Boeing B-29 Superfortress

By the beginning of World War II, the command of the US Army Aviation Corps came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create a strategic bomber - the project was assigned the code VHB ( eng. Very Heavy Bomber - “very heavy bomber ”). However, when it became clear that this bomber would have to bomb targets on the other side of the Pacific Ocean , the project received a new designation - VLR ( Eng. Very Long Range , "very long range"). A detailed study of the VLR project began in 1940 .

Four American aircraft manufacturers participated in the competition for the construction of a long-range strategic bomber: Consolidated (later Convair ), Boeing , Douglas and Lockheed . They proposed bomber designs under the designations XB-32 , XB-29, XB-31 and XB-30, respectively. After some time, Douglas and Lockheed dropped out of the competition, and with the other two entered into an agreement on the design of heavy bombers, so in 1940 she could promise ready aircraft in two to three years to command the US Army Air Corps. Boeing received an order to build more than 1,500 bombers before the first flight of the prototype. The order was not random - back in 1938 the company sent a proposal to the US Army Air Corps command for a B-17 bomber with an airtight cabin, allowing for high-altitude flights. At first, the military refused the Boeing, but as soon as the nature of the war changed and such an aircraft was needed, the military changed their attitude to the proposals of the company, which soon presented several projects at once - Model 316, 322, 333, 334 and 341.

The first XB-29 prototype took off on September 21, 1942. The US Air Force stipulated a maximum flight speed of 644 km / h, which had an impact on the layout of the aircraft - a mid-wing with a large elongation wing and a circular fuselage. The prototypes were followed by 14 pre-production aircraft YB-29.

The production of the aircraft required some effort from the US aviation industry , as a result, the B-29 was assembled at four plants of different companies.

Significant efforts by the US government have been undertaken to support the large-scale production of the B-29. As a result, B-29 was assembled at four plants of different airlines. Serial production of B-29 aircraft was launched at the Boeing factories in Seattle and Wichita, as well as at the factories Martin (Glenn L. Martin Company) and Bell (Bell Aircraft Co.). [2]; [W].

The modification of the atomic bomb delivery bomber - the B-29B Silverplate series - was characterized by a reduced take-off mass. Defensive armament was removed, which consisted of three M2 guns and several machine gun turrets, which allowed to increase cruising speed, and small design refinements were also made to increase the survivability of the crew in an atomic explosion. ^{[5] [6]}

The use of the B-29 as the first mass carrier of an atomic bomb transferred its strategic importance to a new quality, becoming one of the starting points of the arms race between the USSR and the USA.

Four - engine midplane .

Three pressurized crew cabins: front — for seven people: commander, co-pilot , navigator- bombardier , flight engineer , senior navigator , navigator-operator, flight mechanic , middle (tail) - for three gunners and aft - for one autonomous gunner. The front and middle cabins are interconnected by a sealed cylindrical tunnel (a sealed hole) - an air duct .

Behind the front cabin there was a bomb compartment (unpressurized), behind the cabin for shooters there was an APU compartment (unpressurized).

The conclusion of a contract with Boeing for the large-scale production of the B-29 bomber (project "345") was evidence of its high authority with the US Air Force. This authority was ensured by successful pre-war projects of Boeing’s heavy aircraft, brought to large-scale production of the B-17 , (the B-307 is small-scale, only 6 aircraft were produced) and the accumulated experience in the variant design of numerous promising initiative developments, in accordance with the changing requirements of the customer (Air Force ) The credibility of the company was supported by positive reviews about the variant development of modifications of the large-scale B-17 bomber in the direction of continuous improvement of its combat characteristics and the first successes of the massive combat use of B-17 bombers at the European Theater.

In March 1942, at the initiative of the command of the US Army Air Force, taking into account an increase in the order of more than 1000 units, for the final assembly of B-29 bombers, in addition to the old Boeing plant in Wichita (Kansas) and the new Boeing plant in Renton (Washington) ), two companies belonging to large aircraft manufacturing corporations were additionally involved: the Bell-Atlanta plant in Marietta, Georgia, the Bell Aircraft Company, and the Martin plant in Omaha, Nebraska, the Glenn L. Martin company. With Glenn L ". For the production of airframe assemblies (wing, engine nacelles, fuselage, plumage, landing gear), enterprises of related companies were involved: Chrysler, Hudson, Goodyear, Briggs, Murray and Cessna. In addition, enterprises throughout the United States were involved in the production and delivery of all other components and components for the B-29:

• In 1944, it was planned, after curtailing the release of B-17 bombers in Seattle, to organize the production of aircraft in a modified version of the B-29C-VO there (the order of 5000 units with the end of the war was canceled).
• Boeing factory in Wichita - from September 1943 to October 1945, a total of 1620 units were produced. in embodiment B-29;
• Renton's Boeing factory only produced the B-29A;
• The Bell-Atlanta plant in Marietta - from February 1944 to January 1945, a total of 357 units were produced. in the V-29 variant, and switched to the release of the modified V-29V variant;
• Martin factory in Omaha - from mid-1944 to September 1945 a total of 536 units were produced. in option B-29.

A total of 3627 units were collected and released at all enterprises. B-29 of all the main options: XB-29 - 3 units, YB-29 - 14 units, B-29, B-29A and B-29B.

Ordered by Boeing in 1944 (as it turned out - the final modified version - B-29D-BN, with the installation of new, more powerful engines) - has been mass-produced since 1947 - only by the Boeing factory in Renton, under the designation - B-50A-BN .

Serial production of B-29 aircraft was launched at Boeing's factories in Seattle and Wichita, as well as at the factories of Martin ( Glenn L. Martin Company ) and Bell ( Bell Aircraft Co. ). In total, 3970 B-29 aircraft of all modifications were built.

Notes :

1 - later series had engines R-3350-41, or R-3350-57;

2 - could be increased to 2900 km;

3 - at an altitude of 7620 m with a load of bombs of 2268 kg, the maximum range with additional tanks in the bomb bay is 9658 km;

4 - at an altitude of 3050 m with a cargo of bombs of 8164 kg;

5 - in the later series (from block 40), the number of machine guns in the front upper turret was increased to 4;

6 - in the later series, the gun was dismantled;

7 - 2268 kg at a range of 2575 km at high altitudes, 5443 kg at the same range at medium altitudes;

8 - at low altitudes, with a short range.

9 - on the internal suspension - 9100 kg; additionally on external suspensions - 3600 kg;

B-29 - basic serial model (wing center section consists of two (left and right) parts - docked together in the plane of wing symmetry);

В-29А - serial modification of the basic model В-29, produced only at the new Boeing factory in Rangton (wing center section consists of three (left, middle-fuselage and right) parts that are joined together in the planes of the side ribs of the wing);

V-29V - modification of the basic production V-29 in the direction of increasing the combat load, due to the reduction in the number of defensive artillery mounts;

B-50A - the final modified version of the B-29A, ordered by Boeing in 1944 (the original designation is B-29D-BN, with the installation of new, more powerful engines) - it was mass-produced since 1947 - only by the Boeing factory in Renton, under the designation - B-50A-BN.

In bomber raids in the West European theater of operations were not used, they were used only in the Pacific theater of operations since 1944.

• Korean war

According to the American researcher Joe Bauer, 16 B-29s were lost from the actions of enemy fighters ^[7] . (but these figures cannot be considered complete since there were still many “missing people”, “shot down by unknown” and casualties in aerial combat “for non-combat reasons”)

At the same time, according to official US data (USAF Statistical Digest FY1953), the US Air Force lost B-29 (bombers), RB-29 (scouts) and SB-29 (rescue) in Korea:

• 17 B-29 from fighter fire

• 5 B-29 shot down by fire from the ground

• 2 B-29 shot down by unknown

• 27 B-29 lost in battle for non-combat reasons (collision with the ground or fuel consumption in an air battle, or from fire from the ground)

• 6 B-29 is missing

• 12 B-29 lost for “other non-combat reasons”

• 9 B-29 crashed in disasters

• 1 RB-29 lost in battle for non-combat reasons

• 2 RB-29 is missing

• 1 RB-29 lost for "other non-combat reasons"

• 3 RB-29 crashed in disasters ^[8]

• 1 SB-29 crashed for non-combat reasons ^[9]

This gives at least 86 irretrievable losses of B-29 type aircraft during the war.

According to Soviet data, 69 B-29s were shot down by Soviet MiG-15 fighters, not counting those shot down by Chinese fighters ^[10] .

Neutral Western researchers studying the use of B-29 indicate that the loss of bombers from the fire of Soviet MiGs amounted to 44 aircraft, another 4-5 were shot down by Chinese and Korean fighters. Most of the B-29s were lost on April 12, 1951, when 12 bombers were shot down or decommissioned from the fire of the Soviet MiG-15s in one day ^{[11] [12]} .

1944

In 1944, the U.S. Air Force launched B-29 aircraft to carry out large-scale operations to destroy Japanese military installations deployed both in the metropolis and in the occupied territory of China. The commanders of the B-29 aircraft were ordered in case of damage from air defense systems or enemy fighters and the impossibility of returning to their bases to make an emergency landing at the nearest Soviet airfield ^[3] .

June - November

Only four B-29 aircraft crossed the USSR border in the Soviet Far East after raids on Japanese targets, three of them were actually interned by the USSR and not returned to the United States (on the basis of the non-aggression treaty with Japan of May 1941).

• July 29 Aircraft B-29-5-BW, (No. 42-6256), "Ramp Tramp" ("Ramp-Trump", translated from the American slang - "Funny Tramp"), shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft artillery over Anshan in Manchuria. Due to the damaged motor , the captain of the ship, Captain Howard Jarell, decided not to "pull" to his airfield and entered the airspace of the USSR. The aircraft was intercepted by fighter aircraft of the Pacific Fleet and brought it to the Central-Angular Air Naval Airfield , located about 30 km north of Vladivostok . The plane belonged to the 771th squadron of the 462nd US Air Force bomber group. The crew broke the equipment in pressurized cabins. Aircraft and crew interned. The aircraft remained at the Central-Angular, and the crew of Jarell was transferred to a special department, which ensured the delivery of the Americans to a special assembly camp in Central Asia. ^{[13] [14]}

• August 20 Aircraft B-29A-I-BN, (No. 42-93829) Cait Paomat from the 395th squadron of the 40th group, crashed during a raid on steel mills in Yavato (Yavat). Having pulled over the Amur , the commander of the ship R. McGlynn (Clay) gave the order to leave the plane. All crew members safely landed in parachutes. Uncontrolled plane crashed into a hill in the upper river. Julia. The crew was interned. ^{[13] [14]} In 1988, the wreckage of the aircraft was found by a hunter. In the 1990s, they were scrapped.

November

Two damaged aircraft made an emergency landing at Soviet airfields: B-29-15-BW, (No. 42-6365) "General Arnold", commander of the ship W. Price; and B-29-15-BW, (No. 42-6358) "Ding Hoa", previously belonged to the 794th squadron of the US Air Force, the commander of the ship, Lieutenant Mikish. Aircraft and their crews are interned. ^{[13] [15]}

• Aircraft B-29-15-BW (No. 42-6365), "General H. Arnold Speshiel", belonging to the 794th squadron of the 486th group, fell into a typhoon during a combat mission to Japan and was slightly damaged by lightning. The commander of the ship, Captain W. Price, lost orientation, drove the car to the coast of the Soviet Far East on the remaining fuel, and landed at the Tsentralnaya-Uglovaya Pacific Fleet airfield ^[14] .
• Aircraft B-29-15-BW (No. 42-6358), “Ding Hao” (“Ding Hoa”), the commander of the ship, Lieutenant Mikish (Miklish), bombed Omuru, left the target on three engines, the fourth was disabled Japanese fighters, off the Far East coast he was met by Soviet fighters and brought to the airport ^[14] .

The People's Commissar of the Navy of the USSR Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov ordered the study of B-29 aircraft to be organized. In this regard, Lieutenant Colonel S. B. Reidel, deputy chief of the Navy’s Air Force flight inspection, was sent to the Far East, who had previously worked as a tester in the Separate Naval Unit of the Air Force Research and Test Institute (OMO NII VVS), and then - in the Navy Air Force Research Institute Fleet in Sevastopol. S. B. Reidel mastered many types of aircraft, spoke English. Since there were no pilots familiar with American aircraft at the Pacific Fleet at that time (Lend-Lease airplanes headed straight to the front), two more pilots flew the American A-20 , one of them V.P. Marunov, was seconded from the Black Sea Fleet. From the air forces of the Pacific Fleet - engineers A.F. Chernov and M.M. Kruglov.

All three B-29s in the USSR received tail numbers in the form of the last three digits of the serial number: "256", "358", "365", which were applied on the keel above the serial number, in larger numbers. Red stars were painted on the site of the U.S. Air Force identification marks.

1945

PF air force pilots successfully master B-29 aircraft, perform flights, determine its basic data. One aircraft is operated in the Long-Range Aviation Regiment ^[13] .

January

Two V-29 aircraft are located in the control unit of the Pacific Fleet and one in the 35th separate long-range bomber squadron, specially designed for the V-29 tests. As a result, the squadron included two B-29s and one B-25. Flights were made from the Romanovsky airfield, which has good approaches, due to the fact that it was not surrounded by hills. Raidel independently mastered the B-29, using the documentation found on one of the aircraft. Taxiing, approaches and, finally, takeoff.

The systematic study and testing of B-29 began. V.P. Marunov and A.F. Chernov, Radel took two days to develop the aircraft. They climbed a bomber with a thick volume of the English-Russian dictionary. On the third day, Raidel officially accepted their standings.

• January 9: Made four export flights ... Raidel in the place of the second pilot, Marunov - in the place of the commander.
• January 11: Marunov made the first independent flight on the B-29, after which he began to fly independently.

During the tests, the basic flight data of the B-29 aircraft were determined, which turned out to be slightly lower than the official data announced by Boeing. In particular:

1. The maximum speed achieved in the tests did not exceed 580 km / h; Climbing 5000 m took 16.5 minutes (perhaps the underestimation of the characteristics was due to the fact that the aircraft was being repaired).
2. Several high-altitude flights were performed, flights to check the ultimate range on a closed route, flights to the zone, and bombing.

May

The USSR again (the first request was made on July 19, 1943), requested the American side to transfer 120 units to the USSR. B-29 bombers, for use in the Far East against Japan. However, the Americans did not give a single one.

Tests of the B-29 in the Far East continued until June 21, 1945.

June July

Two B-29 aircraft surpassed in Moscow.

• June 21-22: at the Uglovaya aerodrome, the forces of ITS Pacific Fleet prepared the first B-29 aircraft to be distilled to Moscow. A group of engineers developed instructions for preparing the aircraft, checking equipment and piloting techniques. The distillation of the first machine, B-29 (42-6365), with damaged equipment - a broken American crew, was performed by the crew, under the command of an experienced pilot - Lieutenant Colonel S. B. Reidel, co-pilot Morzhakov, flight engineer M. M. Kruglov. According to other sources, the duties of flight engineer were performed by Major Engineer N. A. Kravtsov, for which Reidel and Kravtsov were awarded the Orders of Lenin .
• June 23: the first B-29 aircraft (42-6365) landed at the airfield in Izmailovo on the outskirts of Moscow. Given the very short runway, before landing, had to work out the remnants of fuel. The 65th Special Purpose Regiment was located there, combining transport and experimental-testing tasks in the naval aviation system.
• At the airport in Izmailovo, a second B-29 aircraft, piloted by Marunov, landed safely.
• The third B-29 aircraft flew to Moscow from the Far East.

All three B-29 interned aircraft were flown to the central Moscow airfield in Shchelkovo, and Ramp-Trump was first flown to Balbasovo, Orsha, and then to the LII, Zhukovsky.

At the request of long-range aviation commander Marshal A. E. Golovanov, the B-29 (42-6256) Ramp-Aircraft was flown from Shchelkovo to the Balbasovo airfield near Orsha, where the 890th long-range bomber regiment was stationed.

• July 1: The 890th DA regiment, regiment commander E. K. Pusep, had 9 Pe-8 aircraft, 12 B-17 aircraft (modifications F and G) and 19 B-25 aircraft. Another regiment of the same division was understaffed with B-24 aircraft. The American planes concentrated in these regiments were mainly restored after they made emergency landings during the hostilities in Eastern Europe.

The pilots of these regiments mastered the American four-engine bombers. The B-29 aircraft was considered a close relative of the B-17 aircraft, since these machines were designed by the designers of one Boeing company.

In the 890th regiment, on the B-29 Ramp-Trump, the crew of N. A. Ischenko flew. The plane’s inscription “Ramp Trump” and the image of an unshaven tramp were saved on the plane. On many other American vehicles of this regiment, side inscriptions, emblems, and insignia of compounds were kept; on the K-17 keels, at the request of vigilant political workers , it was forbidden to leave only pictures with naked girls. According to the memoirs of K. Ikonnikov, a hare with a bomb was depicted on his B-17F.

In connection with the decision to copy V-29 No. 42-6256, Ramp-Trump was surpassed from Balbasovo to the LII , Zhukovsky. The flight was carried out by a mixed crew: from the 890th regiment - ship commander N. A. Ishchenko, and from LII - test pilot M. L. Gallay, who mastered piloting during the flight. In LII, this B-29 was received by the crew of N. S. Rybko (co-pilot I. I. Shuneiko).

In LII, the aircraft B-29-5-BW, (No. 42-6256), Ramp-Tramp, was used to train the flight crew, and then, as a flight laboratory, to refine the new power plant for the B-4 aircraft ".

• On the night of July 10-11, the B-29-15-BW aircraft, No. 42-6365, General Arnold, was delivered to the Moscow Central Airfield named after Frunze and installed in a large hangar. After inspection by A. N. Tupolev and his assistants, the aircraft was undocked, and then dismantled for technical description, development of sketches and working drawings for the copied Soviet counterpart, the aircraft - “ B-4 ”.

Aircraft B-29-15-BW, (No. 42-6358) "Ding Hoa", was saved as a reference.

All three interned B-29 aircraft were transferred to the central Moscow airfield in Shchelkovo and LII ^[13] . In particular:

1. Aircraft B-29-5-BW, (No. 42-6256), Ramp-Trump, was used as a flight laboratory to refine the new power plant for the B-4 aircraft.
2. The aircraft B-29-15-BW, (No. 42-6365) "General Arnold", was dismantled in the hangar of the central airfield, to develop sketches and working drawings of the aircraft "B-4".
3. The aircraft B-29-15-BW, (No. 42-6358) "Ding Hoa", was saved as a reference ^[13] .

August

During the war with Japan, the American B-29 was discovered by two pairs of Yak-9 aircraft, intercepted and fired at the Kanko Korean airfield area, where the Soviet, 14th Pacific Air Force fighter regiment was based. As a result of the shelling of the B-29, the first engine (far left) caught fire, and he immediately landed at the Kanko airfield.

The NKAP sent a letter to the NPO as follows:

According to reports, in Korea in the territory of the location of our troops is B-29. In this regard, the NKAP requested that measures be taken to move the aircraft to the USSR, and if this is not possible, then dismantle the necessary units and equipment.

However, since this event occurred after the declaration of the Soviet Union war on Japan, and accordingly the denunciation of the treaty of neutrality, the aircraft had to be returned to the Americans after repair.

In the future, the fate of three B-29 aircraft in the USSR was as follows:

• The aircraft B-29-15-BW, (No. 42-6358) “Ding Hoa”, the Soviet flight number “358” (standard), remained on the airfield in Izmaylov until the end of the 1950s, where it was inspected from time to time various specialists. In particular, representatives of the Air Force Academy meticulously studied the engine, made its detailed descriptions and diagrams. This machine was no longer able to fly.
• Aircraft B-29-15-BW, (No. 42-6365) General Arnold, Soviet tail number 365, was delivered in parts to Kazan, to factory No. 22, where it began to be assembled again from December 1945. But this car was never brought back to its original form, due to the fact that since the beginning of 1946 in the Tupolev Design Bureau, to speed up the construction of an experimental passenger aircraft “70” ( Tu-70 ) - a passenger version of the B-4, they used a number of nodes and units from B-29 "365". In particular, they took the fully detachable wing consoles, engine nacelles (the dimensions of the R-3350 and ASh-73TK engines were very close), flaps, the main landing gear, and tail. Something was also used from the B-29, which crashed near Khabarovsk.
• Aircraft B-29-5-BW, (No. 42-6256), "Ramp-Trump", Soviet flight number "256", was intensively operated in the LII, as a flight laboratory, to finalize a new power plant for the aircraft "B-4 ", Right up to the arrival of serial Tu-4s at the LII.

1948-1949

April 1948: B-29 “Ramp-Trump” flew to Kazan, to plant No. 22, where it underwent structural modifications - under the right wing, between the nacelles , mounted pylon mounts for external suspension, for use as a carrier of an experimental German rocket aircraft “ 346 "by the German designer G. Ressing .

In 1948-1949: the R-Tramp carrier aircraft B-29 took off from a military airfield at Teply Stan (now a residential area of ​​Moscow) and dropped non- powered versions of the 346-P and 346-1 rocket aircraft , which test pilots piloted: German - V. Ziese and Soviet - P. I. Kazmin. After completing the test program, the B-29 was returned to the LII, where for a short time it was used for small research work, after which it was decommissioned and dismantled for scrap.

In 1946, the commission for the supply of the newly formed US Air Force considered the possibility of creating an intercontinental projectile based on the B-29, carrying a nuclear warhead . The military wanted to create an atomic weapon carrier capable of hitting targets in Europe directly from the United States - something that the manned B-29 could not do. The re-equipment of the machine in an unmanned projectile allowed to double the combat radius (due to the lack of the need to return to base).

The program received the MX-767 Banshee index and was considered an “interim” solution, before launching the Convair B-36 intercontinental bomber. Several research flights of B-29 were carried out with the aim of testing navigation equipment under this program. Practice has shown that in order to turn the B-29 into an intercontinental projectile, a significant amount of research work will have to be done in the field of unmanned vehicle navigation, and the program was stopped in 1950, as soon as the B-36 began to enter service. ^[sixteen]

• Enola Gay (ser. Number 44-86292) - a plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It is located in the National Museum of Aviation and Cosmonautics .
• Bockscar (ser. Number 44-27297) is an airplane that dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Located in the National Museum of the United States Air Force .
• Command Decision (ser. Number 44-87657) is an aircraft whose side gunners won five air victories over MiG-15 fighters during the Korean War .
• serial number 44-62070] is the last flight-friendly B-29. From 2006 to 2010, it did not fly into the sky due to problems with engines (their “repair” was carried out by simple replacement with those available in warehouses, but these reserves came to an end ^[17] ). Since August 2010, again in the sky, after installing new (not "native") engines.

The characteristics given correspond to modification B-29 . Data Source: Standard Aircraft Characteristics ^[18] ; Loftin LK, Jr., 1985.

Specifications

• Crew : 11 (pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, navigator, radio operator, radar operator, navigator-bombardier, 4 arrows)
• Length : 30.18 m
• Wing span : 43.04 m
• Height : 8.47 m
• Wing Area: 159.79 m²
• Sweep on the leading edge : 7 ° 1 '26
• Wing Elongation Ratio : 11.5
• Average aerodynamic chord: 3.92 m
• Wing Profile : Boeing 117
• Track track : 8.69 m
• Empty weight: 32 432 kg
• Curb weight: 36 652 kg
• Maximum take-off weight : 63 503 kg
• Maximum landing weight: 61,235 kg
• Mass in battle: 45 926 kg
• Fuel mass in internal tanks: 25,482 kg (with tanks in the bomb bay)
• Fuel tank capacity : 35,443 L (with tanks in the bomb bay)
• Powerplant : 4 × Air Cool Wright R-3350-79
• Engine power: 4 × 2200 l. with. (4 × 1640 kW)
• Propeller: four- blade variable pitch Hamilton Std 6526A-6
• Screw diameter: 5.05 m
• Front drag coefficient at zero lift: 0.0241
• Equivalent resistance area: 3.82 m²

Flight characteristics

• Maximum speed: 604 km / h (at an altitude of 9144 m)
• Cruising speed : 547 km / h
• Stall speed: 191 km / h (at maximum take-off weight)
• Combat radius: 3413 km
  • with maximum combat load: 2715 km
• Practical range: 6380 km
  • with maximum combat load: 4865 km
• Ferry range: 8321 km (with maximum fuel supply, without bombs)
• Practical ceiling : 12,070 m (with a combat weight)
• Rate of climb : 8.26 m / s
• Climb time:
  • 3048 m in 23.5 min
  • 6096 m for 61.5 m
• Wing load: 397.4 kg / m² (at maximum take-off weight)
• Take-off length: 1594 m (at maximum take-off weight)
• Mileage: 680 m
• Aerodynamic quality : 16.8

Armament

• Rifle-cannon: 12 × 12.7 mm machine guns with 500 rounds. each
  • 4 on top of the fuselage in front
  • 2 on top of the fuselage back
  • 2 under the fuselage in front
  • 2 under the fuselage at the back
  • 2 aft
• Combat load:
  • normal: 4536 kg
  • maximum: 9072 kg
• Bombs : Falling:
  • 40 × 227 kg
  • 12 × 454 kg
  • 8 × 907 kg
  • 4 × 1814 kg

• Tokyo bombing March 10, 1945
• The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• B-50 Superfortress - the final deep modification of the B-29 (from 1944 to September 1945, the order for the project was designated B-29D).
• XB-44 Superfortress - designation of the serial bomber B-29A.
• Tu-4 - a copy of the American bomber B-29, reproduced by reverse engineering.

• Loftin LK, Jr. Quest for performance: The evolution of modern aircraft . - Washington, DC: NASA Scientific and Technical Information Branch, 1985.
• Magazine: “Air Fleet Technique”. 1944 Article: "Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber. [2] → [TVF 1944]
• I.I. Eskin . Aircraft landing gear with nose wheel. Oborongiz. 1947 [16] → [I. I. Eskin 1947]
• M. Gallay . Tested in the sky. "Tu-4 - distant, high-altitude, high-speed." Publishing House of the Central Committee of the Komsomol. "Young guard". 1965 [7] → [M. Gallay 1965]
• V. B. Shavrov . “The history of aircraft designs in the USSR. 1938 ÷ 1950 ”. Engineering. Moscow. 1978 [1] → [V. B. Shavrov 1978]
• Magazine: “Wings of the Motherland” 1984, No. 06 p. 26.27. K. Kosminkov, V. Klimov, A.N. Ponomarev. Article: “Tu-4, Tu-80”. [13] → [KR 1984-06 (26.27)]
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• Magazine: “Wings and Homelands”, 1989 No. 02, p. 33.34. L. Kerber, M.Saukke. Article: “Not a copy, but an analogue.” Part 2. [5/2] → [KR 1989-02 (33.34)]
• Magazine: “Wings of the Motherland” 1989, No. 04, p. 22 ÷ 24. O. Alekseev. "The first step towards parity." [11] → [KR 1989-04 (22 ÷ 24)]
• Moroz S. The equilibrium of fear (Russian) // Aviation review . - H. , 1995. - No. 1 . - S. 48-51 .
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• Magazine: "Aviation and Cosmonautics". 1999, No. 01 p. 43. "94" Long-range bomber project. [12] → [AK 1999-01 (43)]
• Magazine: "Modeler Constructor" 2000, No. 11, pp. 37 ÷ 40. A. Chechin "Flying Aircraft Carrier". Article on B-29. [14] → [MK 2000-11 (37 ÷ 40)]
• Magazine: "Aviation and Cosmonautics", 2001, No. 9, p. 15 ÷ 19 V. Rigmant. Article: "Meeting with America." [6] → [AK 2001-09 (15 ÷ 19)]
• Magazine: “Wings of the Motherland”, 2002, No. 01. p. 3 ÷ 8. N. Yakubovich. "Our answer is USA." [3] → [KR 2002-01 (3 ÷ 8)]
• “Aviation Collection” 2008, No. 01, pp. 1–32. V. G. Rigmant. "Heavy bomber B-29." [AkMK 2008-01 (1 ÷ 32)]
• “Air Collection” 2008, No. 02 p. 1 ÷. V. G. Rigmant. "Long-range bomber Tu-4." [AkMK 2008-02 (1 ÷)]
• Boeing B-29 "Superforthress" variants.
• Kotelnikov V.R. Aviation Lend-Lease. - M .: Russian Knights Foundation, 2015. - 368 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 985-5-9906036-3-9.

• B-29 on Airwar.ru
• The first acquaintance of the Japanese with B-29 04/26/1944 (An episode from the book of Ivanov, Yu. G.)
• Victor Nosatov . Black Thursday US Strategic Aviation
• Construction B-29 Doc. 1945 film with Russian translation