The bomb target was directly behind the aircraft when the aircraft had turned only 155 degrees. Thus, by the time the aircraft had straighted out at 180 degrees, it would not have had its tail to the bomb the bomb would have been aft and to the side! Even a tight turn can have a radius of a few miles.Īlthough it would normally make sense to turn 180 degrees, the wide turning radius changed the geometry of the scene. Second, the B-29 is a big aircraft, and it needs a lot of space to make a turn. The aircraft had to turn away from the bomb in order to get as far away from it as possible. This also meant that if the aircraft kept flying in the same direction it would be very close to the bomb blast. This meant that it would land several miles ahead of the drop point. The answer comes from geometry and a basic knowledge of flight, with a focus on the turning radius of a B-29 aircraft.įirst, the dropped bomb had forward velocity.