November 1, 1954: The US Air Force begins to retire the Boeing B-29 Super Fortress. In the photo below, B-29A-20-BN 42-94012 is a "graveyard" at Davis Monson Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. The dry desert climate and hard alkaline soil make the base an ideal base for long-term storage of aircraft. Santa Catalina Mountains in the background.
B-29 Super Fortress is the most technologically advanced and complex aircraft in World War II . It requires the manufacturing capacity of the entire country to produce. It takes more than 1,400,000 man hours to design a prototype.
Superfortress is manufactured by Boeing in Seattle and Washington in Renton and Kansas in in in in in in in in in in java; provided by Glenn L. Martin in Omaha, Nebraska; and Bell Aircraft Company in Marietta, Georgia.
has 3 XB-29 prototypes, 14 YB-29 pre-production test machines, 2,513 B-29 Super Fortress, 1,119 B-29A and 311 B-29B aircraft. The bomber served during World War II and Korean War and remained in the United States until 1960. In addition to being a primary mission for long-range heavy bombers, Super Fortress is also used as a photography reconnaissance aircraft , designated as F-13, a weather reconnaissance aircraft (WB-29) and a tanker (KB-29).
1944 Boeing B-29 Super Fortress in Wichita, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force)
B-29 is operated by 11 to 13 crew members. It is 99 feet 0 inches (30.175 meters) long and has a wingspan of 141 feet 3 inches (43.068 meters). Vertical fin height 27 feet 9 inches (8.305 meters). The total wing area is 1,720 square feet (square meter). incident angle is 4° with a 4° 29' 23" diagonal. The leading edge swept backwards 7° 1' 26". The bomber has an empty weight of 71,500 pounds (kg) and a maximum take-off weight of 140,000 pounds (kg).
B-29 is powered by four air-cooled, supercharged, displacement 3,347.66 cubic inches (54.858 liters) Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone 18 (also known as Duplex-Cyclone) 670C18BA4 (R-3350-23A) two-row engines, with a normal rated power of 2,000 horsepower at 2,400 rpm and a takeoff power of 2,200 horsepower at 2,800 rpm. They drive 16-foot, 7-inch (5.055m) diameter four-blade Hamilton standard constant speed propeller with a gear reduction ratio . R-3350-23A is 6 feet long 4.26 inches (1.937 m) and 4 feet diameter 7.78 inches (1.417 m) and weighs 2,646 lbs (1,200 kg).
Boeing B-29A-30-BN Superfortress 42-94106, circa 1945. (USAF)
B-29 has a top speed of 353 knots (406 mph/654 km/h) at 30,000 feet (9,144 m) but its normal cruising speed is 198 knots (228 mph/367 km/h) at 25,000 feet (7,620 m). At maximum take-off weight, it takes 1 hour 1.5 minutes for the B-29 to climb from sea level to 20,000 feet (6,096 meters). The bomber's service cap is 43,200 feet (13,167 meters). The combat range is 3,445 nautical miles (3,964 statutory miles/6,380 km) and its maximum ferry range is 4,493 nautical miles (5,170 statutory miles/8,321 km).
is stored in the B-29 Super Fortress at Davis-Monsen Air Force Base. (Life Magazine)
Super Fortress can carry up to 20,000 pounds (9,072 kg) of bombs in two bomb bays. For defense, it comes with a 12 Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun in four remote turrets and a manned tail wing position. B-29 Carrying 500 rounds of ammunition per gun.
Many B-29 Super Fortresses are on display around the world, but only two, commemorating the Air Force’s B-29A-60-BN 44-62070, Fifi and B-29-70-BW 44-69972, Doc , Airworthiness. (After a long period of restoration, Doc obtained the Federal Aviation Administration's special airworthiness certificate on May 19, 2016.)
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