B-29 Raid on Tokyo

[Boz330]

OFFICIAL U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT FILM HIGHLIGHTING A SPECIFIC B-29 BOMBING RAID ON TOKYO
The duration of this official U.S. War Department film is 36 minutes, but believe me it is well worth it. It includes spectacular footage of a 3,000 mile round trip mission flown by U.S. Army Air Force B-29’s to bomb Tokyo. The specific raid depicted in this film was but one of hundreds launched from Saipan, Tinian and Guam during the closing months of WW-II. Using high explosive and incendiary bombs, these raids were precursors to the war-ending nuclear attacks.

The attack force highlighted in this film consists of three bomber wings and a host of P-51's.

No matter what war footage you’ve previously seen, this film is the real-deal, it will command your undivided attention. The P-51 & B-29 footage is remarkable. The strafing runs by the P-51 pilots were incredible.

A great compilation of combat footage from WWII. The beginning covers the planning an advance preparation for the raids on Tokyo. Sixteen minutes into the film, the formations of B-29’s encounter flak and Japanese fighters. Recovery back at the take-off bases also includes excellent footage.


http://www.archive.org/details/TheLastBomb1945

[Bullet Caster]

Wow. That was amazing. Especially the combat footage of the P-51's was intriguing. I thought I'd already seen most all of the WII combat footage. Nice to see a new newsreel once in a while. Thanks for posting. I enjoyed it. BC

[skeet1]

A great film recommended watching!!!!!!

Ken

[trooperdan]

I would imagine hand-cranking a B-29 could be a hazardous undertaking! Those .50's on the P-51 sure beat up some shipping didn't they?

[Boz330]

I would imagine hand-cranking a B-29 could be a hazardous undertaking! Those .50's on the P-51 sure beat up some shipping didn't they?

They weren't hand cranking Dan they were checking for hydraulic lock. Oil can settle in the lower cylinders of a radial engine and if you try to fire it up it will blow the cylinders off of the engine. I have hand propped a 450HP radial before, they actually start pretty easy.

That struck me as well. Those hits from the guns looked like HE, although I sure don't remember any sort of HE round for the 50 from when I was in. I wonder if there wasn't some literary license taken there and some P-38 footage thrown in.

Bob

[felix]

I bet that is true, Bob. The Mustangs would need to save gas because of the long route. Also, the Lightnings could carry more weight for gas and ammo (type and amount). ... felix

[Echo]

No explosive rounds from the .50's, but that 700 grain 2 2700 fps makes a pretty good flash when it hits metal = and a huge splash when it hits water!

[trooperdan]

They weren't hand cranking Dan they were checking for hydraulic lock. Oil can settle in the lower cylinders of a radial engine and if you try to fire it up it will blow the cylinders off of the engine. I have hand propped a 450HP radial before, they actually start pretty easy.

That struck me as well. Those hits from the guns looked like HE, although I sure don't remember any sort of HE round for the 50 from when I was in. I wonder if there wasn't some literary license taken there and some P-38 footage thrown in.

Bob

Well, I've always said you would learn something everyday if you weren't careful! Thanks for that Bob! As for the '50's I'll bet on API.. they call it "incendiary" but to me it always seems to have a pretty hefty punch when it hit! There were some limited trials of true explosive .50's but I think they decided the gain didn't out-weight the added risk.

Another question thought, they mentioned they flew at 1,000 most of the route; I thought most A/C were more efficient higher up? One hell of a long day for those crews!

[Boz330]

Well, I've always said you would learn something everyday if you weren't careful! Thanks for that Bob! As for the '50's I'll bet on API.. they call it "incendiary" but to me it always seems to have a pretty hefty punch when it hit! There were some limited trials of true explosive .50's but I think they decided the gain didn't out-weight the added risk.

Another question thought, they mentioned they flew at 1,000 most of the route; I thought most A/C were more efficient higher up? One hell of a long day for those crews!

Probably not a lot of difference with those engines since they were supercharged. They were probably staying low for radar avoidance. They were only going to 12000 or 14000 on that sortie because of clouds anyway. The way to save fuel at sea level is to throttle back.

Bob

[geargnasher]

Enjoyed it, thanks for sharing.

Gear

[Wal']

They were gutsy men back then, great history & saved.

[3006guns]

This film has some of the finest air combat footage I've ever seen. For one thing, it's real.......taken right from the gun cameras. The shot of the Japanese pilot bailing out is priceless.

Watching the whole thing made me wonder.....where'd all that ejected .50 brass end up? Probably as simple toys after the war was over.

I remember the surplus available right after WWII and the reason shows in the film. Mountains of material, showing this country's manufacturing might.

Thanks for posting, it was well worth watching!

[rbertalotto]

Is there any better music than a RR/Merlin or Allison V12?

[Boz330]

Is there any better music than a RR/Merlin or Allison V12?

I kind of like the roar of a big radial, especially when they start. But then I flew this one for 30 years.

Bob

[trooperdan]

Bob, isn't that a Beaver? I've made a few jumps from a military one, U-6A AFAIR? Kinda difficult to clear the door, what with the sill that is higher than floor-level but a good jump A/C! I loved the sound of that engine, and also, the C-7!

[Boz330]

Dan, it is a Beaver but you must be thinking of another A/C because the Beaver's floor is level and the back door is quite big. We could get 6 people outside the airplane. The ones that I jumped in the Army only let us put 5 folks in the aircraft though.
This one was a Viet Nam vet. It was used for some sort of electronic surveillance and we pulled over a 1000lbs of radio racks and wiring out of it. It also had hard points for 2- 500lb bombs under the wings. The FAA made us take those off before granting an airworthiness certificate for it.

30-06guns, I agree on the gun cam shots, they are usually vibrating so bad it is hard to tell what is going on.

Bob

[Harter66]

Working on an ammo depot I've an "inside track" .I'm not certain of the exact projectile makeup, however,several years ago I shipped a large quanity of belted LC42 cal 50 . It was a rather sudden rush for it to be sent to its "demil" server. The reason we were given for the hurry up was that a regulation change made it a major violation to have EP and tracers stored or shipped together . The effective date was only a few weeks away and it was us shipping it rush or us breaking down upwards of 5000 cans and pulling 1 round in 7 then repacking it all. As I recall, I maybe wrong,the cans were marked TR,AP,BALL,BALL,EXP,AP,BALL. The ammo was receieved from NAD Ohahu 8/45 and repacked 9/45,presumably repalletized and inspected. That's all I can tell you w/any certainty . I don't know that an EXP, wasn't an API or a plain old incendry ,but seals and records pointed to explosive projectiles loaded at Lake City in March or April of 42'. As it was belted ammo it was for ground guns but I wouldn't put anything past creative Cheifs ,Sargents,or officer pilots.

[Bullet Caster]

When airmen crank on the prop, it's called turning the props through. My dad was an aircraft engine mech. during WWII. When I asked him about the men turning the props, that was what he told me. He said that the oil would collect in the bottom cylinders and they would have to be turned through the whole cycle to get the oil out of the bottom cylinders.

If not done properly, the radial engines would blow the heads off the cylinders that had oil trapped in them. This is only done to radial engines. For the double row WASP engines this takes some time before the engines are started.

I don't ever recall anyone trying to start a radial engine by hand, esp. an 18 cylinder radial engine. BC

[Boz330]

As it was belted ammo it was for ground guns but I wouldn't put anything past creative Cheifs ,Sargents,or officer pilots.

Ain't that the truth.

Bob

[trooperdan]

Bob, no doubt I am confused! It has happened once before... I bought a bunch of pencils and they all had erasers on them! :) I DO recall for sure that U6A had a buncha torque on take-off!
And a buddy caused some consternation during a demo jump in Albuquerque once. Four of us were going out at 12,000 and the guy that had our only smoke (red) was dozing in the back when the J/M spotted some smoke on the ground that indicated a change in the exit point. He wanted all of us to see the smoke so he yelled "SMOKE" and pointed. Jerry heard "SMOKE" and pulled the pin and headed for the door! We grabbed him by the harness, held on and we left a trail of red smoke across downtown! All that smoke was swirling through the cabin and the pilot couldn't see a darned thing! Clean-up was a B&*ch BTW!