14 Aug 2018

FLASHBACK: “Battle of Kansas” and the Birth of the Superfortress

Flashbacks are short, informative reading that “flashback” to a period of time within the history of Air Force Materiel Command utilizing primary source document(s) held within the HQ AFMC/HO’s archives. This introductory issue of AFMC Flashbacks, "Battle of Kansas” and Birth of the Superfortress,” takes the reader back to bringing the Boeing B-29 Superfortress from the factory to the warfighter and the issues suffered during that period. These issues came to a crucial junction in March 1944 when General Hap Arnold visited the plant in Kansas to witness first-hand the production at the Boeing plant due to missed deadlines. Following this trip, he then sent a memo back here to Dayton to Major General Walter Frank, Commander Air Service Command, expressing the importance of the B-29 as the “number one priority” and the “importance of meeting the schedule.” Once on schedule and delivered to the warfighter, the Superfortress became a deciding factor in the Pacific Theater.