B-29s from Georgia: Building the Superfortress - 1944 

I think you will find the B-29 was a flawed aircraft. Talk about a white elephant. Im not saying it was a bad design. But in the P.T.O it failed to do what it was supposed to. Ie: Fly at high altitude to avoid flak and enemy fighters. The only problem was the gulf stream made that almost impossible to do. Thats why they eventually scraped the pressurization and started low level carpet bombing of japanese cities with napalm. So in effect it was nothing more than a glorified B-17.

I love b-29 aircrafts but I'm a bigger fan of b-39e anyway imagine mowing your lawn in Hiroshima in the last year of the war THEN looking up and seeing one fly over.... You couldn't of gotten to a phone fast enough then either

I saw quit a few African Americans in this video. can't thank them enough for supporting a country that at the time did not support them..

@@alteredbeast67 The Gulf Stream is a current in the Atlantic Ocean. The B29 was the most advanced A/C of WW-II. That the weather over Japan made operational changes necessary had nothing to do with the A/C. Its unfortunate it was not in production earlier. It was far more capable that the B17 which was horribly inefficient and the B24 was pretty poor as well, one B17 pilot I talked with refused to fly one. The B17 needed a complete redesign by 1942. It desperately needed more power. They were horribly slow in the later versions with all the added weight and drag. So the B-29 was far more than the "glorified B17".

@@danphariss133 Finally! Someone that talks sense. I agree, and thats all ive been saying. The B-17 was not the war winner everyone champions it to be. And im not surprised guys refused to fly in it. Especially on daylight missions without escort, the Brits told 8th airforce it was sheer suicide! And the RAF should know they tried it themselves with devastating results. But then when did the yanks ever take any advice from anyone.... If a crew lost just one engine in a B-17 they would be forced to either turn back or become a sitting duck/instantly losing power, dropping out of formation and being picked off by German fighters. Totally underpowered even with a feeble bombload. The only saving grace for some B-17 crews was its ability to absorb enormous battle damage. And boy did they get just that! Thats why most of the German gun camera footage shows fighters aiming for the fortress's engines first. They knew just knocking out one engine would cripple the so called "heavy" bomber. I know all about the gulf stream, which forced stripped down B-29's into low level fire bombing missions over Japan. Some pilots say these missions did as much damage if not more than the atomic bombs. Without doubt Japan was on its knees long before mid '45'. It was more a show of power/force & warning to Russia and the rest of the world. The point is, the gulf stream made the B-29 obsolete before it was even put to use. Therefore it was only a mild improvement on the B-17. I think the B-24 liberator was a far better aircraft. But Boeing was the big dog, and Consolidated wasnt. Its all about money. War + money/spoils of war go hand in hand......

We keep voting against the interest of ourselves.

@@CabanaD How you vote is irrelevant. You live in a plutocracy now. Not a democratic republic.

And people didn't get so butthurt about everything and there was no cell phones everyone had to chat with eachother In person 😍

Now it's rigged, the rich get richer, and everyone else pays the bills.

..and now China buys it up...one business, one industry, one tract of land, one loan at a time...until they completely take us over without firing a shot.....

They probably had a hand in building my uncle's B-29

The WW2 generation didn't have a real sense of passing on history. It's absurd how few of America's great war machines are left for the generations that would follow..

It was built to do a job, once that job was over (WW2 & Korean war) they were superseded by the B36 then the B52. So what were they supposed to do with them? Maintaining something that size is beyond the financial reach of most aviation enthusiasts (unlike fighters or light bombers like the B25). So yes, sadly they wound up on the scrap heap. Enola Gay is preserved in a museum though.

@@kiwitrainguy The other atomic bomber (Boxcar) is in storage. All be it in peace's.

@@steveb6103 No, it is at the Dayton Air Force museum on display. Saw it last month in fact.

One real reason is that this particular plane can carry atomic weapons and because of that and it's range, sale to private individuals was restricted. Same holds true for any heavy bomber, you wont see a private owned flying B-52, or B-36, and the few that are privately owned, have had their spars destroyed so they can never fly. One other reason so few still exist is unlike the other bombers that were sold as scrap after the war, the B-29 continued to be in service well into the 50's, at which point the Air Force now owned the planes and stopped selling surplus, partially due to the Soviet Union being a nuclear power too. By the time the Air Force lifted their restrictions, so few were left, and those that were, had been damaged so badly from gunnery practice and just left rotting in the desert, that we have what we have now.

and many more built in Tulsa

We took my mother in law who was a B mechanic in the tail assembly to Lake Blackshear in South Georgia to see the one they have on display. She was so excited to see a plane up close that she might have worked on. Girls working on the planes, she told me, would put letters in the planes to be read by the crewmen.

@@jockellis That's so cool she got to see another plane. My grandmother's friend was a metal former during WWII. She had a metal forming wheel and made pedal car bodies as a hobby in the 70's. I recall her and my grandmother talking about the work they did during the war. My grandmother was a computer. They worked out trajectories for for various different guns & bombs etc. lol She was a math teacher after the war, my father later taught math at Air Force Academy and eventually became an engineer in the AF. lol Much to their chagrin, I couldn't do complex math to save my life. I became a shrink. My grandmother & her friend were very proud of the work they did during the war. When I was a little girl I had a pedal car body made by me grandmother's friend. It was a Cadillac style (no particular year, just inspired by Cadillac design) By the time I was old enough to realize how special something like that was, we had lost track of it. My dad being in the military we moved lots and at some point, it didn't come with us. :( I would love to have that thing now.

amazing is the word ... i just cant believe we built all this stuff so fast

That is so sad. Talk about a disposable society....

We have one in Melbourne Australia, restored

@@3TQVK I've never heard of that. Are you sure?

@@barrymartin7085 There's another context here Barry. The military CHOSE not to allow these to go surplus sales to the civilian market. A pressurized heavy bomber in another country's hand could've been dangerous in the 1950s. Best to not tempt fate - so was their thinking. Had nothing to do with disposability. It was a security decision. We're lucky that China Lake and Aberdeen had a cache of them still to be honest.

​@Stephanie Sandlin it was bad enough that russia stole 4 of them and copied the design

What a metaphor for the giant nothing we have today. More than twice the populace, many times the economy, yet uglier cars & brand new planes that fall out of the sky.

The design of the bar joist & trusses, are as complex as the wing structure of the planes... The amazing application of proper camber....

The miracle of the cantilever.

@@gonzaemon4711 Jane Russell

Will Shank Ha! Now THERE were a couple of marvels of modern engineering!

Bullshit.

A gross exaggeration. Permitting for well-planned projects is far quicker. Delays that occur occur are most often due to poorly designed facilities that would pollute air or water to degrees that harm public health. Along with the benefits from many of the past projects you allude to, we are now paying hundreds of millions (of borrowed dollars) to clean up the messes created by hastily approved projects. Look at the mess at the Hanford Works nuclear plant as one glaring example. The Butte copper pit and related Anaconda smelter is another - Millions made by the corporate owners, then tens of millions paid by we the taxpayers to (partially) clean up the destruction of Montana's beautiful rivers.

The ground was not compacted enough after grading so Cobb County citizens were asked to take their cars out there at night and drive around to pack it down.

This is the result of the progressives (liberals). Yes that's progress.

What, you've never seen a beautiful woman before or what ? Haha

Yeah, I actually said wow when she smiled.

Did you beat your meat?

It's ashame there are no more companies like this these days where a group of people can go outside and play horseshoes during break time or a place where you can see a doctor, dentist, barbershop in your work place. They are all mostly gone now.

+Joe Caldwell I doubt it. We have become too stupid.

I'm pretty sure it can be done, just get people to understand the stakes

Marco Ara...... Good luck with That!!

It would take 5 years to get all the permits to build the plant & houses, after all the lawsuits were settled ,and the protesters were removed!

Agreed, which makes you wonder -how come so few black people seen in this video?

most came from the atlanta & central georgia area.

What else was there to do? During wartime all factories stopped making ordinary goods, you could not buy radios, washing machines, cars, or motorcycles, all such industries were dedicated to the military. Textiles were limited, as most cotton, wool, silk, leather, and other goods also went to the military. One could not buy milk, butter, sugar, or meat without ration cards, many a restaurant had to close because they couldn't get buy ingredients. You couldn't travel without permission because trains and buses used precious fuel, and you the amount of gasoline you could buy for your own car was strictly rationed. Then there was the fact that your sons, nephews, and brothers were sent halfway around the world to fight a dangerous enemy, and some never came back. All of those people playing horseshoes, using the company doctor or dentist prayed every day that the war would be over as soon as possible, and that they could stop building bombers, that they could once again go where the liked whenever they liked, to buy as much of whatever they wanted to eat as they could afford, and not have to worry about their family members fighting against the Nazis or the Japanese.

I was thinking the same thing. Now, almost every job is production, production and no loyalty to you. They'll "outsource" your job to some third world country in a heartbeat. Look at this video how they trained you to do the job they wanted you to do. Now, they want five years of experience and expect you to know everything and hit the ground running with little or no help from them. I recently went to school to learn how to operate heavy equipment and am unable to find a job due to the employers wanting to only hire people with five years of experience. They don't want to start you out with small jobs and have you work your way up to bigger jobs as you gain experience. They want you to be able to hop in a piece of equipment and start knocking down buildings right away or operate an excavator loading haul trucks with no supervision. Just go out and do it. The main thing I have going for me is that I speak english, the main thing I have against me is that I am a U.S. citizen and in this country legally.

Or maybe like all movie makers since the movies were invented, the producers only selected the most photogenic workers for the final cut.

@@mandolinic "Can't we do both?"-A League of their Own One interesting graph show the rise of obesity tracking perfectly with the gradual introduction of synthetically refined high fructose corn syrup ( gov. Subsidized I might add , "Talk about sticking your big nose in my bidniz!"). It doesn't taste as good as real cane sugar ( "grass juice , by God , how green can you get. 18 calories per serving. Coca cola hasn't tasted good since, corn syrup cuts the tang. Go back in time with Mr. Peabody's way back machine and see for yourself. ) It's made in a dirty, noisey & smelly oil refinery and swells up your liver suppressing the hormone that makes you feel full and stimulating the one that makes you feel hungry. Poof, the next thing you know "You look like New Jersey in pants!"* *Billy Crystal"-Mr. SATURDAY NIGHT

@@aaronsmith5433 But no one is forced to buy it. I know I don't. If you don't like the ingredients, whip up a storm on social media, and boycott these drinks.

Fit, but they all smoked

@@crissy214 Smoking for weight control

Like Ford's Willow Run factory that cranked out B-24s at 1 an hour.

Ron Hoffstein they did something similar in Britain before and during the war, that were known as "shadow factories "

General Motors built some of the "Avenger" torpedo bombers.

@@kiwitrainguy Goodyear built Corsairs.

With a fire extinguisher ready on standby at any moment

"There are more bugs in the B29 engines than in the insect collection at the Smithsonian Institution." - Curtis LeMay.

@@kiwitrainguy This was true but they were eventually worked out. They should have used and upgraded R2800 which could make the same power. But they didn't and the r2800s were already being used in numerous A/C and they decided to use something not needed elsewhere I suspect. Remember the engine was really brand new at the time and was state of the art and had teething problems.

I bet that she had to eat in the "Negros Only" cafeteria because of the time period and where the plant is located.

Moto Machine it would be interesting to know what became of her

At 11:25 it's better...

This is America ma'am

and no obese Americans ..

There was no OSHA in those days, nor EPA.

So copying a genius design is more "clever" than building the original? smh

It has A/C

soaringtractor who the hell are you scolding?

No bombs from a B29 were ever dropped on Europe during WW2.

Britain and her Empire (of which my country was a part of) stood alone against the Nazis from June 1940 to June 1941.

All we have to do is to agree to disagree agreeably. We have to find a way to put extreme partisan politics behind us and begin to rebuild the nation's infrastructure. Find ways to do things together again like we did in WWII. If we continue to become more divisive, the country is finished as a world leader. Call me old, but let me tell you this,you are the ones who are going to suffer the consequences of "me" thinking, not me.

I am 1949 vintage, I agree with you 1o1%.......

I am 1958 vintiage. I think the US is still the greatest nation. But it is not because of our politics. Politics tends to divide us. I agree with Ojo Felix below. Our country is great when our people can work and play and talk and disagree while recognizing the strenghts of our fellow Americans. .

Yes it can but we all have to work together, just like they did.

"There's too much nonsense and not enough horse sense spoken in Washington." - A man in the 1930s or 40s.

+bottomlands hahahahahahaha

No you freaking idiot its called sign language like at the other guy said

If you need someone to walk you through the definition of bottomland let me know. Always happy to help intellectual rejects.

Film said it was in Marietta Ga. I think that is where Lockheed-Martin is, mabe they took over the plant or at least the site where it was during the war.

Hopefully they were turned into beer cans.

Will Wyatt it closed the day after the atom bombs dropped on japan

David Wratten And it became the Lockheed plant and still functions today.

Only two flying...it's horrible that so few WW2 Warbirds are left.

@@None-zc5vg It's there if you want to go after it.

@Hal 9000 You are correct Hal. BTW I saw 2001 A Space Odyssey in the theater when it was a first run movie It's still a great country and you can still get things done but it is a real challenge. Just damn! Things have gotten better in the last three years. Be sure to vote in 2020. For those future socialists out there, read George Orwell's Animal Farm.

They were at war, I too found it odd but... Loose lips sink ships ;)

@@snoopy7647 agreed. Also, the narrator was being humorous, any one watching the film at the time would have got the joke.

I'm glad someone seems to know about this cuz I sure the hell don't!

Eventually, the R-3350 was replaced with the P&W 4360 on the B-29. The initial "B-29" with this powerplant was called the XB-44. The production version of the XB-44 was initially called the B-29D, but was eventually designated the B-50 which went on to fairly good success as a postwar strategic bomber. But, don't sell the R-3350 short. Its issues, mainly cooling, would be worked out by 1944 allowing the B-29 to go on to great success during WWII and the Korean War. It was indeed a very powerful engine and would be used on major postwar military and civilian aircraft. Those using the R-3350 after the war are the Lockheed Constellation and P2V Neptune, Douglas Skyraider and DC-7, Fairchild C-119 (the Willow Run built version) and even the early Boeing C-97s and all Martin Mars flying boats. Still, as one former TWA "Connie" pilot once told me, "You really had to "watch the numbers" on the R-3350s whereas on our Martin 404s you could work the heck out of the R-2800s and not have to worry."

The next one will.

Groe Martinez it was made in the Soviet union too, an unlicensed copy the TU-4 bull.

The Soviets copied three B29s that were forced to land in Vladivostok after bombing Japan.

Just remember that back then you had to marry them first before you got to have sex with them.

Joe Vignolo - Nah, you Americans just had to get engaged to them. When the Americans came here to New Zealand during WW2 our local girls were being proposed to left, right & centre, just so that the GI's could have sex with them. Although some local women made some extra money providing sex to the GI's.

brits already had a working turbo jet as well as the germans. so, no it didn't.

warning! soviet spy here! lol

"Where not..." your words. ! Where YES minorities were dying in the war. However, in this film it appears they WERE NOT working at this plant much.

+Rob Mackenzie Times were tough in the 30's. We have a class picture of students in grade school of that period with some not wearing any shoes to school.

+jgstargazer Thanks for the comment. My Mother was one of those ragged children. I don't think we can imagine what it was like to be poor in the 1930's.

+Rob Mackenzie my step dad (born 1929) used to say his mom made him and his siblings clothes from flour sacks.

Yes, they certainly did that. Flour companies quickly got wise to the fact that people were doing this and printed pretty patterns on the sacks. If you Google "images for flour sack dress" you can see lots of them. Thanks for making a non-abusive comment : )

+Rob Mackenzie you're welcome. I don't come here to argue, if it turns into an argument I stop participating.

Er, seems something was lost in the (Google?) translation of your comment.