(I'm sure this has been covered before)
OK all you Kansans ... What is this?
The big clue ... the national insignia! That's People's Republic of China. The aircraft is a Chinese adaptation of a Russian copy of the Boeing B-29.
Due to fuel or battle damage over Japan, four B-29s landed in Russia, which had demanded the airplane via "Lend Lease" but had been denied on technology/ideology grounds. Remarkably, Tupelov took one apart, adapting all components to available materials and metric measurements. The only thing not copied was the Wright R3350, and they already had in development a similar but bit less powerful and complex Shvetsov ASh-73, an 18-cylinder, twin-row, development of the 9-cylinder Wright R1820 Cyclone engine.
Tupelov was able to get their Tu-4 copy in the air within 2 years, a fantastic achievement, giving the Soviets a delivery platform for their nuclear weapons, also copied via Los Alamos and British spies.
Remarkably, the Boeing technology influenced Tupelov multi engine designs to the present day, as the swept wing, turbine powered Tu-95 Bear uses many cloned systems, and the cockpit configuration is almost mirror perfect.
Stalin gave China a number of Tu-4 heavy bombers, and 11 Tu-4s were refitted with AI-20K turboprop engines, being designated KJ-1, eventually serving maritime and early warning roles until the late '80s.
What was most expensive development project of WWII?
Nick replied: "The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $49 billion in 2022), far exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project, made the B-29 program the most expensive of the war."
Not only did EVERY aspect of the B-29 break new technological grounds but metallurgy, electronics, manufacturing capability, meteorology ... everything was being stretched to new limits. Most of all, boys from farms and cities had to become accustomed to operating and maintaining these new challenges.
The Wright R3350 required almost as much effort and cost as the airplane, plus dozens of special large airfields with long concrete runways had to be built throughout the Midwest, mostly in Kansas, for final rework of the incomplete airplanes plus training of aircrew and technicians.
Remember that at the beginning of the '40s, airliners were operating off mostly leveled sod fields outside of urban areas, and these rural WWII bases brought modern airlines to all corners of our country, many in use to this day.
What was the "Battle of Kansas?"
Again, Nick replied: "The Battle of Kansas was the nickname given to a project to build, modify, and deliver large quantities of the Boeing B-29, the world's most advanced bomber to the front-lines, originally in Europe and also in the Pacific, although because of delays in production, it was used only in the Pacific."
This slick video touches on the surface of the effort, mostly toward getting the first group out to the original bases in China:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp1t4OT_QG4
It's well produced but contains a few errors (likely due to sources cited) and understates the breadth and magnitude of the project. Boeing built new B-29 plants at Renton, Washington, and two at Wichita, Kansas, while Bell built a new plant at Marietta, Georgia, and Martin built one in Omaha, Nebraska. Rather than slow down the production lines with almost daily updates and changes, aircraft would roll out with the configuration that they started with, only stay on the plant ramp until they were flight worthy and flown to those Midwest fields. They ferry crews were often new trainees getting experience, and the technical trainees would gain experience performing updates, often in the open whether sweltering summer or frigid winter.
There is a much more accurate hour long video on PBS which I've been unable to locate, also named "The Battle of Kansas." I'd dearly love to locate a copy, likely produced by a Kansas PBS outlet, but the national group can't pin it down.
Finally, although almost all combatants in WWII saw the need for such a capable high altitude, fast strategic bomber and began development projects, this was the only one that reached fruition and met the mission. The Consolidated B-32 was developed as a backup to the B-29, but despite dropping the complex pressurization and fire control systems, it lagged almost two years behind the Superfortress, so saw very limited use in WWII at the very end.
OK all you Kansans ... What is this?
The big clue ... the national insignia! That's People's Republic of China. The aircraft is a Chinese adaptation of a Russian copy of the Boeing B-29.
Due to fuel or battle damage over Japan, four B-29s landed in Russia, which had demanded the airplane via "Lend Lease" but had been denied on technology/ideology grounds. Remarkably, Tupelov took one apart, adapting all components to available materials and metric measurements. The only thing not copied was the Wright R3350, and they already had in development a similar but bit less powerful and complex Shvetsov ASh-73, an 18-cylinder, twin-row, development of the 9-cylinder Wright R1820 Cyclone engine.
Tupelov was able to get their Tu-4 copy in the air within 2 years, a fantastic achievement, giving the Soviets a delivery platform for their nuclear weapons, also copied via Los Alamos and British spies.
Remarkably, the Boeing technology influenced Tupelov multi engine designs to the present day, as the swept wing, turbine powered Tu-95 Bear uses many cloned systems, and the cockpit configuration is almost mirror perfect.
Stalin gave China a number of Tu-4 heavy bombers, and 11 Tu-4s were refitted with AI-20K turboprop engines, being designated KJ-1, eventually serving maritime and early warning roles until the late '80s.
What was most expensive development project of WWII?
Nick replied: "The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $49 billion in 2022), far exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project, made the B-29 program the most expensive of the war."
Not only did EVERY aspect of the B-29 break new technological grounds but metallurgy, electronics, manufacturing capability, meteorology ... everything was being stretched to new limits. Most of all, boys from farms and cities had to become accustomed to operating and maintaining these new challenges.
The Wright R3350 required almost as much effort and cost as the airplane, plus dozens of special large airfields with long concrete runways had to be built throughout the Midwest, mostly in Kansas, for final rework of the incomplete airplanes plus training of aircrew and technicians.
Remember that at the beginning of the '40s, airliners were operating off mostly leveled sod fields outside of urban areas, and these rural WWII bases brought modern airlines to all corners of our country, many in use to this day.
What was the "Battle of Kansas?"
Again, Nick replied: "The Battle of Kansas was the nickname given to a project to build, modify, and deliver large quantities of the Boeing B-29, the world's most advanced bomber to the front-lines, originally in Europe and also in the Pacific, although because of delays in production, it was used only in the Pacific."
This slick video touches on the surface of the effort, mostly toward getting the first group out to the original bases in China:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp1t4OT_QG4
It's well produced but contains a few errors (likely due to sources cited) and understates the breadth and magnitude of the project. Boeing built new B-29 plants at Renton, Washington, and two at Wichita, Kansas, while Bell built a new plant at Marietta, Georgia, and Martin built one in Omaha, Nebraska. Rather than slow down the production lines with almost daily updates and changes, aircraft would roll out with the configuration that they started with, only stay on the plant ramp until they were flight worthy and flown to those Midwest fields. They ferry crews were often new trainees getting experience, and the technical trainees would gain experience performing updates, often in the open whether sweltering summer or frigid winter.
There is a much more accurate hour long video on PBS which I've been unable to locate, also named "The Battle of Kansas." I'd dearly love to locate a copy, likely produced by a Kansas PBS outlet, but the national group can't pin it down.
Finally, although almost all combatants in WWII saw the need for such a capable high altitude, fast strategic bomber and began development projects, this was the only one that reached fruition and met the mission. The Consolidated B-32 was developed as a backup to the B-29, but despite dropping the complex pressurization and fire control systems, it lagged almost two years behind the Superfortress, so saw very limited use in WWII at the very end.
