The B-29

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Bombardier (aircrew)
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For other uses, see Bombardier (disambiguation).
The bomb-aimer's window on a South African Air Force Avro Shackleton maritime patrol / bomber aircraft

A bombardier or bomb aimer is the crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs. "Bomb aimer" was the preferred term in the military forces of the Commonwealth, while "bombardier" (from the French word for "bomb thrower" and similar in meaning to "grenadier") was the equivalent position in the United States Armed Forces.

In many planes, the bombardier took control of the airplane during the bombing run, using a bombsight such as the Norden bombsight which was connected to the autopilot of the plane. Often stationed in the extreme front of the aircraft, on the way to the target and after releasing the bombs, he could also serve as the front gunner in aircraft that had a front turret.

In the latter part of the 20th century, the title of bombardier fell into disuse, due largely to changes in technology, emanating from the replacement of this manual function with the development of computerized technology and smart bombs, that has given rise to terms like weapon systems officer or combat systems officer to describe the modern role. The equivalent in the US Navy and US Marine Corps is the naval flight officer.

In the United States, the position of bombardier was originally held by a sergeant, but they were commissioned as officers in 1941.[1][2] In the Commonwealth, a bomb aimer could be an officer or (more frequently) a senior non-commissioned officer (sergeant or flight sergeant) or warrant officer; like wireless operators, air engineers and air gunners, all officer bomb aimers were commissioned from the ranks after non-commissioned aircrew service, unlike pilots and navigators who could also join directly as commissioned officers.

During World War II, US Army Air Forces bombardiers were recognized with the award of the Bombardier Badge. With the establishment of an independent US Air Force in 1947, USAF bombardiers were awarded the wings known as the Navigator badge, now known as the Combat Systems Officer badge. Commonwealth bomb aimers wore a single-wing aircrew brevet with the letter "B".

The aircraft of the United Kingdom's V bomber force carried two navigators, one of whom acted as bomb aimer, although having the official title of "navigator radar".

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B-17 Bombardier -









Korean War B-29 bombardier Robert J. Grenz of Bergenfield, N.J., in a familiar seat in the nose of a Superfortress on display at Reading Regional Airport for World War II Weekend.
www.grenzfamilytree.com/Robert%20Grenz/Tree/robert_j_grenz.htm



The instant Robert J. Grenz crawled into the glass-paneled nose of a B-29 Superfortress on Thursday at Reading Regional Airport, 59 years vanished and he was again on a bombing raid over North Korea.



"I'm home," sighed Grenz, 86, a B-29 bombardier during the Korean War.
Grenz of Bergenfield, N.J., is attending World War II Weekend, which opens a three-day run today at the airport, with a delegation from the Army Air Forces Historical Association.
On the tarmac near the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, Grenz slipped behind the B-29's Norden bombsight as if his last mission had been only yesterday.
Overcome with a sense of deja vu, he calibrated the instrument's lens and relived a painful, near tragic bombing mission in 1952.
Once more, in his mind's eye, he was 28-year-old 1st Lt. Grenz, and the big bomber's belly was filled with 39 bombs destined to wipe out a North Korean ammo dump.
A high-altitude, long-range bomber that flew at 350 mph, the B-29 carried 20,000 pounds of bombs and a crew of 12.
As Grenz recalls it, the bomber's radar operator gave the order to open the bomb bay in preparation for releasing its lethal weapons.
Grenz refused, saying his calculations with the Norden bombsight indicated it was 31/2 minutes too early to drop the bombs.
Refusing a direct order is grounds for court-martial, a fact that the plane's captain reminded Grenz of in no uncertain terms.
Still, Grenz refused several other commands from the radar operator and the captain.
His reason wasn't just technical.
Below, in the bomber's direct path, was a North Korean encampment that housed 1,500 American prisoners of war. The crew had been warned of the camp's existence during a preflight briefing.
No way was Grenz going to drop bombs on American POWs, even under the threat of court-martial.
Grenz was able to ignore the orders because the bombardier has the final responsibility for dropping the bombs. Indeed, using the Norden bombsight, the bombardier briefly steers the plane to ensure the bombs hit their target.
"You're in control of the plane for 35 to 45 seconds," said Grenz, a retired New Jersey machinist.
Grenz's calculations turned out to be right.
The POW camp was spared, and the ammo dump obliterated.
Given that his decision proved right - and possibly saved the lives of 1,500 American POWs - Grenz did not face court-martial.
The incident, however, has remained with him nearly six decades later.
He's still haunted by images of American soldiers who would have perished had he obeyed the orders to drop the bombs. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately," he confessed.
Grenz's trip back in time was courtesy of the Commemorative Air Force, the Texas-based wartime preservationist group that owns the B-29.
Dubbed Fifi, the four-engine, Boeing bomber is the only remaining B-29 that's able to be flown. It's on display this weekend.
The Army Air Forces Historical Association is also displaying a Norden bombsight, the only working instrument of its kind on the East Coast. Normally, it's on display at the association's living history museum at New Jersey.
Albert J. Parisi, the association's operations officer, accompanied Grenz on his brief encounter with the bombsight in the B-29's nose.
Though six decades have passed, Grenz knew the location of every lever, button or dial in a form-fitting space about the size of an easy chair. Time had not erased his familiarity with, or fondness for, the time he spent as bombardier on the most advanced bomber of its day.
"It was," observed Parisi, "as if he never left."
Article by Ron Devlin Photos by Bill Uhrich













Found among Milton Knight's papers -