Boeing B-29 Bomber
In late 1939 General Henry Arnold received approval from the war Department to let contracts for a very long range, very heavy, four engine bomber. The Boeing Aircraft Company, with its experience in designing four engine airplanes and its success with the B-17 Flying Fortress was awarded the contract for its B-29 Model 245. By the time the maiden flight of the prototype number 1 XB -- 29 on September 21, 1942 the urgency for this bomber had greatly intensified. The great urgency was to lead to the second largest World War II industrial project in scope and dollars. Only the Manhattan Project, which produced the atomic bomb, was bigger.
B-29 A Super Fortress was powered by four Wright R-3350-23 23 cyclone 18 cylinder radials, each with two General Electric B. 11 superchargers, which gave the plane a total of 8,800 break horsepower at takeoff. The propellers were four-blade Hamilton standard Hydromatics, with constant speed governors in hydraulics for pitch change and feathering. These propellers, which were 16 feet 7 inches tall, were the largest aircraft propellers in the world at the time. The Super Fortress was pressurized and had remote control turrets with lead-computing sites, a revolutionary wing and AN/APQ -- 13 radar. The bomber was capable of carrying 28,000 lbs of bombs and had a crew of 11, including aircraft commander (pilot), pilot (copilot), bombardier, navigator, flight engineer, radio operator, radar operator, central fire control gunner, left side gunner, right side gunner, tail gunner. 3,965 B-29s were produced during World War II.
Boeing also developed the Renton F13 -- A., a photo-reconnaissance model which served a vital role in target location, damage evaluation and weather recon. These planes were built in Renton, Washington, and modified in Denver, Colorado. Their special equipment included six K -- 18 and K -- 22 cameras, high intensity magnesium flares, and extra bomb bay fuel tanks instead of bombs, but they retained their defensive art armament.
The B-29 was the ultimate strategic bomber of World War II able to fly higher, further and faster than any other large bomber. Because of their long range, the B-29s were used exclusively against Japan from bases on Guam, Tinian and Saipan. On August 6, 1945, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later a second atomic bomb was dropped by the B-29 Bock’s Car. These bombings brought an end to World War II.
After the war many of the B-29s were scrapped and melted down to make aluminum cookware. The Super Fortresses left in active service remained the Strategic Air Command's top bomber until 1948, when they were replaced by the B-50. Designated as a medium bomber the Super Fortress went on to fight admirable bleat in the Korean War. After that war the B-29s were declared surplus.
This Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a photo-reconnaissance model known as the Renton F-13A, made in Renton, Washington, and modified in Denver, Colorado. Only 118 were produced and this is the only one in existence. This B-29 had a crew of eleven and an extended range of 4,000 miles. The crew of this particular craft was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for flying the plane through a typhoon with only two engines.
Veterans Memorial State Park web site http://www.gastateparks.org/GeorgiaVet