I was cruising the Photo Gallery, and ran across these:






11 guys, right?

I went to Wiki, and confirmed that:

Specifications (B-29)
Boeing B-29 Superfortress



General characteristics

• Crew: 11: (A/C)Airplane Commander, Pilot, flight engineer, bombardier, navigator, radio operator, radar operator, blister gunners (two), CFC upper gunner, and tail gunner
• Length: 99 ft 0 in (30.2 m)
• Wingspan: 141 ft 3 in (43.1 m)
• Height: 29 ft 7 in (8.5 m)
• Wing area: 1,736 ft² (161.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 74,500 lb (33,800 kg)
• Loaded weight: 120,000 lb (54,000 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 133,500 lb (60,560 kg)
• Powerplant: 4× Wright R-3350-23 and 23A turbosupercharged radial engines, 2,200 hp (1,640 kW) each
• * Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0241
• Drag area: 41.16 ft² (3.82 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 11.50

OK, 11 guys.

Then I saw this:



5th line: Crew Weight 1300 LBS.

Now, I know when we signed up for this forum, we were all told that there would be no math, so... well, you're just going to have to trust me on this....

an allowable crew weight of 1300 lbs divided by a crew of 11 yeilds an average crew weight of 118 lbs.

118 lbs each....


.... when was the last time YOU weighed 118 lbs??? When I was a freshman in high school, I wrestled at 138 lbs.... and that was my FIGHTING weight... after spending two days running in a plastic sweat suit and spittin' in a bottle to make weigh-in....

118 lbs????

Where'd they find those little guys??

good grief.

-whatever

-Lou

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5 out of 4 people have difficulty with fractions.

Holyshti tahts lighter than me, and im a skinny-ass guy with a big S. Damn, they mustve been midgets...

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“It is well that war is so terrible, or we should get too fond of it.”

That is very light! I think I was probably 12 the last time I weighed that much! Those must have been very small men!

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Members of the Dutch Resistance with 101st AB, Eindhoven. Operation Market Garden.

Scott

Well, people back then weren't as big as they are now. Humans are getting taller and bigger with each generation. Back then, they didn't have all these fatty foods we eat. I was 120lbs back in high school....they must have all been shorter then me to be in that plane.

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118 lbs? Were the nekkid and without crew equipment?

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Best Regards,
JW

They are assuming that the crew is in an area living on C-rations. This would do the trick as they are mostly inedible to begin with and become completely so within a week or two of having them as your only food source......

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Truth is stranger than bullshit!

I've seen many "pics" of GI's, (any one's) from almost every source there is/was. Unless it was an REA, there are no fat ones.
A quote from BotB, "The Russian front does not tend to put meat on a mans bones."
The list is endless for other places, as well.
My old man looked like a string bean, and ever since 12+ years of age (as bigfun said), I could not wear his "Jacket".

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"Danger Will Robinson!"

That's 118lb without flak jacket, O2 mask and all the other associated rubbish I hope, because otherwise it means the crew must weigh about £80 each!

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There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

I can't imagine that weight could be correct. My great uncle Dick was bombadier on B-29s and he was a large, muscular man, 6 feet tall or better. He had to have weighed 200lbs.

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Best Regards,
JW

One of our lifelong friends wives father was a flight engineer on a B-29 (sitting back-to-back with the pilot).
He was a working man from day one to day last.
The day before his 70th birthday he was up on the barn roof changing the lightning rods. One of his neighbors asked what a man of his age was doing up on a barn roof (severely sloped and all)?
He replied. "I'm turning 70 tomorrow, and this place is no place for a 70 year old man."
I miss him. He had all girls, and was literally starved for male companionship.
(not to mention he worked me like a "Dog", whenever I showed up !)

I could lift him with one arm.

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"Danger Will Robinson!"

I don't know what you think, but when I see a stencil saying "SUITABLE FOR AEROMATICS" I feel inclined to doubt the accuracy of the rest...

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Everly Brothers - What I Have To Do Is Dream
"Never wrestle with pigs, you both end up getting dirty and the pig likes it."

I assumed that 'aeromatic' was a mis-spelling of 'aromatic', which referred to additives in foreign gasoline that weren't found in American refined fuels (during WWII). Quoting from 'Fortress Against the Sun", which chronicles the efforts of B-17's against Japan in the Dutch East Indies....

As early as late-December the 19th BG had reported that the Dutch aromatic additive in their gasoline was dissolving the rubber linings of the self-sealing bullett-proof fuel tanks and gumming up the engines and caruretors. Immediately, warnings had gone out to dilute the Dutch gas with American gas. American gas was non-aromatic while that produced by the Dutch contained between 20 and 30 percent aromatics.

Now, regarding the provenence of the stencil shown, whether it is the original stencil with a mis-spelling, or an 'exact' reproduction or a 'good enough' repro would likely indicate, as you point out, that the other data (including 'Crew Weight') bears further scrutiny .... a couple quick Googles didn't come up with anything.

-whatever

-Lou

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5 out of 4 people have difficulty with fractions.

I don't know, maybe it means each crew member weighed 1300lbs....but that's even more unlikely as them all weighing 118lbs.

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-do'ya think?

-whatever

-Lou

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5 out of 4 people have difficulty with fractions.

That's a Lighter-Than-Air crew!

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Everly Brothers - What I Have To Do Is Dream
"Never wrestle with pigs, you both end up getting dirty and the pig likes it."