B-29A-BN

B-29A-BN

B-24D-25-CO

B-57A

B-29A-BN

B-24D-25-CO

B-57A

USA

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.0	7.0	7.0

Class:

Bomber

Long Range bomber

Research:63 000

Purchase:200 000

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This page is about the American heavy bomber B-29A-BN. For other versions, see B-29/Tu-4 (Family).

Description

The B-29A-BN Superfortress is a Rank IV American heavy bomber with a battle rating of 7.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns". The B-29 follows the B-24 Liberator in the U.S. bomber branch and is currently the last American propeller-powered bomber in the US Tech Tree. At the top of its game, the B-29A-BN is one of the most powerful and heavily armed bombers found in War Thunder.

In the few years leading up to World War II, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) realized that its current primary heavy bomber, the B-17 would not have the range nor the payload which would be needed to efficiently transit what would end up becoming the Pacific Theater. To compensate for this Boeing began to develop a prototype which would incorporate a pressurized cabin to allow for higher altitude flying, which would help to protect the bomber from Japanese fighters which struggled to get to the higher altitudes.

A view of the B-29A-BN cockpit.

The resulting XB-29 prototype and the later production series B-29 bomber had everything the USAAC was looking for, high-pressured cockpit, a maximum altitude of almost 32,000 ft (9753.6 m), true air-speed around 372 mph (600 kph) and could carry a massive payload of bombs upwards of 20,000 lbs (9,072 kg). Defensive positions on the B-29 were well placed to ensure maximum coverage surrounding the bomber. This bomber was one of the first aircraft to be fitted with the General Electric Central Fire Control system which could be used to remotely control four of the remotely controlled turrets (two dorsal and two ventral). Though in their early stages, this aircraft’s turrets each also had a General Electric analogue computer linked to it allowing the weapons to be more accurate by automatically factoring in airspeed, gravity, temperature and lead time for the inbound aircraft. With this setup, these turrets could be controlled from the nose, tail or any of the three mid-fuselage positions and a single gunner could actually control more than one turret at a time increasing the effectiveness and lethality of the bomber’s defences. Bristling with 12 x M2 Browning machine guns, the B-29A-BN was extremely difficult to approach, yet make a successful pass and leave untouched.

Unlike other bombers which can take on a secondary role as a pseudo-attacker, the B-29A-BN is a bomber, period. The sole purpose of the B-29 is to beat ground targets into submission either with upwards of 40 x 500 lb bombs, 18 x 1,000 lb bombs or 8 x 2,000 lb bombs. The larger 1,000 and 2,000 lb bombs are perfect for base bombing while the relatively smaller 500 lb bombs make the perfect tool for carpet bombing where vehicles, pillboxes or anti-aircraft artillery may be clustered together which may be reminiscent for pilots who have flown the rank I French bomber the F.222.2 and utilised its 52 x 50 kg G.A. MMN. 50 bombs which created area denial on early maps.

The B-29A-BN is an aerial beast which can drop a beastly amount of explosive ordnance, rivalled by few, but is not immune to enemy fighters. Altitude is this bombers friend and when achieved can be a safer haven from which to rain down explosives on enemy bases or vehicles.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Bombs away!

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 9,100 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
613	602	12000	33.5	34.4	2.9	4.2	1,800
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 9,100 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
669	641	12000	30.7	32.0	11.7	6.5	1,800

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	389	340	~1	~1

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 340	< 350	< 290	> 400

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
9,720 m	2,200 hp	2,499 hp

Engine performance

Engine
Engine Name			Number present
Wright R-3350-57 18-cylinder			4
Engine characteristics
Weight (each)		Type	Cooling
1,251 kg		Radial	Air
Engine power (Stock)
Max		Take-off
1,975 hp		2,276 hp
Engine power (Upgraded)
Max		Take-off
2,200 hp		2,502 hp

Survivability and armour

• 60 mm Bulletproof glass in front of the pilots.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates in front of the pilots.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates behind the pilots.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates in front of tail control tractions.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates boxing around rear dorsal gunner and beam gunners.
• 6.5 mm Steel plate behind the rear ventral gunner.
• 60 mm Bulletproof glass in front of tail gunner.
• 6.5 mm Steel plate in front of tail gunner.

Armaments

Suspended armament

The bombs just don't seem to stop falling from the B-29A-BN.

The B-29A-BN can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• 20 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (10,000 lb total)
• 40 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (20,000 lb total)
• 18 x 1000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (18,000 lb total)
• 8 x 2000 lb AN-M66A2 bombs 16,000 lb total)

Defensive armament

The B-29A-BN is defended by:

• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, tail turret (550 rpg = 1,100 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, rear ventral turret (575 rpg = 1,150 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, rear dorsal turret (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm [Browning M2 machine guns, front ventral turret (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
• 4 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, front dorsal turret (400 rpg = 1,600 total)

Usage in battles

The ultimate strategic bomber for the USAF. Loaded up with eight metric tonnes (8 long tonnes) of bombs and ten good ol' Browning heavy machine guns this is the Superfortress! A wonderful advertising name, but don't be fooled, it is bigger than a barn and thus impossible to miss. Keep a safe distance from any hot combat zones. Your defensive turrets will not keep you safe, they will kill any foe getting close, but the B-29's enemies do not need too! So concentrate on what this plane is good at delivery payload, lots of it.

Once your bombing run is complete, start descending towards your airfield; enemy fighters might be trying to find you so you should be even more alert now than before. The B-29 has one of the most powerful defensive systems installed on any bomber, so you should be able to defend yourself reasonably well unless it is a head-on attack where you will have very limited protection. You must also combine it with a defensive style of flying to utilize it to its full potential; the B-29 offers great handling for its size. Despite this, be very careful when you enter a dive. It is just as prone as any other aircraft to suffering structural damage if its limitations are exceeded.

Great defensive armament will kill most enemies that do get close. Being able to point at least four fifty-calibre in every direction and about six to the six o'clock position will deal with any fighter quickly. But do not forget the size of the Fortress. Most of the enemies shells will hit some mark.

Of course, bomb load is very good with the B-29, with its historic performance as one of the best American bomber in service. Up to 8 x 2,000 lb could be carried in the bomb bay.

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Turret 12 mm	SBC-40
II		Compressor	Airframe
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 12 mm MGs (turret)	MBC-12
IV		Engine injection	Cover		LBC-8

Pros and cons

A Bf 109 attempts to take on the tail gunner of a B-29A-BN.

Pros:

• Second heaviest payload in War Thunder next to the Soviet Tu-4
• Stock bomb load is able to destroy bases with one payload in arcade and up to two bases in realistic/simulatory battles
• Can be difficult for fighters to reach same cruising altitude, even for jets
• Effective defensive turrets which virtually have no blind spots
• Fast for its size
• Virtually immune to small arms machine gunfire
• Receives air start after repairing/rearming in an airfield
• All payload options are internal and have next to no effect on flight performance
• Gunners are located separately from the gun turret (remote-controlled turrets) with the exception of the tail turret
• Can easily win a match if allowed to reach optimal bombing altitude
• Exceptionally strong when flying in groups with other bombers

Cons:

• Easily susceptible to damage from autocannons larger than 20 mm especially the MK108
• Unable to reliably defend itself from multiple opponents attacking at once from multiple directions
• Big size, can easily be spotted from long distances, especially with skilled crews
• Has a low dive top-speed
• As with all heavy bombers, it lacks the ability to manoeuvre well
• Takes a while to reach an optimal altitude
• Landing gear takes a long time to deploy and retract
• Wings are considered weak spots
• Will face jets most of the time
• Extremely high repair cost

History

The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft used during World War II. It was exclusively used in the Pacific Theatre during the war and participated in bombing raids on multiple islands in the Pacific war. The B-29 became the world's first and only nuclear-capable bomber to deliver weapons during wartime when on August 6th, 1945 the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb known as "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, the B-29 Bockscar dropped the second atomic bomb "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, Japan.

During the Second World War, its only area of operations was the Pacific Theater specifically targeting the Japanese mainland. It also saw combat service in the Korean War a small group of loaned aircraft were evaluated by the R.A.F during the early 1950's as well. In British service, they were known as the “Washington B Mk. 1”.

During World War 2, the B-29 completed over 20,000 sorties with an estimated 180,000 tons of bombs dropped, as well as two atomic bombs. A total number of 3,970 were built and delivered to the USAAF. Perhaps the most famous “copy” of the war was the Tu-4. Although outwardly looking identical, this Soviet “B-29” was converted to metric making it unique. Other aircraft derived from the B-29 include the B-50, C-97, KC-97, 377 Stratocruiser, and NASA’s own Guppy cargo carriers.

The B-29 post-war also helped in the scientific, research, and development fields. They would play a key role in hurricane hunting and storm chasing which allowed it to collect key information about storm patterns, and helped to improve and to develop new radar systems such as the “sun tracker”. It was also the aircraft that carried the supersonic test aircraft Bell X-1 into the air. The last American B-29 squadron was retired in the 1960s. Today one called “Fifi” still flies at air show circuits. It was joined by another named “Doc” in 2016.

In-game description

"An all-metal monoplane with a retractable landing gear system including a nosewheel. The crew consisted of 14 persons. Distinctive features of the Superfortress included a pressurized cockpit for the crew and a Central Fire Control system for the defensive armament.

The B-29 (Model 345) was developed by the Boeing Aircraft design department in early 1940. The XB-29 prototype model performed its maiden flight on September 21, 1942. Full-scale production of the aircraft was started in June 1943.

В-29s had Wright R-3350-23 eighteen-cylinder, radial air-cooled engines producing a maximum power of 2,200 hp, with four-bladed automatic propellers.

The defensive armament of the Superfortress included four remotely controlled turrets: two below the fuselage and two above. Each turret housed two 12.7 mm Colt-Browning M2.5 machine guns with 500-1,000 rounds each. Some aircraft had an upper front turret equipped with four machine guns. All weapons were aimed at the target from three sighting stations located in blisters and from the bombardier's station.

Three armament options were available for the rear mount, controlled by an independent air gunner: a 20 mm Hispano-Bendix AN-M2 cannon and two 12.7 mm Colt-Browning M2.5 machine guns, three 12.7 mm machine guns, or two 12.7 mm machine guns.

A bomb load of up to 9,000 kg was housed in two bomb bays, where cluster racks were mounted.

The B-29 was equipped with a large amount of radio equipment for various purposes. Its large bomb capacity, powerful and effective defensive armament, and state-of-the-art equipment would have turned the Superfortress into the best heavy bomber of World War II if not for engine breakdowns that continually plagued the aircraft. For one whole year, up to the middle of 1944, the bomber's performance was hampered by a high accident rate. It was only by the end of the summer of 1944 that efforts to improve the fire-prone engines were relatively successful, but the problem was never entirely eradicated.

B-29s were used exclusively in the Pacific theater of the war. Superfortresses were used in combat for the first time on June 5, 1944 during the raid on Bangkok. On June 14, 1944, American bombers attacked the territory of Japan for the first time. Military and industrial facilities in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Omura and Yawata were regularly attacked. In August 1944, B-29s began to bomb oil refineries on the island of Sumatra.

The B-29s were flown out of China until December 1944, when they were relocated to India. Their targets were docks in Singapore, ports in Indochina, and rail junctions in Burma. В-29s also mined rivers in China and the coastal waters of Vietnam and Malaya from the air.

In October 1944, B-29s began carrying out massive attacks on Japan from the Mariana Islands. During the war, these aircraft dropped 54,917 tons of high-explosive bombs and 109,068 tons of incendiary bombs on Japan and delivered 12,000 naval mines. The В-29 became the world's first nuclear weapon carrier when it dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From 1950-53, B-29 bombers took part in the Korean War. From 1950-55, the aircraft was operated by the RAF Bomber Command under the designation ""Washington B.1.""

A total of 3,947 В-29s were manufactured, including all variants. The plane was withdrawn from service as a bomber with the USA in late 1954."

Media

Images

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Videos

War Thunder Realistic: B-29A-BN Superfortress [Grace] - Jengar

War Thunder B-29 SuperFortress Bomber Gameplay - BaronVonGamez

WT - B-29 - Punished for not Scumbagging - NaplamRatte

User created skins

• Skins and camouflages for the B-29A-BN from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Tupolev Tu-4 (unauthorized reverse-engineered copy of the B-29)
• Avro Lincoln B Mk II
• Nakajima G8N1
• Messerschmitt Me 264

External links

• [Profile] B-29 Superfortress