NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was the largest, highest flying, and fastest heavy bomber of World War II. In 1946 one set the still standing piston engine aircraft altitude record of 47,910 feet.
The bomber was used only in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Soon after their deployment in early 1944, Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, based in India, flew missions against Japanese held rail facilities in Thailand.
Beginning in July of 1944, B-29 Superfortress bombers were based in China. From there they could fly missions to the Japanese mainland. Once islands within range of Japan were secured, air fields were built for the heavy bomber.
Superfortress raids were launched against Japan from the Mariannas from late in 1944 and continued until the war ended. During these raids, Japanese shipping routes were mined in additional to conventional strategic missions being flown.
On August 6, 1945 a Boeing B-29 Superfortress dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. A second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. On August 15, 1945 Japan officially surrendered, marking the end of World War II.
The heavy bomber was employed, after the Japanese surrender, to drop supplies to Allied personnel in Japanese prison camps until they could be evacuated.
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was used again during the Korean War. They flew missions primarily at night in an effort to avoid interceptor aircraft.
The aircraft also served in electronic intelligence gathering, and as tankers for air-to-air refueling.
By the time they retired in 1960, a total of 3,970 of the aircraft had been manufactured.
Pictured above is Paul Conrad's scratch built rc Boeing B-29 Superfortress with the X-1 rocket. Wingspan is 144" with power by 4x K&B 61's.
Nitro Planes sells a rc Boeing B-29 Superfortress. We do not know the specifications.
When three rc Boeing B-29 Superfortress aircraft made emergency landings in the Soviet Union, the Russians copied them almost bolt-for-bolt. Check out the DVD sold above for the story. Later some of these aircraft were sold to the Chinese. The Chinese converted some of these to early warning radar planes.
In the first picture below is the Tu-4 AEW version of the rc B-29 Superfortress scratch built by George Maorana. It has a 115" wing span and is powered by 4 x Max N32-13Y geared motors.
Also pictured below is a magnificent 21 foot wingspan, 100 lb. rc B-29 Superfortress built by Mac Hodges. It is regularly flown at air shows and launches an X-1 rocket.
Don Albright scratch built the 144" wing span rc B-29 Superfortress seen in the third picture below. Don's rc airplane weighs 97 lbs. and is powered by 4 x Quadra 100 engines.
Don Smith Plans has two plans for rc B-29 Superfortress airplanes. Wing spans are 144" or 169".
The 144” wing span rc B-29 Superfortress has a length of 99”. Recommended power comes from four .91 engines.
The 169” wing span rc B-29 Superfortress is 119” long. You will need four 1.20 engines to power the 169” radio control airplane from Don Smith Plans.
We have seen some pretty sad looking rc B-29 Superfortress rc airplanes for sale. One ARF for sale with a 44” wing span is shown in the last picture below. Note the position of the wings and horizontal stab. You have to wonder how the retailers can publish a picture like that.
It appears that steering for the ARF rc B-29 Superfortress is done with differential engine thrust. In addition, their doesn’t appear to be an elevator on it.
It is somewhat comical to see the ads, obviously translated from another language, for the rc B-29 Superfortress. They advertise “ass time is 15 minutes” and there is a “crash kit 14 days” for the radio control airplane.
We are unaware if there are any quality rc Boeing B-29 Superfortress kits out there. If you know of one, please email us.
Donby Mathieu, member of the North West Electric Flyers Club and founder of First Person RC donby@firstperson-rc.com writes: “My dad tells me he remembers two specific B-29 planes that my uncle flew in, one called the "Tanaka Termite" and the other was the "Slick Chick. My uncle, Donald Auld, was one of the first pilots to bomb Japan in WW2 in a Boeing B-29 and I've been investigating building one as a tribute to him.
The Slick Chick had nose art but I'm not sure about the Tanaka Termite. My uncle once told me that they stopped painting the nose because so many of the planes they flew were shot down or crashed while the rotating crew flew them. They had to pay for the art themselves and ran out of money. My uncle was actually in
one of the news reels that were played before movies at the theatre. It showed him piloting a B-29.”
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
