The 6th Bomb Group

B-29 Performance


The B-29 was one of the largest WWII bombers powered by 4 of the most powerful engines.

Dimensions:

Wingspan 141 feet 3 inches
Length 99 feet 0 inches
Height 27 feet 9 inches
Wing area 1736 square feet
Aspect ratio: 11.58
Airfoil: Boeing 117
Flaps: Fowler

Powerplant:

Four Wright R-3350-41 Duplex Cyclone eighteen-cylinder air-cooled radial engines each with two General Electric turbo superchargers, delivering 2,200 hp for takeoff with a war emergency rating of 2,300 hp at 25,000 feet.

Range - Published Figures

Ferry Range (no bombs) 5,830 miles
Combat Range (with 5,000 lbs bombs at 25,000 ft) 3,250 miles

Compare to Other Bombers:

B-17G Flying Fortress 3,750 miles
B-24J Liberator 2,100 miles
Avro Lancaster B Mk III 1,040 miles

Weights - Published Figures

69,000 pounds empty and 137,000 pounds loaded
Bombload - 20,000 lbs (40 X 500 lbs)

Compare to Other Bombers:

B-17G Flying Fortress - 8,000 lbs (16 X 500 lbs)
B-24J Liberator - 8,000 lbs (8 X 1,000 lbs)
Avro Lancaster I - 14,000 lbs (28 X 500 lbs)

B-29 Variations

Over the course of the war, the 6th Bomb Group received almost 120 aircraft.  Most of these aircraft were standard B-29s.  The includes 32 B-29As and 2 B-29Bs.  The B-29A was slightly different than the B-29.  Due to a change in construction methods, it had a 1 foot larger wingspan and the number of machine guns in the forward dorsal turrets was doubled to 4.

Performance - Detailed Analysis
 

Fuel Capacity and Range

 Quantity Weight/Unit Weight Range (Est)1
 

Regular Wing Tanks

 5,608 gals 6 lbs 33,648 lbs 2,480 miles
 

Auxiliary Center Wing Tanks

 1,332 gals 6 lbs   7,992 lbs    590 miles
 

Standard Total Fuel Load

 6,940 gals 6 lbs 41,640 lbs 3,070 miles
 

Bomb Bay Tanks (X 2)2

 1,280 gals 6 lbs 7,680 lbs    565 miles
 

Maximum Fuel Load - Combat

 8,220 gals 6 lbs 49,320 lbs 3,635 miles
 

Bomb Bay Tanks (X 2)2

 1,280 gals 6 lbs 7,680 lbs    565 miles
 

Maximum Fuel Load - Ferry

 9,500 gals 6 lbs 57,000 lbs 4,200 miles
 

Notes:
1

Range will vary widely with bombload (see published figures below). The computation above assumes a fuel burn of 475 gph at 220 mph. This appears to correlate well with actual performance.

2

Each long range tank held 640 gals. Each bomb bay could hold 2, for a total of 4 max. However, with 4, there was no room for bombs. Thus, you would only use 4 on a ferry flight and 2 on a bombing mission.
 

Payload Capacity

 Quantity Weight/Unit Weight
 

AN-M30 GP

 80    100 lbs   8,000 lbs
 

AN-M57 GP

 56    250 lbs 14,000 lbs
 

AN-M?? GP

 56    300 lbs 16,800 lbs
 

AN-M64 GP

 40    500 lbs 20,000 lbs
 

AN-M65 GP

 12 1,000 lbs 12,000 lbs
 

AN-Mk1 Armor-Piercing

 12 1,600 lbs 19,200 lbs
 

AN-M66 GP

   8 2,000 lbs 16,000 lbs
 

AN-M56 GP Light Case

  4 4,000 lbs 16,000 lbs
 

M-47A2 Incendiary

 80    100 lbs   8,000 lbs
 

M-19 Incendiary

 56    220 lbs 12,320 lbs
 

Mk 26 and Mk 36 Mine

 12 1,000 lbs 12,000 lbs
 

Mk 24 Mine

   8 2,000 lbs 16,000 lbs
 

Photo Flash

 3 added    100 lbs      300 lbs
 

M-19 Leaflets

      
 
 

Defensive Armament

 Quantity Weight/Unit Weight
 

Turret #1 - 50 cal MG

 4    
 

Turret #2 - 50 cal MG

 2    
 

Turret #3 - 50 cal MG

 2    
 

Turret #4 - 50 cal MG

 2    
 

Tail - 50 cal MG

 2    
 

Ammunition (500 rnds/gun)

 6,000    .3 lbs 1,800 lbs


On long-range missions, the planes carried auxiliary fuel tanks in the rear bomb-bay.
(These are sometimes incorrectly described as "Tokyo Tanks".  However, that name was already in use to describe long range tanks used on the B-17, which never went to Tokyo.)

Hypothetical Mission to Tokyo

The following should give you a rough idea of the extent to which the Groups were pushing the envelope. Normally, you compute the fuel needed to complete a mission with a safe reserve and then add enough bombs to safely stay within gross weight. The aircraft will have a partial fuel load and a partial bomb load. In the case of the B-29, the Groups kept adding more fuel and more bombs until they essentially reached the maximum capacities of the aircraft. There was nothing more to add. And, yet, the planes still flew!

    Units Weight/Unit Weight Range (Est)
 

Empty Weight - Equipped

       78,800 lbs  
 

Crew - Equipped

 11 men 200 lbs     2,200 lbs  
 

Standard Total Fuel Load

 6,940 gals 6 lbs   41,640 lbs 3,070 miles
 

Bombs

 40 bombs 500 lbs   20,000 lbs  
 

Ammo (only 100 rnds/gun)

 1,300 rnds .3 lbs        390 lbs  
 

Totals

     143,030 lbs 3,070 miles
           
 

Combat Radius (Range/2)

       1,535 miles
 

Required Radius

       1,465 miles
 

Fuel Reserve

           40 mins