B-29 Superfortress (bomber)
The B-29 was the largest bomber of World War II. It was used by the U.S. for strategic bombing of Japan. The plane dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The B-29 represented the highest achievement of traditional (pre-
jet) aeronautics. Its four 2,200 horsepower Wright R-3350
supercharged engines could lift four tons of bombs 3,500 miles at
33,000 feet (high above Japanese flak or fighters). Computerized
fire-control mechanisms made its 13 guns exceptionally lethal
against fighters. The Mariana Islands, captured in June 1944, gave a close secure base, and the B-29 gave the Americans the weapon they needed against Japan. However, the systematic raids that began in June, 1944, were unsatisfactory, because the AAF had learned too much in Europe; it overemphasized self-defense. AAF commander General Hap Arnold, in personal charge of the campaign (bypassing the theater commanders) brought in a new leader, brilliant, indefatigable, hard-charging General Curtis LeMay.
In early 1945, LeMay ordered a radical change in tactics: remove the fire control gear and machine guns, fly in low at night. (Much fuel was used to get to 30,000 feet; it could now be replaced with more bombs.) The Japanese radar, fighter, and anti-aircraft systems were so ineffective that they could not hit the bombers. The B-29s carried incendiary bombs. To counter them the Japanese built firebreaks and installed shutters, but not nearly enough. Fires raged through the cities, and millions of civilians fled to the mountains. Tokyo was hit repeatedly, and suffered a fire storm in March that killed 83,000. On June 5, 51,000 buildings in four miles of Kobe were burned out by 473 B-29s; Japanese opposition was fierce, as 11 B-29s went down and 176 were damaged. Osaka, where one-sixth of the Empire's munitions were made, was hit by 1,733 tons of incendiaries dropped by 247 B-29s. A firestorm burned out 8.1 square miles, including 135,000 houses; 4,000 died. The police reported:
- Although damage to big factories was slight, approximately one-fourth of some 4,000 lesser factories, which operated hand-in-hand with the big factories, were completely destroyed by fire.... Moreover, owing to the rising fear of air attacks, workers in general were reluctant to work in the factories, and the attendance fluctuated as much as 50%.
Japanese munitions output plummeted, and by July, 1945, Japan no longer had an industrial base. The problem was that it still had an Army, which was not based in the cities, and was largely undamaged by the raids. The Army was short of food and gasoline, but, as Iwo Jima and Okinawa proved, was capable of ferocious resistance.
The B-29 was used in the Korean War on strategic bombing missions. It was replaced by jet bombers, especially the B-52.