[ARC5] Soviet B-29

[Mike Everette]

Interesting that you mention a total of four B-29s in Russian hands.  If I'm not mistaken (and I could be), and will double check the book when I unearth it, there were three including the one that cracked up after the crew bailed out.

The Russians had repeatedly asked for long range strategic bombing aircraft under Lend-Lease but were never supplied any.  They may have repaired and/or rebuilt at least 75 B-17 bombers that were damaged during the "shuttle bombing" missions from England to Russia and back.  Not sure if any B-24s were involved.  They may have gotten some Lancaster bombers from the Brits, but these were few in number.

As for the US-9 receiver's extra tube, I wondered if it might be a VR, but in the pictures I saw (and saved) it looks a lot like a 6V6GT.

There was a remotely controlled and tuned US-9 version on eBay last year.  Very interesting indeed.  Sold for some major bucks, too.  It had a solid-state power converter instead of a dyno.

I would love to see a copy of the skematik for the US-9... I don't read Cyrillic, so the manual wouldn't do me a lot of good although I'm sure it would be interesting.  I'm a big BC-348 fan, currently have a B, Q and R versions.  I picked up the Q year before last at a hamfest, unmodified, complete, with the dyno, for a very, VERY reasonable price (less than $70); so there IS hope...!  And, I've used a BC-348 in stock condition as a Field Day receiver on 40 meter CW, with an ART-13 (and other) transmitter to rack up over 400 Qs all by me-self.... GREAT radios!

73

Mike
W4DSE

--- On Tue, 11/27/12, Robert  Eleazer <releazer at earthlink.net> wrote:

> From: Robert  Eleazer <releazer at earthlink.net>
> Subject: [ARC5] Soviet B-29
> To: arc5 at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 8:32 AM
> The first B-29 captured by the USSR
> was a B-29-5-BW, 42-6256, the 52nd B-29 to come off of the
> Boeing Wichita assembly line.  Note there is no "A" in
> the designation; that model predated the A. 
> 
> The second B-29 to fall into Soviet hands crashed after the
> crew bailed out.  It was a B-29A-1-BN, 42-93829, the
> 6th Renton built B-29A.
> 
> Next, two B-29-15-BW's landed in the USSR.  They later
> got two more.
> 
> So it appears that at least the first B-29's acquired by the
> Soviets were pretty early aircraft and their equipment fit
> may not have reflected those of later machines.  All of
> the airplanes were ones that flew from China rather than
> Saipan and so were the first B-29's to see combat.
> 
> Wayne 
> 
> 
>  
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