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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1560.PDF
2O2 FLIGHT, 17 August 1950 THE VERSATILE B-29 Some Variants of the Famous Boeing Bomber Used for Research and Special Duties MAURICE F. ALLWARD BOEING B-2g Superfortresses were rapftUy becomingthe backbone of the U.S.A.A.F. during tHe war and,in the Far East, took the major part in trie air war against Japan, dropping 171,000 oj|t cf the total 0^78,000 tons of bombs delivered on the Jajpjiese homeland. \Since the war, the B-29S have not only %en the '' straight l|ft'' of America's operational air forG| but " cocooned ' **-in many hundreds, have also been her Strategical reserve. Aii^ with the R.A.F. receiving 70 of thfm under the American, Military Aid Programme, they will form an integral part of our own bomber force. R.A.F..JB-29S are known as Washingtons. | With such an impressive record, It is not surprising that the B-29 has, like the Lancaster, been extensively used for experimental work. As in the case ©f the Lancaster, also, much of this work has been connected with the develop- ment of engines, particularly turboj&ts The Superfortress XB-29G is one of several " flying laboratories'' operated by General Electric as part of their jet development programme for the fj.S.A.F. As can be seen from the illustration of the aircraft backed up over a ground-test pit, the engine under investigation is mounted on a retractable cradle under the rear £omb-bay. A very complete set of test equipment is installed in the fuselage and allows the performance characteristics to be recorded over a wide range of speeds and altitudes. Test-running a General Electric turbojet, suspended fromthe XB-29G research version on a retractable cradle. Bine Superfortress was modified to take four 3,000 h.p. Allison V-3420-A16 liquid-cooled engines and designated the XB-39. The allocation of an official Air Force bomber type number indicated the intention of producing a version powered by tiNge engines had the tests proved entirely successful, but as'it was, only the one prototype was built. The extra 2,000 h.p. o£ the four Allisons resulted in a quite rtenarkable performance, the take-off being particularly improved. A^in Great Britain, considerable interest is being shown in trig United States towards trm possibilities of flight re- fuelling. One system, known as tJS£ flying boom method, has be^p specifically developed for reiuelling B-295 and B-50S by Boeings as part of their current development programing for the U.S.A.F. A rigid telescopic fuel boom extends frqpi under the B-29 tanker's tail and is controlled by an operaiipr working vee-shaped " ruddervators," which, reacting to tfce airflow, guide the boom up or down or from side to &de. The operator's job is to extend the boom and then guide it into the special socket in the top of the receiver's ri|selage, forward of the upper turret- This method is chimed to alleviate some of the difficulties Experimental Superforts have "air-lifted" both the supersonic BellX-l and the XF-85 McDonnell Goblin "parasite" fighter, seen below in the act of detaching. The latter project has now been abandoned. Equipped for relaying TV programmes, the" Stratovision " B-29 carries a large, retractable transmitting antenna and receivng aerial.
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