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defeat of Japan. Japan had been gearing for war since 1928 and had an industrial infrastructure three times the size of Germany's. Their steel production capacity had doubled since the attack on Pearl Harbor alone and their armed forces had tripled in size to five million under arms. In addition, Japan possessed the world's third largest merchant fleet with new ships being built continuously. Though the Pacific Islands were separated by great distances, Roosevelt brought to the allied discussions a weapon capable of hindering Japan's industrial might; the B-29 Superfortress. Though there were only eleven B-29's in existence at the time of the talks, Roosevelt promised hundreds more. This promise was made possible by the revolutionary construction of the aircraft. Boeing used assembly lines to construct the aircraft in pieces that could later be fitted together. All together, the B-29 contained over 55,000 numbered parts, thousands of miles of wiring and more than 1,000,000 rivets. By December of 1943, only four months after the allied conference, thirty five superfortresses had come of the assembly line and by January that number had risen to an astonishing one hundred and forty two. The B-29 was the first true "systems" aircraft. It's turrets were all controlled by a central fire control system and radar was integrated as a navigation and bombing aid. The super fortress was also the first aircraft to utilize a pressurized cabin allowing it to fly higher than any previous aircraft. Weighing in at 135,000 pounds fully loaded and capable of speeds exceeding 350 miles per hour, the B-29 was the fastest, heaviest and longest ranged bomber of the war. |
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