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indr4neel t1_j5yovsz wrote

Reply to comment by ash_274 in TIL American WW2 airplanes were sent to war unpainted starting in 1943. The polished surface made the planes faster and lighter, giving more range to all planes and more cargo hold for the bombers by PatmygroinB

Silverplate does refer to the bomb version, but starting with the B-29B all defensive weapons were removed except for the tail turret.

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UnknownQTY t1_j683ntn wrote

B-29s also flew so high interceptor aircraft couldn’t reach them anyway.

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indr4neel t1_j6k40re wrote

Mm, technically. Interceptor aircraft couldn't reach them because there weren't any interceptor aircraft by late war. The 1941 A6M2b Type 0 Model 21 (the most produced variant) actually had a higher service ceiling than the (admittedly not model-specific) stats Wikipedia gives for the B-29, at 33,000 vs 30,000 feet. "So high interceptors can't reach them" has historically been a pretty washed defense mechanism outside of stuff that's high and fast like the Blackbird.

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