The Boeing B29 Superfortress is an American heavy bomber produced by Boeing with a stock load-out of 20 500 lb bombs and capable of doubling that amount to 40. It is a Tier 4 bomber that costs 360,000 SL to buy and 100,000 SL to train a crew for. It costs 120,000 RP to research. It sits at BR 6.3 which means it could face late war super props and early jets.
Design and development[]
It is all metal, with a retractable tricycle landing gear system like the B24, however all wheels are double. The entire crew consists 14 members, however only the two pilots and gunners who control the turrets are located in the x-ray. There is one semi-remote controlled gunner in the tail.
The XB-29 prototype model made it's first flight in September of 1942, after being initially designed in 1940. Full scale production began in 1943.
The powerplants are 4 Wright R-3350-23 18-cylinder, radial air-cooled engines; two per wing. They each have 4 props and produce 2200 hp. These would be used to help propel the bomber above speeds of 400 mph (640 km/h) even with a total payload of 20,000 lbs (9,100 kg) over a distance of 2,667 mi (4,290 km).
It served the US during WWII and the Korean War. It was designed to perform high altitude strategic bombing but did well in low-altitude night time incendiary bombings as well. One of the most notable roles performed by a B-29 was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, performed by the Enola Gay. The Bockscar would drop another nuke on Nagasaki three days later on 9 August, 1945.
The RAF also few out B-29 bombers during WWII and postwar up until 1954. The Soviets made an unlicensed reverse-engineered copy of the B-29, the Tupolev Tu-4. The B-29 would help pave the way for Boeing to create a whole new series of transport, tanker, reconnaissance and further development of bombers. The B-50 which would fly around the world non-stop for the first time was essentially a re-engined B-29. A number of B-29s were also converted into passenger planes in 1944 and onwards.
Over 3,900 variants were produced for USAF use until it was phased out in 1954.