text:
Talk:PT boat

Updates
I'm not sure if this is worth preserving, but when I found it, the page originally contained:

 * "Patrol Torpedo" boat - used by the United States Navy in the South Pacific in World War II. About 40 feet long, wood hull, inboard engine, two torpedo tubes on each gunwale pointed forward, two .50-cal machine guns (?), crew of four (?)

 * United States President John F. Kennedy was the captain of a PT boat (PT 109) in World War II.

 * FIX this needs lots of work.

If there was ever a PT boat that only had a crew of four, I can't find it -- I assume the original author was simply guessing. If I'm wrong, please correct me! --The Epopt

Yeah, I think this can lose it's "Stub" tag now... nice work :) - MMGB

I was the original author - thank you for doing a proper job with this page. RAE

I'm pretty sure torpedo boats existed before WWII, in fact, IIRC, the destroyer class ship was created initially to counter small fast torpedo boats in WWI. Does someone have references? -- ansible

Yes, the destroyer (Originally "Torpedo boat destroyer" in german) was created to deal with the torpedo boats. All this information looks very good, but I think a good deal of it should be moved to Torpedo Boat as that is the ship class. PT boat is simply a name for a serie of american ships. It is like listing information about battleships under Bismarck... For a reference I would recommend "The development of fighting ships", if you can get your hands on it. Otherwise "Destroyers" gives a rather good overview. Also there is a short overview at global security: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/destroyers.htm P.S. 13:47, 26 May 2004 (UTC)

Torpedo boats in WWI were much larger. --WerWil 23:28, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Coming soon
The article says,
 * "What neither the PT Boat crews, nor their comrades in the submarine service knew in this time frame was that their torpedoes were defective. The American torpedoes ran at depths well below their set depth, and both of the firing mechanisms built into the torpedo regularly malfunctioned. The more squarely the torpedo was lined up on the target, the more likely the torpedo was to fail. Either the torpedo would run under the target, the torpedo would explode prematurely, or it would strike the target and break apart without exploding. Interestingly, early German torpedoes had suffered almost identical defects."

While this applied to the Mk14, the antique Mk8, which might have suffered the deep-running problem, was not designed for or fitted with the Mk6 magnetic exploder, & so shouldn't have suffered prematures (which doesn't exclude the possibility sheer age of the arming & firing mechanisms causing them...). As for duds from square-on hits, this was (AFAIK) exclusively a Mk6 problem; the Mk10 didn't suffer from it, & I doubt the Mk8 did, either. The later Mk13 probably suffered from it & other troubles; it was worse than the Mk14. This issue needs more research & correction. Trekphiler 02:56, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

 * On reflection, I deleted the above as irrelevant or unsubstantiated. Trekphiler 06:21, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

37mm M3 on PT boats
Perhaps somebody knows... Is there any information about the 37mm anti-tank gun M3 / M3A1 mounted on PT boats other than the PT-109 ? Or on any other ships ? Thanks in advance. Bukvoed 18:08, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
 * It turns out, there is:
 * ...in fact there were 8 to 10 boats that had/were to have this mounting... The guns came from and were mounted by members of the US Army 25th Infantry Division. - http://www.pt103.com/
 * M3A1 37mm Anti-Tank Gun Mounting Drawings - http://www.pt108lilduck.com/specs.html
 * Bukvoed 17:17, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Medal of Honor Rising Sun
On the second level, is that a PT boat you are on? Because it does not look like one. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.125.254.254 (talk) 13:26, 10 May 2007 (UTC).

== This article says the Higgins built PT boats were "used in great numbers during the D-Day landings" and goes on to state "Gen. Eisenhower said that that the Higgins boats won the war for us".

The Higgins boats Ike was referring to were the Higgins built LCVPs (Landing Craft, Vehicle & Personnel) that were the backbone of US amphibious assaults, not PT boats. Over 20,000 Higgins LCVPs were built. My father hit the beach three times from LCVPs in the Pacific. http://www.ussrankin.org/id41.htm 65.199.155.32 21:30, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Minor edit
166 Gallons are 628 Liters, not 250. fix'd MikeTango 04:04, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

More about defective torpedos
The article has this sentence "The effectiveness of PT boats in the Solomon Islands campaign, where there were numerous engagements between PTs and capital ships, was substantially undermined by defective torpedoes." What kind of defects? The Mark 8 was pretty old by then, were these torpedos made new with new defects or were they age-related defects? Is this sentence confusing the Mark 14 torpedo problem the subs were having? The Mark 15 used by DDs was having similar Mark 14-style problems but AFAIK the PTs were okay with their elderly 1917-ish Mark 8 design. Binksternet 12:46, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
 * It was 2 things, as I understand it. First was age (I suspect the warheads had been filled for years, & the explosive got old & sensitive, & prematured, leading to the spurious "hits"). Second, as in the Mk14s/15s, the exploder design was defective (in the Mk14, the contact pistol would crush on impact, rather than fire; the Mk14/15's magnetic feature caused numerous prematures); I may be mistaken, here, because the Mk10 (contact pistol) was OK. USN torpedoes had several (unrelated) design problems, from what I've read; exactly what they were, I'm honestly not familiar enough with the issue to say with certainty, without sources in front of me. And don't forget, PTs also used Mk13 aircraft torpedoes, which had even more problems than the Mk14s. Without specifying the date of the engagement, or the type of firing mechanism (the Mk8 used tubes, Mk13 racks), knowing the problems actually encountered is a bit hard. Feel up to doing some research? Trekphiler 17:12, 14 October 2007 (UTC) (P.S. You may be right about "confusing the Mk14 problem", but IIRC, PTs reported independent troubles. Whether it was the Mk8 or Mk13, I couldn't say.)

Gen. Eisenhower and Higgins boats
The Higgins boats that Gen. Eisenhower was referring to was not the PT boats but the Landing Craft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgins_boat 72.27.58.29 (talk) 12:49, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

This article is getting to be too big!
It seems like a lot of people are incorporating information that may be better suited somewhere else. Things about the Great Britain Royal Navy MTB's and Steam Gunboats and German S-Boote dont really belong in an article about the US PT Boats. Same goes for the WW1 Torpedo Boats. It is really interesting and good information I will grant, but it seems to be interfering with the overall scope of the main subject of the article, which is after all, PT Boats. Just a thought, maybe somebody knowledgeable about those other subjects could start an article about them and move the info into that other article, and provide a link to this article.

Also, I fail to see the value in changing every single measurement into its metric equivalent. OK one or 2 examples is fine, but providing parenthetic metric equivalencies for each and every measurement or diameter etc is very detracting from the flow of the sentence. Thanks! Jerry 1-23-08 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.134.136.3 (talk) 13:54, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

"PT boats were uniquely U.S.!"
I am not sure what the editor ment by this but I would like to point out that at least the Elco class were used by the Royal Norwegian Navy and that the Norwegian Nasty class was used by the US Navy. So US PT boats were used by other navies and foreign PT boats were used by the US Navy.Inge (talk) 13:58, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Hey Inge, All I meant was that only the US Navy referred to them as "PT Boats" during a specific time period of World War 2 (1941-1945). Since this is an article on "PT Boats" (and not MTB's or MGB's or TB's or S-Boats or what have you) we should stick to the subject and the time period. Placing information about a torpedo boat used in 1972 in Vietnam has no business being in an article about "PT Boats", which is both time and nation specific to WW2 US Navy. Wikipedia has articles already covering those other types of boats so therefore a bunch of information about them placed into this article detracts somewhat from the subject. Amplifying information is fine, but there is a point where it becomes too much, in my humble opinion. But yes, other Navies did use this type of boat and called them something other than "PT Boat". The USN did not really ever use foreign made PT Boats in active service during WW2. (if you were referring to the Vosper boats, they were manufactured under liscence in the US during the war I believe,at Annapolis Boat Yard and at Miami Shipbuilding, and even these were pretty much -all- sent overseas to allied nations) Jerry —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.134.136.3 (talk) 11:40, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Maybe necroing this, but it's worth pointing out for anyone else that Wikipedia frowns on the use of the term 'S-boat'. We far prefer the wartime Allied brevity code 'E-boat'*, with all of its lack of clarity and inconsistency, to any attempt to use a term which can specifically only refer to a German motor torpedo boat and not just any unidentified launch. In the same spirit, we do not call the Junkers 87 article 'Stuka' but instead use a redirect. Likewise, the MFP article is named 'Flak lighter' (oh, no it isn't).
 * (Or 'E' boat as it's recorded in naval identification guides of the time, betraying the fact that it was just a generic nickname or brevity code for vessels of similar classes being encountered in situations where definitive identification of class was unlikely to be accurate or even possible and may even have been erroneous. But such issues did not matter in wartime to the crews of MTBs or patrol aircraft and neither should they be of any importance to an encyclopedia.)
 * I post this in the hope that someone will notice the discrepancy here. The fact that many modern authors still use the 'Battle' comic-book-friendly 'E-boat' for sales purposes does not take away from the fact that numerous authors also use the term 'S-boat' and it seems that 'common usage' is being misapplied to that article.
 * Or else we'd have an article called 'Flak lighter' or 'F-lighter'. 2A00:23C7:3119:AD01:3063:2CFA:2CBB:6B4C (talk) 01:36, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

"US PT Boat torpedo success in WW2"
Here is a little background research/information I came across concerning US PT Boat torpedo successes against the Japanese Navy (IJN) and the other axis powers (Germany, Italy) found in Robert J Bulkeleys authoritative book "At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy", at the beginning of this wikipedia page about PT Boats, it implies a virtually complete lack of success by USN PTs with torpedoes. Well...I beg to differ! read the facts below and decide for yourself! Jerry

 * Night of 24 January 1942, PT 41 torpedoed a Japanese transport at Subic Bay.
 * Night of 1 February 1942, PT 32 torpedoed and damaged IJN minelayer YAEYAMA in Subic Bay.
 * Night of 8 April 1942, PT 34 and PT 41 torpedoed and damaged IJN light cruiser KUMA in action off Cebu.
 * Night of December 9, 1942, PT 59 torpedoed and sank IJN submarine I-3 at Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal.
 * Night of December 11, 1942 PT 44 and PT 110 torpedoed and sank IJN destroyer TERUTSUKI off Guadalcanal.
 * Night of January 10, 1943, PTs 45, 39, 48, 115, 43, 40, 112, 59, 46, and 36 in action off Cape Esperance torpedoed and damaged IJN destroyer HATSUKAZE.
 * Night of December 24/25, 1942, PT 122 apparently torpedoed and sank IJN submarine I-22 at Tufi, New Guinea, though recent investigations cast doubt on that assessment.
 * Night of March 3, 1943, in the wake of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, PT 143 and PT 150 torpedoed and sank the already-damaged IJN transport OIGAWA MARU, 6,493 tons.
 * Night of May 8/9, 1943, PT 206 torpedoed and sank a German tanker in Ras Idda Bay during the North African campaign.
 * On July 24, 1943, PT 216 torpedoed and sank the 8,800-ton Italian merchant ship VIMINALE near Palmi.
 * Night of October 22/23, 1943, PT 212 torpedoed and sank an Italian corvette converted for use as a cargo carrier in the Maddalena-Bastia area.
 * Night of November 2/3, 1943, PT 211 and PT 207 torpedoed and sank German subchaser 2206 off Giglio Island.
 * Night of May 23/24, 1944, PT 202 and PT 213 torpedoed and sank German corvette UJ-2223 and torpedoed and damaged German corvette UJ-2222 near Vada Rocks.
 * Night of June 14/15, 1944, PT 558, PT 552, and PT 559 torpedoed and sank German corvettes TA 26 and TA 30 between La Spezia and Genoa.
 * Night of November 2, 1944, PT 308 torpedoed and sank German subchaser UJ-2207 off Portofino.
 * Night of October 24/25, 1944, a PT torpedoed and damaged IJN light cruiser ABUKUMA during the Battle of Surigao Strait.
 * Night of October 24/25, 1944, PT 323 torpedoed the damaged IJN destroyer ASAGUMO during the Battle of Surigao Strait.
 * Night of November 28/29, 1944, PT 127 and PT 331 torpedoed and sank IJN subchaser No. 52 and Patrol Boat No. 105 at Ormoc Bay.
 * Night of December 11/12, 1944, PT 492 torpedoed and sank IJN destroyer UZUKI at Palomplon, Leyte.
 * Night of December 26, 1944, PT 223 torpedoed and sank damaged IJN destroyer KIYOSHINO off Mindoro.
 * Night of January 23/24, 1945, PT 532 torpedoed and damaged a 6,000-ton Japanese freighter in Lingayen Gulf; the ship, its bows blown off, was beached and abandoned.

Source: Bulkeley, Robert J., Jr., Captain, USN (Ret.). At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy. Washington, D.C.: Naval History Division, 1962. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.183.121.4 (talk) 15:10, 9 April 2008 (UTC)
 * "decide for yourself" indeed. Just off the top, Fitzsimons, w naval ed Antony Preston (Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons & Warfare {London: Phoebus, 1978}), says Kuma was sunk in January 1944 by HMSub Tally Ho Volume 16, p.1683); Hatsukaze 2/11/43 by U.S. destroyers including Spence (Volume 14, p.1542); & I-22 lost to "marine casualty" (Volume 13, p.1404). Was Bulkeley using wartime credit, or relying on JANAC? As bad as JANAC was, it was better than the wartime accounting, which couldn't (or didn't) weed out mistaken claims from torpedo failures (for instance).  Trekphiler (talk) 14:44, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

The list above does not claim that Kuma or Hatsukaze was sunk, it says "torpedoed and damaged". What is JANAC anyway? Please enlighten me. Thanks Jerry —Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.182.124.2 (talk) 12:01, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * "The list above does not claim that Kuma or Hatsukaze was sunk". Noted. I'd just treat the list with caution, since Bulkeley was a PT sailor & hence had reason to stretch things. JANAC? It's the postwar accounting of Sub Force claims (maybe others, too, which is why I ask), the Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee. It relied on both U.S. & Japanese records & was notoriously unreliable, denying credit where there were numerous eyewitnesses & photos, giving credit to boats far away from the cited sinkings; also, Japanese records were in chaos by war's end...& at least some U.S. records from early in the war were pretty chaotic, too. Trekphiler (talk) 13:49, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

"How do I provide a citation needed to remove the label about torpedo depth settings"
I have a question about how to do something in this article. Under the Heading "Service" about 6 paragraphs down from the first paragraph, it talks about "Barge Busters" and how the Torpedoes minimum depth setting was 10 feet. Then somebody put "(citation needed)". So I have several methods to prove this, namely, we have four real Mark 13 torpedoes on board the PT658 and I also have several US Navy Weapons Technical Manuals. All of these show the depth setting dial is marked between 10 and 60 feet (sorry dudes, it aint metric!) Anyway do I need to cite the specific manual number etc or show a photo of the torpedo or what? Besides, who put that "citation needed" label thing on there anyhow? (It looks like Trekphiler according to the history) Can you take my word for it and remove the (fact)label? I could email you the info if you want to see it with your own eyes. Thanks for your help in advance Jerry (PT658 crewman) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.245.96.162 (talk) 07:07, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

 * If you've got the manual, cite the number (publication date too, if it's mentioned) & page #; list the publisher as U.S. Government Printing Office, place DC: Clear? Then, delete the  tag.  Trekphiler (talk) 09:45 & 09:47, 20 June 2008 (UTC) P.S. Don't forget to sign your posts: ~ )

Thanks trekphiler! Heres the dope: "Naval Ordnance and Gunnery" NAVPERS 16116-A Revised Edition March 1946 US Govt Printing Office, Chapter 9 Torpedoes, Mines, Depth Charges, Release Gear and Rockets, Section B Torpedoes Section 9B14 Depth Mechanism, Operation, Page 212 and 213.

Also "Description, Operation and Care of US Navy Torpedoes, Mark 13-1 and 2, July 1943". Dept of the Navy Bureau of Ordnance, (Restricted) Ordnance Pamphlet No 950 Chapter 6, Page 128-130 "The Depth Mechanism"

Also

"Naval Ordnance and Gunnery Volume I Naval Ordnance US Naval Acadamy NAVPERS 10797-A 1955 Edition Revised 1957, "Chapter 12-Torpedoes" Section 12F8 "Depth Mechanism"

Also

"Motor Torpedo Boats Tactical Orders and Doctrine" July 1942 (US GPO Washington DC 1942) Part 4 "Armament Doctrines and Standard Procedures" Page 68 "Depth Settings for Torpedoes"

Also My personally looking at the depth setting mechanism and markings on 4 genuine WW2 era Mark 13 Torpedoes that we have installed on board USS PT658 in Portland Oregon

Thanks Jerry Jngilmar (talk) 08:04, 24 June 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jngilmar (talk • contribs) 07:53, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

 * Jerry, I believe I've got the 1946 cite into the article correctly. Binksternet (talk) 09:18, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks binksternet! Jerry

Background on Argentine PT Boats
I went to the Argentine website and translated their story called "What happened to the 10 Higgins PT Boats" Here is my translation below. Jerry

http://www.histarmar.com.ar/Armada%20Argentina/Buques1900a1970/LanchasRapidas.htm

What happened to the 10 Argentine Higgins PT Boats? (As of 2004)

STATIC/DERELICT 1.-Towora: stayed in the Navy ( It was sister ship to the Association Fueguina of Subaquatic and Nautical Activities (AFASyN), and is now being used as a landlocked static display in the ground next to the old airport, in process of reconstruction in Usuahia. Thank you Javier Urruty

SUNK 2.-Alakush: stayed in the Navy until it was sunk as naval target in the 1990's, and it seems that it was difficult for them to sink.

SUNK 3.-Exploded in River Santiago in the 1950's. The explosion was from the fumes of aviation gasoline that was used as fuel for the Packard engines. The other boats mostly were operated by the "Mar de Plata" (River Plate) Prefecture and then they returned to the ALTAR and they were sold in public auction.

SCRAPPED 4, 5 and 6:.-Scrapped by scrap dealers of River Plate, and demolitioned to extract the aluminum and bronze metal of the structure during the 1960's

DERELICT 7.-“ Don Luis “: Abandoned in Bariloche, Huemul Island. Used as Excursion boat from 1970's up to the late 1990's. Seemingly it sank at the wharf, then it was refloated for a while and is now stranded on Huemul island. (As of April 2004)

OPERATING 8.-“ Leonardo da Vinci “: Active in River Plate as tour boat, it is home ported there. The current owner is the son of the boats original buyer in the late 1960's. He also helped to obtain most of the information in this update.

OPERATING 9.-“ City of Mar del Plata ”. It is active in River Plate (Mar del Plata) as tourboat, it is homeported there since the late 1960's.

SUNK 10.-"Senora Maria" Destroyed in a Fire in Necochea where it was used as tourboat in 70's.

As demonstration of the tough construction of these wooden boats, when the "Senora Maria" caught fire, there was a person was trapped in the stern by the fire. During rescue attempts, a large Mercedes Benz 1114 truck available at the wharf repeatedly rammed the boats aft quarter trying to open an exit, until finally the efforts were halted since the trucks impacts were insufficient and the person died. Of all the PT boats that were constructed in WW2, there are 2 in Argentina that are still operational.

Difference between "conventional" and "motor torpedo boat"
This line: " However, the motor torpedo boat was much faster, smaller, and cheaper than the conventional torpedo boat" doesn't seem to make much sense. How is a MTB different from a conventional torpedo boat? Does "conventional" refer to pre-WWII boats, or the older pre-WWI designs (used by many navies)? Or does "conventional" mean something else? Please clarify this line or remove it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pmarshal (talk • contribs) 12:12, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

 * The earlier 'torpedo boats' were powered by steam turbines, and when the MTB was devised the 'motor' part of the name indicated that the new vessels were powered by petrol (gasoline) engines. Later the 'motor' part could also be a diesel engine, but petrol ones were used initially as they were more powerful. After 1945, marine gas turbines were also used, and these were also referred to as 'motors'. In marine classification 'motor' refers to a petrol or diesel piston engine or gas turbine, as opposed to steam turbines.

 * BTW, they were referred to as 'boats' because the early ones, like the first submarines, weren't large enough to deserve the title of 'ship'. That's also why most were not given individual names, only pennant numbers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.4.57.101 (talk) 19:55, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Wiki Family Robinson
This
 * "A small 2-man muslin covered cork liferaft was normally mounted on the forward deck, though it was displaced by guns mounted on the bow after mid-1943, and moved to the top of the chart house or farther aft."

struck me as very poorly placed, when the discussion was about PTG effectiveness. Feel free to put it back in the description. TREKphiler  any time you're ready, Uhura  11:41, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

FACs of life
Not going to edit war over it, but use of the modern term in an article about a WW2 subject is what bugs me. If it'd stayed MTB, with FAC as "see also", I'd be happier. TREKphiler  any time you're ready, Uhura  01:23, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

 * If you prefer "fast torpedo boat" I wouldn't object, however we write WP in modern English whatever the language used at the period/location of the subject. The TB article could do with some editting re its relationship with FAC. DexDor (talk) 07:50, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

 * Then, yet again, I disagree with the policy. :) Would "a type of torpedo boat" suit you, plus the FAC "see also"?   TREKphiler   any time you're ready, Uhura  14:19, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * See, the clash of terminology (current/correct vs 'classical' or 'historical contemporary') regarding the English WP inconsistency of this policy between Marinefahrprahm / 'F-lighter' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinefährprahm), Vorpostenboot / 'Flak trawler' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpostenboot) and Schnellboot / 'E-boat' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-boat).
 * In the first and second articles, you'll note that the actual term (without even using a direct English-language translation either, but the native-language term at that) is deemed by Wikipedia editors to be appropriate and in line with WP article name policies, whereas in the case of third article, the name is an exigent brevity code or foreign-language nickname which lacks specificity (even going so far as to note this in the opening paragraph). There is even this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-boat which actually acknowledges the Anglicised form of the native-language term, but then the native-language term is redirected to the wartime enemy's nickname.
 * Posted in this article's talk because someone on here might care enough about coastal warfare matters enough to want to try and sort this out / impose some consistency on it. Because the talk page for the schnellboot article is patrolled by hostile and obstructive editors who aren't interested in what a non-editor has to say on the subject. Help! 2A00:23C7:3119:AD01:3063:2CFA:2CBB:6B4C (talk) 02:06, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

Listing of the boats that were destroyed between 1998 and 2008
To answer the request for citation: these recently destroyed boats are identified as follows: ex-PT308 Higgins in 2006 in Dagsboro, DE, ex-PT659 Higgins in 2008 in Vancouver, WA, ex-RN MGB69 Higgins in 2004 in Chertsey, UK, ex-PT761 Elco in 2003 in Jacksonville Beach, FL, and ex-PT695 Vosper in 2003 in Rio Vista, CA, all destroyed for various exact reasons but mostly due to lack of funding for restoration. This info was available in this article in past revisions but was removed since these boats were destroyed and therefore don't matter anymore. I dont really understand the need for a citation required for this, but there you have it, the names and types of the boats and where they were when they were destroyed. If this does not suit your requirements to explain the citation, let me know what you need to see to be satisfied and I will strive to list it here. Thanks Jerry Jngilmar (talk) 01:53, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

 * You need to cite reliable sources per WP:RS. Personal knowledge is not acceptable per WP:OR. - BilCat (talk) 02:03, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

OK BilCat so please explain why this is so important to Have a citation for a persons request for an update? The guy asked Why were these boats destroyed and why so recently? All I did was answer his question! SO I can find some newspaper artoicles that describe each of these boats being destroyed, but is that really necessary? Why are you being so negative? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jngilmar (talk • contribs) 02:05, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

 * Yes, it's really necessary. You've been around WP long enough that you shouldn't need that explained to you. - BilCat (talk) 02:09, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

PT308 http://cpg.stparchive.com/Archive/CPG/CPG08292006p14.php PT659 http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2008/may/14/pt-boat-salvaged-for-parts/ still working on PT695 Deunanknute (talk) 02:23, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

title: Talk:PT boat


text:
Submarine-launched ballistic missile

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles operate in a different way from submarine-launched cruise missiles.

Modern submarine-launched ballistic missiles are closely related to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), with ranges of over 5500 km, and in many cases SLBMs and ICBMs may be part of the same family of weapons.

Origins
The first practical design of a submarine-based launch platform was developed by the Germans near the end of World War II involving a launch tube which contained a V-2 ballistic missile variant and was towed behind a submarine, known by the code-name Prüfstand XII. The war ended before it could be tested, but the engineers who had worked on it were taken to work for the United States (Operation Paperclip) and for the Soviet Union on their SLBM programs. These and other early SLBM systems required vessels to be surfaced when they fired missiles, but launch systems eventually were adapted to allow underwater launching in the 1950-1960s. A converted Project 611 (Zulu-IV class) submarine launched the world's first SLBM, an R-11FM (SS-N-1 Scud-A, naval variant of the SS-1 Scud) on 16 September 1955. Five additional Project V611 and AV611 (Zulu-V class) submarines became the world's first operational ballistic missile submarines (SSBs) with two R-11FM missiles each, entering service in 1956–57.

The United States Navy initially worked on a sea-based variant of the US Army Jupiter intermediate-range ballistic missile, projecting four of the large, liquid-fueled missiles per submarine. Rear Admiral W. F. "Red" Raborn headed a Special Project Office to develop Jupiter for the Navy, beginning in late 1955. However, at the Project Nobska submarine warfare conference in 1956, physicist Edward Teller stated that a physically small one-megaton warhead could be produced for the relatively small, solid-fueled Polaris missile, and this prompted the Navy to leave the Jupiter program in December of that year. Soon Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke concentrated all Navy strategic research on Polaris, still under Admiral Raborn's Special Project Office. All US SLBMs have been solid-fueled while all Soviet and Russian SLBMs have been liquid-fueled except for the Russian RSM-56 Bulava, which entered service in 2014.

The world's first operational nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) was USS George Washington (SSBN-598) with 16 Polaris A-1 missiles, which entered service in December 1959 and conducted the first SSBN deterrent patrol November 1960 – January 1961. George Washington also conducted the first successful submerged SLBM launch with a Polaris A-1 on 20 July 1960. Fifty-two days later, the Soviet Union made its first successful underwater launch of a submarine ballistic missile in the White Sea, on 10 September 1960 from the same converted Project 611 (NATO reporting name Zulu-IV class) submarine that first launched the R-11FM. The Soviets were only a year behind the US with their first SSBN, the ill-fated K-19 of Project 658 (Hotel class), commissioned in November 1960. However, the Hotel class carried only three R-13 missiles (NATO reporting name SS-N-4) each and had to surface and raise the missile to launch. Submerged launch was not an operational capability for the Soviets until 1963, when the R-21 missile (SS-N-5) was first backfitted to Project 658 (Hotel class) and Project 629 (Golf class) submarines. The Soviet Union was able to beat the U.S. in launching and testing the first SLBM with a live nuclear warhead, an R-13 that detonated in the Novaya Zemlya Test Range in the Arctic Ocean, doing so on 20 October 1961, just ten days before the gigantic 50 Mt Tsar Bomba's detonation in the same general area. The United States eventually conducted a similar test in the Pacific Ocean on 6 May 1962, with a Polaris A-2 launched from USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) as part of the nuclear test series Operation Dominic. The first Soviet SSBN with 16 missiles was the Project 667A (Yankee class), which first entered service in 1967 with 32 boats completed by 1974. By the time the first Yankee was commissioned the US had built 41 SSBNs, nicknamed the "41 for Freedom".

Deployment and further development
The short range of the early SLBMs dictated basing and deployment locations. By the late 1960s the Polaris A-3 was deployed on all US SSBNs with a range of 4600 km, a great improvement on the 1900 km range of Polaris A-1. The A-3 also had three warheads that landed in a pattern around a single target. The Yankee class was initially equipped with the R-27 Zyb missile (SS-N-6) with a range of 2400 km. The US was much more fortunate in its basing arrangements than the Soviets. Thanks to NATO and the US possession of Guam, US SSBNs were permanently forward deployed at Advanced Refit Sites in Holy Loch, Scotland, Rota, Spain, and Guam by the middle 1960s, resulting in short transit times to patrol areas near the Soviet Union. The SSBN facilities at the Advanced Refit Sites were austere, with only a submarine tender and floating dry dock. Converted merchant ships designated T-AKs (Military Sealift Command cargo ships) were provided to ferry missiles and supplies to the sites. With two rotating crews per boat, about one-third of the total US force could be in a patrol area at any time. The Soviet bases, in the Murmansk area for the Atlantic and the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky area for the Pacific, required their SSBNs to make a long transit (through NATO-monitored waters in the Atlantic) to their mid-ocean patrol areas to hold the continental United States (CONUS) at risk. This resulted in only a small percentage of the Soviet force occupying patrol areas at any time, and was a great motivation for longer-range Soviet SLBMs, which would allow them to patrol close to their bases, in areas sometimes referred to as "deep bastions". These missiles were the R-29 Vysota series (SS-N-8, SS-N-18, SS-N-23), equipped on Projects 667B, 667BD, 667BDR, and 667BDRM (Delta-I through Delta-IV classes). The SS-N-8, with a range of 7700 km, entered service on the first Delta-I boat in 1972, before the Yankee class was even completed. A total of 43 Delta-class boats of all types entered service 1972–90, with the SS-N-18 on the Delta III class and the R-29RM Shtil (SS-N-23) on the Delta IV class. The new missiles had increased range and eventually multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), multiple warheads that could each hit a different target.

Poseidon and Trident I
Although the US did not commission any new SSBNs from 1967 through 1981, it did introduce two new SLBMs. Thirty-one of the 41 original US SSBNs were built with larger diameter launch tubes with future missiles in mind. In the early 1970s the Poseidon (C-3) missile entered service, and those 31 SSBNs were backfitted with it. Poseidon offered a massive MIRV capability of up to 14 warheads per missile. Like the Soviets, the US also desired a longer-range missile that would allow SSBNs to be based in CONUS. In the late 1970s the Trident I (C-4) missile with a range of 7400 km and eight MIRV warheads was backfitted to 12 of the Poseidon-equipped submarines. The SSBN facilities (primarily a submarine tender and floating dry dock) of the base at Rota, Spain were disestablished and the Naval Submarine Base King's Bay in Georgia was built for the Trident I-equipped force.

Trident and Typhoon submarines
Both the United States and the Soviet Union commissioned larger SSBNs designed for new missiles in 1981. The American large SSBN was the Ohio class, also called the "Trident submarine", with the largest SSBN armament ever of 24 missiles, initially Trident I but built with much larger tubes for the Trident II (D-5) missile, which entered service in 1990. The entire class was converted to use Trident II by the early 2000s. Trident II offered a range of over 8000 km with eight larger MIRV warheads than Trident I. When the USS Ohio (SSBN-726) commenced sea trials in 1980, two of the first ten US SSBNs had their missiles removed to comply with SALT treaty requirements; the remaining eight were converted to attack submarines (SSN) by the end of 1982. These were all in the Pacific, and the Guam SSBN base was disestablished; the first several Ohio-class boats used new Trident facilities at Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Washington. Eighteen Ohio-class boats were commissioned by 1997, four of which were converted as cruise missile submarines (SSGN) in the 2000s to comply with START I treaty requirements. The Soviet large SSBN was the Project 941 Akula, famous as the Typhoon-class (and not to be confused with the Project 971 Shchuka attack submarine, called "Akula" by NATO). The Typhoons were the largest submarines ever built at 48,000 tons submerged. They were armed with 20 of the new R-39 Rif (SS-N-20) missiles with a range of 8300 km and 10 MIRV warheads. Six Typhoons were commissioned in 1981–89.

Post-Cold War
New SSBN construction terminated for over 10 years in Russia and slowed in the US with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in 1991. The US rapidly decommissioned its remaining 31 older SSBNs, with a few converted to other roles, and the base at Holy Loch was disestablished. Most of the former Soviet SSBN force was gradually scrapped under the provisions of the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement through 2012. By that time the Russian SSBN force stood at six Delta-IVs, three Delta-IIIs, and a lone Typhoon used as a testbed for new missiles (the R-39s unique to the Typhoons were reportedly scrapped in 2012). Upgraded missiles such as the R-29RMU Sineva (SS-N-23 Sineva) were developed for the Deltas. In 2013 the Russians commissioned the first Borei-class submarine, also called the Dolgorukiy class after the lead vessel. By 2015 two others had entered service. This class is intended to replace the aging Deltas, and carries 16 solid-fuel RSM-56 Bulava missiles, with a reported range of 10000 km and six MIRV warheads. The US is building a replacement for the Ohio class; however, the first of the class wasn't laid down until October 2020.

Ballistic missile submarines have been of great strategic importance for the United States, Russia, and other nuclear powers since they entered service in the Cold War, as they can hide from reconnaissance satellites and fire their nuclear weapons with virtual impunity. This makes them immune to a first strike directed against nuclear forces, allowing each side to maintain the capability to launch a devastating retaliatory strike, even if all land-based missiles have been destroyed. This relieves each side of the necessity to adopt a launch on warning posture, with its attendant risk of accidental nuclear war. Additionally, the deployment of highly accurate missiles on ultra-quiet submarines allows an attacker to sneak up close to the enemy coast and launch a missile on a depressed trajectory (a non-optimal ballistic trajectory which trades off reduced throw-weight for a faster and lower path, effectively reducing the time between launch and impact), thus opening the possibility of a decapitation strike.

Types

Specific types of SLBMs (current, past and under development) include:

Non-military use
Some former Russian SLBMs have been converted into Volna and Shtil' launch vehicles to launch satellites – either from a submarine or from a launch site on land.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Submarine-launched ballistic missile


text:
Talk:Small Shelly fauna

Does "Shelly" mean "having shells" or is it a proper name? If "having shells", then the article should be renamed to "small shelly fauna". -phma

Yes it does, I will move the article. --maveric149
 * done.

title: Talk:Small Shelly fauna


text:
Boeing B-29 Superfortress

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat.

One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 was designed with state-of-the-art technology, which included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets. The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $0 billion in 2022), far exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project, made the B-29 program the most expensive of the war. The B-29 remained in service in various roles throughout the 1950s, being retired in the early 1960s after 3,970 had been built. A few were also used as flying television transmitters by the Stratovision company. The Royal Air Force flew the B-29 with the service name Washington from 1950 to 1954 when the jet-powered Canberra entered service.

The B-29 was the progenitor of a series of Boeing-built bombers, transports, tankers, reconnaissance aircraft, and trainers. For example, the re-engined B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II became the first aircraft to fly around the world non-stop, during a 94-hour flight in 1949. The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter airlifter, which was first flown in 1944, was followed in 1947 by its commercial airliner variant, the Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser. This bomber-to-airliner derivation was similar to the B-17/Model 307 evolution. In 1948, Boeing introduced the KB-29 tanker, followed in 1950 by the Model 377-derivative KC-97. A line of outsized-cargo variants of the Stratocruiser is the Guppy / Mini Guppy / Super Guppy, which remain in service with NASA and other operators. The Soviet Union produced 847 Tupolev Tu-4s, an unlicensed reverse-engineered copy of the B-29. Twenty B-29s remain as static displays, but only two, FIFI and Doc, still fly.

Design and development
Before World War II, the United States Army Air Corps concluded that the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, which would be the Americans' primary strategic bomber during the war, would be inadequate for the Pacific Theater, which required a bomber that could carry a larger payload more than 3,000 miles.

In response, Boeing began work on pressurized long-range bombers in 1938. Boeing's design study for the Model 334 was a pressurized derivative of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress with nosewheel undercarriage. Although the Air Corps lacked funds to pursue the design, Boeing continued development with its own funds as a private venture. In April 1939, Charles Lindbergh convinced General Henry H. Arnold to produce a new bomber in large numbers to counter the Germans' bomber production. In December 1939, the Air Corps issued a formal specification for a so-called "superbomber" that could deliver 20000 lb of bombs to a target 2667 mi away, and at a speed of 400 mph. Boeing's previous private venture studies formed the starting point for its response to the Air Corps formal specification.

Boeing submitted its Model 345 on 11 May 1940, in competition with designs from Consolidated Aircraft (the Model 33, which later became the B-32), Lockheed (the Lockheed XB-30), and Douglas (the Douglas XB-31). Douglas and Lockheed soon abandoned work on their projects, but Boeing received an order for two flying prototypes, which were given the designation XB-29, and an airframe for static testing on 24 August 1940, with the order being revised to add a third flying aircraft on 14 December. Consolidated continued to work on its Model 33, as it was seen by the Air Corps as a backup if there were problems with Boeing's design. Boeing received an initial production order for 14 service test aircraft and 250 production bombers in May 1941, this being increased to 500 aircraft in January 1942. The B-29 featured a fuselage design with circular cross-section for strength. The need for pressurization in the cockpit area also led to the B-29 being one of very few American combat aircraft of World War II to have a stepless cockpit design, without a separate windscreen for the pilots.

Manufacturing the B-29 was a complex task that involved four main-assembly factories. There were two Boeing operated plants at Renton, Washington (Boeing Renton Factory), and one in Wichita, Kansas (now Spirit AeroSystems), a Bell plant at Marietta, Georgia, near Atlanta ("Bell-Atlanta"), and a Martin plant at Bellevue, Nebraska ("Martin-Omaha" – Offutt Field). Thousands of subcontractors were also involved in the project. The first prototype made its maiden flight from Boeing Field, Seattle, on 21 September 1942. The combined effects of the aircraft's highly advanced design, challenging requirements, immense pressure for production, and hurried development caused setbacks. Unlike the unarmed first prototype, the second was fitted with a Sperry defensive armament system using remote-controlled gun turrets sighted by periscopes and first flew on 30 December 1942, although the flight was terminated due to a serious engine fire.

On 18 February 1943, the second prototype, flying out of Boeing Field in Seattle, experienced an engine fire and crashed. The crash killed Boeing test pilot Edmund T. Allen and his 10-man crew, 20 workers at the Frye Meat Packing Plant and a Seattle firefighter. Changes to the production craft came so often and so fast that, in early 1944, B-29s flew from the production lines directly to modification depots for extensive rebuilds to incorporate the latest changes. AAF-contracted modification centers and its own air depot system struggled to handle the scope of the requirements. Some facilities lacked hangars capable of housing the giant B-29, requiring outdoor work in freezing weather, further delaying necessary modification. By the end of 1943, although almost 100 aircraft had been delivered, only 15 were airworthy. This prompted an intervention by General Hap Arnold to resolve the problem, with production personnel being sent from the factories to the modification centers to speed availability of sufficient aircraft to equip the first bomb groups in what became known as the "Battle of Kansas". This resulted in 150 aircraft being modified in the five weeks, between 10 March and 15 April 1944.

The most common cause of maintenance headaches and catastrophic failures was the engines. Although the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engines later became a trustworthy workhorse in large piston-engined aircraft, early models were beset with dangerous reliability problems. This problem was not fully cured until the aircraft was fitted with the more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 "Wasp Major" in the B-29D/B-50 program, which arrived too late for World War II. Interim measures included cuffs placed on propeller blades to divert a greater flow of cooling air into the intakes, which had baffles installed to direct a stream of air onto the exhaust valves. Oil flow to the valves was also increased, asbestos baffles were installed around rubber push rod fittings to prevent oil loss, thorough pre-flight inspections were made to detect unseated valves, and mechanics frequently replaced the uppermost five cylinders (every 25 hours of engine time) and the entire engines (every 75 hours).

Pilots, including the present-day pilots of the Commemorative Air Force's Fifi, one of the last two remaining flying B-29s, describe flight after takeoff as being an urgent struggle for airspeed (generally, flight after takeoff should consist of striving for altitude). Radial engines need airflow to keep them cool, and failure to get up to speed as soon as possible could result in an engine failure and risk of fire. One useful technique was to check the magnetos while already on takeoff roll rather than during a conventional static engine-runup before takeoff.

In wartime, the B-29 was capable of flight at altitudes up to 31850 ft, at speeds of up to 350 mph (true airspeed). This was its best defense because Japanese fighters could barely reach that altitude, and few could catch the B-29 even if they did attain that altitude.

Defensive gun turret emplacements

The General Electric Central Fire Control system on the B-29 directed four remotely controlled turrets armed with two .50 Browning M2 machine guns each. All weapons were aimed optically, with targeting computed by analog electrical instrumentation. There were five interconnected sighting stations located in the nose and tail positions and three Plexiglas blisters in the central fuselage. Five General Electric analog computers (one dedicated to each sight) increased the weapons' accuracy by compensating for factors such as airspeed, lead, gravity, temperature and humidity. The computers also allowed a single gunner to operate two or more turrets (including tail guns) simultaneously. The gunner in the upper position acted as fire control officer, managing the distribution of turrets among the other gunners during combat. The tail position initially had two .50 Browning machine guns and a single M2 20 mm cannon. Later aircraft had the 20 mm cannon removed, sometimes replaced by a third machine gun.

In early 1945, Major General Curtis Lemay, commander of XXI Bomber Command—the Marianas-based B-29-equipped bombing force—ordered most of the defensive armament and remote-controlled sighting equipment removed from the B-29s under his command. The affected aircraft had the same reduced defensive firepower as the nuclear weapons-delivery intended Silverplate B-29 airframes and could carry greater fuel and bomb loads as a result of the change. The lighter defensive armament was made possible by a change in mission from high-altitude, daylight bombing with high explosive bombs to low-altitude night raids using incendiary bombs. As a consequence of that requirement, Bell Atlanta (BA) produced a series of 311 B-29Bs that had turrets and sighting equipment omitted, except for the tail position, which was fitted with AN/APG-15 fire-control radar. That version could also have an improved APQ-7 "Eagle" bombing-through-overcast radar fitted in an airfoil-shaped radome under the fuselage. Most of those aircraft were assigned to the 315th Bomb Wing, Northwest Field, Guam.

Pressurization
The crew would enjoy, for the first time in a bomber, full-pressurization comfort. This first-ever cabin pressure system for an Allied production bomber was developed for the B-29 by Garrett AiResearch. Both the forward and rear crew compartments were to be pressurized, but the designers had to decide whether to have bomb bays that were not pressurized or a fully pressurized fuselage that would have to be de-pressurized prior to opening the bomb bay doors. The solution was to have bomb bays that were not pressurized and a long tunnel joining the forward and rear crew compartments. Crews could use the tunnel if necessary to crawl from one pressurized compartment to the other.

World War II

In September 1941, the United States Army Air Forces' plans for war against Germany and Japan proposed basing the B-29 in Egypt for operations against Germany, as British airbases were likely to be overcrowded. Air Force planning throughout 1942 and early 1943 continued to have the B-29 deployed initially against Germany, transferring to the Pacific only after the end of the war in Europe. By the end of 1943, plans had changed, partly due to production delays, and the B-29 was dedicated to the Pacific Theater. A new plan implemented at the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a promise to China, called Operation Matterhorn, deployed the B-29 units to attack Japan from four forward bases in southern China, with five main bases in India, and to attack other targets in the region from China and India as needed. The Chengdu region was eventually chosen over the Guilin region to avoid having to raise, equip, and train 50 Chinese divisions to protect the advanced bases from Japanese ground attack. The XX Bomber Command, initially intended to be two combat wings of four groups each, was reduced to a single wing of four groups because of the lack of availability of aircraft, automatically limiting the effectiveness of any attacks from China.

This was an extremely costly scheme, as there was no overland connection available between India and China, and all supplies had to be flown over the Himalayas, either by transport aircraft or by B-29s themselves, with some aircraft being stripped of armor and guns and used to deliver fuel. B-29s started to arrive in India in early April 1944. The first B-29 flight to airfields in China (over the Himalayas, or "The Hump") took place on 24 April 1944. The first B-29 combat mission was flown on 5 June 1944, with 77 out of 98 B-29s launched from India bombing the railroad shops in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand. Five B-29s were lost during the mission, none to hostile fire.

Forward base in China
On 5 June 1944, B-29s raided Bangkok, in what is reported as a test before being deployed against the Japanese home islands. Sources do not report from where they launched and vary as to the numbers involved—77, 98, and 114 being claimed. Targets were Bangkok's Memorial Bridge and a major power plant. Bombs fell over two kilometers away, damaged no civilian structures, but destroyed some tram lines, and destroyed both a Japanese military hospital and the Japanese secret police headquarters. On 15 June 1944, 68 B-29s took off from bases around Chengdu, 47 B-29s bombed the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. This was the first attack on Japanese islands since the Doolittle raid in April 1942. The first B-29 combat losses occurred during this raid, with one B-29 destroyed on the ground by Japanese fighters after an emergency landing in China, one lost to anti-aircraft fire over Yawata, and another, the Stockett's Rocket (after Capt. Marvin M. Stockett, Aircraft Commander) B-29-1-BW 42-6261, disappeared after takeoff from Chakulia, India, over the Himalayas (12 KIA, 11 crew and one passenger). This raid, which did little damage to the target, with only one bomb striking the target factory complex, nearly exhausted fuel stocks at the Chengdu B-29 bases, resulting in a slow-down of operations until the fuel stockpiles could be replenished. Starting in July, the raids against Japan from Chinese airfields continued at relatively low intensity. Japan was bombed on:

 * 7 July 1944 (14 B-29s)
 * 29 July (70+)
 * 10 August (24)
 * 20 August (61)
 * 8 September (90)
 * 26 September (83)
 * 25 October (59)
 * 12 November (29)
 * 21 November (61)
 * 19 December (36)
 * 6 January 1945 (49)

B-29s were withdrawn from airfields in China by the end of January 1945. Throughout the prior period, B-29 raids were also launched from China and India against many other targets throughout Southeast Asia, including a series of raids on Singapore and Thailand. On 2 November 1944, 55 B-29s raided Bangkok's Bang Sue marshaling yards in the largest raid of the war. Seven RTAF Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusas from Foong Bin (Air Group) 16 and 14 IJAAF Ki-43s attempted intercept. RTAF Flt Lt Therdsak Worrasap attacked a B-29, damaging it, but was shot down by return fire. One B-29 was lost, possibly the one damaged by Flt Lt Therdsak. On 14 April 1945, a second B-29 raid on Bangkok destroyed two key power plants and was the last major attack conducted against Thai targets. The B-29 effort was gradually shifted to the new bases in the Mariana Islands in the Central Pacific, with the last B-29 combat mission from India flown on 29 March 1945.

New Mariana Islands air bases
In addition to the logistical problems associated with operations from China, the B-29 could reach only a limited part of Japan while flying from Chinese bases. The solution to this problem was to capture the Mariana Islands, which would bring targets such as Tokyo, about 1500 mi north of the Marianas within range of B-29 attacks. The Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed in December 1943 to seize the Marianas.

US forces invaded Saipan on 15 June 1944. Despite a Japanese naval counterattack which led to the Battle of the Philippine Sea and heavy fighting on land, Saipan was secured by 9 July. Operations followed against Guam and Tinian, with all three islands secured by August.

Naval construction battalions (Seabees) began at once to construct air bases suitable for the B-29, commencing even before the end of ground fighting. In all, five major airfields were built: two on the flat island of Tinian, one on Saipan, and two on Guam. Each was large enough to eventually accommodate a bomb wing consisting of four bomb groups, giving a total of 180 B-29s per airfield. These bases could be supplied by ship and, unlike the bases in China, were not vulnerable to attack by Japanese ground forces.

The bases became the launch sites for the large B-29 raids against Japan in the final year of the war. The first B-29 arrived on Saipan on 12 October 1944, and the first combat mission was launched from there on 28 October 1944, with 14 B-29s attacking the Truk atoll. The 73rd Bomb Wing launched the first mission against Japan from bases in the Marianas, on 24 November 1944, sending 111 B-29s to attack Tokyo. For this first attack on the Japanese capital since the Doolittle Raid in April 1942, 73rd Bomb Wing wing commander Brigadier General Emmett O'Donnell Jr. acted as mission command pilot in B-29 Dauntless Dotty.

The campaign of incendiary raids started with the bombardment of Kobe on 4 February 1945, then peaked early with the most destructive bombing raid in history (even when the later Silverplate-flown nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are considered) on the night of 9–10 March 1945 on Tokyo. From then on, the raids intensified, being launched regularly until the end of the war. The attacks succeeded in devastating most large Japanese cities (with the exception of Kyoto and four that were reserved for nuclear attacks), and gravely damaged Japan's war industries. Although less publicly appreciated, the mining of Japanese ports and shipping routes (Operation Starvation) carried out by B-29s from April 1945 reduced Japan's ability to support its population and move its troops.

The nuclear weapons
The most famous B-29s were the Silverplate series, being extensively modified to carry nuclear weapons. Early consideration was given to using the British Lancaster as a nuclear bomber, as this would require less modification. However, the superior range and high-altitude performance of the B-29 made it much a better choice, and after the B-29 began to be modified in November 1943 for carrying the atomic bomb, the suggestion for using the Lancaster never came up again.

The most significant modification was the enlargement of the bomb bay enabling each aircraft to carry either the Thinman or Fatman weapons. These Silverplate bombers differed from other B-29s then in service by having fuel injection and reversible props. Also, to make a lighter aircraft, the Silverplate B-29s were stripped of all guns, except for those on the tail. Pilot Charles Sweeney credits the reversible props for saving Bockscar after making an emergency landing on Okinawa following the Nagasaki bombing.

Enola Gay, flown by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped the first bomb, called Little Boy, on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Enola Gay is fully restored and on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, outside Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C. Bockscar, piloted by Major Charles W. Sweeney, dropped the second bomb, called Fat Man, on Nagasaki three days later. Bockscar is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Following the surrender of Japan, called V-J Day, B-29s were used for other purposes. A number supplied POWs with food and other necessities by dropping barrels of rations on Japanese POW camps. In September 1945, a long-distance flight was undertaken for public relations purposes: Generals Barney M. Giles, Curtis LeMay, and Emmett O'Donnell Jr. piloted three specially modified B-29s from Chitose Air Base in Hokkaidō to Chicago Municipal Airport, continuing to Washington, D.C., the farthest nonstop distance (6400 mi) to that date flown by U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft and the first-ever nonstop flight from Japan to Chicago. Two months later, Colonel Clarence S. Irvine commanded another modified B-29, Pacusan Dreamboat, in a world-record-breaking long-distance flight from Guam to Washington, D.C., traveling 7,916 mi in 35 hours, with a gross takeoff weight of 155000 lb. Almost a year later, in October 1946, the same B-29 flew 9422 mi nonstop from Oahu, Hawaii, to Cairo, Egypt, in less than 40 hours, demonstrating the possibility of routing airlines over the polar ice cap.

B-29s in Europe and Australia

Although considered for other theaters, and briefly evaluated in the UK, the B-29 was exclusively used in World War II in the Pacific Theatre. The use of YB-29-BW 41-36393, the so-named Hobo Queen, one of the service test aircraft flown around several British airfields in early 1944, was part of a "disinformation" program from its mention in an American-published Sternenbanner German-language propaganda leaflet from Leap Year Day in 1944, meant to be circulated within the Reich, with the intent to deceive the Germans into believing that the B-29 would be deployed to Europe.

American post-war military assistance programs loaned the RAF 87 Superfortresses, to equip eight RAF Bomber Command squadrons. The aircraft was known as the Washington B.1 in RAF service and served from March 1950 until the last bombers were returned in March 1954. Deployment was restricted to long-range training for strategic attacks against the Soviet Union, which was beyond the range of the RAF's Avro Lincolns. The phase-out was occasioned by deliveries of the English Electric Canberra bombers.

Three Washingtons modified for ELINT duties and a standard bomber version used for support by No. 192 Squadron RAF were decommissioned in 1958, being replaced by de Havilland Comet aircraft.

Two British Washington B.1 aircraft were transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1952. They were attached to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit and used in trials conducted on behalf of the British Ministry of Supply. Both aircraft were placed in storage in 1956 and were sold for scrap in 1957.

Soviet Tupolev Tu-4
At the end of WWII, Soviet development of modern four-engine heavy bombers lagged behind the west. The Petlyakov Pe-8—the sole heavy bomber operated by the Soviet Air Forces—first flew in 1936. Intended to replace the obsolete Tupolev TB-3, only 93 Pe-8s were built by the end of WWII. During 1944 and 1945, four B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory after bombing raids on Japanese Manchuria and Japan. In accordance with Soviet neutrality in the Pacific War, the bombers were interned by the Soviets despite American requests for their return. Rather than return the aircraft, the Soviets reverse engineered the American B-29s and used them as a pattern for the Tupolev Tu-4.

On 31 July 1944, Ramp Tramp (serial number 42-6256), of the United States Army Air Forces 462nd (Very Heavy) Bomb Group was diverted to Vladivostok, Russia, after an engine failed and the propeller could not be feathered. This B-29 was part of a 100-aircraft raid against the Japanese Showa steel mill in Anshan, Manchuria. On 20 August 1944, Cait Paomat (42-93829), flying from Chengdu, was damaged by anti-aircraft gunfire during a raid on the Yawata Iron Works. Due to the damage it sustained, the crew elected to divert to the Soviet Union. The aircraft crashed in the foothills of Sikhote-Alin mountain range east of Khabarovsk after the crew bailed out.

On 11 November 1944, during a night raid on Omura in Kyushu, Japan, the General H. H. Arnold Special (42-6365) was damaged and forced to divert to Vladivostok in the Soviet Union. The crew was interned. On 21 November 1944, Ding Hao (42-6358) was damaged during a raid on an aircraft factory at Omura and was also forced to divert to Vladivostok.

The interned crews of these four B-29s were allowed to escape into American-occupied Iran in January 1945, but none of the B-29s were returned after Stalin ordered the Tupolev OKB to examine and copy the B-29 and produce a design ready for quantity production as soon as possible.

Because aluminum in the USSR was supplied in different gauges from that available in the US (metric vs imperial), the entire aircraft had to be extensively re-engineered. In addition, Tupolev substituted his own favored airfoil sections for those used by Boeing, with the Soviets themselves already having their own Wright R-1820-derived 18 cylinder radial engine, the Shvetsov ASh-73 of comparable power and displacement to the B-29's Duplex Cyclone radials available to power their design. In 1947, the Soviets debuted both the Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO ASCC code named Bull), and the Tupolev Tu-70 transport variant. The Soviets used tail-gunner positions similar to the B-29 in many later bombers and transports.

Transition to USAF
Production of the B-29 was phased out after WWII, with the last example completed by Boeing's Renton factory on 28 May 1946. Many aircraft went into storage, being declared excess inventory, and were ultimately scrapped as surplus. Others remained in the active inventory and equipped the Strategic Air Command when it formed on 21 March 1946. In particular, the "Silverplate" modified aircraft of the 509th Composite Group remained the only aircraft capable of delivering the atomic bomb, and so the unit was involved in the Operation Crossroads series of tests, with B-29 Dave's Dream dropping a "Fat Man"-type bomb in Test Able on 1 July 1946.

Some B-29s, fitted with filtered air sampling scoops, were used to monitor above-ground nuclear weapons testing by the US and the USSR by sampling airborne radioactive contamination. The USAF also used the aircraft for long-range weather reconnaissance (WB-29), for signals intelligence gathering (EB-29) and photographic reconnaissance (RB-29).

Korean War and postwar service

The B-29 was used in 1950–53 in the Korean War. At first, the bomber was used in normal strategic day-bombing missions, although North Korea's few strategic targets and industries were quickly destroyed. More importantly, in 1950 numbers of Soviet MiG-15 jet fighters appeared over Korea, and after the loss of 28 aircraft, future B-29 raids were restricted to night missions, largely in a supply-interdiction role.

The B-29 dropped the 1000 lb VB-3 "Razon" (a range-controllable version of the earlier Azon guided ordnance device) and the 12000 lb VB-13 "Tarzon" MCLOS radio-controlled bombs in Korea, mostly for demolishing major bridges, like the ones across the Yalu River, and for attacks on dams. The aircraft also was used for numerous leaflet drops in North Korea, such as those for Operation Moolah.

A Superfortress of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron flew the last B-29 mission of the war on 27 July 1953.

Over the course of the war, B-29s flew 20,000 sorties and dropped 200,000 tonnes (220,000 tons) of bombs. B-29 gunners were credited with shooting down 27 enemy aircraft. In turn 78 B-29s were lost; 57 B-29 and reconnaissance variants were lost in action and 21 were non-combat losses.

Soviet records show that one MiG-15 jet fighter was shot down by a B-29 during the war. This occurred on 6 December 1950, when a B-29 shot down Lieutenant N. Serikov.

With the arrival of the mammoth Convair B-36, the B-29 was reclassified as a medium bomber by the Air Force. The later B-50 Superfortress variant (initially designated B-29D) was able to handle auxiliary roles such as air-sea rescue, electronic intelligence gathering, air-to-air refueling, and weather reconnaissance.

The B-50D was replaced in its primary role during the early 1950s by the Boeing B-47 Stratojet, which in turn was replaced by the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. The final active-duty KB-50 and WB-50 variants were phased out in the mid-1960s, with the final example retired in 1965. A total of 3,970 B-29s were built.

Variants
The variants of the B-29 were outwardly similar in appearance but were built around different wing center sections that affected the wingspan dimensions. The wing of the Renton-built B-29A-BN used a different subassembly process and was a foot longer in span. The Georgia-built B-29B-BA weighed less through armament reduction. A planned C series with more reliable R-3350s was not built.

Moreover, engine packages changed, including the type of propellers and range of the variable pitch. A notable example was the eventual 65 airframes (up to 1947's end) for the Silverplate and successor-name "Saddletree" specifications built for the Manhattan Project with Curtiss Electric reversible pitch propellers.

The other differences came through added equipment for varied mission roles. These roles included cargo carriers (CB); rescue aircraft (SB); weather ships (WB); and trainers (TB); and aerial tankers (KB).

Some were used for odd purposes such as flying relay television transmitters under the name of Stratovision.

The B-29D led progressively to the XB-44, and the family of B-50 Superfortress (which was powered by four 3500 hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360-35 Wasp Major engines).

Another role was as a mothership. This included being rigged for carrying the experimental parasite fighter aircraft, such as the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin and Republic F-84 Thunderjets as in flight lock on and offs. It was also used to develop the Airborne Early Warning program; it was the ancestor of various modern radar picket aircraft. A B-29 with the original Wright Duplex Cyclone powerplants was used to air-launch the Bell X-1 supersonic research rocket aircraft, as well as Cherokee rockets for the testing of ejection seats.

Some B-29s were modified to act as testbeds for various new systems or special conditions, including fire-control systems, cold-weather operations, and various armament configurations. Several converted B-29s were used to experiment with aerial refueling and re-designated as KB-29s. Perhaps the most important tests were conducted by the XB-29G. It carried prototype jet engines in its bomb bay, and lowered them into the air stream to conduct measurements.

Operators

 * Royal Australian Air Force (two former RAF aircraft for trials)
 * Royal Air Force (87 loaned from the USAF as the Washington B.1)
 * 🇺🇸 United States
 * United States Army Air Forces
 * United States Air Force
 * United States Navy (four former USAF aircraft designated as P2B patrol bombers)
 * undefined
 * Soviet Air Forces (three USAAF B-29s made emergency landings in the USSR during WWII, and were never returned; they were reverse-engineered to make the Soviet Tupolev Tu-4 "Bull" bomber.)
 * undefined
 * Soviet Air Forces (three USAAF B-29s made emergency landings in the USSR during WWII, and were never returned; they were reverse-engineered to make the Soviet Tupolev Tu-4 "Bull" bomber.)

Surviving aircraft
Twenty-two B-29s are preserved at various museums worldwide, including two flying examples; FIFI, which belongs to the Commemorative Air Force, and Doc, which belongs to Doc's Friends. Doc made its first flight in 60 years from Wichita, Kansas, on 17 July 2016. The public is being invited to inspect and take a short paid flight in Doc and Fifi at various venues. There are also four complete airframes either in storage or under restoration, eight partial airframes in storage or under restoration, and four known wreck sites.

Three of the Silverplate B-29s modified to drop nuclear bombs survive. The Enola Gay (nose number 82), which dropped the first atomic bomb, was fully restored and placed on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air & Space Museum near Washington Dulles International Airport in 2003. The B-29 that dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki, Bockscar (nose number 77), is restored and on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. The third is the 15th Silverplate to be delivered, on the last day of the war in the Pacific. It is on display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico, posed with a replica of the Mark-3 "Fat Man" nuclear bomb.

Only two of the 22 museum aircraft are outside the United States: It's Hawg Wild at the Imperial War Museum Duxford and another at the KAI Aerospace Museum in Sachon, South Korea.

Accidents and incidents

Accidents and incidents involving B-29s include:
 * The Friday evening of 10 November 1944 crash of a B-29 near Clovis, New Mexico. All 15 members of the crew were killed.
 * 12 June 1946 a B-29 crashed into Clingmans Dome in Tennessee killing the entire crew of twelve.
 * The 1947 crash of the Kee Bird in Greenland during a flight to the geographic North Pole, and its subsequent destruction in 1995 during a recovery attempt.
 * The 1948 Waycross B-29 crash, which resulted in the United States v. Reynolds lawsuit regarding state secrets privilege
 * The 1948 Lake Mead Boeing B-29 crash.
 * The 3 November 1948 crash at Bleaklow moor near Glossop, Derbyshire, England. All 13 crew on board were killed. Much of the wreckage is still exposed and can be reached by a 2 mile walk from the summit of Snake Pass, starting along the Pennine Way footpath through Devil's Dyke.
 * On 11 April 1950 a B-29 departed Kirtland Air Force Base at 9:38 PM and crashed into a mountain on Manzano Base approximately three minutes later, killing the crew. Detonators were installed in the nuclear bomb on the aircraft. The bomb case was demolished and some high-explosive (HE) material burned in the gasoline fire. Other pieces of unburned HE were scattered throughout the wreckage. Four spare detonators in their carrying case were recovered undamaged. There were no contamination or recovery problems. The recovered components were returned to the Atomic Energy Commission. Both the weapon and the capsule of nuclear material were on board the aircraft but the capsule was not inserted in the bomb for safety reasons, so a nuclear detonation was not possible.
 * On 5 August 1950 a bomb-laden B-29 Superfortress crashed into a residential area in California; 17 were killed and 68 injured
 * The 1953 "Tip Tow" crash, Peconic Bay, New York State.

title: Boeing B-29 Superfortress


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Mexican hip hop

Mexican hip hop is a form of hip hop music from Mexico, performed by Mexican artists and artists of Mexican descent. The growth of hip hop as a genre has led to various adaptations of it depending on a region and language.

Mexican hip hop is different from Chicano rap. Chicano rap is a subgenre of hip hop and tied more to Chicano and Mexican American experiences.

History
Hip hop originated from the Bronx, New York and as it become a sensation it grew to other parts of the world. The hip-hop movement reached Mexico around the 1990s with the emergence of the group Control Machete and it has evolved to spanning more artists like Cartel de Santa, Gera MX, El Pinche Mara, Natanael Cano, and many more.

title: Mexican hip hop


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Old-school hip hop

Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) (also known as disco-rap) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.

The image, styles and sounds of old-school hip hop were exemplified by figures like Disco King Mario, DJ Hollywood, Grandmaster Flowers, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Treacherous Three, Funky Four Plus One, Kurtis Blow, The Sugarhill Gang, Melle Mel, Super-Wolf, West Street Mob, Spoonie Gee, Kool Moe Dee, Busy Bee Starski, Lovebug Starski, The Cold Crush Brothers, Warp 9, T-Ski Valley, Grandmaster Caz, Doug E. Fresh, The Sequence, Jazzy Jay, Crash Crew, Rock Steady Crew, and Fab Five Freddy, Run DMC.

It is characterized by the more straightforward rapping techniques of the time and the general focus on party-related subject matter. The lyrics were usually not a very important part of old-school rap songs, but always included shoutouts to the artists native New York City borough. Rap also emphasized the fashion of the time, whether it be Addidas, Kangol, Lee jeans, or the popular "Sheep dog" coats. Run, D.M. Further, Brother D's "How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise?" and Kurtis Blow's "Hard Times" (both released in 1980), explored socially relevant ideas. The release of "The Message" in 1982, written by Duke Bootee and Melle Mel and credited to Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, marked the arrival of hip hop as social commentary, making it possible for future artists like Public Enemy and N.W.A to create an identity based on socially conscious themes in later years. Fun rhymes, like the "Birthday Song" and "It's the Joint" rocked the airwaves. Old-school rappers are widely respected by current hip hop artists and fans, with many claiming they have contributed to the evolution of hip hop.

Musical characteristics and themes
Old-school hip hop is noted for its relatively simple rapping techniques, compared to later hip hop music. Artists such as Melle Mel would use few syllables per bar of music, with simple rhythms and a moderate tempo.

Much of the subject matter of old-school hip-hop centers around partying and having a good time. In the book How to Rap, Immortal Technique explains how party content played a big part in old-school hip hop: "hip-hop was born in an era of social turmoil... in the same way that slaves used to sing songs on a plantation... that's the party songs that we used to have".

Battle rap was also a part of the old-school hip-hop aesthetic. While discussing battle rapping, Esoteric said, "a lot of my stuff stems from old school hip-hop, braggadocio ethic". A famous old-school hip-hop battle occurred in December 1981, when Kool Moe Dee challenged Busy Bee Starski. Busy Bee Starski's defeat by the more complex raps of Kool Moe Dee meant that "no longer was an MC just a crowd-pleasing comedian with a slick tongue; he was a commentator and a storyteller". in the documentary Beef, KRS-One also credits this as creating a shift in rapping.

Sci-fi/Afrofuturism was another theme introduced into hip hop. The release of Planet Rock in 1982 was a game-changer, like "a light being switched on." The combination of electronic percussive propulsion and Afrika Bambaataa's rap sounded like "an orchestra being rocketed into outer space." "Light Years Away", by Warp 9 (1983), produced and written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher, explored social commentary from a sci-fi perspective. A "cornerstone of early 80's beatbox afrofuturism", "Light Years Away" is characterized as "a brilliantly spare and sparse piece of electro hip-hop traversing inner and outer space."

Freestyle rap during hip hop's old-school era was defined differently than today. Kool Moe Dee refers to this earlier definition in his book There's a God on the Mic: "There are two types of freestyle. There's an old-school freestyle that's basically rhymes that you've written that may not have anything to do with any subject or that goes all over the place. Then there's freestyle where you come off the top of the head". This is in contrast to the more recent definition which usually defines freestyle rap as "improvisational rap like a jazz solo". In old-school hip hop, Kool Moe Dee says that improvisational rapping was instead called "coming off the top of the head".

Old-school hip hop often sampled disco and funk tracks, such as "Good Times" by Chic, when performed live in the 1970s. Recorded hip hop (such as Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight") would use a live band to do covers of the famous breaks from the 1970s block parties. However, after "Planet Rock", electro-funk (the electronic Roland TR-808 drum machine recreation of the original 1970s breakbeat sound from the now infamous block parties) became the staple production technique between 1982 and 1986 (the invention of the sampler later in the 80s and Eric B. & Rakim's "Eric B. Is President" brought the original 1970s breakbeat sound back to hip hop, referred to today as the "boom bap" sound). The use of extended percussion breaks led to the development of mixing and scratching techniques. Scratching was pioneered by Grand Wizard Theodore in 1975, and the technique was further developed by other prominent DJs, such as Grandmaster Flash. One example is "Adventures on the Wheels of Steel", which was composed entirely by Flash on the turntables.

Quincy Jones was an influential figure in hip-hop as a record producer for Mercury Records, and eventually became its vice president, which made him popular in hip-hop culture. He went on to publish Vibe magazine, which became a cornerstone in hip-hop history.

History
Old-school hip-hop typically refers to music created around 1980; however, the term may also be applied to music before this with hip-hop styles. "Here Comes the Judge" (1968) by Pigmeat Markham is often referred to as "old-school hip hop".

title: Old-school hip hop