B-29 kills shoot downs and crashes. post here!

[LThunderpocket]

shot one down earlyer today.it was RTB and i chased it down.good 5 second burst in my 190-a5 i think it was.(4x20mm+2x7.9mm)

[Doc72]

The approach
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The firing of the A2A rockets
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The resulting, beautiful image
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The perks I got for shooting down ONE B29 in a 190A8 with A2A rockets, from a dead 6, getting fired upon, living to tell the story, running home due to fuel only to get chased by a 109, run out of gas, come across a friendly town at 44, 109 takes a flak hit to his oil, friendlies swoop in to save the day and me coast in on my wheels on the runway:D
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Marine....whose poor B29 did you Rocket?    

Nice shot!  

[fullmetalbullet]

shot one down earlyer today.it was RTB and i chased it down.good 5 second burst in my 190-a5 i think it was.(4x20mm+2x7.9mm)

do you have a screen or video of it?

please remember if your posting your B-29 kills and shoot downs of B-29s, please screen shots would be appreciated. and i would like to hear a short story on how you shot it down too.

[Ripsnort]

The engines were known to torch pretty easy, even without help from gunfire.
Good story about Eddie Allen, the lead engineer on the B-29, who died when the engine caught fire and burned the wing off, just 1/2 short of the runway in Seattle.
http://www.avweb.com/news/profiles/182933-1.html

Unfortunately, engine/nacelle fires similar to the #4 fire continued to occasionally haunt production B-29s and caused at least 19 serious B-29 accidents between February 1943 and September 1944. While Boeing and Wright tried hard to find and correct the cause or causes, there was a natural tendency for each to blame the other. It was 15 months before there was positive proof that the R-3350 was susceptible to induction system fires which could very rapidly get out of hand and become uncontrollable magnesium fires which then destroyed evidence of the fire's origin. That proof came on March 24, 1944 when I had an induction system fire on the #4 engine during a routine test flight on the #1 XB-29. I was fortunate enough to get the engine feathered and the fire out before it broke out of the blower section or the intake pipes and became an external fire. The partially burned magnesium impeller and interior of the blower case were irrefutable evidence. In the face of that evidence Wright developed the fuel injection system to eliminate the potential for induction system fires.

[Beefcake]

The engines were known to torch pretty easy, even without help from gunfire.
Good story about Eddie Allen, the lead engineer on the B-29, who died when the engine caught fire and burned the wing off, just 1/2 short of the runway in Seattle.
http://www.avweb.com/news/profiles/182933-1.html

The problem is AH doesn't model mechanical failures so the data and stories of B29s going down due to overheated engines goes out the window. The question is did the B29 burn like a roman candle when hit by enemy fire or was it pretty tough? So far the evidence points more towards being tougher, but that's my opinion.

[dkff49]

As far as I know the fires in AH are fuel tank fires. This to me means that fires on the b29 should probably not be over abundant since (unless I am wrong and ti does happen alot) the fuel tanks are self-sealing. Now this does not mean that they should never catch on fire in AH but I would think that it would not happen as much as it does but then I have only shot down one so far, so I would not say that I am a witness to the frequency of fires being B29's demise.

[MarineUS]

Marine....whose poor B29 did you Rocket?    

Nice shot!  

ehhh just some Doc guy

Thank you - my very first A2A rocket kill
 

[Skulls22]

screen shots of damage points or it never happened 

If you tell me how to post them on here Ill show you 

[Ripsnort]

As far as I know the fires in AH are fuel tank fires. This to me means that fires on the b29 should probably not be over abundant since (unless I am wrong and ti does happen alot) the fuel tanks are self-sealing. Now this does not mean that they should never catch on fire in AH but I would think that it would not happen as much as it does but then I have only shot down one so far, so I would not say that I am a witness to the frequency of fires being B29's demise.

Judging by the screen shots, those sure look like engines on fire to me.The 2,200 hp Wright Cyclone R-3350 twin row radial engine was the primary problem. They tend to overheat, swallow valves and even catch fire in flight. I'm pretty certain that a bb gun, with enough velocity, should be able to light up  the magnesium crankcase. They used magnesium to get more HP while reducing the weight. Magnesium is strong stuff, very light but its flammable as heck.  (I watched a few guys catch grinders on fire at Boeing during my 30 years on the shop floor ...just from friction of removing burrs from magnesium parts. *Once a guy BUFFING magnesium with a buffing wheel caught it on fire!).  They had some work arounds late in the war (cooling air to the cylinders, etc.) but I believe it's pretty easy to light up and magnesium-metal crank case with bullets.

*Once, this new hire took some "identified" magnesium parts (they had a big red tag on them) and decided to remove the burrs with a shop grinder. They had a big bucket of water near the grind to dip parts in when they got hot. This fellow started a magnesium fire and then threw some water on !   Man, was THAT a good fire!  

[Lusche]

Judging by the screen shots, those sure look like engines on fire to me.

It's the same way as with the B-24 "engine fires". It looks that way, but inflight Damage Info will tell you "inner/outer fuel"

[DERK13]

B-29 can't fly between 35,000ft and 40,000ft.  if you're going to give advice, please make sure it's correct.

ack-ack

ive gotten B17s 35k B29 can def do it.

[Ripsnort]

It's the same way as with the B-24 "engine fires". It looks that way, but inflight Damage Info will tell you "inner/outer fuel"

Fuel tends to catch fire when magnesium is burning.   Think of the fuel pressure pumping fuel into that engine when it flame.  
Let's face reality here, the B-29 was no B-17 regarding survivability. It's wing was designed to withstand a paltry 65 lbs per square foot.

[fullmetalbullet]

Fuel tends to catch fire when magnesium is burning.  Think of the fuel pressure pumping fuel into that engine when it flame. 

Shouldnt the self sealing fuel tanks stop fire. or atleast lower the chances of fuel fires?

[dkff49]

It is entirely possible to light and engine on fire in RL, especially on magnesium engines but I do know I have read before that AH only models fuel tank fires, though at this time I am unable to find a good quote.

The fire may look like it is coming from the engine but I am very certain that it is not as I don't remember ever seeing in any updates the addition of engine fires. I believe what you are seeing here is fire coming from a hole in the wing tank that is located near the engine mount.

I distinctly remember HiTech saying in a post somewhere that the need for fire suppression systems around the engine would be of no use in AH since only fuel tank fires are modeled. Hopefully I am not the only one that remembers this.

Shouldnt the self sealing fuel tanks stop fire. or atleast lower the chances of fuel fires?

The self-sealing tanks will help diminish the number of fuel tank fires but would not be a guarantee against them.

[moot]

Rip the engines themselves never take damage. Always the tanks.