Al-Amn Magazine

Later variants, such as the B-29D - later redesignated B-50 - were equipped with even more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major engines.The B-29 was a large and formidable aircraft. It had a wingspan of 141 feet 3 inches and measured 99 feet in length. Its four engines turned massive 16-foot, 7-inch constant-speed propellers that could push the bomber to a maximum speed of 357 miles per hour, with a cruising speed of about 220 mph. It could range up to 2,820 nautical miles and operate at altitudes as high as 31,850 feet. The Superfortress carried a crew of 11, including pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, flight engineer, navigator, radio operator, radar observer, three gunners, and a central fire control operator. For defence, the B-29 mounted ten .50-caliber Browning M2 machine guns in remote-controlled turrets, with an additional pair of .50s and a 20 mm cannon in the tail. Its bomb load varied depending on range, from 5,000 to 22,000 pounds. The B-29 is perhaps most famous for its role in ending the Second World War, as it was the aircraft type used to drop the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both of the aircraft that carried out these missions survive today. Enola Gay is displayed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar- Hazy Center, while Bockscar is preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Remarkably, two B-29s remain airworthy today: the Commemorative Air Force’s Fifi and Doc’s Friends’ Doc. These aircraft tour the United States, giving the public a rare chance to see and hear the Superfortress in flight, keeping its story - and the history of World War II aviation - alive for future generations. vintageaviationnews.com