Why The B-29 Has A Crew Tunnel Inside

One of the features that set B-29s apart from other WWII bombers was that it featured pressurized and insulated crew compartments to travel from the forward pressurized crew compartment to the aft pressurized crew compartment.

However, the crew would have to belly crawl through a communications tunnel.

B-29 Design

B-29 bombers were designed to have pressurized, heated, and insulated crew cabins.

Thus, to travel from one compartment to the next, the crew needs to crawl through a tunnel that’s 35 feet long and would take them around 50 seconds. B-36 bombers also have a similar tunnel.

Dangers

The crew was also aware that if the bomber had a rapid decompression, injury or death was a possibility because of the 145 mph tube air velocity. They would be ejected.

B-29s required the bomber to start the depressurizing process at least 30 minutes before reaching enemy territory. During this time, the crew may also start on oxygen.