Superfortress: The Boeing B-29 and American Airpower in World War II

by Curtis E. LeMay, Bill Yenne

Among the most sophisticated aircraft flown during World War II, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress was designed to replace the B-17 as the primary long-range bomber of the U.S. Army Air Forces. With its distinctive glazed nose and long, thin wings that provided both speed at high altitude and stability at takeoff and landing, the Superfortress was the first operational bomber with a pressurized crew cabin and featured advanced radar and avionics. Armed with remote-controlled machine gun turrets and a 20,000 pound bomb load, it was the first USAAF bomber capable of mastering the vast distances of the Pacific Theater of World War II. The prototype flew in September 1942 but a series of post-production modifications delayed the bomber's first mission until April 1944. Superfortresses began attacking Japan in daylight with conventional ordnance from high altitude, but their mission was redirected in March 1945, with massive low-level formations dropping incendiary bombs! at night on Japanese cities. The ensuing firestorms, followed by the complete destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic bombs dropped from two specially modified "silverplate" B-29s, forced Japan to cease fighting.



Written by the man who led the B-29 into combat, The Boeing B-29 and American Airpower in World War II is an important document of one of the most turbulent times in world history. General Curtis LeMay recalls the early debate about whether or not the United States needed a long-range bomber, how the B-29 was created and produced despite the enormous logistical difficulties of the design, and the decision to conduct fire-bombings against Japan and ultimately drop the atomic bomb. Highly praised when it was first published, this new edition is complete with photographs, a new introduction, and statistical tables.



About the Author

Curtis Emerson LeMay (1906-90) commanded the XXI Bomber Command during World War II. He headed the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and reorganized Strategic Air Command during the Cold War. Bill Yenne is a San Francisco-based author of many books on military and aviation history. His most recent, Indian The Campaign for the American West, is also available from Westholme Publishing.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, World War II, Aviation

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1988

About the author

Curtis Emerson LeMay was American 4-star General, father of the Strategic Air Command, who built it into a global strike force. He was hawkish anti-communist and an outspoken advocate of manned air power based on a willingness to use nuclear weapons.
He was Commander of Strategic Air Command (1948—1957), Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (1957 - 1961), Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (1961–1965).
LeMay is known for designing and implementing the systematic strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific Theater during World War II. LeMay was stationed in the European theatre early in the war, where he became famous for his intense, relentless leadership style. LeMay personally led many of the missions he directed, and demanded similar devotion from his pilots, who he threatened to court-martial if they aborted. These missions included risky attacks on Axis air bases in Germany and North Africa.
After commanding B-29s in India and China (1944), LeMay took over the 21st Bomber Command in the Mariana Islands (January 1945); in that post he planned and originated the low-altitude incendiary-bombing tactics that burned out parts of Tokyo and a number of other Japanese cities in an effort to force a surrender before the Allied invasion of Japan, which was planned for the end of that year.
After the war LeMay commanded the U.S. air forces in Europe, and in that capacity he directed the Berlin airlift in 1948.
General LeMay, who directed the air assault over Japan in the final days of World War II and relayed the Presidential order to drop nuclear bombs, years later wrote that a solution to the Vietnam War might be to bomb North Vietnam "back into the Stone Ages."
In 1968 he was the vice presidential candidate on the third-party (American Independent) ticket headed by George C. Wallace.

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of Daddy's books that Connor has and it's really interesting to read this story. I've really been getting into the WW2 history lately for some reason. The latter part of the book details the time during which Daddy served on Guam and Saipan and some of the information that's included is familiar from the stories he told. At the end of the war, right before Hiroshima, there were flights of 300-400 B-29s going up over Japan on missions and that must have been quite a sight to see. There's also an excerpt from a General Hansel in which he states that he personally flew the first B-29 over to the Mariana Islands and the name of the plane was "Joltin Josie, the Pacific Pioneer". The nose art on this plane is one of the highly inappropriate photos that Daddy had in his collection. Josie was pretty hot stuff. A good read!!

[Esteban Stipnieks · Rating 3 out of 5]

For aviation geeks this book is informative this explains why the B-29 had flaming engine problems. If you want entertaining stories humorous moments human folly this is not a book for you. It is informative it fills in gaps of the B-29. It some perverse ways it reveals LeMay for what became. An interesting comparison is reading Fighter Pilot by Robin Olds reading both books you grasp what became the sibling rivalry that defined the USAF.... Robin Old's father in fact made Le Mays career.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on the development of the B-29 and the missions it flew as well as the problems they had with the plane. I really enjoyed it and recommend it for others as it does have some little known facts.

I highly recommend

[Richard Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peace Maker

Anyone with desire to read about military history will enjoy this work. If you are into military aircraft it is even better. General Curtiss LeMay was one of a kind and his love of the B-29 clearly is displayed.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of those now rare first person WW2 histories

Happy I read this book for an upcoming feature on the B-29 Superfortress for Simple Flying, it was nice to read General Curtis LeMay’s perspectives on the air war in his own voice, and also the development of the B-29.

[William Ridgley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the practical hurdles in getting the iconic World War II bomber from design to application in the rush to win World War II. This is a great companion to "B-29 Superfortress (Annotated): The Plane that Won the War" by Gene Gurney, which goes into more detail of the design and development of the aircraft and the problems related to building the aircraft with advanced systems before they were completely "wrung out", which lead to a lot of unnecessary air crew and aircraft losses. The two books together provide a decent picture of one small aspect of World War II which most folks (with the exception of historical aviation buffs and historians specializing in warfare history) are unaware.

[Alan Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check the full title of this book and note its author before placing your bet on the subject. This is much more than a book telling the story of the B-29. It is a history of the use of air power in the Pacific Theatre in World War II and how the injection of the Superfortress helped to hasten the end of that war. Leading up to that, the necessity brought about by the pants-down unpreparedness of the U.S. forced this aircraft’s rapid development and deployment, and got the job done in spite of that. Told with military precision by the right guy to be telling it, General LeMay ‘s insight to the individuals and nuts and bolts that got the war in the Pacific won is compelling.