Second Air Force wrote:
That B-29-55-MO is a special machine--notice the "Andy Gump" engine cowling and nacelle modifications, and the trusses for carrying the X-7/XQ-5 missile.
Great photos!
Scott
This is a general bump to see if anymore information turns up on that B-29. I found the following; but unfortunately not much more than what Scott has already said.
From the X-planes website:
http://www.ais.org/~schnars/aero/x-planes.htm]
Lockheed ADP X-7, Model L-171-2, project MX-883, ramjet test vehicle, unmanned
===============================================================================
7 X-7A-LD 55-3167 / 3173 originally designated X-7-LD, redesignated
X-7A-1-LD, first flight 04/26/1951 over the
White Sands Missile Range, near Alamogordo,
NM;
8 X-7A-LD 56-4045 / 4052 redesignated X-7A-1-LD;
13 X-7A-LD 57-6295 / 6307 redesignated X-7A-1-LD;
? X-7A-3-LD ?
5 X-7B-LD ? twelve test flights;
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related designs: Others were used as target drones with the designation
XQ-5-LD Kingfisher (aka WS-427L, redesignated AQM-60A in
1962) only two serials (56-4054 and 58-1025) are known.
All together (X-7 and Q-5) 61 missiles were built, and
used for about 130 flights, most launched from one of
the following carrier aircraft: B-29B-60-BO, serial
'44-84073', B-29-55-BO, serial '44-86402', JTB-50D-80-BO,
serial '48-0068', and maybe another B-50, but about 6
were ground launches. At least 8 X-7s and Q-5s still
exist[/quote]
[quote="http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1944_6.html wrote:
And from Baugher's website:
http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1944_6.html86402 used as mothership for X-7/XQ-5 programs. Reported early 1970s
to be at Aircraft Industries Museum, Louisville, KY
44-84073 Bell-Atlanta B-29B-60-BA Superfortress
Used as mothership for X-7/XQ-5 programs
1. E-mail from John Withers on 41-10571, 44-47519, 44-84073,
44-86402, 46-002, 46-011, 46-687/8, 48-068, 48-069, 48-209, 49-879, 50-509, 59-1838, 51-2848, 52-5528, 53-399, 56-766, 63-8372, 82-0003, 83-1120. Plus more A-30 RAF/USAAF serial tieups
So evidently, two B-29's were modified to carry the X-7 and XQ-5's, plus possibly a B-50. If anyone had a photo of the other B-29; B-29B-60-BO, serial 44-84073 it would allow us to compare the two to determine:
1. Did the modification package include updating the engines also; or was that unique to 86402? Did the Martin Omaha B-29's use the Boeing Wichita wing join style at bodyline zero, or the Renton B-29A style which bolted the wing halves to a wing box? If it was the Renton style wing, then possibly the modification could have been a B-50 wing swap. The sole B-29D/XB-44 used these engines, but that was B-29A-5-BN 42-93845.
2. Was the tail cone consistent with both aircraft? It looks very much like the tail cone on the B-50's modified for the three hose and drogue refueling. More B-50 parts. Was 402 a composite of a B-29 and a junk B-50? Was there a purpose for the tail cone on the X-7?
3. What happened to the Aircraft Industries Museum in Louisville, KY? Is it still there? Not easy to find on the web. Was 86402 scrapped sometime after 1973, or does this exist as a display somewhere? The world wonders.
Funny they would have scrapped one when others were recovering B-29's out of Aberdeen.