B-29, B-17's feared young brother
At 8:15 at the morning of august 6th 1945, a B-29 bomber nicknamed Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb ever made in the world on the city of Hiroshima, which is located in Japan. This is not your ordinary p-40 warhawk. This is something bigger and extraordinary.
History —
Designed in 1940 by Boeing as an eventual replacement for the B-17 and the B-24, the first b-29 made its first flight on September, 12, 1942. In December, 1943, the US air force leadership committed the super-fortress (as it was named) into Asia, where it's great range made it practically possible to unleash air raids on the Japanese empire from US bases put in China. Charles Lindenberg, an American aviator and a military officer who flew from new York to Paris France, suggested to military general, harry h Arnold, to produce a large bomber in large numbers to counter the German bomber production. this was the start of the super fortress legacy.
Info
This bomber was a beast. And when i say beast, i mean it. This bomber had a weight of 72,208 lb and a height of 29 ft and 7 inches. not only that but the wingspan of it was about 141 feet long. lets move on to the defensive details of this bomber. The reason that this bomber is a massive deal in military technology was because it had four 50 caliber machine guns which where remote controlled at the time, which would massively bring back veterans home. this technology is called General Electric Central Fire Control system (GECFCS). This bomber also had a gunning system which would go 900 yards. this monster of ww2 also had AN/APG-15B airborne radar gun sighting system, which would help gunners shoot down planes at night.
B-29 Tragedies
Although the b-29 was the most feared warplane, it has gone through a lot of tragedies in the past few years when it was first made. Here is the list of tragedies the fierce b-29 went through.
1. Korean War
34 B-29s were lost during the Korean War. 16 were destroyed by fighter aircraft, 14 by other causes, and four by anti-aircraft weapons.
2. Lake Mead Crash
On July 21, 1948, a B-29–100-BW Superfortress crashed into Lake Mead, Nevada. The plane was modified into an F-13 reconnaissance platform and was performing atmospheric research.
3. Anti-aircraft Fire
A B-29 Superfortress was hit by anti-aircraft fire, exploded, and disintegrated. Three crew members were able to bail out and were rescued, but eight other occupants were killed.
4. Engine Fire
On February 18, 1943, the second B-29 prototype crashed after an engine fire. The crash killed the pilot, his 10-man crew, and 20 workers at a meat packing plant.
5. 160 B-29 Claimed By Japanese Empire
The Japanese shot down about 160 B-29 Superfortresses during World War II. The rest were lost due to accidents, such as crashing on takeoff or landing.
Conclusion
The B-17 was the most feared aircraft in WW2, but how good was the plane in warfare? This plane was the most feared by the Japanese empire, because this plane continuously firebombed Tokyo, which claimed hundreds of Tokyo residents. This warplane also dropped 167,000 tons of during the Korean war, and it also performed bombing raids over France in 1945. There are currently 22 left around the world.