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Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Evolved as a super bomber to bomb the Axis powers into submission, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress was the outcome of a prolonged series of design studies begun in the late 1930s. The heaviest combat aircraft of World War II, and the first in quantity production to employ pressurisation, authority was given in 1940 for three XB-29s, and a large number of B-29s were ordered “off the drawing board” to follow the 14 YB-29s. By the time the first XB-29 made its maiden flight on 21st September 1942. Total orders stood at 1,664 machines and production had been sub-contracted to a number of factories. By mid-I943, when the first unit was formed, it had been decided to use the bom¬ber against Japan only, and during the early summer of 1944 the type began bombing operations in the Far East, making its first raid on Tokyo in June 1944. From March 1945 raids were made by night as well as by day, primarily with incen¬diaries, which were most effective against the lightly-constructed Japanese buildings. The B-29 Superfortresses built thus far comprised over 3,600 B-29s and B-29As, all of which had an extensive (and largely remote-controlled) gun armament; the negligible opposition which was encountered, however, led to this being reduced to the bare minimum, with a consequent improvement in performance and bomb load, and the completion of a further 311 B-29B Superfortresses with tail guns only. On 6th August 1945 the history making B-29 “Enola Gay”, under the captaincy of Col. Paul Tibbetts, dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, heralding the end of World War II.

Production: 3627 aircrafts.
Specifications:

variant	B-29	B-29A	B-29B
crew	11
wingspan (m)	43,05	43,36	43,05
lenght (m)	30,175	30,175	30,175
height (m)	8,46	8,46	8,46
wing area (m2)	161,30	161,50	161,50
gross weight (kg)	31815	32368	31298
max take-off weight (kg)	61235	61235	62142
engines	Wright R-3350-23, 23A, 41, 57, 57A Cyclone, radial, twin row 18 cylinders, air cooled, supercharged,2200 hp for take-off, 2439 hp max combat	Wright R-3350-57, 57A, 59 Cyclone, radial, twin row 18 cylinders, air cooled, supercharged2200 hp for take-off,2439 hp max combat	Wright R-3350-41 Cyclone, radial, twin row 18 cylinders, air cooled, supercharged2200 hp for take-off, 2439 hp max combat
fuel (l)	5046	4099
max speed (km/h)	603 at 7620 m	611 at 7620 m	586 at 7620 m
cruising speed (km/h)	322 – 402	322 – 402	338 – 362
service ceiling (m)	9710	10060	9750
range (km)	2575 – 3230	2900 – 6437	2900 – 6759
climb to	7620 m / 38 m (weight: 38895 kg)	7620 m / 38 m (weight: 38895 kg)
bombs (kg)	2268 – 9072	2268 – 9072	9072 – 10342
armament	10 -12 x 12,7 mm, 1 x20 mm,	12 x 12,7 mm	5 x 12,7 mm
production	2181	1119	311

Reference:

• Superfortress The Boeing B-29 by Steve Birdsall – Squadron/Signal Publications 6028, 1984
• Boeing B-29 – Famous Airplanes of the World 52, Bunrindo 1994
• B-29 Superfortress Giant Bomber of World War 2 and Korea – Graham Simons
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress – John M. Campbell, American Bomber Aircraft in World War II, Schiffer Publishing Ltd 2004
• The B-29 Superfortress Chronology 1934-1960 – Robert A. Mann, McFarland 2009
• The Enola Gay, The B-29 That Dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima – Norman Polmar
• Superfortress, The Boeing B-29 and American Airpower in World War II – Curtis LeMay, Bill Yenne
• B-29 Superfortress Units of World War 2 – Robert F. Dorr, Osprey Combat Aircraft 33
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress – Steve Pace, Crowood Aviation Series 2003
• The B-29 Book – Frederick A. Johnsen 1978
• B-29 Hunters of the JAAF – Koji Takaki and Henry Sakaida, Osprey Aviation Elite Units 5
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress U.S.A.A.F. 1942-1945 – Roger A. Freeman, Camouflage & Markings Number 19
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress – Peter M. Bowers, Warbird Tech Series Volume 14, 1999
• B-29 Superfortress – in Detail & Scale Vol. 10 – Part 1 Production Version, Alwyn T. Lloyd
• B-29 Superfortress – in Detail & Scale Vol. 25 – Part 2 Derivatives, Alwyn T. Lloyd
• The Boeing B-29 Superfortress – Mitch Mayborn, Profile Publications Number 101
• S. Army Air Forces In The Pacific – Aero Pictorials 2
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Combat Aircraft of World War II – Bill Gunston
• Cataclysm, General Hap Arnold and the Defeat of Japan – Herman S. Wolk, University of North Texas Press
• Burning Japan – Air Force Bombing Strategy Change in the Pacific – Daniel T. Schwabe
• Whirlwind The Air War Against Japan 1942-1945 – Barrett Tillman
• Bombs Away! Representing the Air War over Europe and Japan – Wilfried Wilms, William Rasch
• B-29 Superfortress Units of the Korean War – Robert F. Dorr, Osprey Combat Aircraft 042
• B-29 Superfortress in action – Stive Birdsall, Squadron/Signal Publications Aircraft 31
• B-29 Superfortress in action – Squadron/Signal Publications Aircraft 165
• B-29 The Superfortress – Mantelli, Brown, Kittel, Graf; 2014
• Bringing the Thunder, The Missions of a WW II B-29 Pilot in the Pacific – Gordon Bennett Robertson Jr, Stackpole Military History Series
• The B-29 Airplane Commander Training Manual for the Superfortress – Headquarters AAF 1945
• B-29 Combat Crew Manual – XX Bomber Command 1944