The B-29, with it’s awesome destructive power, is legendary. We all consider the atomic drops on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as being the most devastating of all. However, the incendiary attacks on Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka actually caused greater damage than both atomic attacks. The M-69, M-47, and M-15 magnesium thermite incendiaries would have eventually leveled every city in Japan. Targets in Korea were far more difficult to hit due to the dispersion of enemy troops. Bridges were difficult to hit, with most bomb runs straddling the bridge. Airfields that were hit one day were repaired for use the next day. We did not possess the “smart bomb” that is so effective today. So we pretty well know about the B-29 accomplishments, but what about the RB-29. This story contains my personal observation and evaluation of the RB-29. We will begin with a look at production problems with the B-29, along with some technical specifications. Then we will take a look at the purpose of the RB, and the camera configuration.

The pressurization system was unique in that the front compartment and the rear compartment were both pressurized. Since the two compartments were separated
By the two huge bomb bays, they were connected by a 34 inch tube, just large enough for an airman to crawl through. The cabin had a supercharger with a flow capacity of 25 pounds per minute, which brought the inside atmosphere down to 8000 feet at an altitude of 30,000 feet.

The first B-29’s produced had twelve 50 caliber machine guns, plus a 20 mm cannon mounted in the tail. The cannon was later discontinued and only a few were produced. The gunnery system had a central fire control which used an automatic computer to correct for airspeed, range, altitude, and temperature. It was sophisticated, even by todays standards. This system allowed any gunner, except the tail gunner, to take over more than one power driven turret. Gunners did not have actual contact with the guns, as they were fired from remote stations using a sighting device.