By 1946, the U.S. Army Air Forces' long-range bomber program was in bad shape. The B-29 was cancelled due to engine fires and the replacement B-32 was axed because of wing spar failures.
It became apparent that the backup needed a backup.
Fortunately, Douglas Aircraft was able to come to the rescue. The starting point was their famous C-54 Skymaster.
Douglas tweaked the design into a bomber configuration by using the now-defunct B-29's gun turrets and nose. With the addition of a multi-barrel cannon in the rear, known as the Sioux City tail from the location of the contractor, the new B-31 certainly looked every bit capable of taking long-range bombing across the Pacific to the enemy.
Long-range bombing wasn't the only problem for the Americans. Even though the new bomber, christened the Detonator, could carry bombs to the heart of the enemy, the most powerful bombs yet devised proved to be duds.
The A bomb was a fizzle. B through P were no better and a sense of desperation was starting to set in. All hopes were pinned on the Q bomb.
Early in the morning on August 26th, 1946 a B-31 Detonator
"A Bit O' Lace 2" from the 11th Bombardment Sqn., 2039th Composite Wing, took to the skies, headed for Japan.
The aircraft, stripped of all guns save the one in the tail and with its bomb bay modified for the new weapon in what was known as Project Tinplate, flew low over the Pacific as it approached the enemy's home islands.
The B-31 Detonator gained altitude and leveled off at 33,000 feet. After seemingly endless hours aloft, it appeared over Kyoto just as the city was starting its day.
Scarcely anyone on the ground paid the lone aircraft notice as it reached the initial point and started its bomb run. Unfortunately for the Americans, the results were not as expected.
"A Bit O' Lace 2" headed back home by the quickest route possible as the crew tried to figure out what went wrong.
While the U.S. Army Air Forces and Douglas Aircraft could take pride in the B-31 Detonator's flawless performance that day, it was back to the drawing board for the payload. After this, the Americans would have to do something. They were running out of letters.
The war in the Pacific would grind on until 1948 when the Japanese were forced to sue for peace, unable to withstand the unrelenting onslaught of Bebop.
While the B-31 Detonator was soon replaced by the far more capable B-35, it still carved out a niche in history even if that's totally forgotten today.
Brian da Basher