B-29 "Doc" Rollout

Earlier today my dad called me to let me know of the B-29 "Doc" was rolled out of it's hangar. He was excited about it because 1) he was a tail gunner on B-29's and 2) he has been to Wichita on more than one occasion to help with the restoration. The goal of the restoration process is to get it back to flying status.

[YOUTUBE]xXk0A_C2zdY[/YOUTUBE]

https://www.b-29doc.com/index.php

Greg

I hope the restoration goes better than those Nimrods who tried to recover that lost B-29 in Greenland only to allow it to BURN TO ASH!!

The B 29 was one of the prettiest bombers of all time. Does that make two now in flying condition?

Daddyisabar said:

The B 29 was one of the prettiest bombers of all time. Does that make two now in flying condition?

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Yes. Once the FAA clears it, it will be the second flying B-29 (along side CAF's "FIFI").

Greg

What was the proposed bomber that was going to be used for direct from America to Europe bombing missions?

It was sort of an upscale B-29 and I seem to recall it being called the Conqueror or some such.
But then Germany surrendered and we had plenty of bases for the B-29’s in the Pacific.

boomtube-mk2 said:

What was the proposed bomber that was going to be used for direct from America to Europe bombing missions?

It was sort of an upscale B-29 and I seem to recall it being called the Conqueror or some such.
But then Germany surrendered and we had plenty of bases for the B-29’s in the Pacific.

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Your description sounds like Convair's B-36 Peacemaker:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_Peacemaker

No it wasn’t the B36.
The plane I have in mind definitely had only four engines and they faced forward.
Besides the B36 was actually built this one never got off the drawing boards if it even got that far.

I remember seeing an artist conception painting in a book about the air war over Germany.
The idea was that if Great Britain fell and we had to launch bomber strikes direct from U.S. bases we’d need a bomber that had the range

boomtube-mk2 said:

No it wasn’t the B36.
The plane I have in mind definitely had only four engines and they faced forward.
Besides the B36 was actually built this one never got off the drawing boards if it even got that far.
I remember seeing an artist conception painting in a book about the air war over Germany.
The idea was that if Great Britain fell and we had to launch bomber strikes direct from U.S. bases we’d need a bomber that had the range

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Was it A: XB-30, later to become the Locheed Constilation, B: Douglas XB-31 C: the XB-32 which was Convair's up scale B-24. or D: Martin XB-33A Super Marauder. I know that the B-36 was first designed in 1941, before Pearl Harbor, so maybe the artist was misinformed!

You're thinking of the B-32 "Dominator" It was 4 engine, and a huge airplane. But, I can't remember much more about it, I don't think it got past a few experimental airframes.

Phil L.

The “Dominator” that’s the one. If built it would have been America’s first strategic bomber certainly the first “Intercontinental Bomber”. Though the German’s had all sorts of plans for that , even back in WWI, none of them ever saw fruition.

Can you imagine what that would have been like?
Flying a piston engine prop plane from U.S. shores to targets in Europe and then back non-stop.

The B-32 was actually coming off the assembly line on VJ day. At few I believe actually flew missions over Formosa then flew reconnaissance Japan after the war ended. The majority were scrapped on the line or flown to Davis-Monthan for scrapping.

Very neat on Doc.

I looked up the B-32 the vertical tail on that thing was massive, I wounder why they kept the fuselage so short? Pilot and co-pilot would have had to stand on the rudder pedals to fly if they lost both engines on a wing

There was also the B-19 which was huge for the time (212 foot wingspan):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_XB-19

FC

I was at the LA zoo a few Mondays ago and heard a strange rumbling from above. I looked up and it was a B29 flying directly overhead at about 5000 feet. I didnt realize any were still airworthy and looked it up. That was the only airworthy one. Quite a site.

The working range of the B32 was only 3800 miles. It could be used to cross the Atlantic once and not return. Not exactly a strategic bomber.

That's pretty cool. About 9-10 years ago I was at my Moms house and I heard this incredible rumbling in the sky like a pack of Harleys but up in the sky.
I was treated to the most beautiful sight of a restored B-24 Liberator thundering across the bly sky at maybe 2000-2500ft. What a breathtaking sight!!!
The next day I read in the paper that it was on its way to an airshow, and that many folks had seen and enjoyed its presence.
It was a magical thing to behold, and it is a true shame that you don't get to see things like that more often, if at all.
My Grandpa was a Navy Pilot in the Pacific in WWII.

I was living in Widefield, CO, (south of Colorado Springs) in the '70's when the CAF did an air show. The runway was in line with my house and I got to see "Fifi" doing "touch and go's" for almost an hour. What a sound!

another great find Gregg! Doc looks spectacular....I like the fact that its in it combat colors...natural aluminum...FiFi seems to be painted a grey color. The B-29 was a beautiful airplane! and I think you could make an argument that it was the most sophisticated airplane of WWII...pressurized cabin, electronic fire control system, with remote controlled guns (with lead compensating gun sights), probably the most advanced piston engines in the world at the time...and a major fire hazard until the bugs were worked out. Just a neat looking airplane! thanks for posting!!

boomtube-mk2 said:

I hope the restoration goes better than those Nimrods who tried to recover that lost B-29 in Greenland only to allow it to BURN TO ASH!!

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I watched the NOVA show on that airplane and the fire was an accident. These guys travelled up to Greenland for a number of years to work on it when the weather allowed. They were in very primitive conditions and did the minimum necessary to get the plane airworthy. The plan was to fly it out and get it back to a proper location for full restoration. They were so remote that one guy had a serious medical problem (kidney failure?) and he died before they could get him out.

When they finally got the plane ready for flight they powered up some of the systems for testing and a can of oil spilled and caught on fire. The fire spread rapidly and couldn't be put out with the limited fire fighting gear that they had. They had no choice but to evacuate the plane and let it burn. I'm working on a B-17 in a heated hangar and it is a lot of work. I can't imagine how difficult this would be on a frozen lake in Greenland. Nimrods is the last thing I would call these dedicated specialists.

Zeus-cat said:

I'm working on a B-17 in a heated hangar and it is a lot of work. I can't imagine how difficult this would be on a frozen lake in Greenland. Nimrods is the last thing I would call these dedicated specialists.

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I agree w/you, Daryl Greenamyer who lead the expedition the get KEE BIRD was an Test Pilot for the SR-71 program, built his own F-104 from surplus parts :eyepop: & won several Reno Unlimited Races Nimrod is not applicable to him and/or his body of work in aviation.
Which Fortress are you working on? I have been intimate with TEXAS RAIDERS & LIBERTY BELL:wink:

It was the B-36, later replaced by the B-52. The original request was to have a 12,000 mile range, but the requirements were too demanding.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_Peacemaker

NJRick said:

another great find Gregg! Doc looks spectacular....I like the fact that its in it combat colors...natural aluminum...FiFi seems to be painted a grey color. The B-29 was a beautiful airplane! and I think you could make an argument that it was the most sophisticated airplane of WWII...pressurized cabin, electronic fire control system, with remote controlled guns (with lead compensating gun sights), probably the most advanced piston engines in the world at the time...and a major fire hazard until the bugs were worked out. Just a neat looking airplane! thanks for posting!!

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I suspect with FiFi at the time being the only one left flying, a decision may have been made for painting to provide some protection to the skins for posterity's sake. I thought FiFi had been laid up for a time for a motor upgrade to some units that would be
more easily serviceable? I went through the cockpit one time during a visit. Boy, looked just like the documentaries I've seen. Was accompanied by the B-24 Liberator LB-30 cargo version. It's known as Diamond Lil and as I recall was something like the 8th airframe made. It suffered a crash in the states, was laid up for repairs and used stateside as a cargo plane. Walking through it was like my gosh, to think that men fought in something so small with that big wing spar running through the cabin. The cockpit was really cramped too. Kurt

Kurt ...agree...I have never seen FiFi up close and I think you may be correct that the paint is to preserve the metal. Still a gorgeous aircraft. I have crawled through a B-17 (I love that airplane) and a B-24 and I agree with you! How they got 10 guys into those planes....they are really small on the inside. I can't imagine trying to get out of one in an emergency. God bless those men that fought in them for us.

ksaves2 said:

I suspect with FiFi at the time being the only one left flying, a decision may have been made for painting to provide some protection to the skins for posterity's sake. I thought FiFi had been laid up for a time for a motor upgrade to some units that would be
more easily serviceable? I went through the cockpit one time during a visit. Boy, looked just like the documentaries I've seen. Was accompanied by the B-24 Liberator LB-30 cargo version. It's known as Diamond Lil and as I recall was something like the 8th airframe made. It suffered a crash in the states, was laid up for repairs and used stateside as a cargo plane. Walking through it was like my gosh, to think that men fought in something so small with that big wing spar running through the cabin. The cockpit was really cramped too. Kurt

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Painting an aircraft that was actually bare aluminum in service is mostly for ease of cleaning. The museums that I volunteered at painted P-51 Mustangs & B-25s for ease of cleaning. These aircraft were painted in the markings of actual aircraft that were bare aluminum (some in the markings of the actual aircraft! ) Buffing the aluminum of an aircraft is a pain and time consuming. I had the pleasure of buffing a F-104! I would hate to have to tackle a bomber :eyepop:. The B-17 Yankee Lady is bare aluminum, and there are many warbirds that are bare aluminum. The age old debate in the Warbird Community is, when you restore an aircraft that was painted (i.e.: a P-40 that was in olive drab during service) do you paint it in the actual "Matt" (not shinny) finish, or do you paint it in a similar shade but clear coat it and make it a gloss finish? I like it to be original, but these aircraft are NOT going to war and a gloss finish will help others to see it, (a mid-air can ruin your day:y There is a P-51 based in England ("Twilight Tear") that is bare aluminum, but they treat it like the crews did during the war. The will wash it now and then, but they don't buff it. She has exhaust stains and marks from climbing on her, they do not even fix an indentation in the vertical fin fillet, which was caused by the crews thumb from grabing that part to push the tail around. :surprised: I hope this wasn't TMI

Fifi is painted silver, as mentioned to stave off corrosion and for ease of cleaning.

I actually had the pleasure of "working" Fifi about 3.5 years ago shortly before becoming a fully certified controller. Imagine my surprise when "Stratofortress 529B" (Fifi's tail number is N529B) called me up asking for VFR advisories on its way from Oshkosh to Millington, TN.

TALON said:

I agree w/you, Daryl Greenamyer who lead the expedition the get KEE BIRD was an Test Pilot for the SR-71 program, built his own F-104 from surplus parts :eyepop: & won several Reno Unlimited Races Nimrod is not applicable to him and/or his body of work in aviation.
Which Fortress are you working on? I have been intimate with TEXAS RAIDERS & LIBERTY BELL:wink:

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I'm working on the Champaign Lady in Urbana, Ohio. I started posting on page 14 of this link. Lots of other photos throughout. I was sick last week and didn't realize they started painting the stars and bars on the fuselage. Last month we spent several weeks getting her ready for paint.

https://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=39580&p=546033&hilit=seats#p546033

For all you warbird fans, if you haven't heard about this check it out.

https://ww2flyover.org/

I will be there .

I can only imagine the sky full of B29s, B17s, and B24s during WWII. I wish I could travel back and see it first hand.

It would second only to the Civil War. As a physician, I can only imagine the impact of modern medicine on that conflict.

cwbullet said:

I can only imagine the sky full of B29s, B17s, and B24s during WWII. I wish I could travel back and see it first hand.

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Working on ramps w/several warbirds cranking up can give one a slight glimpse of what it was like during the war I attended the "Gathering of Mustangs & Legends" back in 07. 81 P-51s attended the airshow It was amazing, on Sunday they had over 20 P-51s in formation.

One of the coolest experiences for me was pushing a visiting B-17G into a hanger during a tornado outbreak:y: It was after sunset and between the lightning flashes & and the sirens going off I felt I was in London during the blitz :surprised:

cwbullet said:

It would second only to the Civil War. As a physician, I can only imagine the impact of modern medicine on that conflict.

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I saw a documentary on Civil War Medicine, fascinating & BRUTAL.