Re: B-29 & P-51
Yes, it's always interesting to hear from vets! Our friend said he went up on hundreds of B-29 flights, but never just "rode" in one. He was always in the nose doing adjustments and calibrations on the bombsight and/or navigation equipment. As a side note, one of the men on our flight was a B-52 mechanic back in the 1960's.
During the flight, there was a side hatch open, located about 45 degrees up on the fuselage. Interesting having a 200+ mph wind rushing by. It was also cool to see the "tube" that allowed the forward compartment access to the rear compartment. The B-29 was pressurized for high altitude bombing. That tunnel was the only access to the rear of the craft, where the side gunners, top turret, and tail gunner were located. I can't imagine crawling through that tube while the plane was buffeting around, perhaps while you were in a combat situation.
When we touched down, you could smell the rubber from the tires when they screeched on the runway. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]
The B-29's bomb bay doors are gravity operated when they open, they are powered when they close. A flight crew member said that if they opened the bomb bay on the ground, and you were standing next to it, it would knock you off your feet. In flight, with the added negative air pressure under the fuselage, he said the doors snap open extremely fast.
Here's a shot of the "tunnel" that allows access to the front/rear of the aircraft.
They have a B-29 fuselage on display at the USAF museum that you can walk through. It's cool to see, but not representative of how the plane operated. You walk into the cockpit area through the nosewheel via steps (this is primped and fluffed for museum guests), and the cockpit and radio operator positions are behind plexiglass, so the aisle is very narrow. You can see the "tunnel", but in the museum display, you walk through the bomb bay, and exit at the rear.
Seeing a real B-29 interior, like that of "Fifi", gave me a totally different perspective on how the aircraft really was.
Second photo is of the Helldiver. The Helldiver went up just after we got back in the B-29. It was cool seeing the Helldiver's wings extend. They do one wing at a time.
Mike
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