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Strange Cargo (aircraft)
''Strange Cargo'' was the name of a B-29 Superfortress (B-29-36-MO 44-27300, Unit identification aircraft markings#XXI Bomber Command, Victor number 73) modified to carry the atomic bomb in World War II. Airplane history Assigned to the 393d Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group, it was one of 15 Silverplate B-29s used by the 509th, ''Strange Cargo'' was built at the Glenn L. Martin Company, Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Plant at Omaha, Nebraska, as a Block 35 aircraft. It was one of 10 modified as a Silverplate and re-designated "Block 36". Delivered on April 2, 1945, to the USAAF, it was assigned to Crew A-4 (1st Lt. Joseph E. Westover), aircraft commander) and flown to Wendover Army Air Field, Utah. It left Wendover on June 5, 1945, for North Field (Tinian), North Field, Tinian and arrived June 11. It was originally assigned the Victor (unit-assigned identification) number 3 but on August 1 was given the Unit identification aircraft markings#XXI Bomber Command, large 'A' tail markings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat. One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 was designed with state-of-the-art technology, which included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets. The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $ billion today), far exceeding the $1.9 b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
