B-29 Units of World War II Review

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(More customer reviews)Noted aviation historian Robert Dorr summarizes the WWII combat career of Boeing's 'heavy hauler' in this 2002 Osprey Publishing release, #33 in their 'Combat Aircraft' series. Though the B-29 didn't enter combat until the spring of 1944, it played a decisive role in the defeat of Japan, firebombing its cities and mauling its shipping through mining. Dorr's book provides comprehensive coverage of the B-29 wings that forced Japan to its knees.
Aftre summarizing the sometimes troubled development of the B-29, Dorr details events in 1944, when the first B-29 attacks were launched from Chinese bases, and 1945, when the Superforts flew from Pacific Islands. Aircraft problems and faulty tactics were both eventually resolved, 20th AF bomb groups soon laying waste to city after city. Though Superfort missions to Japan didn't suffer the horrendous losses 8th AF crews experienced over Germany, the B-29s had their share of hard missions, losing a fair number of aircraft to ramming attacks by IJAF and IJN fliers.
Dorr does a workmanlike job of summarizing the exploits of the various CBI/PTO bomb groups - the 40th, 6th, 9th, 444th, 462nd, 468th, 497th, etc. - but this is one Osprey publication that could have benefitted from extra pages. B-29 SUPERFORTRESS UNITS OF WORLD WAR 2 is a good overview of B-29 ops but there's an awful lot of Superfort history left over that couldn't fit into the book's 80-page limit.
Along with over 70 photos, the book features 16 pages of Mark Styling color artwork including three pages of close-up nose art.
All in all, Dorr's book is a comprehensive, nicely illustrated volume on the career of a mighty warbird...could have used some extra pages but that's just me. Recommended.

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The ultimate piston-engined heavy bomber of World War 2, the first production B-29s were delivered to the 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing in the autumn of 1943. By the spring of 1944 the Superfortress was bombing targets in the Pacific, and by war’s end the aircraft had played as great a part as any weapon in ending the conflict with the Japanese. Indeed, the final dropping of two atomic bombs from the B-29 convinced the Japanese to sue for peace. This book traces the wartime career of the B-29, as the aircraft went from strength to strength in the Pacific Theatre.

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