The last battle of the mighty Boeing B29 Superfortress in Korea, against the MiG15, the formidable Soviet jet fighter.
The confrontation between Soviet fighters and the principal strike force of the United States Far East Air Force.
On the morning of November 30, 1950, a group of B29 "Superfortress" bombers of the U.S. Air Force were ordered to attack an air base in North Korea.
Since the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, the United States, which responded quickly on July 7, 1950, immediately formed the socalled "United Nations Army" to send troops to assist South Korea. In just one month, the North Korean army was forced to withdraw near the 38th parallel.
At the same time, in the face of the North Korean army, which has almost no air supremacy, the US bomber fleet is rampant over North Korea, and those fighter jets can also attack the ground forces at will;
It can be said that at the beginning of the war, the "United Nations Army" was everywhere in the sky, without any threat! It is precisely because of this that the American B29s have also become more and more "presumptuous". After they pushed their front into North Korea, they dispatched a large number of bombers to bombard its major air force bases, so unsatisfactory!
But on the morning of November 30, 1950, all this changed because of the "random entry" of a fighter jet!
In the B29 bomber fleet that was attacking the North Korean air force base, an extremely fast fighter jet suddenly jumped into it. The Air Force F80 (a straightwing jet fighter) only gave a symbolic chase and then watched the incoming fighter disappear from sight and become a "black spot", messy in the wind alone.
B29 General characteristics
Crew: 11 (Pilot, Copilot, Bombardier, Flight Engineer, Navigator, Radio Operator, Radar Observer, Right Gunner, Left Gunner, Central Fire Control, Tail Gunner)
Length: 99 ft 0 in (30.18 m)
Wingspan: 141 ft 3 in (43.05 m)
Height: 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Wing area: 1,736 sq ft (161.3 m2)
Aspect ratio: 11.5
Airfoil: root: Boeing 117 (22%); tip: Boeing 117 (9%)[97]
Zerolift drag coefficient: 0.0241
Frontal area: 41.16 sq ft (3.824 m2)
Empty weight: 74,500 lb (33,793 kg)
Gross weight: 120,000 lb (54,431 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 133,500 lb (60,555 kg)
135,000 lb (61,000 kg) combat overload
Powerplant: 4 × Wright R335023 DuplexCyclone 18cylinder aircooled turbo supercharged radial piston engines, 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) each
Propellers: 4bladed constantspeed fullyfeathering propellers, 16 ft 7 in (5.05 m) diameter
Performance
Maximum speed: 357 mph (575 km/h, 310 kn)
Cruise speed: 220 mph (350 km/h, 190 kn)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
Range: 3,250 mi (5,230 km, 2,820 nmi)
Ferry range: 5,600 mi (9,000 km, 4,900 nmi)
Service ceiling: 31,850 ft (9,710 m) [28]
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
Lifttodrag: 16.8
Wing loading: 69.12 lb/sq ft (337.5 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.073 hp/lb (0.120 kW/kg)
MiG15 General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 10.102 m (33 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 10.085 m (33 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 20.6 m2 (222 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: TsAGI S10; tip: TsAGI SR3
Empty weight: 3,681 kg (8,115 lb)
Gross weight: 5,044 kg (11,120 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 6,106 kg (13,461 lb) with 2x600 l (160 US gal; 130 imp gal) droptanks
Fuel capacity: 1,420 l (380 US gal; 310 imp gal) internal
Powerplant: 1 × Klimov VK1 centrifugalflow turbojet, 26.5 kN (5,950 lbf) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,076 km/h (669 mph, 581 kn) at sea level
1,107 km/h (688 mph; 598 kn) / M0.9 at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
Maximum speed: Mach 0.87 at sea level
Cruise speed: 850 km/h (530 mph, 460 kn) Mach 0.69
Ferry range: 2,520 km (1,570 mi, 1,360 nmi) at 12,000 m (39,370 ft) with 2x600 l (160 US gal; 130 imp gal) droptanks
Service ceiling: 15,500 m (50,900 ft)
Rate of climb: 51.2 m/s (10,080 ft/min)
Wing loading: 296.4 kg/m2 (60.7 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.54
Armament
Guns: **2 × 23 mm NudelmanRikhter NR23 autocannon in the lower left fuselage (80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total)
1 × 37 mm Nudelman N37 autocannon in the lower right fuselage (40 rounds total)
Hardpoints: 2 , with provisions to carry combinations of:
Bombs: 100 kg (220 lb) bombs
Other: drop tanks, or unguided rockets
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