements are directly linked to war and death, but sometimes such associations are unfortunately unavoidable.
War is almost always entirely avoidable. The military-industrial complex we keep "voting' for will not permit that though.
Yes, we have a military industrial complex, and agglomeration which the United States initially assembled under FDR, to defeat the Axis Powers (Germany and Japan) and later confront the Soviets during the subsequent “Cold War”
@@RetroGamesCollector War is unavoidable if the adversary attacks. We are entering such a phase now.
Amazing and inspirational, Thank you!
The number of inaccuracies in this video is quite shocking. I used to be a lead in the Boeing Photo Lab and I printed thousands of historical photographs from the original Boeing negatives.
In this video they up played Wichita’s participation and severely downplayed Seattle and Renton. They also misstated that Boeing was headquartered in Renton. Boeing’s headquarter was at Plant 2 in Seattle. My father and I used to work in that facility.
They also stated that 3000 B-29s were built which is funny because I don’t know how many times I printed photos of the B-29 called the “5000”. It was the 5000th B-29 built and it rolled out of Plant 2 and NOT Wichita.
I also work at the Boeing Renton and Everett facilities.
You would think, with all that information on the website, at your finger tips, they would of checked on their laptops, for all that information. Like this was only filmed 5 months ago... according to you.
The bomber "5 Grand" was a B17G, not a B 29
Loved the instructional film for start up and flight.
Living as I do a couple of hundred kilometers or so from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, I bloody well hope that Western countries are gearing up production in the way the US was before Pearl Harbour... At least the F-35 program is in full swing, but what about munitions and missiles? There is no time to waste.
I'm from England but will say,
Don't listen to the media about Americans shortage of any munitions or any war supplies.
They create and pump out bullets, rockets, missiles and everything else at a rate no one can match day and night.
They want other countries like Russia and China to think they have less so it doesn't look like they are ready for a war and cause an unnecessary escalation.
America has around 750 military bases worldwide in more than 80 countries which all get supplied with what they need to fight if they have to.
Here in the UK they have a ton of everything at bases up and down the country aswell as in Poland, Germany and other European countries close to Russia and Belerus.
Russia knows this and that's why they threaten to use nukes coz without that threat, they would have been utterly destroyed, probably before the invasion even began.
Wonderful documentary on b29 superfortress. enjoyed it 😊
What man can achieve when he puts his mind to it
Sure can. Unfortunately he is best motivated at doing what takes to self destruct.
21:00 interesting I didn’t realize that Lockheed and Douglas both had competing designs for the B 29.
They were half-hearted efforts, whereas the Consolidated Aircraft B-32 Dominator was actually built, produced and saw some service.
Alternative aircraft ……….not competitive aircraft.
The Wright radial engines, a total disaster - the Wright 2600 Cyclone radial- 85,347 built for 13 aircraft variants; the Wright 1820 Cyclone radial- 47,475 built for 9 aircraft variants; the Wright 3350 Cyclone duplex radial- 29,181 built for 8 aircraft variants, yes a “TOTAL DISASTER”.
Bell was in Marietta, Georgia, not Omaha. The plant is still in operation as part of Lockheed-Martin...
That’s an amazing Airplane and big
When the aircraft project cost a billion dollars more than the Manhattan Project
Their electricity bill was huge.
Decimated? Give me a break! You should say annihilated! Sixty cities annihilated.
You do realise when a video is 5 months old the content on it, wasn't made 5 months ago. Do you expect the narrator to be reading to be reading your comment. Also both words mean the same thing.
By the time the B-29 accelerates on the runway; the war is over.
No mention of Cleveland’s Fisher plant? Lots of development work done there.
Yes why didn't that narrator check the website to get all that information, before that documentary was made.
Although it’s not a hard job to get, working for Boeing, I’m honored to be able to work for the company that was arguably the reason we’ve won the wars we’ve won… god I love this country.
The Boeing management should all have been replaced when tbings were not going to plan in the later part of the manufacturing process. Workers take their lead from management. If the managers could not be bothered, neither will the workers.
Yes they reverse engineered B-29's from US B-29's in every detail. How many they made who knows.
50:15 thể design of the machine is veryhuman.
the design is very human
You ARE aware of course - probably not - that the musical score during the chinese arrival segment of this video - is the Anthem of the Chinese Communist Party (called 'The Long March'), later the National Anthem of Communist China and NOT the the Chinese National Anthem of Chang Kai Shek's Kuomintang.
The video was put up 5 months ago, doesn't mean he or she, made the content of the video.
the grandmother of the B52
I believe you mean the B50, and C97. The onlystructural comparison to a B52 would be it was pressurized, had a bomb bay and electrically controlled tail guns.
@@DCherbonnier mother of B47 and grandmother of B52
Grandmother of the B50, AKA Boeing Trimotor, because of unreliable engines.
As much as the B-29 did i don't believe it won the war in the Pacific. I'd say that the marines and army units that fought the grinding and bloody battles to win the islands those planes could be based on won the war in the Pacific. Without them the B-29 was worthless.
This doesn't feel like a propaganda film at all
I seen a film about the two new British aircraft carriers, great Propaganda film. 🤡
The real MOAB
At :50 The Air Force showed their strategy to bomb the Tokyo Target store. Must be before Walmart.
Right. That was all very interesting for a little while, BUT... the long Pacific ranges did not dictate there must be a B-29. The atom bomb did.
The atom bomb didn't fit in the B-17 or B-24. The B-29 was a cog in the machine that nuked two Japanese cities. The only plane we had big enough to carry it was built so we would have one plane big enough to carry it.
You do realise when this film was made, doesn't mean when the video is 5 months old, that everything on it is as well, how do you expect the film maker to know what is going to happen. You do a video of a new plane, and then let people know. what it did in the future.
The produced four B-29 per DAY?! Im not sure i do actual four hours of WORK per day.
B29 wieviel abgeschossen?
pilot, surgeon, navy seal, architect.....these all seem like glamourous jobs, but until I see the prep-for-flight video....i didnt realize the immense routine and responsibility that is tedious and boring that make up the bulk of their time.
nice video, but an ad every few minutes?
If you have CZcams Premium you will not see a single ad, among the perks it offers.
That gives you a choice that other social platforms do not offer
Years later Boeing left Wichita hanging
Some think the B29 cost more than Manhattan project
Just make sure the “Shimmydamper” is full
“….were reluctant to convert their plants to military production because they weren’t sure how long hostilities would last.” Nowadays, hostilities last to maintain production.
Wow what an insight well said
Why does this sound like an AI voice trained on The Engineer Guy's voice?
It's from the 1940s not 2023, I suppose you thought when video was made, the narration was done 5 months ago as well. I suppose the upto date filming was confusing you.
A more expensive build program than the Manhattan Project. 3970 B-29’s were built.
Be sure to check the pin centers before you drop the nuke. Check the pin centers or your puppy dies. Did I remind you to check the pin centers??
The Wright engines were a total disaster, and yet the british had a radial engine producing 2500hp the Bristol centaurs sleve valve .could have been like the p51, American aircraft with british engines, but pride pervaded .
It cost many more times to develop than the bomb
Seems like I hear the voice of one of the greatest US presidents - Ronald Reagan
B-29 was the Model 3 of 1940, complete with production hell.
B - 29 is proud of USA for peacekeeping world.
This video did not depict the very reason why they picked Wichita, Kansas, Wichita Kansas had almost 200 aircraft beer factors on or near or around the state of Kansas during those years so the aviation community was alive and well from what I was able to surmise
Boeing realized that congress has the power of the purse So they spread their manufacturing over many states. Today half the country has a Boeing plant..
23:00 employee suggestion system implemented at Wichita for the B 29. Sounds a lot like the way Tesla empowers it’s line employees.
That system was very helpful during war time but in peace time not so much, now days an engineer will have to sign a contract so if they were to invent something and get a patent they would have to give it to the company patent and all for a often measly bonus of $500 or more.
Days of propaganda and bullshit......and the B29 was a rush job and had many problems...many!
Every thing was all a rush job back then. All sides did Propaganda. A rush job helped the Allies to beat the axis powers, because they could produce more weapons, which won WW2. Maybe you think Quality not quantity. Oh yes that sure helped Germany with their King Tiger Tanks.
Mass production is what won World War II..... this is old like me the B-29 Superfortress did its job but it sure needed a lot as anyone would tell you ...this is 5 months ago.... enough have a good New Year.... goodbye......navy vet!
Someone who knows better can tell me the how and why that a big superpower USA could not have made a non-combative deal with Japan to supply Japan with some of the things that that it's a little island could not supply enough of like oil and food. Some say Japan was crying out for basic necessities for its people. I am attracted so the more gentle way to solve problems.
Maybe Pearl Harbour and backing Mr Hitler was another reason Japan was attacked. Why didn't Japan ask Russia for oil and food, seeing they had plenty to give away. I didn't see China start a war because they had no food or oil.
Yes Japan slaughtered many of their neighbours as a cry of help. Oh yes of course. Your heart bleeds for them, at the time.
The Wright radial engine was a total disaster, yet the british had the Bristol centous sleeve valve producing 2500 hp .could have been a similar situation to the p51 American aircraft with a british engines ,however pride prevailed .
The 18-cylinder R-3350, Duplex Cyclone (Cyclone 18) powered the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Douglas A-1 Skyraider, Lockheed P-2 Neptune, and Lockheed C-121 Constellation varients of the last three remaining in service into the 60's. In commercial applications it stayed in production until 1957. How do you figure it was a disaster.
And you have a point that Rolls was superior to Allison and Packard when it came toV-12 reliability; they also understood the need for turbo chargers at high altitude before us. However they lost thje kudos when they failed to produce the Fan-Jet because the idea came from a non-degreed mechanic
Malarkey, the Wright R3350 wasn't a "disaster" by any stretch of the imagination, the two biggest issues it had wasn't the fault of the engine or a product of it's design, it's that it was forced through a compressed developmental timeline and the early B29 pilots didn't go through a proper training program simply because there wasn't one due the the B29 itself being pushed through a compressed developmental timeline.
The single biggest problem was that the early pilots were taken from B17's and B24's in Europe and were trying to fly the B29's and worse yet manage the engine's on them in Asia and the Pacific as of they were flying B17's and B24's in Europe.
The whole thing about the engine fires is a subject that's been blown out of proportion and has a bunch if myths surrounding it also, most people mistakingley believe that a B29 would be flying along and all of the sudden out of nowhere and without warning an engine would burst into flames, nothing could be further from the truth, the engine fire problem happened on take off and was what's called an induction fire, that's a fire inside the intake manifold and they happened as a result of the pilots pushing the throttles forward too fast from an idle and getting a backfire into the intake manifold, of course once there's a fire inside of a system that has pressurized air and atomized gasoline good luck getting it put out, people have also claimed that the extinguisher system in the engine nacelles was defective or poorly designed because it wouldn't extinguish the fires, well you can't expect an extinguisher system that's designed to put out a fire on the outside of an engine to extinguish one that's inside of an engine.
That also has led to yet another common myth about the R3350 engine that gets spread around and is without a doubt the single biggest myth about them and that's the myth that they had high content magnesium alloy aluminum engine case's, they did not, the fact is they had forged steel engine case's and anytime you're reading an article or watching a video about the B29 and it's mentioned that the engine's had magnesium case's do yourself a favor and stop right there because chances are the article or video will be filled with all kinds of misinformation you won't want to be caught going around repeating.
The magnesium case's myth has it that once an engine caught on fire the ineffective extinguisher system was incapable of putting out the magnesium case's once they started to burn and that they burned so hot they'd torch right through the wing spar in seconds, first off as pointed out the case's were forged steel, and the type of fire, an induction fire, can't be put out because the onboard extinguisher systems sprayed the outside of the engine's and of course couldn't put out a fire inside of one, there was a magnesium alloy part that came into play and that was the engine's bolted on centrifugal supercharger, it's impeller was made from magnesium alloy aluminum and once the induction fire burned upstream to the supercharger and the impeller caught on fire it'd burn through the supercharger housing, but by the time that happened you were already wrecking because as mentioned the induction fires happened during take off, that's when they couldn't afford to lose an engine because they were taking off with more weight than Boeing recommended for the short improvised crushed coral runways they were using on the captured Pacific islands, I knew a B29 crewman and he told me taking off was the scariest part of every mission, he said that once they were off the ground and the wheels were coming up everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The induction fire issue was eliminated with the adoption of direct injection fuel systems on the engine's, but even the early carburetor systems wouldn't have had induction fires if the pilots had been properly trained on how to run the engine's at take off, the issue was experienced B17 and B24 pilots getting in them and trying to run the engine's like they would in a B17 or B24 during take off, once Paul Tibbets developed a proper pilots manual and training program for B29's the induction fire problem dropped to virtually zero even on the older pre direct injection engine's, and there were other issues that contributed to engine temperature issues that weren't the engine's fault like improperly calibrated cylinder head temperature guages that were being sourced from wartime contractors who weren't calibrating them correctly, once that was figured out it contributed it's share of reducing incidents.
All aircraft and aircraft engine's went through constant refinements and improvements during their service life that made them easier to fly especially by new pilots, the B29 was no exception to that, but it doesn't mean that the early variations of it were bad, the biggest problem with the early one's was that there wasn't a proper and refined training program for new pilots, that's why Paul Tibbets was originally brought onboard with the B29, before he was task with running the Silverplate program to refine a variant specifically for dropping atomic bombs he was task with developing a training program for the B29 as a whole, he said in an interview that there was nothing wrong with the early one's he flew to start finding out were the problems were, the problems were simply that the pilots were trying to handle them the way they knew how which was for B17's and B24's.
The residents of Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, among other Japanese cities, would disagree with that assessment...
The Centaurus had its' own development problems and was too late in timescale.
The comment that the B-29 won the war is bogus. They did their job for sure, however it was the Marines that took Sipan and the Navy that transported the Marines. Without Sipan the B-29's could not have reached Japan.
They were bombing Japan from China.
33:00 minutes in..."Welcome to Japan, land of the little people..." Blatant racist propaganda sounds so laughable now, because it's so outrageous 😂😂😂... actually pretty sad 😢😢😢😢😢, for both sides, if you think about it🤯
Obviously you need to put it in context. It is hard to judge the past with today’s standards, as the further you go back in time, the worse it gets. Some eras are lucky not to have had cameras, and microphones.
I think the atom bomb had more to ending the war than a btwenty nine
But with out a plane, you can't drop a bomb, so the atom bomb is useless with out it.
26:02 Boeing Wichita produces 4.2 Super fortresses per day. (As in 420)
Pretty amazing for the time.
Black workers….!
Believe it or not, their was Black people back in the 1940s.
Your claims are very typical US! First of all there were other countries iinvolved in the race for aircraft. Secong, the B"( was totally useless for the Eurepean theatre of war. WW" was not all about the USA wh did not declare war on German but GB and the Empire had been fighting that for 3 years before the US entered. So please, do not inuslt the world
You do realise the channel didn't make the film on the video. Unless CZcams has been around since the 1940s. You now the narrator on the video, isn't the CZcams channel owner.
It's all about the US because it's a US propaganda film 😂. But let's talk about it. Great Britain and Russia were getting their asses beat and Churchill and Stalin begged the US to get involved. Contrary to what the world thinks much like today back then the majority of Americans didn't want to get involved because they viewed it as a European problem. FDR a globalists Jewish puppet wanted to get involved but knew it would cost him politically so he did the lend lease where he provided the UK and Russia with millions of tons of military equipment and food. Without that help Hitler would have conquered both those countries just like they did France. When pearl harbor happened Churchill said he slept great that night because he knew the US was finally in the war. Everyone but you knows the US was the baddest guy on the block and if they joined the war Germany didn't stand a chance. So get out of your feelings and just say thank you.
I have no connection to this plane, and have nothing to comment about.
You mean when I started dozing off driving home yesterday after work? How'd you know abt that?!?!
I think that lady is looking at two different people at once.
My great grandfather was a Boeing engineer who helped design the B-17 and the B-29. He claimed his contribution was ONLY the tail. Very modest about his accomplishments.
Bless him
What can I say, but I like a well designed. Tail of the feminine type and the B 29, was a she, 👍😃😃😃😃