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Re: B-29 question Easynews - www.easynews. ..
Stormin' Norman (norman@schwarzkopf.invalid) 2018/01/09 18:45

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From: Stormin' Norman <norman@schwarzkopf.invalid>
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Subject: Re: B-29 question
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On Tue, 09 Jan 2018 19:33:37 -0600, john Szalay <john.szalayatatt.net>
wrote:

>Stormin' Norman <norman@schwarzkopf.invalid> wrote in
>news:ejoa5d5vv3b5rkbkgrn6048vs5r5k9egrd@4ax.com:
>
>> On 9 Jan 2018 16:19:29 -0800, Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>In article <jsla5d50spna48sob525slu7k1pkbpark4@4ax.com>, Stormin'
>>>Norman says...
>>>>
>>>>I seem to remember that during the war, when the B-29 production
>>>>lines were running at capacity, it supposedly took 5 days to assemble
>>>>one aircraft, from the first part until it was rolled off the line
>>>>and out of the hangar.
>>>>
>>>>I tried to locate data to confirm this, but came up craps.
>>>>
>>>>Does anyone have any definitive information about this?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>http://www.b29-superfortress.com/b29-superfortress-production-assembly-
>>>plants.htm
>>>
>>>"By mid-January 1944, 97 B-29s had been built by Wichita, but
>>>unfortunately only 16 of these were flyable. Only the very early
>>>Wichita-built models were delivered in olive drab and grey camouflage
>>>paint, with the remainder being delivered unpainted.
>>>
>>>"During March and April 1944, the intensive effort to get the first
>>>B-29s ready for overseas service became known as the "Battle of
>>>Kansas." All the B-29s used in the first raid on Japan on the steel
>>>center at Yawata, June 15, 1944, were built at Wichita.
>>>
>>>"At the end of the war Boeing-Wichita was producing 4.2
>>>Superfortresses per working day for an average of 100 a month, which
>>>was the military's schedule. The plant had also reduced the number of
>>>manhours to produce a single B-29, from157,000 (the average required
>>>for the first 100 bombers), to less than 20,000.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Thanks, I did find that article, but it doesn't technically say how
>> long it takes to assemble one aircraft from start to finish.
>>
>
>Would be hard to calculate, as there were several plants putting them out
>and many assemblies were made in other plants and companies then shipped
>to the assembly plants,  Cessna produced tails,  bomb bays were produced
>at other locations and shipped.   none of the books on the superfort
>give the information you seek.  as far as the ones I have anyway..
>even when they left the plants, almost all went to mod centers to be
>updated, to new standards, that could not be done on the assembly floors,
>so that they were not slowed by the changes..
>

I am only interested in knowing the final assembly time.  For example,
it takes 53 days to assemble and paint a 777, from first part to out
the door.  There is another 30 days of flight testing before delivery,
but that is not relevant.

Again, I am wondering if anyone has seen a breakdown on time for final
assembly of a single B-29 during the height of war time production.

I appreciate all the input so far.

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