Warum war es so gefährlich, sich im Inneren der B-29 Superfortress zu bewegen?
Video from the channel Waffenclub about Boeing B-29 Superfortress, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 8:18. Language: German. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
An educational piece that examines the interior of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and the risks crew members faced moving around inside the aircraft, comparing it with earlier American bombers.
Historical context
According to the video, in 1940 the US command anticipated a war with Japan and needed long-range bombers for the Pacific, where the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator fell short. Boeing won the competition with the XB-29, designated B-29 Superfortress in 1942.
Highlights
The video puts the B-29's range at about 5,000 km with a load and up to 7,000 km on a ferry flight, against the B-17's 3,800 km, and its bomb load at 15 tons, double that of the B-17. The crew compartments were pressurized and heated, and oxygen masks were used only in combat. The forward cabin held the pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, engineer, radio operator and navigator; the unpressurized bomb bay separated it from the gunners' compartment, whose top turret was computer-aimed. Both areas were linked by a tunnel about 10 m long and 60 cm in diameter that had to be crawled through. A sudden decompression could generate currents of up to 240 km/h inside it and hurl out anyone within, which is why the aircraft was depressurized about 30 minutes before entering the combat zone.