It is time to resurrect this thread with some recent findings to prove the identification of the “Silver” B-29 tail in my collection.
The purpose of this thread was to document and identify the B-29 Tail Enclosure Unit Numbers to prove that they can be used to identify the history of the exact B-29 that they went to. The findings in this thread have been very fun to unravel and it has proven that the Assembly (part) number and Unit Number do in fact directly correlate to linear production of the tail enclosure at the two Boeing B-29 Factories. The the UNIT NUMBER is in fact the linear production number of the B-29 Tail Assembly.
First, I have to document some known data, before I come to the conclusion of my recent findings.
1119 B-29A's were built at Boeing's plant at Renton, Washington
They were:
C/N 7231 B-29A-1-BN 42-93824 to C/N 7250 B-29A-1-BN 42-93843 = 20 aircraft
C/N 7251 B-29A-5-BN 42-93844 to 7280 B-29A-5-BN 42-93873 = 30 aircraft
C/N 7281 B-29A-10-BN 42-93874 to C/N 7330 B-29A-10-BN 42-93923 = 50 aircraft
C/N 7331 B-29A-15-BN 42-93924 to C/N 7380 B-29A-15-BN 42-93973 = 50 aircraft
C/N 7381 B-29A-20-BN 42-93974 to C/N 7430 B-29A-20-BN 42-94023 = 50 aircraft
C/N 7431 B-29A-25-BN 42-94024 to C/N 7480 B-29A-25-BN 42-94073 = 50 aircraft
C/N 7481 B-29A-30-BN 42-94074 to C/N 7530 B-29A-30-BN 42-94123 = 50 aircraft
C/N 10987 B-29A-35-BN 44-61510 to C/N 11086 B-29A-35-BN 44-61609 = 100 aircraft
C/N 11087 B-29A-40-BN 44-61610 to C/N 11186 B-29A-40-BN 44-61709 = 100 aircraft
C/N 11187 B-29A-45-BN 44-61710 to C/N 11286 B-29A-45-BN 44-61809 = 100 aircraft
C/N 11287 B-29A-50-BN 44-61810 to C/N 11386 B-29A-50-BN 44-61909 = 100 aircraft
C/N 11387 B-29A-55-BN 44-61910 to C/N 11486 B-29A-55-BN 44-62009 = 100 aircraft
C/N 11487 B-29A-60-BN 44-62010 to C/N 11586 B-29A-60-BN 44-62109 = 100 aircraft
C/N 11587 B-29A-65-BN 44-62110 to C/N 11686 B-29A-65-BN 44-62209 = 100 aircraft
C/N 11687 B-29A-70-BN 44-62210 to C/N 11805 B-29A-70-BN 44-62328 = 119 aircraft
Tail Enclosure Part Number 3-14335-10 was used on:
C/N 7231 B-29A-1-BN 42-93824 to C/N 7250 B-29A-1-BN 42-93843 = 20 Aircraft
C/N 7251 B-29A-5-BN 42-93844 to C/N 7280 B-29A-5-BN 42-93873 = 30 Aircraft
Tail Enclosure Part Number 3-14335-12 was used on:
C/N 7281 B-29A-10-BN 42-93874 to C/N unknown end number
Tail Enclosure Part ASSY 3-14335-13 UNIT 813 was found on B-29A-60-BN 44-62022 “Peachy”, Craft Number 11499 (Pueblo Weibrod Aircraft Museum, Colorado). This was the 813th linearly produced B-29A Boeing, Renton Washington.
So now for the conclusion: The “Silver” Tail Enclosure in my collection is marked: ASSY 3-14335-13 UNIT 998, with all of these finding in this thread, this tail should have been built in the last part of the Boeing, Renton Production Block 65. I had the aircraft data card pulled from the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB, Alabama for C/N 11685 B-29A-65-BN 44-62208 the 999th B-29A produced at Boeing, Renton - which fit closely to which aircraft could have come from. And this is the service history of the aircraft:
Manufactured by Boeing Aircraft, Renton WA, accepted August 31st 1945 and delivered to the USAAF on September 4th 1945.
Sep 1945 - To Oklahoma Air Depot, Tinker AAF OK
Oct 1945 - To 488th AAF Base Unit (Fourth Air Force), Chico AAF CA
Jan 1946 - To 482nd AAFBU (4th AF), Merced AAF CA
Mar 1946 - To 4136th AAFBU (Air Materiel Command), Hill AAF UT (storage)
Oct 1947 - To 92nd Bombardment Group [Very Heavy] (Strategic Air Command), Spokane AFB WA
Aug 1948 - To 92nd Bombardment Wing [Medium] (SAC), Spokane AFB (deployments to Yokota AB Japan and Kadena AB Japan)
Jun 1951 - To 92nd Bombardment Wing [M] (SAC), Fairchild AFB WA
Jul 1952 - To 106th Bombardment Wing [M] (SAC), March AFB CA
Dec 1952 - To 320th Bombardment Wing [M] (SAC), March AFB
May 1953 - To 307th Bombardment Wing [M] (Far East Air Forces), Kadena AB
Nov 1954 - To 3040th Aircraft Storage Depot (AMC), Davis-Monthan AFB AZ
Apr 1955 - To AMC, Nashville TN and to TB-29AJul 1955 - To 15th Tow Target Squadron (Alaskan Air Command), Elmendorf AFB AK
Oct 1955 - To Oklahoma City Air Materiel Area, Tinker AFB OK
Jan 1956 - To 3510th Combat Crew Training Wing (Air Training Command), Randolph AFB TX (deployment to Tyndall AFB FL)
Nov 1956 - Dropped from inventory by transfer to US Navy
I now comfortably believe that this “Silver” tail belongs to B-29A-65-BN 44-62208 “Miss Liberty Belle”, which saw service in the Korean War with the 92nd Bomb Group, 326th Bomb Squadron, 307th Bomb Wing and was converted to a TB-29A in April 1955 with final disposition by the U.S. Navy in November 1956.
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Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
B-29 42-24791 "Big Time Operator"
C-47A 43-15137 "7H" Normandy/Holland Vet
SNJ-5B S/N 84947
UC-45F 43-35764 Cockpit
PT-26A 42-71104
LNE-1 S/N 31556
CG-15A Cockpit
CG-4A Cockpit (x2) and fuselage
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