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LeMay commanded subsequent B-29 Superfortress combat operations against Japan, including massive incendiary attacks on 67 Japanese cities and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This included the firebombing of Tokyo —known in official documents as the "Operation Meetinghouse" air raid on the night of March 9–10, 1945—which ...
After this raid, LeMay ordered the B-29 bombers to attack again but at a relatively low altitude of 5,000 to 9,000 ft (1,500 to 2,700 m) and at night, because Japan's anti-aircraft artillery defenses were weakest in this altitude range, and the fighter defenses were ineffective at night.
On the night of 9/10 March 1945, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) conducted a devastating firebombing raid on Tokyo, the Japanese capital city.This attack was code-named Operation Meetinghouse by the USAAF and is known as the Tokyo Great Air Raid (東京大空襲, Tōkyō dai-kūshū) in Japan. [1]
The primary mission of the 73d was the firebombing of Japan, flying low-level night missions dropping incendiary bombs over wide areas to destroy Japanese industry and military capability. 497th Bombardment Group 'A' over black square over aircraft number; later Large 'A', number moved to empennage.
Japanese fighters did not attempt to intercept these aircraft and their bombing altitude of 30,000 feet (9,100 m) was beyond the range of most anti-aircraft guns. [234] Meanwhile, on 24 July President Harry S. Truman approved [ a ] the use of atomic bombs against Japan and the next day Spaatz received written orders to this effect.
The P1Y was designed by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal to Navy specification 15-Shi, [2], calling for a fast bomber with speed matching the Zero, range matching the G4M, a 907 kg (2,000 lb) bombload, and the ability to dive-bomb as well as carry torpedoes. As the result, the construction suffered from excess complexity, difficulty of ...
The G4M's predecessor, the Mitsubishi G3M, went into service in 1937 in China. [5] Only two months later the Japanese Navy issued specifications to Mitsubishi. [5] The specifications, unprecedented at the time, called for a twin-engine, land-based, attack bomber with a top speed of 398 kilometres per hour (247 mph), a cruising altitude of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), and a range of 4,722 ...
The B-29B was a modification used for low-level raids, designed with the intent of firebombing Japan. Since fighter opposition was minimal over Japan in late 1944, many of the Army Air Force leadership — most notably Curtis LeMay, commander of the XXI Bomber Command — felt that a (lighter) faster bomber would better evade Japanese flak.