the lancaster kicks ass said:
syscom 3 said:
Because the B29 was available and far superior to a Lincoln
how was it far superior, if they were superior why didn't we cancel our lincoln contracts and keep our Washingtons?? and if the stage was reached where we would have to use the atom over Europe it can be assumed that the war would've gone on a few months longer, the prototype lincoln first flew in 1944 so they would've been ready, and if not a lincoln why not a lancaster Mk.VI, they were in use..........
Actually they were partly replaced by the Washingtons because the Washingtons had a longer range than the Linclon. The Lincoln was completely replaced when the V Bombers came out. Lets make a comparison here between the Lincoln and the B-29 or your Washington as you like to call it.
Lincoln
Wingspan: 120 ft (36.58 m)
Length: 78 ft 34 in (23.86 m)
Height: 17 ft 34 in (5.27 m)
Weight: 43,400 lb (19686 kg) empty, 75,000 lb (34019 kg) max take-off
Powerplant: four 1,750 hp (1305 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin 85 piston engines
Maximum speed: 295 mph (475 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4750 m)
Range: 1,470 miles (2366 km) with maximum bomb-load
Service ceiling: 30,500 ft (9295 m)
Armament:
Twin .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in nose, dorsal and tail turrets,
alternatively twin 20mm cannon in dorsal turret
Up to 22,000 lb (6350 kg) of bombs
Crew: 7,
front gunner / bomb aimer
pilot
flight engineer / co-pilot
navigator
wireless operator,
dorsal gunner
rear gunner
B-29
Crew: 10: pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, bombardier, navigator, radio operator, side gunners (two), top gunner, and tail gunner
Length: 99 ft 0 in (30.2 m)
Wingspan: 141 ft 3 in (43.1 m)
Height: 27 ft 9 in (8.5 m)
Wing area: 1736 ft² (161.3 m²)
Empty: 74,500 lb (33,800 kg)
Loaded: 120,000 lb (54,000 kg)
Maximum takeoff: 133,500 lb (60,560 kg)
Powerplant: 4× Wright R-3350-23 supercharged radial engines, 2,200 hp (1600 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 357 mph (574 km/h)
Cruising speed: 220 mph (350 km/h)
Combat range: 3,250 miles (5,230 km)
Ferry range: 5,600 miles (9,000 km)
Service ceiling: 33,600 ft (10,200 m)
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (270 m/min)
Wing loading: 69.12 lb/ft² (337 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.073 hp/lb (121 W/kg)
[edit]
Armament
12× .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns in remote controlled turrets
1× 20 mm M2 cannon in tail
20,000 lb (9,072 kg) of bombs
So now for the comparison. And the winners are:
Size: B-29
Max Take Off Weight: B-29
Power Plant: B-29
Max Speed: B-29
Range: B-29
Service Cieling: B-29
Defensive Armament: B-29
Bomb Load: Lincloln
In 8 catagories the B-29 wins in 7 of them. The Lincoln can carry 2000 lb more of bombs. To be honest the 20,000lb figure for the B-29 I am not sure that is correct because I am sure the B-29 can carry just as much as the Lincoln. So overall the B-29 is the more superior bomber.