Mission
Number: Various (see below)
Mission
Date: 28 June 1945 - 5 August 1945
With
but two interruptions for a mission to an aircraft plant at
Handa on 23-24 July and one to Tokoyama Naval Arsenal 6-7 August,
the 39th Bomb Group ran the rest of its combat missions within
the set plan of the Bomber Command - later re-designated the
Twentieth Air Force - policy of mounting incendiary attacks
on four smaller urban areas in one night. In this operation
one town was assigned to each of the four wings of the command
- the 58th, 73rd, 313th and the 314th.
In
this was the 39th participated in the destruction of the following
Japanese towns:
(Click on the Targets with links to see a few more specifics
regarding the mission)
As
the tabulation of the strike dates shown, they were run like
clockwork. Sometimes we sent out a maximum effort and sometimes
the effort was a normal one. Opposition to all the raids was
practically negligible and the destruction was great. The pressure
was on Japan and whether we realized it or not, the breaking
point was steadily being reached.
None
of these raids was spectacular. Actually they became in time almost
routine and the combat crews were glad to run them off, as they
added to the total number of missions toward that magic number
THIRTY-FIVE!