Doug Robertson's Photo Gallery

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', four Wright R3350-42 Cyclone 18 turbocharged engines, 2,200 Hp each, ADF antenna, forward dorsal turret and observation dome

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', four Wright R3350-42 Cyclone 18 turbocharged engines 2,200 Hp each, rear crew hatch & dorsal gun turret remotely controlled by an early, but effective computer system.

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', four Wright R3350-42 Cyclone 18 turbocharged engines 2,200 Hp each, aft dorsal gun turret with gunner viewing domes

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', four Wright R3350-42 Cyclone 18 turbocharged 2,200 Hp each, aft ventral gun turret

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', 4 Wright R3350-42 Cyclone 18 turbocharged engines 2,200 Hp, typical dorsal mount ADF (automatic direction-finding) antenna of the era. Most multi-engine aircraft had one. Long wire above appears to be an HF antenna.

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', the gunners looked through domed windows for enemy aircraft and the central fire control gunner operated the computer firing system gun turrets, very effective for the time.

1944, Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', four Wright R3350-42 Cyclone 18 turbocharged engines 2,200 Hp each, rear ventral gun turret and rear crew hatch. All turret guns were fired by an early computer system.

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', another view of the retractable rear hydraulically-damped tail bumper to protect the rear fuselage on takeoffs. The first-day large crowd was very patient for the overdue bomber.

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', four Wright R3350-42 Cyclone 18 turbocharged 2,200 Hp each. Aft bomb bay. At over 20,000 lbs of bombs, the B-29 carried more bomb load in 2 bays than any other contemporary bomber.

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', four Wright R3350-42 Cyclone 18 turbocharged engines 2,200 Hp each, #4 engine cowl, 4-blade CS prop and forward bomb bay doors open

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', the rear gunner had two .50 caliber machine guns and a 20-mm cannon. In the Korean War the B-29 was second only to the F-86 SABRE jet in number of enemy air to air kills.

1944 Boeing B-29 SUPERFORTRESS 'FIFI', rear view of the retractable hydraulic skid plate that protects FIFI's rear fuselage on takeoff. See adjacent photo for side view. All B-29s and later variants have this skid plate.