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The Cannons on the B-29 Bomber Were a Mid-Century Engineering Masterpiece
For those who say we did not go to the moon because we could not have had the technology back in the 60's may I present the following.
Designed and built in the early 1940's, the supremely advanced B-29 Superfortress first flew over 70 years ago in September of 1944. Built by Boeing and based on the highly successful platform of the B-17 bomber, the B-29 became the largest aircraft operational during World War II, a combination of bleeding-edge tech and devastating firepower.
In addition to unprecedented features like a pressurized cabin and a dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, the B-29 was equipped with a state of the art, computer-controlled remote fire system that operated five machine gun turrets.
It was a plane so advanced, we wrote in June 1945 about how one crew fought off 79 fighter planes, downing 7 of them, during a bombing run on Kyushu, Japan. Its weapons platform was so dominant that fighter escorts were no longer strictly necessary—as Major Curtis LeMay put it simply: "These big boys can take care of themselves."
Remember that in 1944 the evolution of the electronic computer was in its infancy. Most computers of the time were designed to break Nazi war code and constructed of pulleys and vacuum tubes or mechanical relays to crunch data on rolls of punched paper. A single computer would encompass an entire room. Fortunately the Superfortress was such a massive aircraft that ample space was available for a new high-tech computing device.
In addition to unprecedented features like a pressurized cabin and a dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, the B-29 was equipped with a state of the art, computer-controlled remote fire system that operated five machine gun turrets.
It was a plane so advanced, we wrote in June 1945 about how one crew fought off 79 fighter planes, downing 7 of them, during a bombing run on Kyushu, Japan. Its weapons platform was so dominant that fighter escorts were no longer strictly necessary—as Major Curtis LeMay put it simply: "These big boys can take care of themselves."
Remember that in 1944 the evolution of the electronic computer was in its infancy. Most computers of the time were designed to break Nazi war code and constructed of pulleys and vacuum tubes or mechanical relays to crunch data on rolls of punched paper. A single computer would encompass an entire room. Fortunately the Superfortress was such a massive aircraft that ample space was available for a new high-tech computing device.
Snip
http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a18343/the-cannons-on-the-b-29-bomber-were-a-mid-century-engineering-masterpiece/
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