...The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States in World War II and during the Korean War. It has four 2,200-horsepower Wright Double Cyclone engines. This bomber has a wingspan of 141 feet 3 inches, and is 99 feet in length. It has a gross weight of 105,000 pounds (140,000 pounds postwar), an empty weight of 69,610 pounds. The B-29 has a top speed of 365 miles per hour, and a cruising speed of 220 miles per hour. It was also armed with twelve .50-caliber machine guns, one 20 mm cannon, a 20,000-pound bomb load, and carried a crew of ten. The first prototype made its maiden flight from Boeing Field in Seattle, WA on September 21, 1942. In the beginning, manufacturing an airworthy B-29 Superfortress proved to be a difficult task. Changes to the production craft came so often and so quickly that in early 1944, B-29’s flew from the production lines directly to United States Air Force modification depots for extensive rebuilds, and to incorporate the latest changes. By the end of 1943, just over 100 B-29’s were delivered, and only fifteen percent were airworthy. General Hap Arnold had a plan to resolve the problem, with production personnel being sent from the factories to the modification centers to speed modification. 150 aircraft were airworthy six weeks. The B-29 Superfortress revolutionized World War II-era bombers, enabling long-range missions over Japan. The "super bomber" could carry more payload and fly...
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...MODERN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY JULY 27, 2015 There have been many innovations developed as a result of World War Two (WWII). Many of those innovations and technologies were pushed forward in to high gear because of the need created by warfare. All types of items such as a proximity fuse (used to detonate bombs & Anti-Aircraft shells), significant advances in tanks, amphibious mobile troop carriers (DUKW), new designed aircraft carriers took over the old World War One battleships, were a direct product from the conflict. The development of the RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging) played a crucial role during the Battle of Britain in World War Two for the British air forces. At a time where the British only had available to them a total of 800 aircraft to try to hold back the German in which had an air force with over 3,000 planes at their ready. The use of Radar gave the British the upper hand by allow them to be able to detect the German aircraft while they were still fifty to sixty miles away. This enabled the British to only permit a limited amount of forces to fight the Germans as the approached knowing the direction, altitude, and speed of the planes as they came. In the great depths of the sea, the German U-boat had become quiet the force that was wreaking havoc on the Allied Naval ships. The U.S. Navy not only had the use of SONAR (SOund Navigating And Ranging) but the development of Bearing Deviation Indicator (BDI) was a useful tool in adding the sonar equipment...
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...island near Guam is emerging as one of the Air Force’s backup landing bases. On February 10, the flying branch announced that it selected Tinian as a divert airfield “in the event access to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, or other western Pacific locations is limited or denied.” In the Pentagon’s 2017 budget request, it asked for $9 million to buy 17.5 acres of land “in support of divert activities and exercise initiatives,” the Saipan Tribune reported. In peacetime, the expanded Tinian airfield will host “up to 12 tanker aircraft and associated support personnel for divert operations,” according to the Air Force. Tinian is now a sleepy place. During World War II, the 4th and 2nd Marine Divisions captured the island, which later based the B-29 Superfortresses Enola Gay and Bockscar which took off from Tinian’s North Field and dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An arsenal during the war, most of its airstrips are now abandoned and unused. The island’s other former air base, West Field, is a small, neglected international airport. The Air Force first wanted Saipan for its...
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...“The Birth of a Little Boy: The Manhattan Project” “The Birth of a Little Boy: The Manhattan Project” In 1919 a New Zealand Nobel Peace Prize winning chemist working at Cambridge University in England would lay the foundation for one of the most prolific and destructive weapons the world has ever seen. Ernest Rutherford changed the way scientists looked at atomic structure when he successfully changed several atoms of nitrogen into oxygen. In this process he discovered the proton. Rutherford’s scientific discovery would get a boost in 1932 when his then colleague, James Chadwick, discovered the final piece to the atomic puzzle, the neutron. With the complete atomic structure established, the process of further breaking down elements began. One element of particular interest was uranium, the heaviest element on the periodic table. Uranium was broken down into three categories by their number of neutrons: uranium-234, uranium-235, and uranium-238.1 Six years later uranium-235 would become a focal point in nuclear research. The year 1938 would bring about the next phase of nuclear warfare, nuclear fission. Radiochemists, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman, were working in their lab in Berlin, bombarding different elements with neutrons. As they worked down the periodic table they stumbled on something interesting. Uranium reacted significantly more to neutron bombarding than the other elements they had tested. Additional testing led Hahn and Strassman to hypothesize...
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...VIDEO ESSAY 1: THE MANHATTAN PROJECT Terry E. Reid History 314: Contemporary United States History 1945 to Present Dr. Gary Wray THE MANHATTAN PROJECT The Manhattan Project was the wartime effort to design and build the first atomic bombs. With the discovery of fission in 1939, it became clear to scientists that certain radioactive materials could be used to make a bomb with unprecent power. Once presented with this information, Franklin D. Roosevelt creating the Uranium Committee to investigate this possibility. The Manhattan Engineer District was the official name of the project commanded by Army General Leslie R. Groves. He was given almost unlimited powers to call upon the military, industrial, and scientific resources of the nation. While watching the video on the Manhattan Project, three things stood out to me: the research and development, the detonation of these bombs, and the ever lasting effects they would have on the world. The cost of the development and coordination for the Manhattan Project was $2-billion which was used to obtain sufficient amounts of the two necessary isotopes, uranium-235 and plutonium-239. The development and research was conducted mainly at 3 locations. At Oak Ridge, Tenn., the desired uranium-235 was separated from uranium-238 by a process called gaseous diffusion. At the Hanford installation, located in Washington State, huge nuclear reactors were built to transmute non-fissionable uranium-238 into plutonium-239...
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...Strategic bombing was mostly crucial for the Allies because it allowed them to destroy the ability of the opponent to properly arm their forces. Heavy bombers (4 engined- British Short Stirling, US’ Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Boeing B-29 Superfortress, German Heinkel He 274) destroyed opponent’s arms factories, denied raw materials and destructed the infrastructure. The damage of German economy was caused inter alia by the destruction of their aircrafts by the Americans as the repair and production of new ones caused big costs for the country. According to Richard Overy, strategic bombing limited German industrial production by 80%. Moreover, the strategic bombing significantly crushed the civilians’ morale since many innocent people were killed during the bombardment of cities such as London, Berlin or Warsaw. That kind of fighting had also had one more important advantage as the air crafts were totally independent of the ground troops, which clearly quickened the...
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...I’m the most active decorated soldier the U.S. has. I’ve been sent to The White House where President Truman will decide whether to drop the bomb or not. Along with Truman signing the document Marshall and Secretary of War Henry Stimson. They got the document a pproved and I got the orders that I had to drop the bomb along with eleven others. We were called the 509th Composite Group; the twelve of us were in charge of delivering and deploying the bomb. I spent next few months checking up on how far the bomb has come and keeping up with the war. It’s just a few days before we deploy the bomb from a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. I was informed about the damage that this bomb would do to Hiroshima. It would completely destroy and flatten everything...
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...The second atomic bombing was way worse then first, the bombing was the last major act of World War 2. Two senior military figures, General Groves and Admiral Purnell, convinced that the two atomic bombs were dropped within days apart would have a heavy impact on Japan surrendering. Scientists were also very interested in seeing which bomb was better, a uranium bomb which was used in the bombing of Hiroshima or the plutonium bomb which was used in the bombing of Nagasaki. The bombing was intentionally for the city if Kokura, which was housing a army arsenal. The atomic bomb “Fat Man”, was loaded into B-29 Superfortress bomber Bockscar; commanded by Major Charles Sweeney of USAAF 393rd squadron. Unlike the bombing of Hiroshima, “Fat Man” was already armed when the bomber took off due complexity of the bomb. This meant that a big jolt might cause the to detonate if the safety plugs failed, another concern was the fuel. They had hoped that skies over Kokura would be clear for...
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...ESSAYS FOR THE FINAL EXAM 2014 1. What was the Manhattan project and how did it evolve? How was the decision made to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and how did the bombing end the war? (be specific and complete) Essay – The Manhattan project was central to the United States efforts in constructing a nuclear bomb during the Second World War. Motivated by the fear of an enemy attack from the Nazi’s, the United States was able to develop the world’s most devastating bombs, which would end up killing more than 200,000 Japanese citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this way, the Manhattan project essentially grew out of America’s efforts to defend themselves against a potential Nazi attack. Hungarian scientist Leo Szilard, after escaping to America, realized that if the Nazis acquired the works recently conducted on nuclear fission, they might be able to construct a nuclear bomb and dominate the world with its destruction. He then convinced Albert Einstein of the impending Nazi threat and Einstein took the initiative to alert the United States by writing a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the letter sent in August 1939, right before the start of the war, Einstein advised that the United States be wary of the threat of nuclear weaponry in the hands of the enemy and that they should begin a weapons building program of their own. A very small committee was established to look into the science and development of a bomb, funded by a mere $6,000. President...
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...Apodaca MT302 Organizational Behavior Unit Seven: Application 15.2 Judgment Calls March 21, 2011 Judgment Calls 1. A colleague, an amateur pilot, shows up at a critical meeting with some Japanese executives wearing a tie adorned with pictures of a P51D Mustang escorting a B-29 Superfortress (the Mustang is a World War II fighter and the Superfortress is the type of plane that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan at the end of World War II). If the colleague showed up before the meeting, the first thing would be to pull him to the side and explain to him that the tie he is wearing is not appropriate for a meeting with Japanese executives. I would further explain that in any type of meeting, especially critical ones, first impressions are very important. For the Japanese, casual attire is not appropriate for a business meeting. Men should wear dark conservative attire and according to their status and position, this will impress the Japanese. (Williams, 2008) If the colleague shows up during the meeting I would immediately apologize to the Japanese for the attire that my colleague is wearing and that by no means is it meant to show any disrespect. In Japan apologizing is considered a virtue. This shows them that we are willing to take responsibility and avoid blaming others for any mistakes that we make either purposely or unwittingly. When apologizing I will be bowing deeply to show that I am really very sorry. (Abe, 2011) To summarize, none of the scenarios should...
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...The bomb, codenamed, “Little Boy” is dropped from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, Enola Gay. The blast leveled 98% of buildings in a 5-mile radius and killed thousands of people. From the initial blast, 71,000 civilians were killed and the death toll has been increasing ever since from complications due to exposure to radiation. On August 9th at 11:02 am the second nuclear bomb is dropped on the city of Nagasaki. This bomb, codenamed “Fat Man” is dropped from another B-29 bomber, “Bockscar”, flown by Major Charles Sweeney. This blast kills 73,884 people on impact and a further 30,000 through complications. “Fat Man” was a plutonium bomb and more powerful than Little Boy but didn’t do the damage it was intended to as Nagasaki was shielded by a valley and had rivers that quenched the damage so that only 2.8 square miles were...
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...was a research and development program established by the United States with the United Kingdom and Canada that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. The United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945 by threatening Japan with “prompt and utter destruction”. However, such ultimatum was ignored by the Japanese government. Thus, two nuclear weapons that developed by the Manhattan Project had been deployed by the United States. Hiroshima was the primary target of the first atomic bomb mission and Nagasaki was the second target of the mission. The first nuclear weapon named Little Boy was dropped from an American B-29 Superfortress, known as Enola Gay on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and followed by another nuclear weapon named Fat Man dropped from the B-29 Bockscar on the city of Nagasaki on 9 August. The official figures by Japanese at the time put the death toll at 118,661 and the later estimates the final toll was about 140,000 of Hiroshima’s 350,000 population including military personnel and those who died later due to radiation. On the other hand, the explosion of Fat Man event killed 39,000 and caused a further 25,000 people injured. Other than that, many of them suffered long-term sickness and disability due to these events. The decision of using nuclear weapons The debate over bombings has been around the world for many decades. The decision of using nuclear weapons on Japan caused debate concerns the...
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...Turbocharger A turbocharger, or turbo (colloquialism), from the Greek "τύρβη" (mixing/spinning) is a forced induction device used to allow more power to be produced for an engine of a given size.[1][2] A turbocharged engine can be more powerful and efficient than a naturally aspirated engine because the turbine forces more intake air, proportionately more fuel, into the combustion chamber than if atmospheric pressure alone is used. Turbochargers were originally known as a turbosuperchargers when all forced induction devices were classified as superchargers, nowadays the term "supercharger" is usually applied to only mechanically-driven forced induction devices.[3] The key difference between a turbocharger and a conventional supercharger is that the latter is mechanically driven from the engine often from a belt connected to the crankshaft, whereas a turbocharger is driven by the engine's exhaust gas turbine. Compared to a mechanically-driven supercharger, turbochargers tend to be more efficient but less responsive. Twincharger refers to an engine which has both a supercharger and a turbocharger. Turbos are commonly used on truck, car, train and construction equipment engines. Turbos are popularly used with Otto cycle and Diesel cycle internal combustion engines. They have also been found useful in automotive fuel cells Operating principle In most piston engines, intake gases are "pulled" into the engine by the downward stroke of the piston[16][17] (which creates a low-pressure...
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...the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the goal of capturing the entire island, including the three Japanese-controlled airfields (including the South Field and the Central Field), to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands.[2] This five-week battle comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific of World War II. After the heavy losses incurred in the battle, the strategic value of the island became controversial. It was useless to the U.S. Army as a staging base and useless to the U.S. Navy as a fleet base.[4] However, Navy Seabees rebuilt the landing strips, which were used as emergency landing strips for USAAF B-29s.[5] The Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of underground tunnels.[6][7] The Americans on the ground were supported by extensive naval artillery and complete air supremacy over Iwo Jima from the beginning of the battle by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators.[8] Iwo Jima was also the only battle by the U.S. Marine Corps in which the American casualties exceeded the Japanese, although Japanese combat deaths numbered three times the number of American deaths.[9] Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner, some of whom were captured because they had been knocked...
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...Korean War Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 - armistice signed 27 July 1953[1] ) was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China (PRC), with military material aid from the Soviet Union. The war was a result of the physical division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The Korean peninsula was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, American administrators divided the peninsula along the 38th Parallel, with United States troops occupying the southern part and Soviet troops occupying the northern part.[2] The failure to hold free elections throughout the Korean Peninsula in 1948 deepened the division between the two sides, and the North established a Communist government. The 38th Parallel increasingly became a political border between the two Koreas. Although reunification negotiations continued in the months preceding the war, tension intensified. Cross-border skirmishes and raids at the 38th Parallel persisted. The situation escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950.[3] It was the first significant armed conflict of the Cold War.[4] The United Nations, particularly the United States, came to the aid of South Korea in repelling the invasion. A...
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