History question time: What was the most expensive project of WWII?

[BrunoPuntzJones]

So, what was the most expensive project/operation/expenditure of WWII?

 

[her209]

Manhattan Project?

 

[cavemanmoron]

http://www.acepilots.com/planes/b29.html


What was the most expensive military project of World War Two? ... It wasn't the atom bomb (the Manhattan Project). It was the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Cost? $3 billion, the most expensive weapon of World War II. Only used in the Pacific, to rain both conventional and atomic destruction on Japan's cities, the B-29 surely justified the cost of its development.



Development
As early as 1934, Boeing began working on several prototypes (Model 322, 333A, 333B, 334A, and 341) with features that ultimately came together in the B-29, among them: a pressurized cabin, tricycle landing gear, long range under heavy bomb loads, etc.. As the war in Europe boiled, the Army issued a specification for the Very Long Range (VLR) "superbomber" in January 1940. It called for a speed of 400 MPH, a 5333 mile range, and a bomb load of 2000 pounds delivered at 2666 miles. With the work it had been doing, Boeing was at an advantage over the other competitors: Consolidated, Douglas, and Lockheed.

Even before the prototype was built, the Army ordered a second one, and then in the wake of Pearl Harbor, ordered a thousand more. Boeing dedicated its Renton factory to the B-29; the Glenn Martin Company started production in Omaha.

Model 345

 

[Kalvin00]

Yes, it was the B-29.

I used the same page cavemanmoron posted for a project I did last year

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

You're no fun

You could also add in the cost of the B32 which was required to still be on deck and flyable in case the B29 didn't plan out. So basically had 2 planes out of one project. Both being long range bombers, and both able to carry a nuke in the later years. IIRC only like 15 B32s were ever made.

 

[Kadarin]

I wonder how much the Germans spent on the V-1/V-2 projects, and also on the Gustav (largest artillery gun ever built)..

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
You're no fun

You could also add in the cost of the B32 which was required to still be on deck and flyable in case the B29 didn't plan out. So basically had 2 planes out of one project. Both being long range bombers, and both able to carry a nuke in the later years. IIRC only like 15 B32s were ever made.

Wasn't the B-32 that monster that had 6 props and 4 jets?

 

[Spoooon]

How about someone adjust that for inflation for us? Or is it already?

Either way, you would think that the article would say.

45-21763, Kee Bird - abandoned after landing frozen lake in Greenland, during to recover, caught fire and burned May 21, 1995. Check out PBS Nova episode about the efforts to recover Kee Bird.

I saw that special. One of the engineers died from an injury sustained during the failed recovery. It was odd how sad it was watching the Kee Bird burn to pieces.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Yeah I saw that PBS episode, that sucked

There was a site that had them in 1996 numbers. Manhattan project at around 1.8B then would have been over 20B in 1996. B29 at 3B would have been about 35B

 

[IamElectro]

What about the Maginot line built by the french it cost about 7 billion Francs when built between 1929-1940.

 

[ElFenix]

don't forget the cost to the russians to tear one apart and duplicate it 500 times (fixes and patches and all )

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
You're no fun

You could also add in the cost of the B32 which was required to still be on deck and flyable in case the B29 didn't plan out. So basically had 2 planes out of one project. Both being long range bombers, and both able to carry a nuke in the later years. IIRC only like 15 B32s were ever made.

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wwii/cp28.htm

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wwii/cp28.htm

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b3-62.htm

Forty trainer versions for the B-32 were ordered in 1942 as TB-32. The primary use of the aircraft was for transition training of flight crews and maintenance personnel. Since the Army planned to begin phasing the B-24 out, most of the new B-32 crews were already qualified in the Liberator and only needed a 60 day transition training course. Although the training program was starting in October 1944 at Fort Worth Army Air Field, a shortage of aircraft, parts and personnel delayed full scale implementation until the following spring.

Because the entire B-32 program was in danger of being canceled (several times), the transition training didn't have a high priority until General Kenney (5th AF Commander) convinced the Army General Staff to allow a combat test of the Dominator. However, plans for crew training were frequently changed which slowed progress. Some serious problems with the aircraft also hampered crew training, for example, a series of landing gear failures led to the entire fleet of B-32s being grounded for most of May 1945. Like the early B-29s, the B-32 was vulnerable to engine fires which also impeded the progress of training while fixes were devised and implemented.

The TB-32 was essentially a production B-32 with all offensive and defensive armament removed. Interior equipment; particularly fire control and bombing equipment, not essential for the training mission was also removed. All TB-32s were scrapped in years following WWII, not a single B-32 of any kind survives today.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: TheBoyBlunder

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
You're no fun

You could also add in the cost of the B32 which was required to still be on deck and flyable in case the B29 didn't plan out. So basically had 2 planes out of one project. Both being long range bombers, and both able to carry a nuke in the later years. IIRC only like 15 B32s were ever made.

Wasn't the B-32 that monster that had 6 props and 4 jets?

nope

 

[GasX]

The Autobahn

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: TheBoyBlunder

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
You're no fun

You could also add in the cost of the B32 which was required to still be on deck and flyable in case the B29 didn't plan out. So basically had 2 planes out of one project. Both being long range bombers, and both able to carry a nuke in the later years. IIRC only like 15 B32s were ever made.

Wasn't the B-32 that monster that had 6 props and 4 jets?

That was the B36 Peacemaker



Pic

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: TheBoyBlunder

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
You're no fun

You could also add in the cost of the B32 which was required to still be on deck and flyable in case the B29 didn't plan out. So basically had 2 planes out of one project. Both being long range bombers, and both able to carry a nuke in the later years. IIRC only like 15 B32s were ever made.

Wasn't the B-32 that monster that had 6 props and 4 jets?

nope

B-36 is the 6 props, 4 jet engine bomber

 

[ElFenix]

i like this pic
thats a B-36. the "little" plane is a B-29


another good pic

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: Bootprint

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: TheBoyBlunder

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
You're no fun

You could also add in the cost of the B32 which was required to still be on deck and flyable in case the B29 didn't plan out. So basically had 2 planes out of one project. Both being long range bombers, and both able to carry a nuke in the later years. IIRC only like 15 B32s were ever made.

Wasn't the B-32 that monster that had 6 props and 4 jets?

nope

B-36 is the 6 props, 4 jet engine bomber

http://www.elite.net/castle-air/b36.htm

The wing span of the B-36 is 230 feet and mounted on these wings are six propeller engines and four turbojet engines. This led to the phrase " six turning and four burning " used by the aircrews who flew the Peacemaker. The B-36 carried a crew of 16 (22 in the reconnaissance version), who took turns flying the aircraft on its long missions.


Castle Air Museum is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, adjacent to Castle Airport. Driving time is approximately one hour from Fresno, two hours from Sacramento, and three hours from San Francisco.

Take Highway 99 to the Buhach Road Exit. Proceed on Buhach Road to Santa Fe Avenue and turn left onto Santa Fe Avenue. The Museum entrance is approximately 100 yards on the right.