(March 9, 2016 at 7:44 am)Rhythm Wrote: The B-29 ran over time and over budget, the USAAF had requested nearly 200 be combat ready by 1944, but they weren't. They sat in depots in Kansas and the plants in Georgia and Nebraska awaiting refits and modifications required to declare them combat ready. Notably, they had engine trouble and pressurization issues. Further complications arose in poor weather conditions that stalled their modifications (they sat in open air). After the first clutch was finally made combat ready near the middle of 44 the decision was made to deploy them to the pacific due to their unique capability with regards to high altitude long distance pressurized flight and payload (these things were the first of their kind, not at all comparable to b-17's, for example - which helps to explain the production delay....there weren't enough specialized tools, even, to complete their manufacture and modification at first). Previous deployment of other bombers was also a factor, particularly in regards to the european theater. What we had in the sky over europe was working, and we already had alot in the sky. Initially, we'd planned to use them against germany and then move them into place in China and India only after we'd defeated the Reich. We did end up sending some b-29s to europe..but they sat in the uk (and after d-day in france, by some reports..a milk run) awaiting further, theater specific modification.
The first sortie they flew on was a combat readiness test against forward bases in Thailand . We lost five, all to mechanical failures/pilot error. They were grounded for further modification to address those issues made clear in that raid. 10 days later they officially entered duty, declared as combat tested and ready. They hit steelworks on mainland japan. Initially, they were designed to have two small bays, further modification was made to the most famous b-29's (Enola Gay, Bockscar, Death and Taxes, Necessary Evil) to allow them to carry the atomic bombs.
The idea that we had them ready, or that we intended to use them against japan, or even to deliver a-bombs, for that matter...is fantastically misinformed.
The B29 idea was started in 1938. We weren't sitting on our asses thinking about it in the 40s. Of course we only allowed white people to build airplanes and other military equipment.
"Boeing began work on pressurized long-range bombers in 1938, in response to a United States Army Air Corps request. Boeing's design study for the Model 334 was a pressurized derivative of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress with nosewheel undercarriage. Although the Air Corps did not have money to pursue the design, Boeing continued development with its own funds as a private venture.[4] In April 1939, Charles Lindbergh convinced general Henry H. Arnold to produce a new bomber in large numbers to counter the Nazi production.[5] The Air Corps issued a formal specification for a so-called "superbomber", capable of delivering 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) of bombs to a target 2,667 mi (4,290 km) away and capable of flying at a speed of 400 mph (640 km/h) in December 1939. Boeing's previous private venture studies formed the starting point for its response to this specification.[6]
Boeing submitted its Model 345 on 11 May 1940,[7] in competition with designs from Consolidated Aircraft (the Model 33, later to become the B-32),[8] Lockheed (the Lockheed XB-30),[9] and Douglas (the Douglas XB-31).[10] Douglas and Lockheed soon abandoned work on their projects, but Boeing received an order for two flying prototypes, 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 was seen by the Air Corps as a backup in case of problems with Boeing's design.[11] Boeing received an initial production order for 14 service test aircraft and 250 production bombers in May 1941,[12] this being increased to 500 aircraft in January 1942.[7] 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 a stepless cockpit design, without a separate windscreen for the pilots."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress
