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$3,000,000,000 TOTAL (todays scratch) for the 300+ B-29's loss. I guess about 8mil each in todays scratch. Or am I still wrong?Ratsel, the B-29 unit cost was $639,188 each. If you plug that into an inflation calculator, it equal $7,835,386 (7.835 million dollars) in 2010 dollars, the most recent year I found ... hardly 3 billion dollars. Maybe you missed a decimal place? F-22 Raptors cost the taxpayer 150 millon each and are flying with our armed forces now, which is more than 19 times the cost of a B-29.
Seems good to me if you compare other large aircraft of the period maybe even lower then most300+ B-29s were lost during WW2, about another 100+ in Korea to "all causes" (chime in anytime JoeB), and there were almost 4000 built. If any of the numbers are correct this combat/ other operation attrition rate will be about 11 - 13% which is still pretty remarkable considering the way the aircraft was rushed into production, the lack of prototype aircraft, the jump in technology this aircraft brought to the table and the different roles this aircraft was deployed in.
V2 rockets ?? Only in static displays.Rockets are still in service, B-29 not
cimmex
300+ B-29s were lost during WW2, about another 100+ in Korea to "all causes" (chime in anytime JoeB), and there were almost 4000 built. If any of the numbers are correct this combat/ other operation attrition rate will be about 11 - 13% which is still pretty remarkable considering the way the aircraft was rushed into production, the lack of prototype aircraft, the jump in technology this aircraft brought to the table and the different roles this aircraft was deployed in.
Ratsel, the B-29 unit cost was $639,188 each. If you plug that into an inflation calculator.
414 were losses in combat mission in WWII [table 165], an other 87 were losses in accidents from 20th air force and an other 105 were dropped to 2nd line (one of this was loss for accident) [table 101], an other 119 were losses in accidents in continental US [table 214], an other 10 were losses en route from US to theaters [Table 108]. So total B-29 losses all cause in WWII were almost 631, for true higher because all VH Bomber losses were 772 [table 99] and not other losse can go from other models
adding
B-29 bomber production in WWII 3,763 [table 76]
and checking B-32 was not considered VH only H so all the 772 losses are for B-29. the alone plane in VH category, not B-29, it's the B-19 prototype
Heavy bomber production (june 40 to august 45) 31,000 (B-172432)
Heavy bomber losses 14,280 (this is comparable with 772 for B-29)
Heavy bomber effective missions 500,139 (with the exception of ETO, only from jan 43)
B-29 production 3,763
B-29 losses 772
B-29 effective missions 29,153
so HB loss/prod 0.46, loss/missions* per thousand 28.6 overstimed because absence most '42 missions
VHB loss/prod 0.20, loss/missions* per thousand 26.5
* this is indicatve of cost not capability to survive to mission, are all losses not combat mission lost.
HB missions from '43 499,385, losses from '43 13,837 losses/missions per thousand 27.7
Only in PTO/CBI. In the MTO and ETO is wasn't worth the paper it was designed on.No matter how you look at it the B-29 was a super weapon worth the cost and was probably the 2nd most potent aerial weapon of WW2 next to the atomic bomb.
If the B-29 cruise-climbs to 30,000+ feet at 220 mph and stays at that power but starts a descent on the way to the target, it can arrive at the target at over 300 mph while not running the engines much harder than for a 230 mph cruise, using the descent to speed up. Again, the speed makes a harder target for teh defending fighters. Not impossible, but harder to find and attack than a B-17 or B-24. Plus, it drops more than twice and many bombs per aircraft. All that makes for a tough job for the Luftwaffe, who were already in some difficulty with the existing attackers.
So, the B-29 was not impossible to attack successfully ... it was simply a harder target moving faster, thereby making for fewer attack passes and tougher interception. In real life, the B-29 never attacked in the ETO, but the above was also true for defenders where it DID attack.