When the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, it was delivered by a Boeing B-29 Superfortress named the Enola Gay. Strangely, the development of the airplane cost way more than the entire Manhattan Project that gave us the bomb. That's because the B-29 bomber was so different from planes that came before.
Modern long distance air travel is a matter of enduring hours in a crowded fuselage. But at the beginning of World War II, bomber crews flying at 30,000 feet had to wear oxygen masks and heated suits to survive at that altitude. The US needed a long-range bomber to reach the Asian theater and cover the great distances from our Pacific bases to Japan and other targets. That meant developing a pressurized cabin to mitigate the dangers of high-altitude flight. Other innovations in the B-29 included remote control bombing and three-point landing gear. While these features seem commonsense today, starting from scratch and getting them to work at wartime speed involved four factories, thousands of workers, and competition between companies and engineers. Read the story of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress that laid the groundwork for modern airlines at BBC Future. -via Damn Interesting
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