Richard Donaldson graduated as a pilot in May of 1944, flying a B29. Donaldson served with the 314th Bomb Wing, 19th Bomb Group, and 28th Bomb Squadron. He worked as an instructor in order to become an Airplane Commander. Donaldson and his crew flew to Cuba, practicing overwater navigation in preparation for the Pacific Ocean. They traveled to Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein and were stationed in Guam. They flew their first mission in February of 1945, dropping incendiary bombs over Tokyo. They flew strategic bombing missions over the Japanese Home Islands and destroyed Japan's warmaking capability. They flew their last mission in August of 1945, completing 36. Donaldson was discharged in late 1945.
City of Austin was the name of a Boeing B2955BW Superfortress heavy bomber that flew as part of the U. S. Army Air Forces with the Twentieth Air Force, XXI Bomber Command, 314th Bombardment Wing, 19th Bomb Group (Very Heavy), 28th Bombardment Squadron, in the Pacific Theater during the latter part of World War II.

In December 1944, the Boeing Aircraft Company delivered a new B2955BW Superfortress, military serial number 4469681, to Great Bend Army Airfield in Kansas. At the time, the B29 was a stateoftheart bomber designed with a pressurized cabin, a central fire control system and computer, machine guns fired by remote control, and flight control surfaces and landing gear that were powered by an electrical system rather than hydraulics (which was used only for the brake system).

The Superfortress was assigned to Combat Air Crew No. 26, who had trained together at Great Bend and were waiting for an aircraft assignment. The crew of eleven consisted of aircraft commander First Lt. Hans P. N. “Harry” Gammel III, pilot First Lt. Richard “Dick” Donaldson, navigator First Lt. John Francis James, bombardier First Lt. William C. Leiby, radar operator Flight Officer Roland “Andy” Anderson, flight engineer Master Sgt. Roy Harvik, radio operator Staff Sgt. Walter Buhr, central fire control Technical Sgt. Paul “Gabby” Edmonds, left gunner Staff Sgt. Raymond “Jack” Manees, right gunner Staff Sgt. Carl Sopkovec, and tail gunner Staff Sgt. Remo J. Lodi. A twelfth crewmember was left gunner, and central fire control Staff Sgt. Leland Diamond replaced Manees on the twentyfirst mission.

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)

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