Restored B-29 featured...

...on CBS Sunday Morning, 11/13/2016. The story of "Doc" already aired on the east coast, but those of you in western time-zones have time to watch it this morning. The story should be on-line in a couple of days.

 

Thanks for your thoughtfulness in reminding everyone about the feature. I have seen several beautifully done short videos about the restoration of Doc and I think that they did a magnificent job. I have worked on B-29's and B-50's and they are a complex piece of machinery even for a WW2 airplane. In 1992 I was fortunate to have a flight in FIFI and sat in the bomb aimer's position. The late Tom Cloyd was the pilot. One of my favorite memories.

 

I forgot to add my painting of the B-29 cutaway.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Bob- The Russians copied one (they had three in various states), even mistakes made during production, and built them in numbers (~850) as the Tu-4 Bull. Interesting story.

 

They were so scared of getting sent to the gulag that they copied everythign to a T, including the repaired bullet holes in the tail. The only part they couldnt copy were the tires. Fortuantly for them we were selling the surplus tires cheap.

Before rockets these planes were game changers for the Russians once they had the bomb, they could bomb us with copied B29's.

Later on there was a turbine version and I think the Chinese flew turbine ones with radomes ala awacs into the 80s.

 

The "turbine version" is actually the current Tu-95 "Bear"!

The original Tu-4 was developed into Tu-80 and Tu-85 prototypes, both larger and longer-ranged, but still with piston engines and straight wings. The Soviets realized that technology was obsolete, so they took the Tu-85 fuselage, put swept wings and tail and turboprop engines on it, and, voila, the Tu-95. The fuselage of the "Bear" is exactly the same diameter as the B-29.

(The Chinese did, later on, put turboprops on their Tu-4s, and even in at least one case, a rotodome.)

 

Yep thats the pic I saw, a TU4 turbine with a radome