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Posted on 04/24/2005 9:42:55 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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In an effort to assure Chiang Kai-shek that the United States was ready to stop Japan from taking all of China, the U.S. Army Air Forces deployed the first Boeing B-29 in that theater of operations.  When the United States entered World War II on December 8, 1941, it possessed no aircraft capable of reaching the Japanese mainland from land bases. The nearest friendly territory (discounting Siberia, from which the Soviet Union had banned any flights) lay 1,600 miles away in central China, well beyond the operating radius of existing Boeing B-17s and Consolidated B-24s.  On April 18, 1942, an audacious raid on Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe and Yokohama was launched when Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle led a flight of 16 North American B-25s from the flight deck of the carrier Hornet. That sortie, a one-time effort that resulted in little damage to the widely dispersed targets, was intended primarily as a boost to sagging American morale and as an embarrassment to the Japanese general staff. Carrier-borne attacks against the Japanese Home Islands would not occur again for nearly three years. The original concept behind the Boeing B-29 was "hemispheric defense," that is, a very long-range bomber that could operate out of bases within U.S. territories. However, in 1940, amid fears that America would ultimately be drawn into the conflict then raging in Europe, the War Department drafted a contingency plan to use the proposed B-29 to bomb Germany from bases in either Britain or North Africa. Two events then intervened that irrevocably set the B-29 on a course for the Far East. First, after the dust from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor settled, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided that America’s primary war effort would be focused on defeating Germany first. In terms of land-based heavy bombardment, this meant that most of the current production four-engine bombers, B-17s and B-24s, would be earmarked for combat missions in the European Theater of Operations. Second, the president believed it was imperative to make a gesture to assure the Chinese leader, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, that the United States was prepared to stop the Japanese from taking over all of China.  The first B-29 prototype, meanwhile, flew on September 21, 1942, and the type was anticipated to be combat-ready by late 1943. The airplane itself was a technological triumph, able to cruise at speeds near 300 mph and capable of carrying 5,000 pounds of bombs in the rarefied air above 30,000 feet (or twice that weight at lower altitudes) while conveying its bombload to a target more than 1,600 miles away. But the B-29 was also the most complex machine the American aircraft industry had ever tried to produce, and the giant plane had big problems, the most persistent and dangerous of which involved engine fires linked to the cooling of the new Wright R-3350 engines.  The die was cast during the Casablanca conference in January 1943, when Roosevelt, in spite of serious reservations expressed by the Joint Chiefs, informed Chiang Kai-shek that he would send a large force of bombers to strike at Japan from China. Although the president did not specifically mention B-29s, it was certainly the only type of U.S. aircraft then capable of such a mission. Three issues were central to planning bomber operations out of China: command and control of the B-29s once they were deployed overseas, resupply and maintenance support for a large bomber force, and construction of bases for combat operations. Command of the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater was essentially divided three ways. British Lord Louis Mountbatten commanded the India-Burma area, while Lt. Gen. Joseph Stilwell was the U.S. theater commander in China, also serving as Chiang’s chief of staff -- and then there was Chiang Kai-shek himself. Added to that was Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault, commander of the Fourteenth Air Force in China, who had his own ideas about the employment of the bomber force.  Chiang Kai-shek and Lt. Gen. Joseph Stilwel Logistics posed an enormous problem. The Japanese occupied Burma between China and India and controlled the entire Chinese coast, which precluded resupply by land or sea. Munitions, spares, fuel and everything else needed to support operations would have to be flown in from India over "the Hump," the Himalaya Mountains. And then there was the problem of airfields -- the B-29s could not operate off hastily prepared airstrips covered with pierced-steel matting. The 120,000-pound bombers would need hard-surface runways more than a mile long.  At the Quadrant Conference at Quebec, Canada, in August 1943, U.S. Army Air Forces chief General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold submitted a detailed plan under which the newly activated 58th Bomb Wing (Very Heavy) would reach the CBI Theater by the end of 1943 and shortly after begin offensive operations against the Japanese Home Islands. Brigadier General Kenneth Wolfe, whom Arnold appointed to command the new unit and plan the operations, had earlier been responsible for B-29 development and production at Wright Field, then the center for U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft testing and evaluation. Arnold’s plan originally envisioned that the B-29s would be permanently based in south-central China and be resupplied by air from India. Although Roosevelt liked the plan, General Stilwell contended that maintaining all B-29 operations within China would not be practical because the supply lines were too long. He suggested instead that the China bases be used only as a forward staging area, while complex base facilities would remain in eastern India. Even though the Joint Chiefs were skeptical about the value of staging any B-29 operations out of China, Stilwell’s recommendations were reluctantly approved, and the Chengdu area, 175 miles west of Chunking, was selected as the site for the forward bases. The plan as approved would be dubbed "Matterhorn," the Allied code name for the strategic air offensive against Japan. Arnold and his field commanders would soon find themselves faced with an uphill struggle to resolve huge operational challenges with the ambitious offensive.  Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault When it came to delineating who would control the B-29s, Arnold set up an unprecedented organizational structure that bypassed the operational authority of the theater commanders. The XX Bomber Command, to which the 58th Bomb Wing was attached, would take its combat orders from the Joint Chiefs, with executive control vested in Arnold himself -- in effect, an independent air force within the Army Air Forces. Arnold had embraced the notion of an "independent strategic striking force" as far back as the 1920s, when he worked with Brig. Gen. William L. "Billy" Mitchell. But he was more immediately concerned with the rivalries within the CBI and also those between U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur and U.S. Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz in the southwest Pacific and Pacific theaters. Months later, this organization would evolve into the newly created Twentieth Air Force, which would direct B-29 combat operations throughout the war and serve as a template for the postwar independent U.S. Air Force.  General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold In November 1943 the British agreed to provide operational bases around Calcutta, India, and Chiang Kai-shek started construction of five forward air bases around Chengdu. Incredibly, the runways on the Chinese bases would be built entirely with manual labor, with as many as 700,000 coolies working at a single site.
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The first target would not be Japan but the Makasan rail facilities in Bangkok, Thailand. On June 5, 1944, 98 Superforts led by General Saunders took off on the 2,261-mile mission, the longest thus far attempted in the war. En route, 14 B-29s were forced to abort the mission due to overheated engines, and the remainder arrived to find the target obscured by weather. After a confused, radar-assisted bombing run, only 18 bombs hit the target. On the way back, 42 planes were forced to divert to other airfields due to low fuel, while five B-29s crashed on landing.
Since the B-29s, even with bomb bay tanks, were only capable of reaching Kyushu, the southernmost Japanese Home Island, the Joint Chiefs decided the primary target would be the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata, believed to produce 24 percent of Japan’s steel capacity. Despite the aircrews’ lack of night bombing experience, they were ordered to fly the mission at night in a stream rather than in formation. The weakness of this approach was that each plane would have to find and bomb the target individually.
The B-29 operations were a logistical mishmash compounded by a weird command structure, poor operational control and inadequate training. But not all the news was bad: The aircrews were learning to handle the B-29. They discovered, for example, that engine temperatures could be kept within tolerable limits if the takeoff run was extended and airspeed was allowed to build before beginning the climb.
www.nasm.si.edu
www.afwing.com
www.nutleysons.com
www1.ocn.ne.jp
www.wpafb.af.mil
farrellpublishing.com
www.fas.org
www.history.noaa.gov
Superfortress Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated, propeller-driven, bomber to fly during World War II, and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Boeing installed very advanced armament, propulsion, and avionics systems into the Superfortress. During the war in the Pacific Theater, the B-29 delivered the first nuclear weapons used in combat. On August 6, 1945, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., in command of the Superfortress "Enola Gay," dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Major Charles W. Sweeney piloted another B-29 named "Bockscar" and dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese accepted Allied terms for unconditional surrender.  As war clouds darkened Europe in the late 1930s, some U. S. Army Air Corps leaders recognized the need for very long-range bombers that exceeded the performance of the B-17 Flying Fortress . Several years of preliminary studies paralleled a continuous fight against those who saw no good reasons to develop such an aircraft but the Air Corps issued a requirement for the new bomber in February 1940. It described an airplane that could carry a maximum bomb load of 909 kg (2,000 lb) at a speed of 644 kph (400 mph) a distance of at least 8,050 km (5,000 miles). Boeing, Consolidated, Douglas, and Lockheed responded with design proposals. The Army was impressed with the Boeing design and issued a contract for two flyable prototypes in September 1940. In April 1941, the Army issued another contract for 250 aircraft plus spare parts equivalent to another 25 bombers, eight months before Pearl Harbor and nearly a year-and-a-half before the first Superfortress would fly. Among the design's innovations was a long, narrow, high-aspect ratio wing equipped with large Fowler-type flaps. This wing design allowed the B-29 to fly very fast at high altitudes without also having unmanageable flight characteristics during the slower speeds required for landing and takeoff. More revolutionary was the size and sophistication of the pressurized sections of the fuselage: the flight deck forward of the wing, the gunner's compartment aft of the wing, and the tail gunner's station. For the crew, flying at extreme altitudes was almost comfortable.  To protect the Superfortress, Boeing designed the most sophisticated remote-controlled, defensive weapons system yet fitted to a military airplane. Engineers placed five gun turrets on the fuselage: a turret above and behind the cockpit that housed two .50 caliber machine guns (four guns in later versions), and another turret aft near the vertical tail equipped with two machine guns; plus two more turrets beneath the fuselage, each equipped with two .50 caliber guns. One of these turrets fired from behind the nose gear and the other hung further back near the tail. Another two .50 caliber machine guns and a 20-mm cannon (in early versions of the B-29) were fitted in the tail beneath the rudder. The really novel innovation was in the sighting system. Gunners operated these turrets by remote control. They aimed the guns using computerized sights, and each gunner could take control of two or more turrets to concentrate firepower on a single target, making the system flexible and effective. Boeing also equipped the B-29 with advanced radar equipment and avionics. Depending on the type of mission, a B-29 carried the AN/APQ-13 or AN/APQ-7 Eagle radar system to aid bombing and navigation. These systems were accurate enough to permit blind bombing through cloud layers that completely obscured the target. The B-29B was equipped with the AN/APG-15B airborne radar gun sighting system mounted in the tail, insuring accurate defense against enemy fighters attacking at night. The B-29s also routinely carried as many as twenty different types of radios and navigation devices. The first XB-29 took off at Boeing Field in Seattle on September 21, 1942. By the end of the year the second aircraft was ready for flight. Fourteen service-test YB-29s followed as production began to accelerate. Building this advanced bomber required massive logistics. Boeing built new B-29 plants at Renton, Washington, and Wichita, Kansas, while Bell built a new plant at Marietta, Georgia, and Martin built one in Omaha, Nebraska. Both Curtiss-Wright and the Dodge automobile company vastly expanded their manufacturing capacity to build the bomber's powerful and complex Curtiss-Wright R-3350 turbo supercharged engines. The program required thousands of sub-contractors but with extraordinary effort, it all came together, despite major teething problems. By April 1944, the first operational B-29s of the newly formed 20th Air Force began to touch down on dusty airfields in India.  By May 8, 130 B-29s were operational. On June 5, 1944, less than two years after the initial flight of the XB-29, the U. S. Army Air Forces (AAF) flew its first B-29 combat mission against targets in Bangkok, Thailand. This mission (longest of the war to date) called for 100 B-29s but only 80 reached the target area. The AAF lost no aircraft to enemy action but bombing results were mediocre. The first bombing mission against the Japanese main islands, since Doolittle's Raid in April 1942, occurred on June 15, again with poor results. This was also the first mission launched from airbases in China. With the fall of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam in the Mariana Islands chain in August 1944, the AAF acquired airbases that lay several hundred miles closer to Japan's home islands. Late in 1944, the AAF moved the XXI Bomber Command, flying B-29s, to the Marianas and the unit began bombing Japan in December. However, they employed high-altitude, precision, bombing tactics that yielded poor results. In March 1945, Major General Curtis E. LeMay ordered the group to abandon these tactics and strike instead at night, from low altitude, using incendiary bombs. These attacks, carried out by hundreds of B-29s, soon devastated much of Japan's industrial and economic infrastructure and contributed in no small way to the Japanese surrender. Late in 1944, AAF leaders selected the Martin assembly line to produce a batch of Superfortress atomic bombers codenamed "Silverplate" aircraft. Martin modified these special B-29s by deleting all gun turrets except for the tail position, removing armor plate, installing Curtiss electric propellers, and configuring the bomb bay to accommodate either the "Fat Man" or "Little Boy" versions of the atomic bomb. The AAF assigned 15 Silverplate ships to the 509th Composite Group commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets and he named his personal B-29 "Enola Gay" after his mother.  The B-29 Enola Gay, reassembled after 43 years, is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Northern Virginia. This image was taken prior to the faciliy opening to the public on Dec. 15, 2003 "Enola Gay" is a model B-29-45-MO, serial number 44-86292. The AAF accepted this aircraft on June 15, 1945, from the Martin plant at Omaha, Nebraska. After the war, air force crews flew the airplane during the Operation Crossroads atomic test program in the Pacific and then delivered it to Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona, for storage. Later, the U. S. Air Force flew the famous bomber to Park Ridge, Illinois, then transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution on July 4, 1949. Although in Smithsonian custody, the aircraft remained stored at Pyote Air Force Base, Texas, between January 1952 and December 1953. The airplane's last flight ended on December 2 when the "Enola Gay" touched down at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. The bomber remained at Andrews in outdoor storage until July 1961. By then quite concerned about the bomber deteriorating outdoors, the Smithsonian sent collections staff to disassemble the Superfortress and move it indoors, out of the elements, to the Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland. The staff at Garber began working to preserve and restore "Enola Gay" in December 1984. This was the largest restoration project ever undertaken at the National Air and Space Museum and the restoration specialists anticipated the work would require from seven to nine years to complete. The project actually lasted more than ten years. The restored forward fuselage and other parts of the airplane were exhibited publicly downtown on the Washington, D. C., Mall in May 1995. The "Enola Gay," fully restored and completely assembled, is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. |
Thanks for yet another GREAT history lesson. My old man was in the AAF in WWII, and he was a mechanic and worked on these machines.
It made great reading while I'm sitting here digesting the BBQ chicken and fixings from the birthday party for one of our deployed troopers. Say "Happy Birthday" to A1C Ryan Malloy, who turned 28 today. You just know he's gonna be pissed that he missed the party/BBQ when his mom emails him later ... LOL
And now, I'm gonna snag a cold brew from your cooler and put my feet up on your desk. Thanks again for all your hard work.
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"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty." 
Toward FREEDOM
I'm starting a Military/Veteran's Affairs ping list. FReep mail me if you want ON/OFF the list.
Curtis LeMay was the Patton of the Army Air Corps., in my estimation. He waged war to end it, not split the ever-evolving differences.
There's definitely something to be said for that approach Land, Sea, & Air, IMHO.
Once again, another excellent thread. I learned, as usual, more than a few things I didn't previously know, and added to my knowledge of the things I did.
Thank you.
April 25th marks the anniversary of the Fall of Saigon. The Traveling Wall is in our area and Mrs d and I stopped by Sunday afternoon to pay our respects and honor those whose names are etched into those black panels.
Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.
A couple of B-29 Pics for the Foxhole denizens. First up a color pic from WW-II
And a fine B&W pic of B-29s returning to North Field on Guam.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Good morning.
The wording suggests that Moses had a speech impediment-perhaps he stuttered. But the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?" (v.11). Our impairments, our disabilities, our handicaps are not accidents; they are God-designed. He uses every one of our flaws for His own glory. God's way of dealing with what we call "limitations" is not to remove them but to endow them with strength and use them for good. In the New Testament, Paul the apostle referred to an unspecified "thorn in the flesh" that he repeatedly asked the Lord to take from him (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). But God said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (v.9). Paul even learned to "take pleasure" in his troubles. "Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me," he said (v.9). "For when I am weak, then I am strong" (v.10). -David Roper
Through weakness learn to trust His Word; They're not immune to pain or tears, But learn to rise above their fears. -D. De Haan God's strength is best seen in our weakness.
Surviving The Storms Of Stress When Disappointment Deceives |
Morning Feather.
Thanks for the ping, Neil.
The Vice President summons the Viking Kitties.
Morning Snippy.
Morning Neil.
Of course you know we appraciate your Dad's service.
Happy Birthday, A1C Ryan Malloy.
Morning Jovial Cad.
How did we ever go from "utterly defeating an enemy" to where we are today? Sometimes "kinder and gentler" just doesn't apply.
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Moses, on the occasion of his call by God, made excuses. "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Exodus 4:10).