From: Steve & Jeannie Keith (cckw@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Sep 21 2005 - 15:31:27 PDT
My wife's father made the training films for the B29's during WW2
His wife (my MIL) got to meet (then) Col Paul Tibbets a couple
years ago at the Nashua NH airshow!
The 1st flying B29 prototype piloted by Boeing cheif test pilot
Eddie Allen radioed the Boeing field that he was trying to make
it back to the field. He had 3 out of the 4 engines on fire! He
did not make and the wing folded (main spar just behind the
magnesium engine hub) and he went into a meat packing plant
killing all on board and quite a few in the plant.
Almost to the end of WW2 they had severe engine problems
with those 18 cyl beasts! Every time one cylinder fired, it had
to produce 200 hp! SOP was to replace the top 5 cylinder jugs
and heads on the cylinders on the back row. They tended to
overheat, warp the valves, piston hits valve, valve head floats
around for a while until it comes between the piston and the head.
BANG off comes the head! The now engine fire eventually finds
the magnesium hub of the engine and off you go! Main wing spar
right behind the engine.....
Steve AKA Dr Deuce who has a pix of his CCKW in front of
Fifi from back in 1983!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stu" <stuinnh@mvnut.us>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: [MV] B-29 Superfortress
>A friend of mine's Dad was the Bombardier for the second atomic bomb,
> dropped on Nagasaki. He used to give speeches at VFW's etc. in Phila, PA.
> He was a good friend.
>
> "Stu"
> Southern NH, USA
> "Live Free Or Die"
>
> MVPA #14790
>
> 1967 M151A1 Jeep 1964 M416 Trailer
> 1985 M1008 CUCV Pickup
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Military Vehicles Mailing List [mailto:mil-veh@mil-veh.org] On
> Behalf
> Of Rick v100
> Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 7:32 AM
> To: Military Vehicles Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [MV] B-29 Superfortress
>
> The brother of a woman in our church was killed while
> flight testing the B29.
>
> Rick
>
>
> --- Everette <194cbteng@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> September 21
>>
>> 1942 The Superfortress takes flight
>> On this day in 1942, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress
>> makes its debut flight in
>> Seattle, Washington. It was the largest bomber used
>> in the war by any
>> nation.
>> The B-29 was conceived in 1939 by Gen. Hap Arnold,
>> who was afraid a German
>> victory in Europe would mean the United States would
>> be devoid of bases on
>> the eastern side of the Atlantic from which to
>> counterattack. A plane was
>> needed that would travel faster, farther, and higher
>> than any then
>> available, so Boeing set to creating the four-engine
>> heavy bomber. The plane
>> was extraordinary, able to carry loads almost equal
>> to its own weight at
>> altitudes of 30,000 to 40,000 feet. It contained a
>> pilot console in the rear
>> of the plane, in the event the front pilot was
>> knocked out of commission. It
>> also sported the first radar bombing system of any
>> U.S. bomber.
>> The Superfortress made its test run over the
>> continental United States on
>> September 21, but would not make its bombing-run
>> debut until June 5, 1944,
>> against Bangkok, in preparation for the Allied
>> liberation of Burma from
>> Japanese hands. A little more than a week later, the
>> B-29 made its first run
>> against the Japanese mainland. On June 14, 60 B-29s
>> based in Chengtu, China,
>> bombed an iron and steel works factory on Honshu
>> Island. While the raid was
>> less than successful, it proved to be a morale
>> booster to Americans, who
>> were now on the offensive.
>> Meanwhile, the Marianas Islands in the South Pacific
>> were being recaptured
>> by the United States, primarily to provide air bases
>> for their new B-29s-a
>> perfect position from which to strike the Japanese
>> mainland on a consistent
>> basis. Once the bases were ready, the B-29s were
>> employed in a long series
>> of bombing raids against Tokyo. Although capable of
>> precision bombing at
>> high altitudes, the Superfortresses began dropping
>> incendiary devices from a
>> mere 5,000 feet, firebombing the Japanese capital in
>> an attempt to break the
>> will of the Axis power. One raid, in March 1945,
>> killed more than 80,000
>> people. But the most famous, or perhaps infamous,
>> use of the B-29 would come
>> in August, as it was the only plane capable of
>> delivering a 10,000-pound
>> bomb--the atomic bomb. The Enola Gay and the Bock's
>> Car took off from the
>> Marianas, on August 6 and 9, respectively, and flew
>> into history.
>>
>>
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>
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Fri Oct 28 2005 - 23:27:10 PDT