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09-16-2005, 02:35 PM
| #16 |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO   Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,050
| Thanks Dave! I wonder where Uncle Bill came up with this "Radar Sight?" Maybe it was used in the B-50?
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09-16-2005, 03:38 PM
| #17 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 10,279
| The gunners had to have nerves of steel to be able to calmly operate that range knob, while the incoming fighters were lining up and firing at them. I wonder if they brought along a change of underwear.
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09-16-2005, 04:08 PM
| #18 | |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,050
| Quote:
I'm still researching this turret radar thing. I remember reading it on other occasions....
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09-16-2005, 04:41 PM
| #19 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 224
| Ive seen a lot of websites quote that they were radar controlled but I've never saw anything to back it up. The B-50 was pretty much the same as the B-29 in the gunnery department, except the B-50 had that fancy streamlined top turret. Actually from Block-40 up B-29A's came with the streamlined turret as well. (The B-29A is also a cause of a lot of debate because a lot of sources state the A had a wingspan 1 foot greater than the other models. Thats another falsehood.) Theres a guy on the B-29 Yahoo group named Frank Farrell who was a Korean War blister gunner. He has stated many times that they weren't to fire on the MiG's. Also when the MiG's came around most bombing was shifted to nighttime work. He said most times then that the Radar operator would track the incoming aircraft and they could watch for them, but most times at night you didn't know where they really were until you saw the fire from the jet as it went past the B-29. Farrell has a great book that I can recommend called "NO SWEAT". Its surely a good story about a Korean War blister gunner. FBJ seeing that your uncle was just that I'd say you would really enjoy it!!
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09-16-2005, 04:52 PM
| #20 | |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,050
| Quote:
I know my Uncle was a Radio Operator, perhaps he could of been talking about operating the radar with regards to sighting or tracking MiGs? He did mention he did "go into" the forward gun position a lot as it was right next to his radio operator's station, he said he did that because they didn't have a full crew for some missions.... I don't know if you saw the thread I started about him, here's a photo of him getting reday to fly a ferret mission in a B-50 after the Korean War.
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09-16-2005, 05:15 PM
| #21 |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,050
| I keep coming up with an AN/APG-8 gun sight radar being referenced to the B-29. Could these been incorporated into the B-29 turret gunsights?
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09-16-2005, 05:25 PM
| #22 |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,050
| Got this from another site.... "All Gunners hy gyroscopic lead computing sights with stadiametric ranging. As the Gunner tracked teh target, the gyroscopes measured the rate of movement of the target in Azimuth and Elevation, The Gunner would also track teh target in range, by using a "Motorcycle throttle" type grip in the sight to size a ring of dots in the sight picture to match the airplane's wingspan. Since the wingspan of an attacking fighter would be known, or estimated slose enough, this would give Range and Range Rate (Closing speed) information to hte sight. To add to this fine explanation, starting right around the beginning of 1945, AN/APG-15 radars started making there way in B-29s. This was a fairly small, cheap set that took much of the guesswork for figuring range out of the gunners hands (although they could always go back to the manual method, especially when the radars broke down)."
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09-16-2005, 06:14 PM
| #23 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 224
| The AN/APG-15 was the tail radar on a B-29B and I believe the 8 was an earlier version of that. Heres a picture of a B-29B. You can see the Eagle Wing radar AN/APQ-7 between the bays and the 15 hanging off the tail.
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09-16-2005, 06:24 PM
| #24 |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,050
| Yep - found the same info and the site on Frank Farrell - Great Stuff! On this site I found that shows radar equipment listings, it identifies the AN/APG-8 as a "radar gun sight," and the AN/APG-15 as a "tail gun turret radar." It would be nice to contact someone like Frank Farrel to confirm the absence/ installation of radar within the B-29 fire control system. I found many generalized references to it but no hard description.....
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09-16-2005, 06:32 PM
| #25 | |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Boise, Idaho
Posts: 1,175
| Quote:
Another thing was he described the airial refuling (MR) method. they used a cable and hose system which involved catching a cable, drawing the hose down and hooking it up and then reversing the procedure. When it came free he said "it felt like the rear of the plane was going with it.  He's looking for his Tech manual-1 that has all the basic systems information on the B-29. If he's able to find it I will get the info out. He's still sharp and described the whole system down to and including the central gun control and locations, so I don't think he just forgot but its been 53 years. That probably doesn't help much but it's all I got right now. wmaxt | |
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09-16-2005, 06:32 PM
| #26 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 224
| Actually I just sent an email to the B-29 group.... I'm pretty sure we'll hear from Farrell... hes uh kinda wild...
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09-16-2005, 06:38 PM
| #27 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 224
| Thats very cool about your dad. He was very fortunate to get around the MR's. They were basically post war Silverplates that belonged to the 509th CG
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09-16-2005, 06:44 PM
| #28 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 224
| The very first reply back on the B-29 Yahoo group was from Farrell. He's blunt, but put it short and sweet, here is his reply unmodified and in its entirety. The cap's are his not mine so don't be offended... I've heard it a few times from him before myself. "If he knows of a radar that waist / Blister gunners had , he knows more than WE do! Range finding was the cookie handle and sight glass reticle which in adjusting the size of the target within the changing diameter of the light reticle, adjusted th erange MODESTLY through a relatively unsophisticated computer! NO RADAR! Farrell"
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09-16-2005, 06:45 PM
| #29 |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,050
| This will be great to find out - I'm guessing my uncle had his explanation confused with the radar operator - the last time I saw him he was on dialysis
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09-16-2005, 06:48 PM
| #30 | |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,050
| Quote:
 I'm assuming his explination included the front top station as well?
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