Size: 8 x 10.5 inches

When the Army Air Forces got the B-29 Superfortress, the United States finally had a weapon to strike the Japanese homeland. There had been no US aircraft over Japan since the Doolittle Raiders bombed Tokyo in April 1942, but the B-29, with a combat radius of more than 1,600 miles, was about to demonstrate the vulnerability of Japan. The Boeing Superfortress was the first airplane to be classified as a very heavy bomber. It had more speed, range, and payload than its predecessors, the B-17 and the B-24, which were rated as heavy bombers. So great was its promise that the B-29 was rushed into production and then rushed into war. The purchase order for 1,664 airplanes was placed before the first prototype flew. Production aircraft rolled off the line in 1943 before flight tests were completed. It was the most complex airplane US industry had ever built and it went into operation before the bugs were worked out. 

Fortunately, the pilots and copilots were handpicked men with experience in B-17s and B-24s. Late deliveries of aircraft cut training in the United States to an average of 30 hours per man for the first crews deploying to combat in 1944. Few had ever fired the guns or dropped a bomb from their B-29s before departing.

This original World War II B-29 Combat Crew Training Mission Report is dated in the upper left corner with the date of  September 9th, 1944. This specific mission was flown by the 876th Bombardment Squadron and was flown on March 26th. These mission reports were crucial for the training as they logged pilot hours as well as the training hours of the other aircrew members within the aircraft. During these training missions, instructors threw specialized scenarios to the crew, as well as practicing B-29 maneuvering techniques, instrument checks, and bailout procedures. Each report is logged down to the exact detail of what occurred during the flight and is compiled in the bottom right section you telling me exactly what happened over the course of the training mission. The crew for each mission is also labeled on the crew list (last names only), as well as the time of takeoff, landing, and other important information.