B-29 Over Cliff Take-Off

Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from the author’s memoir A Pilot’s View.  Illustration and pictures added to compliment his writing.

I INITIATED THE UNUSUAL TAKE-OFF PROCEDURE OF DRIVING OUR B-29 BOMBER OVER THE EDGE OF THE 80 FOOT CLIFF WHICH TERMINATED OUR TINIAN ISLAND RUNWAY BEFORE CLIMB OUT

During the War with Japan in 1945, I initiated the unusual take-off procedure of driving our B-29 bomber over the edge of the 80 foot cliff which terminated our Tinian Island runway before climb out. Our aircraft were dangerously overloaded in fuel and ordinance, our engines were prone to overheating at full throttle and our runways were marginally long enough to get our 65 tons above stall speed for take-off. The drive-off afforded extra air speed at level flight prior to climb out. What might have seemed a dangerous procedure actually provided added take-off safety and was copied by a number of pilots.

AS A B-29 AIRPLANE COMMANDER, I FELT OUR TAKEOFFS WERE EXCESSIVELY DANGEROUS

As a B-29 Airplane Commander, I felt our takeoffs were excessively dangerous. We lost a number of planes on takeoff. Our aircraft were loaded with about 25,000 pounds of fuel and a like weight in bombs to an approximate average takeoff weight of 127,000 pounds, significantly greater than the 120,000 max. specified by Boeing. At full engine throttle, it took virtually all of our 8500 foot runway to reach 140 mph, which was barely above stall speed at that weight. We drove a stake partway down the runway as a pilot decision point. If the plane was not going 100 mph at that point with engines running perfectly, the pilot had just enough runway left to abort and stop the aircraft. Our flight engineer was constantly milking the engine cowls open and closed to minimize drag while keeping cylinder temperatures below redline.

Fortunately, the runways at North Field had been built and leveled by the Seabees over a crested part of Tinian Island, leaving an unobstructed 80 foot drop to the ocean on the takeoff end. This allowed us to drive off the end of the runway, nose wheel still engaged, to level flight over the cliff. This was a counterintuitive procedure for most pilots, all trained to lift off before the end of the runway. But takeoff so close to stall speed was a risk some of us learned to avoid by simply driving off the cliff for added airspeed.

Watch the author’s B-29 Pacific War Bombing Missions video that shows his over cliff take-off technique