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NetDork t1_j5wuet1 wrote

The really clear indicator was when they went "Silver Plate" and didn't even install the defensive gun turrets anymore.

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ash_274 t1_j5x3d7a wrote

That was specifically for the atomic-bomb carrying planes (and the Doolittle Raid B-25s) that had to shave all possible weight in order to accomplish their missions.

Silverplate B-29s also had redesigned bomb bays and wing mounting in order to accommodate the physical size of the bombs

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Doc_Lazy t1_j5xx55u wrote

Doolittle's range extensions were something to behold. Highly recommend the book 'Target Tokyo' by James M. Scott for a good read up on the requirements, training and undertaking of that raid.

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paiute t1_j5ywxh3 wrote

That's the one Ben Affleck led?

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OtisTetraxReigns t1_j5zpo6o wrote

Doolittle was played by Alec Baldwin in that dreadful movie. Doolittle personally lead the raid. Although Affleck’s character does go on the mission, iirc.

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paiute t1_j5zy0mu wrote

You mean the time the Japanese Navy attacked an American love triangle? The time when Ben Affleck went seamlessly from flying single engine fighters to taking a B25 off a carrier deck?

BTW, I was in Columbia South Carolina many years ago and needed to rent a car. Drove to a local small airport to get a van and spotted a monument which read that the Doolittle raiders had trained there.

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indr4neel t1_j5yovsz wrote

Silverplate does refer to the bomb version, but starting with the B-29B all defensive weapons were removed except for the tail turret.

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UnknownQTY t1_j683ntn wrote

B-29s also flew so high interceptor aircraft couldn’t reach them anyway.

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indr4neel t1_j6k40re wrote

Mm, technically. Interceptor aircraft couldn't reach them because there weren't any interceptor aircraft by late war. The 1941 A6M2b Type 0 Model 21 (the most produced variant) actually had a higher service ceiling than the (admittedly not model-specific) stats Wikipedia gives for the B-29, at 33,000 vs 30,000 feet. "So high interceptors can't reach them" has historically been a pretty washed defense mechanism outside of stuff that's high and fast like the Blackbird.

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