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DaveB.inVa said:I still believe the 8 was a precessor to the 15. Both are pretty large and weigh around 125lbs. The CFC's position barbers chair had the same basic sight as the blister gunners except the sight was mounted on a ring.
The tail mounted twin .50s were aimed and fired with the AN/APG-15B radar fire control system.
evangilder said:I have read that Bell built 311 of the B-29Bs.
evangilder said:Ah, I was wondering if that was a navaids device as it was one of the -29s that flew over the hump. I had not seen that on any other superforts.
evangilder said:More info from the book. It states that the APQ-13 had a thirty inch radome that extended from the bottom of the fuselage.
I also found this pic in the book (photo credit Dave Lucabaugh) of "Ding How". Are these radar antenna, or is it some sort of navigation/radio antenna? I am talking about the 4 vertical masts on the side of the fuselage. The top, bullet shape antenna is the ADF.
DaveB.inVa said:Heres another reply from a B-29 gunner. The Bud guy he's referencing is Farrell....
"I agree with Bud, We had no radar assist only rough computer assist and if you didn't preset the expected aircraft even being perfect with the reticle you would get a false reading from the computer. - Tony"
I'll ask them about the 14 radar and see what comes up.
DaveB.inVa said:Yes he was a Korean Vet.
I got another reply from a tail gunner that stated it was probably associated with the B model and its tail radar.
Every reply I keep getting back from both WWII and Korean gunners are saying no ranging radar though.
I got one other guy I can get ahold of who might can help. He does electronics restoration for the NASM at the Udvar-Hazy Museum. He's made some contributions to the B-29 yahoo group. A lot of his recent work has been with Enola Gay and its electronics/radar.
wmaxt said:That red light may only signify the gun is sighted and the guns are hot.
Remember the guns are controlled by the central gun control computer. radar sets of that era were huge and only mechanical computers existed, except the hanger sized one the Brits used for code breaking and it wasn't capable of the computing needed to track/coordinate a gunsight.
Another possibility is that they had an 'In Range Radar' like the P-38L had, a small (for that time) radar that bliped a light in the cockpit if an aircraft was in his six and in range to do harm. If this is the case it would be in the turrets and only available to the guy in the barber seat (my Dads description to.
My Dad was never involved with the earlier aircraft his basic involvement was B-29s, B-50s, KC-97s, KC-135s, B-47s (crashed in one on takeoff), B-52s. In Vietnam he was Senior NCO in the Engine shop, and Senior NCO of the Fighters at Edwards AFB (He doesn't like Yeager).
wmaxt