Battle of Kansas The Battle of Kansas ( also known as the " Battle of Wichita " ) was the nickname given to a project to build , modify and deliver large quantities of the world ' s most advanced bomber to the front - lines in the Pacific . The battle began as the first B - 29 Superfortress es rolled off the production lines of the massive new Boeing factory on the prairies near Wichita , Kansas . Background . In early 1941 the Boeing Wichita factory ( which was intended to become one of the main assembly plants for " Project 345 " ) was building PT - 13D & N2S - 5 " Kaydet " biplane trainers for the USAAF and the USN respectively , as well as B - 17 control surfaces : the plant needed massive expansion to build the new bomber . On June 24 , 1941 , new ground was broken for what was to become " Plant II " , which was to be completed in January 1943 . New equipment was already being installed by Boeing six months before final completion . Also needed was a whole army of factory workers : people were recruited from all over Kansas and neighboring states . Accommodation for all of them needed to be found . Few of them had any experience in aircraft assembly and a large scale training program was required : they were expected to build a type of aircraft that had never been seen before . At the same time as the new factory was being built the USAAF started forming the foundations of four " Bombardment Groups " ( the 40th , 444th , 462nd and 468th BGs . ) Together they made up the 58th Bombardment Wing ( 58th BW ) , which was the first operational unit to take the B - 29 into combat from as yet un - built bases in China . A fifth BG , the 472nd was also formed as an operational training unit : this Group stayed in the U . S . and was disbanded in April 1944 . With its new wing design , new type of remote controlled armament , pressurized crew stations , and powerful new Wright R - 3350 radial engines ( with new , 16 ft ( 4 . 88 m ) diameter , slow - turning Hamilton Standard propellers ) , the B - 29 project was unprecedented in Aviation history : from inception , to drawing board and mass production took three years , at a time when such a design should have taken five years just to become a prototype . Instead the engineering design , production and testing were being undertaken simultaneously , with all of the expected and unexpected problems , starting from the time the first XB - 29 ( 41 - 1002 ) took to the air on 21 September 1942 . The USAAF under General Hap Arnold envisaged thousands of B - 29s , and they wanted at least 175 of them as soon as possible . The Wichita factory started producing components , then a run of 14 YB - 29s in early 1943 , before starting on building production aircraft by the autumn . Soon after the fatal crash of the second prototype USAAF Colonel Harman came up with a plan to coordinate the process of working the " bugs " out of the new aircraft , especially the engines . The objective was to take control of the entire B - 29 program of production , aircraft modification , flight tests , and training . Approval for " B - 29 Special Project " came directly from President Roosevelt , who had been advised by General Arnold . In spite of this directive the B - 29 program was to run into trouble . The battle . By Mid January 1944 97 B - 29s had been built by Wichita . Unfortunately only 16 of these were flyable with most of them grounded at " Modification Centers " or on the 1 , 626 , 100 sq ft ( 151 , 070 sq m ) parking / delivery apron at the Wichita plant pending urgent modification . The basic design of the B - 29 was sound , but significant shortcuts had been taken in the rush to get it into service , causing numerous defects and quality problems . The Boeing - run organization , which should have been getting the B - 29s ready for battle , collapsed under the strain . The biggest headaches were caused by the new R - 3350 engines , which were constantly overheating . Other problems arose with defective pressure seals around the cockpit windows and sighting blisters , which needed precise fitting to avoid leakage . Also causing problems were the sighting systems ( four analog computer s ) for the remote controlled defensive armament , as well as the turrets themselves . Then came electrical failures , caused by faulty Cannon plug s , which supplied connections throughout the ten miles ( 16 km ) of wiring in each B - 29 . Sub - standard glass in the cockpit transparencies meant the pilots had problems due to the distortion . A minor " beef - up " was found to be needed on the wing structures . Along with the main problems constant alterations to other components were needed as the Army changed requirements and as updated components from external suppliers replaced those already in use . Finally , in June 1942 an extra complication was added when it was decided to use the Boeing - Wichita plant to build 750 CG - 4 Waco gliders . As a result , the first production B - 29s that rolled off the lines at Wichita were virtually hand built . It was discovered that there were some surprising weight differences from one identical plane to the next : this was caused by commercial weight tolerances in raw materials and because of the cumulative effects of small tolerances in the assembly process . General Hap Arnold ' s demands . When General Arnold visited the Wichita Plant on 11 January 1944 he wanted 175 combat ready B - 29s for the XX Bomber Command . As he was shown around the assembly lines he picked out the 175th fuselage section and signed it commenting : " This is the plane I want . I want it before the First of March . " When he discovered two months later that no B - 29s were actually combat ready , and that some had been sitting waiting for parts for two months or more Arnold was livid . In March 1944 General Bennett Meyers was given full authority to act under Arnold ' s name to get the B - 29s modified and combat ready . Specialist USAAF ground crew and technicians were called in from all over the country and 600 workers were pulled from the Wichita assembly lines . Subcontractor s were told to stop all work on non - B - 29 components until they had fulfilled their commitments . With the thermometer often reading below zero the 1 , 200 technicians who had gathered at the Wichita factory and the Modification Centers were being asked to modify each bomber inside and out . Firstly the wings needed to have some of the plating removed , the required " beef - ups " were added then each piece of skin riveted back in place . At the same time the cowl flaps , which controlled airflow through and around the troublesome engines , were being modified . Each piece of glass installed in the nose had to be pulled out and replaced with new distortion free panes . After that the pressurization had to be rechecked : 75 B - 29s in total needed new glass . Internally every electrical plug had to be removed , disassembled and resoldered - a total of 586 , 000 connections in completed aircraft , plus those on the assembly lines and in wiring bundles ready for installation . A lot of the work was being done in the middle of the frequent snow - storms : it was so cold crews could only work for 20 minutes at a time , with most of the jobs requiring delicate handling . Wright Duplex Cyclone engines improved . One major challenge was pulling all of the Wright R - 3350 - 23 " Duplex - Cyclone " radial engines out of already completed B - 29s and modifying them to R - 3350 - 23A " war engine " standard . This entailed disassembling and rebuilding the engines with added baffles to accelerate the airflow over the cylinders , new exhaust valves with improved metallurgy , new rocker arms ( drilled with small holes , to allow better oil flow , rather than solid ) and modified nose casings and engine sumps , again to improve oil flow . In sub - zero temperatures the work was arduous , especially when it came to struggling with stiff and brittle fuel and oil lines and hard - to - reach clamps , bolts and screws . Other necessary modifications , apart from those already described , were replacing the rudders with strengthened units , all main landing gear tires were replaced and the main gear leg structures reinforced . APQ - 13 radar sets had to be fitted . Finally , long range fuel tanks were installed in the bomb bays . After about five weeks of exhausting work the first combat - ready B - 29s started taking off on the first leg of the long journey to China . General Arnold had won the " Battle of Kansas " and was getting his 175 combat - ready Superfortresses . See also . Battle of Kansas http : / / www . battleofkansas . com