B-29B-55BA 44-84053 and KC-97 Georgia museum

Edward Sheetmetalhands · **Joined:** Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:44 am **Posts:** 257

From their website this B-29 is normally displayed inside. It was outside the day I visited-had to actually search for it, with the outboard wing panels removed. Not sure what work was underway....

I took photos of the KC-97 to help me with my house bay window project. I recently scored a KC-97 3 window panel for the pilot, center, and copilot off of ebay. I will try to make it into a bay window for under my front porch, though I would almost rather have all of the windows incorporated if I could find a bigger peice...

Second Air Force · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:25 pm

Hopefully the restorers are building up a tail gun installation with the APG-15 radome attached. I would love to see an Eagle airfoil between those bombays, too. The B-29B is my favorite Superfortress!

Good photos!
Scott

gary1954 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:54 pm

Here is how she looked in August 2007

Shot this through the Starboard Blister

Edward Sheetmetalhands · **Joined:** Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:44 am **Posts:** 257

Here are a couple of shots of the KC-97 window frame I scored off of ebay.... only $40, plus $400 to ship it <gulp>. At the top of the second photo is a KC-97 engine fire control panel... ie "cut fuel, feather prop". The fire control panel will find its way to my instrument shop eg, bathroom. :wink:

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11340

The wife must have been thrilled when that arrived... :shock:

Edward Sheetmetalhands · **Joined:** Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:44 am **Posts:** 257

bdk wrote:

The wife must have been thrilled when that arrived... :shock:

Not half as thrilled as when I installed the C-119 life raft door for the hatch to the attic....

Second Air Force · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:49 pm

gary1954 wrote:

Here is how she looked in August 2007

Shot this through the Starboard Blister

I didn't realize the airplane had standard blisters in the waist positions until you posted that photo, Gary. I wonder if the museum has the correct flush plug windows for her. It certainly looks bare back there without gunsights and the barber chair. That insulation still appears to be in pretty fair condition considering its age.

Scott

steve dickey · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:16 pm

You say the B-29B is your fav, Ida figured you already knew they had those bulged blisters in that position :shock:

Flush plug windows, OK guess I didn't know they came with them

Second Air Force · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:48 am

steve dickey wrote:

You say the B-29B is your fav, Ida figured you already knew they had those bulged blisters in that position :shock:

Flush plug windows, OK guess I didn't know they came with them

The B-29B had a similar flush window to the type used on the Silverplate airplanes. Since there were no turrets or CFC system, a single swivel mount .50 caliber was proposed, to be mounted in the waist positions with a compensating sight. We're not entirely sure the 315th Wing took the waist guns into combat, but the scanners were trained on them at the Phase Training bases in Nebraska. If the guns were to be employed it appears that the airplane would first have to be depressurized, the plug removed, and the gun deployed. This photo is of the Boeing development for the single waist gun during preliminary studies.

This picture was taken at Harvard AAF during the Second/Third Phase Training of the 501st Bombardment Group (VH) and shows scanners learning how to track targets with the single machine gun.

Here is one of my favorite photos of new B-29Bs of the 16th Group in flyaway storage at Fairmont AAF in March of '45. You can see the flush waist window on the second ship.

This is a better view of the waist position on another 16th Group B that had a hairy encounter with a tree during an instrument approach to Fairmont. You can see the airfoil of the APQ-7 antenna under the flap.

And here is the only armament on a B with the APG-15 beneath the guns. It's a little hard to tell in this photo, but most, if not all, Bs had three .50s rather than two.

Scott

B29Gunner · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:02 am

Second Air Force wrote:

Hopefully the restorers are building up a tail gun installation with the APG-15 radome attached.

They could of had a real tail turret to bolt in, but the boys at Dayton wouldn't let them work a trade

APG85 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:48 am

I would love to see them strip the silver paint off of the plane...

steve dickey · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:45 pm

Second Air Force wrote:

steve dickey wrote:

You say the B-29B is your fav, Ida figured you already knew they had those bulged blisters in that position :shock:

Flush plug windows, OK guess I didn't know they came with them

The B-29B had a similar flush window to the type used on the Silverplate airplanes. Since there were no turrets or CFC system, a single swivel mount .50 caliber was proposed, to be mounted in the waist positions with a compensating sight. We're not entirely sure the 315th Wing took the waist guns into combat, but the scanners were trained on them at the Phase Training bases in Nebraska. If the guns were to be employed it appears that the airplane would first have to be depressurized, the plug removed, and the gun deployed. This photo is of the Boeing development for the single waist gun during preliminary studies.

This picture was taken at Harvard AAF during the Second/Third Phase Training of the 501st Bombardment Group (VH) and shows scanners learning how to track targets with the single machine gun.

Here is one of my favorite photos of new B-29Bs of the 16th Group in flyaway storage at Fairmont AAF in March of '45. You can see the flush waist window on the second ship.

This is a better view of the waist position on another 16th Group B that had a hairy encounter with a tree during an instrument approach to Fairmont. You can see the airfoil of the APQ-7 antenna under the flap.

And here is the only armament on a B with the APG-15 beneath the guns. It's a little hard to tell in this photo, but most, if not all, Bs had three .50s rather than two.

Scott

Hey Scott, thanks for clarifying that for me, I learned something

I also learned I need to go buy more books on the 29 so I don't sound so dumb :oops:

. I don't have much on 29's in my library :!:

Second Air Force · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 1:28 pm

Steve,

I've been researching the B-29B for a long, long time. The 315th Wing was a VERY special program with a completely new, improved radar bombing system. The priority and secrecy of the equipment they used was not unlike the Silverplate program. In fact, both programs of stripping all the guns and extra equipment to improve performance came from Paul Tibbets. He 'borrowed' a stripped trainer at Grand Island early in the B-29 program and realized that the airplane handled and performed much better at altitude than CFC equipped machines, and this information figured in during the design of the B-29B and the Silverplate airplanes.

All four groups completed their Second and Third Phase training at stations I have visited many, many times--16th at Fairmont, 331st at McCook, 501st at Harvard, and the 502nd at Grand Island.

Oops, forgot a great link to give you a bit of 315th Wing history. http://www.315bw.org/

Scott

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