OT, B-29 Superfortress

This was on my Lincoln Electric newsletter. Enjoy watching.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNQxwWmc8sE&list=UUxP9TJelgrj4ld2WyIuC3Yg&index=2

OK, I don't know how to put a link in the post. You'll have to cut and paste.

Took a long time for anybody to build something better than the Lancaster Bomber.

My Uncle John was a pilot on both the B17 and B29 bombers.

He flew <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfKP9Cpz8AY">the B29</a> during the Korean Conflict.

When the Enola Gay left Tinian Island to drop the first A bomb, she weighed 65 tons, according to the book, "The Making of The Atomic Bomb", by Richard Rhodes. This was 15,000 pounds overweight and with 7,00 gallons of fuel!! The bomb itself weighed 8,000 pounds and when it dropped out of the plane, it says "the plane jumped" and Tibbets drove away!! This book has way too much many minor (to me) details, but it exhibits why we needed the the "bomb" and what would have happened had we not dropped the two bombs on Japan. The B-29 was an awesome piece of airplane!!

Actually 130,000 is 3000 BELOW the straats max.

Actually 130,000 is 3000 BELOW the Supers max.

I had the opportunity to see this B-29 and a B-17 as a kid. I was maybe 12-13 when the CAF came to Des Moines. Even at that age I was awestruck and moved by seeing them in person, and then getting to climb up into them. Amazing planes. The video brought back some memories for me. Thanks for sharing with us!

My 85 year old neighbor across the road was a flight engineer on a B-29 in Korea.

He flew his missions without incident aside from one engine fire, returned home and married his high school sweetheart, raised 5 very good kids and sent all of them to college.

Last month his wife passed. I hadn't seen him since the service and learned yesterday that he is now in a nursing home. He is just down the hall from another close friend who was a Seabee on Okinawa. I will visit both within the next few days.

Dean

I saw Fifi when they flew her into Oshkosh a few years back. According to EAA another group is resurrecting another B-29 SN 44-69972 named "Doc" in Wichita Kansas, many volunteers are Boeing or former Boeing employees. About the comment on the Lancaster, I'd always heard the B-17 (Flying Fortress) was the best bomber in the air at the start of WWII, to bad we didn't understand how to use them effectively. Although the B-24 carried more farther and at a faster speed it sometimes was a hand full to fly and was kind of ugly it also wasn't around at the start of the war. Me I think the B-52 is the best bomber ever made, those things will be close to 100 years old before they'll be gone. Heck the ones we're flying now are on their 3rd generation of crews. It is possible some young Air Force pilots are flying the same airplane their Grandpa did in the Viet Nam era.

Biggest problem with the B-29 was engine heat in the third row of pistons. The Russians got that fixed when they reverse engineered a B-29. The B-17 was a tough bit-- of a bomber that could take some brutal pounding but the bomb load was a little on the small side. The B-24 was bigger and faster and carry more but I have read that a few lucky hits would take it out. Lancaster is a very lovely looking plane but the Brits left something out. They forgot the BOTTOM TURRET!!!!! The one I would LOVE to have seen fly was the B-36 Peace maker. Six turning and four burning! Trouble is there is only ONE still alive and it is in Dayton, Ohio never to fly again. What a He--- of a big plane!! Neat to see a B-52 from the front, They almost look like some kind of supper size glidder comming at you. There have been so many planes I would love to have seen. Saw a Mustang take off at FULL power ---WOW WOW that was cool. Same with a corsair. Reading air show years ago.

Did you see the one in Dayton up close? She's got a few wrinkles! Somewhere on their website is a very good virtual tour of the cockpit, maybe other parts too.
The B52 there was damaged in Nam, patched up and flew more missions.

The last B36 ever built was long on display in the Dallas Fort Worth area. I worked 20 years in the building in which it was originally built. It sat outside our main gate for many years (76-93) and I prowled all over the exterior several times. It was eventually moved back onto our facility for restoration. (93-06) While it was being worked on in a run station I went out and explored the inside of the plane and was amazed at its sheer size, crew amenities and the equipment inside. The restoration was completed before it was moved in pieces from the run station to an area outside the hangar I work in today. It stayed there for a time then was moved a few miles away to a planned aircraft museum. This museum never got going and the plane was finally sent out to Pima Air & Space Museum in Arizona where it resides on display today. Due to interior vandalism and severe corrosion it probably will never be flyable again. To this day it still remains the property of the USAF. The engines were last run in 71 trying to make it ready to fly out of Great Southwest International Airport where it had been displayed since taking it out of service in 59. The attempt to fly it out was halted because the Air Force would not give permission for it to fly. It has been moved in pieces by truck each time since 1959.

Yep, neat.

My cousin was a hydraulic specialist on the B36 during his time in the Air Force. Jacking one of those up was quite an ordeal.

B36 at Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ

B29 at Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ.

I attended the Dayton air show in 1995 when they featured WWII aircraft celebrating the 50th year anniversary of the end of WWII.

It was a spectacular show. At one time there were 25 WWII aircraft in the air at the same time.

I spent quite a bit of time wondering through the staging area watching the aircraft preparing for takeoff. Standing within 20 feet or so of a P51, P47 or F4U, listing to the sound of the big military reciprocating engines is something that one never forgets.

Those of you that have never visited the Dayton Air Force museum should do so. It too is spectacular. The B-36 itself is worth the visit, as is the SR-71.

Dean