What is a B-29 bomber?
What is a B-29 bomber?
The term B-29 struck terror in the hearts of the Japanese public during World War II, for it was the Boeing bomber that finally brought the war to the residents of Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, and numerous other cities in the home islands from mid 1944 through VJ Day. The illustration above is color plate # 9 of 34.
How many B-29s were shot down during the raid on Tokyo?
They were met by intense flak, and over 100 fighter planes. This raid produced the first ramming by Japanese aircraft. This mission was completed with 17 enemy fighters shot down, 13 probables, and 12 damaged. 14 B-29s were lost and 8 damaged by flak.
How did the Sentai defend against the B-29 bomber?
Fighter sentai initially attempted to repel the B-29s through conventional means, but pilots soon realized that the bomber was virtually impossible to shoot down using these tactics. As a final resort, units formed specialist ramming flights, and these proved highly successful up until the arrival of the USAAF escort fighters in April 1945.
Did anyone survive the B-29 bomber crash on Kyushu?
At least nine out of 12 crew members survived the crash of a U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 bomber on Kyushu, on May 5, 1945. The bomber’s commander was sent to Tokyo for interrogation, while the other survivors were taken to the anatomy department of Kyushu University, at Fukuoka, where they were subjected to vivisection and/or killed.
