United States Boeing B-29 Super Fortress Bomber Aircraft A.A.F. Serial Number B-29-50-BW 42-2479 The Big Time Operator History of B-29-50-BW 42-24791: Craft Number: 4452, Production Block: 50 Built under A.A.F. Contract Number: AC-19673-2 Contract Serial Number Range: 42-24420 through 42-24919 Gross weight 133,500 lbs., Wingspan 141', Length 99'Engine type: (4) Wright R-3350-23, Max speed 330 MPH Total cost $879,349 per aircraft - to include cost of aircraft, engines, propellers, and radios. Manufacturer: Boeing, Wichita Kansas Accepted: October 17th 1944 History of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator: This B-29 Super Fortress was produced by Boeing, Wichita Kansas. It was accepted by the United States Army Air Force on October 17th 1944 as B-29 42-24791, craft number 4452 under the Block 50 contract with Boeing. After acceptance, this B-29 was assigned to the 1st Bomb Squadron (Very Heavy), 9th Bomb Group, 313th Bomb Wing, XXI Bomber Command, 20th Air Force.B-29 42-24791 was given the name The Big Time Operator and painted with the nose art of the Walt Disney character Donald Duck wearing radio headphones.B-29 42-24791 The Big Time Operator was flown on 46 Combat Missions over Japan from Guam and Tinian during 1945.Her mission list includes (not yet complete as of the publishing of this page): February 8th 1945 - XXI Bomber Command Mission 27 to Truk March 16th 1945 - XXI Bomber Command Mission 43 March 24th 1945 - Attacked primary target, Mitsubishi Aircraft Engine Works, Nagoya March 27th 1945 - Mining Mission Number 1 March 30th 1945 - Mining Mission Number 2 April 24th 1945 - XXI Bomber Command Mission 96, Primary Target May 3rd 1945 - Mined Mine Field Mike May 24th 1945 - Mining Mission 15May 25th 1945 - Mining Mission 16July 6th 1945 - Radar Scope Mission August 7th 1945 - XXI Bomber Command Mission 319, Attacked Yawata Industrial Area During 1945, the 1st Bomb Squadron rotated crews between all squadron aircraft. Because of this, not one single crew flew the The Big Time Operator on every mission. Her 46 Combat Missions were flown by the following commanders: Shenefiel - 21 missions, Pulsfort - 7 missions, St. Dennis - 5 missions, Morris - 3 missions, Durkee - 2 missions, Hutchinson - 1 mission, Reid - 1 mission, Malo - 1 mission, Klemme - 1 mission, Nighswonger - 1 mission, Prehoda - 1 mission, McMahan - 1 mission and Abbott - 1 mission. After World War Two, B-29 42-24791 The Big Time Operator was flown back to the United States. She was stricken from inventory in 1950 and transferred to China Lake Naval Weapons Station, California. At China Lake The Big Time Operator was used as a ground target with many other famous B-29's for decades of weapons testing. The nose section was eventually recovered from China Lake and put on display at the Edward F. Beale Museum, California until 2001. The Beale Museum closed and the nose section was transferred through the National Museum of the United States Air Force to the New England Air Museum, Connecticut. The New England Air Museum used the remains of The Big Time Operator to restore their B-29 Jacks Hack QuestMasters obtained the nose of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator in November 2012.The cockpit greenhouse shown above was recovered from Omaha, Nebraska by QuestMasters for restoration of this very historic B-29. In 2018, QuestMasters commissioned a painting of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator with Ron Cole Aviation Art, shown above. This painting depicts the BTO on a night-time raid with other 1st Bomb Squadron B-29's over Japan. It is available for purchase on the Ron Cole Aviation Art website:https://roncole.net/collections/warbirds-of-world-war-ii/products/boeing-b-29-superfortress-big-time-operator B-29's of the 9th Bomb Group, on a daytime bombing mission over Japan, 1945. The 9th Bomb Group aircraft are identified by a large Circle with an X on the tail of all aircraft.B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator, not shown in this photo, carried a Circle X on the tail and a black 4 on both sides of the fuselage. WARTIME PHOTOS OF B-29-50-BW 42-24791 Color photo of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time, above. In this photo, the aircraft has completed 10 bombing missions and 1 mining mission. The Air Plane Commander is Captain E.F. Shenefiel, is painted under the Pilot window. Shenefiel flew 21 missions in the BTO. The Navigator is Lieutenant W.M. Bloomfield. The blue field for the name Big Time Operator has not been outlined in white in this picture and NO SMOKING WITHIN 100FT, has not been painted in red on the nose gear doors. (photo from the estate of the BTO Bombardier Lieutenant Bettinger) B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator, above. In this photo, the Air Plane Commander Captain E.F. Shenefiel, is painted under the Pilot window. Shenefiel flew 21 missions in the BTO. The Navigator is Lieutenant W.M. Bloomfield. The blue field for the name The Big Time Operator has not been outlined in white in this picture. B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator. In this photo the aircraft has completed 10 bombing mission and 3 mining missions, the Air Plane Commander Captain E.F. Shenefiel, is painted under the Pilot window. Shenefiel flew 21 missions in the BTO. The Crew Chief is H.J. Fomby, the Navigator is Lieutenant W.M. Bloomfield. The blue field for the name The Big Time Operator has not been outlined in white in this picture. NO SMOKING WITHIN 100FT. has been added to the nose gear door. The upper and lower turret have all AN-M2 .50 caliber machine-guns mounted. B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator, above. In this photo, the aircraft has completed at least 18 bombing missions and least 5 of the 8 mining mission. Shown here is the Bombardier Lieutenant Maurice Edward Bettinger under the BTO cockpit greenhouse. LT. Bettinger is credited with the two Japanese aircraft that were shot down by The Big Time Operator. (photo from the estate of the BTO Bombardier Lieutenant Bettinger) Log book from Bombardier Lieutenant Maurice Edward Bettinger, above. Lt. Bettinger flew almost all of his missions on the B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator. Of note, Mission Number 25 for June 1st 1945, Urban Area Osaka Japan, at an altitude of 19,000 feet, as position number 11 in the formation, 1 (Japanese) Fighter was shot down and 1 probable. LT Bettinger is credited with two Japanese aircraft being shot down while crewing the BTO. (from the estate of the BTO Bombardier Lieutenant Bettinger) Log book from Bombardier Lieutenant Maurice Edward Bettinger, above. Lt. Bettinger flew almost all of his missions on the B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator. (from the estate of the BTO Bombardier Lieutenant Bettinger) B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator, above. In this photo, the aircraft has completed 35 bombing missions 8 mining mission and 2 Japanese aircraft have been shot down. NO SMOKING WITHIN 100FT. has been painted in red on the nose gear doors and Big Time Operator; has been outlined in white. This photo was taken on Guam in 1945. The man in the photo is Guido Colon from New York City (not a member of the crew) and is marked To Lillie, Kisses, Guido. This photo was taken when Lieutenant C.L. PULSFORT was the Air Plane Commander. B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator as shown with 40 bombing missions, 8 mining missions and 2 Japanese aircraft painted on the nose, above two photos. These two photos were taken on Guam in 1945. The Air Plane Commander is Lieutenant C.L. Pulsfort, Crew Chief H.J. Fomby and Navigator Lieutenant W.M. Bloomfield. The AN-M2 .50 caliber machine-guns have been removed from the upper and lower turrets in these two photos. The M-9 Norden Bombsight is mounted in the nose, but is covered. The name Big Time Operator has been outlined in white. Original color photograph of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator, above. The name LT. W.M. BLOOMFIELD is painted behind the pilot position on the port side of the aircraft next to the Navigator position. Note the covered tear shaped hole to the right of the word Time. This is where the AN-148 Rebecca antenna was previously mounted. The name Big Time Operator has been outlined in white. Original color photograph of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator above. The Air Plane Commander Lieutenant C.L. Pulsfort has been applied to either a sanded or silver painted section of skin. Crew Chief H.J. Fomby and Navigator Lieutenant W.M. Bloomfield are also painted on this side of the aircraft. NO SMOKING WITHIN 100FT is stenciled in red on the nose gear door. Also note that Big Time Operator has been outlined in white at this point. The four AN-M2 .50 caliber machine-guns are mounted in the top turret in this photo. This is the last known photo taken of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator just after the conclusion of World War Two. This photo was taken at Victorville Army Air Field, California between October 1945 and February 1946, when VeteranB-29's were flown back from the Pacific to California to be readied for long-term storage or scrapping. This photo was taken by S/Sgt. Earl Bloomfield, 4196th AAF Base Unit, Victorville Army Air Field, California. By 1950, B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator would be transferred 100 miles (North) to China Lake Naval Weapons Station, California. (from the estate of S/Sgt J. Earl Bloomfield Jr. via grandson Ryan Bloomfield) The above four photos were taken at Victorville Army Air Field, California between October 1945 and February 1946, when Veteran B-29's were flown back from the Pacific to California to be readied for long-term storage or scrapping. These photos were taken by S/Sgt. Earl Bloomfield, 4196th AAF Base Unit, Victorville Army Air Field, California. B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator is among all of these Veteran B-29's. (from the estate of S/Sgt J. Earl Bloomfield Jr. via grandson Ryan Bloomfield) AFTER WWII: CHINA LAKE, BEALE MUSEUM, NEW ENGLAND AIR MUSEUM AND ONTO QUESTMASTERS In 1950, B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator, as well as dozens of other B-29's, were transferred to the United States Navy, and were used as gunnery ground targets at China Lake Naval Weapons Center, California. Although this is looked at with modern eyes as a horrible act, to use these aircraft as targets - this actually saved all of these aircraft. In the late 1970's, the interest in these WWII bombers started gain momentum, and they slowly started to be recovered for preservation and restoration over the next several decades. Just about every B-29 in a modern museum was recovered from China Lake (well-known B-29's such as Fifi Doc T-Square 54 It's Hog Wild), preserving them for generations to come. Only one B-29 remains in China Lake Naval Weapons Center, and it is on display at their museum. In 1991, Academy made a plastic model kit of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator. The nose section of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator was eventually recovered from China Lake Naval Weapons Station, California and put on display at the Edward F. Beale Museum, California until 2001, when the museum closed. The nose section was then transferred through the National Museum of the United States Air Force to the New England Air Museum, Connecticut. The nose section, shown here, was covered in a complete coating of automotive bondo to give it a smooth appearance and then painted silver. The nose art is already starting to peel away in this photo. The nose section of B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator was transferred through the National Museum of the United States Air Force and is shown here at the New England Air Museum, Connecticut in outside storage. The BTO cockpit was used for parts to restore their B-29A-55-BN 44-61975, painted as Jacks Hack.The nose section, shown here, was covered in a complete coating of automotive bondo to give it a smooth appearance and then painted silver, which is falling off in this photo. The cockpit greenhouse, pilot window frame and bombardier's floor were cut so that components could be removed from the cockpit. On June 17th 2013, Nicholas A. Veronico released the book Hidden Warbirds: The Epic Stories of Finding, Recovering, and Rebuilding WWII's Lost Aircraft. B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator is covered under the section for B-29's of China Lake, page 213. The book is available on Amazon, ISBN-10: 9780760344095 and ISBN-13: 978-0760344095 B-29-50-BW 42-24791 The Big Time Operator Cockpit, above photo. QuestMasters has been slowing sourcing parts for the restoration of the cockpit of the BTO. Pilot and Co-Pilot seats have been mounted, control pedestals, instrument panel stands, control yokes, replica plexiglass as well as many other components. GENERAL ELECTRIC MODEL 2CGD50LRC4ALOWER FORWARD TURRETB-29 SUPERFORTRESS The B-29 Superfortress used five turrets as part of the Central-Station Fire-Control System (CFC) Model 2CFR55B1.These turrets were: Upper Forward Turret Model 2CGD50URC3A, Upper Rear Turret Model 2CGD50URC4, Lower Forward Turret Model 2CGD50LRC4A, Lower Rear Turret Model 2CGD50LRC5 and the Tail Mount. All information is contained in AAF Technical Order T.O. No. 11-70A-1, A.P. No. 2407A, October 15th 1943, Handbook of Operations and Service Instruction. The B-29 Superfortress Lower Forward Turret Model 2CGD50LRC4A, above four photos. The lower turret is quite similar to the two upper turrets in many respects, but it is not merely an upper turret turned upside down. The lower turret can be rotated a full 360 degrees in azimuth. The Lower Forward Turret Model 2CGD50LRC4A and Lower Rear Turret Model 2CGD50LRC5 are identical, except the lower rear turret has different contour follower and cam patterns for fire interruption. The lower turret shown here is currently displayed inverted on a black steel stand, constructed by QuestMasters, for the restoration of this turret. Handbook of Operations and Service Instructions, Central-Station Fire-Control System (CFC) Model 2CFR55B1, AAF Technical Order T.O. No. 11-70A-1, A.P. No. 2407A, October 15th 1943, printed by Motschall Company, Detroit December 9th 1943.This manual was owned by Sgt. William J. Schmitt, Born December 5th 1925, ASN 14131946, Palm Bay, Florida. He served from December 2nd 1943 to June 10th 1946, 236th Army Air Force Base Unit, Pyote, Texas, as a Remote Control Turret Mechanic Gunner. The B-29 Superfortress Lower Forward Turret Gun Enclosure, two shown, left photo, and Turret Dome, right photo. Both are heavily damaged and will require full restoration. Blister Auxiliary Control Box, Type 8242380G2, General Electric Company, above left photo.The Blister Auxiliary-Control Box allowed the blister sighting station gunner, when controlling the tail turret, to fire only the machine-guns or the guns and 20mm cannon together. The two indicator lights on the box are used to indicate, to a blister gunner, when the tail mount and/or the lower-forward turret is being controlled by the tail or nose gunner, respectively. Two of these boxes were mounted on the B-29, one at each blister gunner station.Blister Gunner Sighting Station Plexiglas Dome, above right photo.This Plexiglas Dome is New-Old-Stock and has never been installed in an aircraft. The dome retains its original packaging film over the optically clear plexiglass. Sighting Station 2CSR3B6, General Electric Company, above left and right photo.The B-29 "Super Fortress" used four Sighting Stations in the aircraft. The Nose-Sighting Station used the Type 2CSR3C1. Two of the Type 2CSR3B1 or 2CSR3B2 were mounted in the both waist gunner blister positions. The tail gun position used the Type 2CSR3B3 Sighting Station. The Sighting Station, shown here, is the Type 2CSR3B6, Serial Number 1793809, Order Number W-33-038ac3826, Spec. No. GO-18393. It will be used in the restoration of the B-29 "The Big Time Operator" in either the nose position or the tail position, replacing the correct designated Sighting Station. B-29 Super Fortress Memorabilia, above photo.Shown here is a B-29 and B-29A Load Adjuster, for balancing the aircraft load; a B-29 Airplane Commander Training Manual, revised February 1st 1945 and reprinted March 1st 1945, AAF Manual No. 50-9; B-29 Mechanics Field Service Data Book, produced by Boeing, Super Fortress School, Seattle Washington, revised March 1944, June 1944, September 1944 and January 1945; a B-29 Crew Badge, Number 5396, used during B-29 crew training in the United States; and a Boeing B-29, Martin Aircraft produced, control wheel cap. Glenn L. Martin produced 531 B-29's in Nebraska. B-29-50-BW 42-24791 "The Big Time Operator", above five photos.When the Edward F. Beale Museum, California closed in 2001, the nose section was transferred through the National Museum of the United States Air Force to the New England Air Museum, Connecticut.The forward top turret and lower turret, as well as the nose landing gear were in place when it was displayed at Beale AFB. "The Big Time Operator" is shown here with the turrets and landing gear removed - as well as many interior components. The nose section is inverted, strapped to a large wood cradle on an aerial delivery platform, Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, prior to deliver to the New England Air Museum, Connecticut. These photos are were taken between 2001 and 2002. Photo credit: MSgt Daniel Piccione, USAF (Ret.)

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