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105-492: In June 1944, the first Boeing B-29 Superfortresses appeared over Japan. It was the start of bombing campaign that would see key Japanese cities, infrastructure and industries reduced to ashes through conventional and firebombing raids. With the aircraft industry being a priority target, the Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau ( 海軍航空本部 , Kaigun Koku Hombu ) looked to ways to combat

210-457: A Tachikawa Ki-9 , piloted by Saburo Fujikura, a man known for his skill in flying gliders prior to the beginning of the war. For the first test, Narabayashi assessed the Jinryū's handling. On landing, his opinion was that the glider was stable and possessed good handling characteristics. For the second flight Narabayashi would investigate the Jinryū's diving capability and after a few bounces on

315-619: A stepless cockpit design, without a separate windscreen for the pilots. Manufacturing the B-29 was a complex task that involved four main-assembly factories. There were two Boeing operated plants at Renton, Washington ( Boeing Renton Factory ), and one in Wichita, Kansas (now Spirit AeroSystems ), a Bell plant at Marietta, Georgia , near Atlanta ("Bell-Atlanta"), and a Martin plant at Bellevue, Nebraska ("Martin-Omaha" – Offutt Field ). Thousands of subcontractors were also involved in

420-566: A 30-second burn time. He estimated that at maximum burn the Jinryū could attain a speed of 750 km/h (470 mph), and for weapons he envisioned that it could carry ten explosive charges adapted from artillery shells used by the IJA in their 100 mm (3.9 in) guns (likely the Type 92 ). Not only did Narabayashi agree that the Jinryū could be used against tanks and ships but added that it could also be used to attack US B-29 bombers. Despite

525-581: A B-29, damaging it, but was shot down by return fire. One B-29 was lost, possibly the one damaged by Flt Lt Therdsak. On 14 April 1945, a second B-29 raid on Bangkok destroyed two key power plants and was the last major attack conducted against Thai targets. The B-29 effort was gradually shifted to the new bases in the Mariana Islands in the Central Pacific , with the last B-29 combat mission from India flown on 29 March 1945. In addition to

630-421: A bayonet mechanism in order to maintain air flow across the chamber. It also would have required specific positioning of the fuel injectors so as not to have the air flow disrupt the injection process. The second method would use injectors which sprayed a water and alcohol mixture onto the rocket nozzle, cooling it. In reviewing the two solutions for cooling, it was determined that the water/alcohol system would be

735-498: A canard design that made this the second Japanese aircraft to be developed during the war with such a feature (the first was the Kyushu J7W Shinden ). In addition, the main wings had a platform similar to a cropped delta. These design features were included as a means of ensuring stability in flight as well as good handling characteristics. Since the average Japanese pilot had little experience with canard equipped aircraft,

840-399: A consequence of that requirement, Bell Atlanta (BA) produced a series of 311 B-29Bs that had turrets and sighting equipment omitted, except for the tail position, which was fitted with AN/APG-15 fire-control radar. That version could also have an improved APQ-7 "Eagle" bombing-through-overcast radar fitted in an airfoil-shaped radome under the fuselage. Most of those aircraft were assigned to

945-525: A fully pressurized fuselage that would have to be de-pressurized prior to opening the bomb bay doors. The solution was to have bomb bays that were not pressurized and a long tunnel joining the forward and rear crew compartments. Crews could use the tunnel if necessary to crawl from one pressurized compartment to the other. In September 1941, the United States Army Air Forces ' plans for war against Germany and Japan proposed basing

1050-428: A greater flow of cooling air into the intakes, which had baffles installed to direct a stream of air onto the exhaust valves. Oil flow to the valves was also increased, asbestos baffles were installed around rubber push rod fittings to prevent oil loss, thorough pre-flight inspections were made to detect unseated valves, and mechanics frequently replaced the uppermost five cylinders (every 25 hours of engine time) and

1155-575: A gross takeoff weight of 155,000 pounds (70,000 kg). Almost a year later, in October 1946, the same B-29 flew 9,422 miles (15,163 km) nonstop from Oahu, Hawaii, to Cairo, Egypt, in less than 40 hours, demonstrating the possibility of routing airlines over the polar ice cap. Although considered for other theaters, and briefly evaluated in the UK, the B-29 was exclusively used in World War II in

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1260-546: A major power plant. Bombs fell over two kilometers away, damaged no civilian structures, but destroyed some tram lines, and destroyed both a Japanese military hospital and the Japanese secret police headquarters. On 15 June 1944, 68 B-29s took off from bases around Chengdu, 47 B-29s bombed the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata , Fukuoka Prefecture , Japan . This was the first attack on Japanese islands since

1365-667: A night raid on Omura in Kyushu, Japan, the General H. H. Arnold Special (42-6365) was damaged and forced to divert to Vladivostok in the Soviet Union. The crew was interned. On 21 November 1944, Ding Hao (42-6358) was damaged during a raid on an aircraft factory at Omura and was also forced to divert to Vladivostok. The interned crews of these four B-29s were allowed to escape into American-occupied Iran in January 1945, but none of

1470-588: Is 1311 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.7 °C. Per Japanese census data, the population of Kasumigaura peaked around the year 2000 and has declined since. The village of Dejima was established within Niihari District on February 11, 1955 through the merger of the villages of Shimootsu, Minami, Ushiwata, Saga, Anshoku and Shishiko. It

1575-530: Is 156.60 square kilometres (60.46 sq mi). . The city takes its name from the nearby lake, Lake Kasumigaura . The city has the distinction of having the longest name in Japan (in terms of the number of characters used), together with Ichikikushikino , Kagoshima Prefecture and Tsukubamirai . Much of the city is within the borders of the Suigō-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park . Kasumigaura

1680-497: Is located in central Ibaraki Prefecture, on a peninsula bordered by Lake Kasumigaura on two sides to the southeast and southwest. It is approximately 60 kilometers to the northeast of Tokyo. Ibaraki Prefecture Kasumigaura has a humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa ) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kasumigaura is 13.7 °C. The average annual rainfall

1785-604: The B-32 ), Lockheed (the Lockheed XB-30 ), and Douglas (the Douglas XB-31 ). Douglas and Lockheed soon abandoned work on their projects, but Boeing received an order for two flying prototypes , which were given the designation XB-29, and an airframe for static testing on 24 August 1940, with the order being revised to add a third flying aircraft on 14 December. Consolidated continued to work on its Model 33, as it

1890-758: The Doolittle raid in April 1942. The first B-29 combat losses occurred during this raid, with one B-29 destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters after an emergency landing in China, one lost to anti-aircraft fire over Yawata, and another, the Stockett's Rocket (after Capt. Marvin M. Stockett, Aircraft Commander) B-29-1-BW 42-6261, disappeared after takeoff from Chakulia, India, over the Himalayas (12 KIA, 11 crew and one passenger). This raid, which did little damage to

1995-530: The Himalayas , either by transport aircraft or by B-29s themselves, with some aircraft being stripped of armor and guns and used to deliver fuel. B-29s started to arrive in India in early April 1944. The first B-29 flight to airfields in China (over the Himalayas, or " The Hump ") took place on 24 April 1944. The first B-29 combat mission was flown on 5 June 1944, with 77 out of 98 B-29s launched from India bombing

2100-423: The Jinryū project. In addition to expressing his doubts about the rocket engines, he also stated that the Jinryū would be unsuited for shinpu missions because, despite the changes made to the glider to improve the flight characteristics, it was a challenging aircraft to fly. Narabayashi suggested that instead of being used for shinpu operations, the glider should be modified to take six rocket engines each with

2205-469: The Jinryū project: Sakakibara, the lead designer, and Yoshio Tonsho who would oversee the construction of the prototype. Yujiro Murakami was tasked with the aerodynamic testing of the Shinryū II . All of those assigned to develop the Shinryū II were ordered by Suganuma to maintain the utmost secrecy. Unlike the Jinryū , the Shinryū II was to be built from the outset as an interceptor. Sakakibara would use

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2310-462: The Jinryū was modified to accept a group of three Toku-Ro I Type I rocket engines that together would produce 300 kg (660 lb) of thrust during a 10-second burn. Testing of the rocket array showed two serious flaws. The first was the quality of the rockets that resulted in a number of failures. The second was the inconsistency of the burn times. Narabayashi noted his concerns and forwarded them to Major Suganuma who had been placed in charge of

2415-625: 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,

2520-570: 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 with the service name Washington from 1950 to 1954 when the jet-powered Canberra entered service. The B-29

2625-518: The Pacific Theatre . The use of YB-29-BW 41-36393 , the so-named Hobo Queen , one of the service test aircraft flown around several British airfields in early 1944, was part of a "disinformation" program from its mention in an American-published Sternenbanner German-language propaganda leaflet from Leap Year Day in 1944, meant to be circulated within the Reich, with the intent to deceive

2730-692: The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1952. They were attached to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit and used in trials conducted on behalf of the British Ministry of Supply . Both aircraft were placed in storage in 1956 and were sold for scrap in 1957. At the end of WWII, Soviet development of modern four-engine heavy bombers lagged behind the West. The Petlyakov Pe-8 —the sole heavy bomber operated by

2835-567: The Shinryū II for shinpu missions against tanks makes little sense when there were other simpler and more effective means (both already in service and under development) to eliminate armour. Perhaps this is a case of the Jinryū glider's role being applied to the Shinryū II , or an assumption based on the fact that, like the IJN's other special attack aircraft such as the Kikka , Baika and Toka ,

2940-615: The Shinryū II had a second set of rocket engines which could be used to sustain flight endurance or to increase speed during the attack. In the same way as the Ba349, the Shinryū II would be armed with rocket projectiles, likely fired as a group to affect a spread pattern, to bring down the bomber target. Finally, akin to the J8M, once the fuel and ammunition were expended, the Shinryū II would glide back to its base to be recovered, refueled and rearmed. The Shinryū II would never be built because

3045-401: The Shinryū II had spoilers fitted into the top of each main wing. Each spoiler was able to rotate between 60 degrees and 90 degrees and if the mechanism for controlling the spoilers was damaged, they would automatically return to the closed position. The pilot was provided with an enclosed cockpit. For power, the Shinryū II was to use four Toku-Ro I Type 2 rocket engines located in the rear of

3150-629: The Shinryū II possessed no letter/numerical designation. So, by extension, the Shinryū II must also have been a special attack weapon. This, of course, is not to say that the pilot could not choose to use the Shinryū II as a shinpu aircraft. As an interceptor, the Shinryū II had a similar role to the Mitsubishi J8M Shūsui and the German Bachem Ba 349 Natter , which the Japanese were aware of and obtained data on (although

3255-445: The Shinryū II taken off from the ground. In order to combat the B-29, which could operate at altitudes up to 10,000 m (33,000 ft), the Shinryū II was to be equipped with a pressurised cockpit or, if such a cockpit proved problematic, the pilot would wear a pressure suit. For weapons, the Shinryū II was to be armed with eight rockets. Attached to the inside of the rear landing skid arrangement were four tubes, one on top of

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3360-500: The Silverplate and successor-name "Saddletree" specifications built for the Manhattan Project with Curtiss Electric reversible pitch propellers. The other differences came through added equipment for varied mission roles. These roles included cargo carriers (CB); rescue aircraft (SB); weather ships (WB); and trainers (TB); and aerial tankers (KB). Some were used for odd purposes such as flying relay television transmitters under

3465-541: The Silverplate series, being extensively modified to carry nuclear weapons. Early consideration was given to using the British Lancaster as a nuclear bomber, as this would require less modification. However, the superior range and high-altitude performance of the B-29 made it a much better choice, and after the B-29 began to be modified in November 1943 for carrying the atomic bomb, the suggestion for using

3570-665: The Soviet Air Forces —first flew in 1936. Intended to replace the obsolete Tupolev TB-3 , only 93 Pe-8s were built by the end of WWII. During 1944 and 1945, four B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory after bombing raids on Japanese Manchuria and Japan. In accordance with Soviet neutrality in the Pacific War , the bombers were interned by the Soviets despite American requests for their return. Rather than return

3675-730: The Yalu River , and for attacks on dams. The aircraft also was used for numerous leaflet drops in North Korea, such as those for Operation Moolah . A Superfortress of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron flew the last B-29 mission of the war on 27 July 1953. Over the course of the war, B-29s flew 20,000 sorties and dropped 200,000 tonnes (220,000 tons) of bombs. B-29 gunners were credited with shooting down 27 enemy aircraft. In turn 78 B-29s were lost; 57 B-29 and reconnaissance variants were lost in action and 21 were non-combat losses. Soviet records show that one MiG-15 jet fighter

3780-541: The "Silverplate" modified aircraft of the 509th Composite Group remained the only aircraft capable of delivering the atomic bomb, and so the unit was involved in the Operation Crossroads series of tests, with B-29 Dave's Dream dropping a "Fat Man"-type bomb in Test Able on 1 July 1946. Some B-29s, fitted with filtered air sampling scoops, were used to monitor above-ground nuclear weapons testing by

3885-407: The 315th Bomb Wing, Northwest Field, Guam. The crew would enjoy, for the first time in a bomber, full-pressurization comfort. This first-ever cabin pressure system for an Allied production bomber was developed for the B-29 by Garrett AiResearch . Both the forward and rear crew compartments were to be pressurized, but the designers had to decide whether to have bomb bays that were not pressurized or

3990-605: The Air Corps issued a formal specification for a so-called "superbomber" that could deliver 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) of bombs to a target 2,667 mi (4,292 km) away, and at a speed of 400 mph (640 km/h). Boeing's previous private venture studies formed the starting point for its response to the Air Corps formal specification. Boeing submitted its Model 345 on 11 May 1940, in competition with designs from Consolidated Aircraft (the Model 33, which later became

4095-422: The B-29 even if they did attain that altitude. The General Electric Central Fire Control system on the B-29 directed four remotely controlled turrets armed with two .50 Browning M2 machine guns each. All weapons were aimed optically, with targeting computed by analog electrical instrumentation. There were five interconnected sighting stations located in the nose and tail positions and three Plexiglas blisters in

4200-659: The B-29 in Egypt for operations against Germany, as British airbases were likely to be overcrowded. Air Force planning throughout 1942 and early 1943 continued to have the B-29 deployed initially against Germany, transferring to the Pacific only after the end of the war in Europe. By the end of 1943, plans had changed, partly due to production delays, and the B-29 was dedicated to the Pacific Theater. A new plan implemented at

4305-484: The B-29 in many later bombers and transports. Production of the B-29 was phased out after WWII, with the last example completed by Boeing's Renton factory on 28 May 1946. Many aircraft went into storage, being declared excess inventory, and were ultimately scrapped as surplus. Others remained in the active inventory and equipped the Strategic Air Command when it formed on 21 March 1946. In particular,

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4410-588: The B-29 menace. One concept was a point defence interceptor that could quickly rise to meet the bombers and so the Mizuno Shinryū was born. However, the development of the Shinryū began with designs for a far more conventional craft. In November 1944, the Navy Aviation Bureau looked into the possibilities of an aircraft to undertake suicide missions ( 神風 , shinpu ) . While the mission

4515-420: 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 $ 51 billion in 2022), far exceeding the $ 1.9 billion cost of

4620-791: The B-29. Twenty B-29s remain as static displays, but only two, FIFI and Doc , still fly. Before World War II , the United States Army Air Corps concluded that the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, which would be the Americans' primary strategic bomber during the war, would be inadequate for the Pacific Theater , which required a bomber that could carry a larger payload more than 3,000 miles. In response, Boeing began work on pressurized long-range bombers in 1938. Boeing's design study for

4725-648: The B-29s were returned after Stalin ordered the Tupolev OKB to examine and copy the B-29 and produce a design ready for quantity production as soon as possible. Because aluminum in the USSR was supplied in different gauges from that available in the US (metric vs imperial), the entire aircraft had to be extensively re-engineered. In addition, Tupolev substituted his own favored airfoil sections for those used by Boeing, with

4830-765: The Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser . This bomber-to-airliner derivation was similar to the B-17 / Model 307 evolution. In 1948, Boeing introduced the KB-29 tanker, followed in 1950 by the Model 377-derivative KC-97 . A line of outsized-cargo variants of the Stratocruiser is the Guppy  / Mini Guppy  / Super Guppy , which remain in service with NASA and other operators. The Soviet Union produced 847 Tupolev Tu-4s , an unlicensed reverse-engineered copy of

4935-636: The Germans into believing that the B-29 would be deployed to Europe. American post-war military assistance programs loaned the RAF 87 Superfortresses, to equip eight RAF Bomber Command squadrons. The aircraft was known as the Washington B.1 in RAF service and served from March 1950 until the last bombers were returned in March 1954. Deployment was restricted to long-range training for strategic attacks against

5040-525: The IJA and IJN 1939-1945 General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Boeing B-29 Superfortress 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

5145-612: The Japanese Showa steel mill in Anshan , Manchuria . On 20 August 1944, Cait Paomat (42-93829), flying from Chengdu, was damaged by anti-aircraft gunfire during a raid on the Yawata Iron Works. Due to the damage it sustained, the crew elected to divert to the Soviet Union. The aircraft crashed in the foothills of Sikhote-Alin mountain range east of Khabarovsk after the crew bailed out. On 11 November 1944, during

5250-598: The Japanese capital since the Doolittle Raid in April 1942, 73rd Bomb Wing wing commander Brigadier General Emmett O'Donnell Jr. acted as mission command pilot in B-29 Dauntless Dotty . The campaign of incendiary raids started with the bombardment of Kobe on 4 February 1945, then peaked early with the most destructive bombing raid in history (even when the later Silverplate -flown nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are considered) on

5355-580: The Lancaster never came up again. The most significant modification was the enlargement of the bomb bay enabling each aircraft to carry either the Thinman or Fatman weapons. These Silverplate bombers differed from other B-29s then in service by having fuel injection and reversible props . Also, to make a lighter aircraft, the Silverplate B-29s were stripped of all guns, except for those on

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5460-425: The Marianas. US forces invaded Saipan on 15 June 1944. Despite a Japanese naval counterattack which led to the Battle of the Philippine Sea and heavy fighting on land, Saipan was secured by 9 July. Operations followed against Guam and Tinian , with all three islands secured by August. Naval construction battalions ( Seabees ) began at once to construct air bases suitable for the B-29, commencing even before

5565-414: The Model 334 was a pressurized derivative of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress with nosewheel undercarriage . Although the Air Corps lacked funds to pursue the design, Boeing continued development with its own funds as a private venture. In April 1939, Charles Lindbergh convinced General Henry H. Arnold to produce a new bomber in large numbers to counter the Germans' bomber production. In December 1939,

5670-419: The Soviet Union, which was beyond the range of the RAF's Avro Lincolns . The phase-out was occasioned by deliveries of the English Electric Canberra bombers. Three Washingtons modified for ELINT duties and a standard bomber version used for support by No. 192 Squadron RAF were decommissioned in 1958, being replaced by de Havilland Comet aircraft. Two British Washington B.1 aircraft were transferred to

5775-402: The Soviets themselves already having their own Wright R-1820 -derived 18 cylinder radial engine, the Shvetsov ASh-73 of comparable power and displacement to the B-29's Duplex Cyclone radials available to power their design. In 1947, the Soviets debuted both the Tupolev Tu-4 ( NATO ASCC code named Bull), and the Tupolev Tu-70 transport variant. The Soviets used tail-gunner positions similar to

5880-539: The US and the USSR by sampling airborne radioactive contamination . The USAF also used the aircraft for long-range weather reconnaissance (WB-29), for signals intelligence gathering (EB-29) and photographic reconnaissance (RB-29). The B-29 was used in 1950–53 in the Korean War . At first, the bomber was used in normal strategic day-bombing missions, although North Korea's few strategic targets and industries were quickly destroyed. More importantly, in 1950 numbers of Soviet MiG-15 jet fighters appeared over Korea, and after

5985-445: The advanced bases from Japanese ground attack. The XX Bomber Command , initially intended to be two combat wings of four groups each, was reduced to a single wing of four groups because of the lack of availability of aircraft, automatically limiting the effectiveness of any attacks from China. This was an extremely costly scheme, as there was no overland connection available between India and China, and all supplies had to be flown over

6090-458: The air and in the wind tunnel testing of the modified Jinryū model. Before flying the Jinryū , Narabayashi had suspected that the aircraft would have stability problems which, as was seen, proved to be the case. With the handling and flight characteristics of the Jinryū proven, the testing moved to the next phase - that of-powered flight. The glider was relocated to an airfield in Kasumigaura , about 19 km (12 mi) north of Ishioka. Here,

6195-404: The aircraft, the Soviets reverse engineered the American B-29s and used them as a pattern for the Tupolev Tu-4 . On 31 July 1944, Ramp Tramp ( serial number 42-6256), of the United States Army Air Forces 462nd (Very Heavy) Bomb Group was diverted to Vladivostok , Russia , after an engine failed and the propeller could not be feathered . This B-29 was part of a 100-aircraft raid against

6300-401: The central fuselage. Five General Electric analog computers (one dedicated to each sight) increased the weapons' accuracy by compensating for factors such as airspeed, lead , gravity, temperature and humidity. The computers also allowed a single gunner to operate two or more turrets (including tail guns) simultaneously. The gunner in the upper position acted as fire control officer, managing

6405-502: The defensive armament and remote-controlled sighting equipment removed from the B-29s under his command. The affected aircraft had the same reduced defensive firepower as the nuclear weapons-delivery intended Silverplate B-29 airframes and could carry greater fuel and bomb loads as a result of the change. The lighter defensive armament was made possible by a change in mission from high-altitude, daylight bombing with high explosive bombs to low-altitude night raids using incendiary bombs. As

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6510-416: The design was complete by May 1945, and the Mizuno Corporation , a small glider manufacturer better known for sports equipment, had almost finished the prototype. The glider was very simple and used a high-wing monoplane form. The straight and flat wings were wide but had a short span and were designed to ensure that the glider was easy to handle given that inexperienced pilots would be at the controls. Also,

6615-401: The design was still underway. In fact, the first flight of the Jinryū occurred even before the results of the testing had been provided to Tonsho and Sakakibara. Tashiichi Narabayashi was the pilot who flew the maiden flight in mid-July 1945 at the airfield in Ishioka , a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture , about 90 km (56 mi) northeast of Tokyo. The Jinryū was towed into the air by

6720-440: The direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a promise to China, called Operation Matterhorn , deployed the B-29 units to attack Japan from four forward bases in southern China , with five main bases in India , and to attack other targets in the region from China and India as needed. The Chengdu region was eventually chosen over the Guilin region to avoid having to raise, equip, and train 50 Chinese divisions to protect

6825-403: The distribution of turrets among the other gunners during combat. The tail position initially had two .50 Browning machine guns and a single M2 20 mm cannon . Later aircraft had the 20 mm cannon removed, sometimes replaced by a third machine gun. In early 1945, Major General Curtis Lemay , commander of XXI Bomber Command —the Marianas-based B-29-equipped bombing force—ordered most of

6930-446: The dolly. In addition to conventional runway take-off procedures, other methods for launching the Shinryū II were considered but what exactly these were is not known. It can be speculated that towing the Shinryū II aloft was one consideration. Another may have been air dropping the Shinryū II in the same manner as the Kūgishō MXY7 Ōka . In both cases this may have preserved two of the rocket engines which would have been used up had

7035-422: The end of ground fighting. In all, five major airfields were built: two on the flat island of Tinian , one on Saipan , and two on Guam . Each was large enough to eventually accommodate a bomb wing consisting of four bomb groups, giving a total of 180 B-29s per airfield. These bases could be supplied by ship and, unlike the bases in China, were not vulnerable to attack by Japanese ground forces. The bases became

7140-416: The end of the hostilities in August 1945 terminated any further work on the design. Likewise, the Jinryū glider would never fly under power. After the failure of the rocket motors during ground tests, the war came to a close before more suitable and reliable motors could be acquired and tested. Mizuno completed a total of five Jinryū gliders. Data from Japanese Secret Projects: Experimental aircraft of

7245-490: The entire engines (every 75 hours). Pilots, including the present-day pilots of the Commemorative Air Force 's Fifi , one of the last two remaining flying B-29s, describe flight after takeoff as being an urgent struggle for airspeed (generally, flight after takeoff should consist of striving for altitude). Radial engines need airflow to keep them cool, and failure to get up to speed as soon as possible could result in an engine failure and risk of fire. One useful technique

7350-413: The farthest nonstop distance (6,400 miles or 10,300 kilometers) to that date flown by U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft and the first-ever nonstop flight from Japan to Chicago . Two months later, Colonel Clarence S. Irvine commanded another modified B-29, Pacusan Dreamboat , in a world-record-breaking long-distance flight from Guam to Washington, D.C., traveling 7,916 miles (12,740 km) in 35 hours, with

7455-420: The flight was terminated due to a serious engine fire. On 18 February 1943, the second prototype, flying out of Boeing Field in Seattle, experienced an engine fire and crashed. The crash killed Boeing test pilot Edmund T. Allen and his 10-man crew, 20 workers at the Frye Meat Packing Plant and a Seattle firefighter. Changes to the production craft came so often and so fast that, in early 1944, B-29s flew from

7560-560: The fuselage. Each engine provided a 30-second burn time and all together up to 600 kg (1,300 lb) of thrust could be delivered. Two rockets would be used to get the Shinryū II airborne while the other two engines would be used when making the attack. There was a concern regarding the operating temperatures of the Toku Ro rockets and two methods of cooling the engines were considered. The first would have utilised an air-cooled combustion chamber that would have required an air inlet using

7665-450: The gauges. Pulling the nose up to bleed off speed, Narabayashi discovered that the vibrations ceased. During his descent Narabayashi examined the vibrations and after landing the issue was reviewed. The conclusion was that the tail was not sufficiently reinforced and the vertical stabiliser was too small. The Jinryū was modified by adding some strengthening in the tail and fitting a second stabiliser. The changes were later validated both in

7770-465: The ground the Ki-9 and the Jinryū took off. At a height of 2,300 m (7,500 ft), Narabayashi went to cast off from the Ki-9 but found that the tow rope release had stuck; however, he was able to cut the rope and proceed with the test flight. When Narabayashi put the Jinryū into a dive and had reached 300 km/h (190 mph), the glider began to vibrate to such a degree that he was unable to read

7875-485: The issues with the rockets work continued on preparing the Jinryū for powered flight. Major Suganuma, however, would become the catalyst for the Shinryū II' s continued development. Taking Narabayashi's concerns on board, Suganuma formed a team to revise the Jinryū and produce a design for an interceptor rather than a glider; Suganuma was especially interested in this idea since he had access to rocket engines that promised 32-second burn times. Two people were retained from

7980-530: The launch sites for the large B-29 raids against Japan in the final year of the war. The first B-29 arrived on Saipan on 12 October 1944, and the first combat mission was launched from there on 28 October 1944, with 14 B-29s attacking the Truk atoll. The 73rd Bomb Wing launched the first mission against Japan from bases in the Marianas, on 24 November 1944, sending 111 B-29s to attack Tokyo . For this first attack on

8085-458: The logistical problems associated with operations from China, the B-29 could reach only a limited part of Japan while flying from Chinese bases. The solution to this problem was to capture the Mariana Islands , which would bring targets such as Tokyo , about 1,500 mi (2,400 km) north of the Marianas within range of B-29 attacks. The Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed in December 1943 to seize

8190-466: The loss of 28 aircraft, future B-29 raids were restricted to night missions, largely in a supply-interdiction role. The B-29 dropped the 1,000 lb (450 kg) VB-3 "Razon" (a range-controllable version of the earlier Azon guided ordnance device) and the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) VB-13 " Tarzon " MCLOS radio-controlled bombs in Korea, mostly for demolishing major bridges, like the ones across

8295-469: The name of Stratovision . Kasumigaura, Ibaraki Kasumigaura ( かすみがうら市 , Kasumigaura-shi ) is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture , Japan . As of 1 July 2020 , the city had an estimated population of 40,254 in 15,839 households and a population density of 257 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 32.0%. The total area of the city

8400-561: The night of 9–10 March 1945 on Tokyo. From then on, the raids intensified, being launched regularly until the end of the war. The attacks succeeded in devastating most large Japanese cities (with the exception of Kyoto and four that were reserved for nuclear attacks), and gravely damaged Japan's war industries. Although less publicly appreciated, the mining of Japanese ports and shipping routes ( Operation Starvation ) carried out by B-29s from April 1945 reduced Japan's ability to support its population and move its troops. The most famous B-29s were

8505-501: The other and angled downwards, which contained the rockets. There has been some conjecture as to the mission objective of the Shinryū II . Some sources make the case that the Shinryū II was to be used like the MXY7 while others come to the conclusion that the Shinryū II was to attack armoured ground targets such as tanks. In both cases these sources state that the nose of the Shinryū II contained an impact fused explosive warhead and once

8610-403: The plans never made it to Japan). Like the J8M and Ba349, and due to the limited range afforded by the rocket engines, the Shinryū II would have to be positioned close to targets that were likely to be bombed. And like the J8M, the Shinryū II would have used a jettisonable wheeled dolly to take-off while firing a pair of its rocket engines. Unlike the J8M which burned up all of its fuel at once,

8715-406: The platform would be able to accommodate the rocket engines that were to be used to boost the glider into the air. The pilot sat in an open cockpit. The design was sent to the Navy Aviation Bureau for review. Sakakibara studied the plans and projections and after his analysis it was felt the glider was flawed and changes were necessary. After these had been made the design was approved. Work began on

8820-439: The prior period, B-29 raids were also launched from China and India against many other targets throughout Southeast Asia , including a series of raids on Singapore and Thailand. On 2 November 1944, 55 B-29s raided Bangkok's Bang Sue marshaling yards in the largest raid of the war. Seven RTAF Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa s from Foong Bin (Air Group) 16 and 14 IJAAF Ki-43s attempted intercept. RTAF Flt Lt Therdsak Worrasap attacked

8925-402: The problem, with production personnel being sent from the factories to the modification centers to speed availability of sufficient aircraft to equip the first bomb groups in what became known as the " Battle of Kansas ". This resulted in 150 aircraft being modified in the five weeks, between 10 March and 15 April 1944. The most common cause of maintenance headaches and catastrophic failures

9030-537: The production lines directly to modification depots for extensive rebuilds to incorporate the latest changes. AAF-contracted modification centers and its own air depot system struggled to handle the scope of the requirements. Some facilities lacked hangars capable of housing the giant B-29, requiring outdoor work in freezing weather, further delaying necessary modification. By the end of 1943, although almost 100 aircraft had been delivered, only 15 were airworthy. This prompted an intervention by General Hap Arnold to resolve

9135-476: The project. The first prototype made its maiden flight from Boeing Field , Seattle , on 21 September 1942. The combined effects of the aircraft's highly advanced design, challenging requirements, immense pressure for production, and hurried development caused setbacks. Unlike the unarmed first prototype, the second was fitted with a Sperry defensive armament system using remote-controlled gun turrets sighted by periscopes and first flew on 30 December 1942, although

9240-524: The railroad shops in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand . Five B-29s were lost during the mission, none to hostile fire. On 5 June 1944, B-29s raided Bangkok , in what is reported as a test before being deployed against the Japanese home islands . Sources do not report from where they launched and vary as to the numbers involved—77, 98, and 114 being claimed. Targets were Bangkok's Memorial Bridge and

9345-406: The revised Jinryū , as the glider was now called, by the middle of June 1945. To hasten the construction, the finalised blueprints and work plans for the Jinryū were drawn up even as the components for the first prototype were being built. Construction of the Jinryū was again given to Mizuno. Working around the clock, the company completed two prototypes with such speed that wind tunnel testing of

9450-474: The rocket armament was expended, the pilot would crash the aircraft into his final target using the warhead to deliver the coup de grâce . However, analysis of the Shinryū II shows that neither mission was likely. The aircraft would have been far more complex to build than the Toka or Ōka and the Shinryū II was constructed for maneuverability, high altitude operation and the means to land. In addition, using

9555-848: The second bomb, called Fat Man , on Nagasaki three days later. Bockscar is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force . Following the surrender of Japan, called V-J Day , B-29s were used for other purposes. A number supplied POWs with food and other necessities by dropping barrels of rations on Japanese POW camps. In September 1945, a long-distance flight was undertaken for public relations purposes: Generals Barney M. Giles , Curtis LeMay , and Emmett O'Donnell Jr. piloted three specially modified B-29s from Chitose Air Base in Hokkaidō to Chicago Municipal Airport , continuing to Washington, D.C. ,

9660-423: The simplest to implement. No provision was made for a wheeled landing gear system and skids were used. A nose skid was provided with a basic spring suspension to absorb the landing forces. Under each wing was a non-sprung skid arrangement supported by two struts. For take-off the Shinryū II was to use a two wheeled dolly similar to the one used by the Mitsubishi J8M Shūsui . Once airborne the pilot could jettison

9765-613: The tail. Pilot Charles Sweeney credits the reversible props for saving Bockscar after making an emergency landing on Okinawa following the Nagasaki bombing. Enola Gay , flown by Colonel Paul Tibbets , dropped the first bomb, called Little Boy , on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Enola Gay is fully restored and on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center , outside Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C. Bockscar , piloted by Major Charles W. Sweeney , dropped

9870-535: The target, with only one bomb striking the target factory complex, nearly exhausted fuel stocks at the Chengdu B-29 bases, resulting in a slow-down of operations until the fuel stockpiles could be replenished. Starting in July, the raids against Japan from Chinese airfields continued at relatively low intensity. Japan was bombed on: B-29s were withdrawn from airfields in China by the end of January 1945. Throughout

9975-439: The task of turning the glider into reality. The project was led by Shigeki Sakakibara who staffed a number of teams that would each be responsible for one part of the glider. The different sections were the wings, the fuselage, control surfaces, aerodynamic testing and test flights once the prototype was complete. The Navy Aviation Bureau gave instructions that the glider must be built from as much wood as possible. This restriction

10080-506: The wingspan dimensions. The wing of the Renton-built B-29A-BN used a different subassembly process and was a foot longer in span. The Georgia-built B-29B-BA weighed less through armament reduction. A planned C series with more reliable R-3350s was not built. Moreover, engine packages changed, including the type of propellers and range of the variable pitch. A notable example was the eventual 65 airframes (up to 1947's end) for

10185-512: Was elevated to town status on April 1, 1997 and was renamed Kasumigaura. The town of Kasumigaura merged with the neighboring town of Chiyoda on March 28, 2005, becoming the city of Kasumigaura. Kasumigaura has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 16 members. Kasumigaura contributes one member to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics,

10290-461: Was imposed for two reasons. The first was that in using wood and keeping the use of metal to an absolute minimum, the glider could be manufactured in any small shop using only wood working tools, and secondly, as a consequence, what metals were available would be conserved for other military uses. Much of the glider's design was conceived by Yoshio Akita. A number of concepts were discussed and sketched and after much deliberation among Akita and his teams

10395-571: Was not unique, the fact that the aircraft being investigated would be a glider was. The Bureau envisioned that gliders would be launched with rocket boosters from caves or shore positions and pilots would guide the aircraft and the 100 kg (220 lb) explosive payload inside it into Allied ships or tanks should the Japanese home islands be invaded. The Bureau assigned the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal ( 海軍航空技術廠 , Kaigun Kōkū Gijutsu-shō ) at Yokosuka

10500-589: Was replaced in its primary role during the early 1950s by the Boeing B-47 Stratojet , which in turn was replaced by the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress . The final active-duty KB-50 and WB-50 variants were phased out in the mid-1960s, with the final example retired in 1965. A total of 3,970 B-29s were built. The variants of the B-29 were outwardly similar in appearance but were built around different wing center sections that affected

10605-519: Was seen by the Air Corps as a backup if there were problems with Boeing's design. Boeing received an initial production order for 14 service test aircraft and 250 production bombers in May 1941, this being increased to 500 aircraft in January 1942. The B-29 featured a fuselage design with circular cross-section for strength. The need for pressurization in the cockpit area also led to the B-29 being one of very few American combat aircraft of World War II to have

10710-521: Was shot down by a B-29 during the war. This occurred on 6 December 1950, when a B-29 shot down Lieutenant N. Serikov. With the arrival of the mammoth Convair B-36 , the B-29 was reclassified as a medium bomber by the Air Force. The later B-50 Superfortress variant (initially designated B-29D ) was able to handle auxiliary roles such as air-sea rescue , electronic intelligence gathering, air-to-air refueling , and weather reconnaissance . The B-50D

10815-612: Was the engines. Although the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engines later became a trustworthy workhorse in large piston-engined aircraft, early models were beset with dangerous reliability problems. This problem was not fully cured until the aircraft was fitted with the more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 "Wasp Major" in the B-29D /B-50 program, which arrived too late for World War II . Interim measures included cuffs placed on propeller blades to divert

10920-408: Was the progenitor of a series of Boeing-built bombers, transports, tankers, reconnaissance aircraft, and trainers. For example, the re-engined B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II became the first aircraft to fly around the world non-stop, during a 94-hour flight in 1949. The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter airlifter, which was first flown in 1944, was followed in 1947 by its commercial airliner variant,

11025-405: Was to check the magnetos while already on takeoff roll rather than during a conventional static engine-runup before takeoff. In wartime, the B-29 was capable of flight at altitudes up to 31,850 feet (9,710 m), at speeds of up to 350 mph (560 km/h; 300 kn) ( true airspeed ). This was its best defense because Japanese fighters could barely reach that altitude, and few could catch

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