{"product_id":"b29-the-supefortress-ballantines-illustrated-history-of-world-war-ii-weapons-book-no-17","title":"B29: The Superfortress (Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II: Weapons Book No. 17)","description":"160 pp. The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat. One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 was designed with state-of-the-art technology, which included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets. The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $49 billion today), far exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project, made the B-29 program the most expensive of the war. The B-29 remained in service in various roles throughout the 1950s, being retired in the early 1960s after 3,970 had been built. A few were also used as flying television transmitters by the Stratovision company. The Royal Air Force flew the B-29 with the service name Washington from 1950 to 1954 when the jet-powered Canberra entered service.","brand":"Ballantine Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40734340677702,"sku":"2338093","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1232\/9510\/products\/2338093.jpg?v=1697470955","url":"https:\/\/ym-demo.myshopify.com\/products\/b29-the-supefortress-ballantines-illustrated-history-of-world-war-ii-weapons-book-no-17","provider":"Yesterday's Muse","version":"1.0","type":"link"}