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Stage First Big Scale Raid on Japs By SUPER-FORT Writer Japan, long protected by its geographical location, is now getting a bitter taste of the bombing potentiality of the American military machine - of the 1,500 plane raids that soon will be as common as the everyday "milk runs" over Germany. Within the last two weeks Tokyo, third largest city in the world, has been the target of combined Army-Navy operations. The sprawling Japanese capital had been bombed before, nearly a dozen times, but never in the same proportion and with the same ferocity as the surprise raid of Feb. 16 and 17, and the follow-ups of Feb. 19 and Feb. 25. A task force under Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitacher steamed boldly into the Japanese home waters on Feb. 16 and launched a 1,200-plane attack - the likes of which the Japanese had never seen before. For two days the force lay off Honshu, and hammered at Tokyo and its environs in full strength. In place of Superfortresses from the XXI Bomber Command that have been bombing the city since last November, swarms of carrier-based planes struck at treetop level, hitting airfields, aircraft and other military targets around the city in strafing attack. The raid was a full-scale, planned offensive. Fighter opposition was swept from the sky by the Navy attackers, which destroyed or damaged 659 Jap planes and 36 ships, including an escort carrier and three other warships. Three days after the initial Navy attack, a large force of Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay's B-29s dropped "heavies" on the city's military installations. Then, on Feb. 25, came the double attack. More than 200 Superfortresses of the XXI Bomber Command hit the industrial targets in the Tokyo area. The Navy sent some 1,600 planes, in waves of 200 and 250, against the military installation of metropolitan Tokyo area, according to a Japanese radio report picked up in New York. More than 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped during the raid. Though the two large-scale raids resulted in tremendous damage and definitely hurt the Nips' war machine, they were just the beginning. Gen. Hap Arnold has stated that the Japanese homeland would be pounded again and again until the war is over. The Americans now have the range. |
Life-Saving Admiration Maj. Donald W. Roberts has real admiration for the Last Resort, his Jap-defying Superfort which carried him safely through four heavy enemy fighter attacks within one month's time. The major was recently awarded the Silver Star for "gallantry in action." |
Crew Chiefs Decorated Proudly displaying the Bronze Star medal awarded to them for their outstanding proficiency in maintaining B-29 Superfortresses operating in the India-Burma and China Theaters are these three crew chiefs of the XX Bomber Command. Left to right are M/Sgt. Kenneth Day, M/Sgt. William Kolynych, and M/Sgt. Bruce Mahler. These men are typical of the grease-stained mechanics who have labored tirelessly through burning Indian heat, monsoon torrents and bitter cold weather in China to keep the Superforts in prime condition for the grueling flights to blast Jap war industries and military installations from Manchuria in the north to the island of Sumatra in the south. Statistics show that the XX Bomber Command during its first eight months in a combat theater has improved its maintenance proficiency at a rate which is probably greater than that achieved by any other Air Force anywhere in the world. Men like these are responsible. |
St. Pats Day Memo Not that anyone gives a damn, but St. Patrick's Day is only a few days away as the costume of June Haver, 20th Century Fox star of "Irish Eyes Are Smiling" indicates. She has blonde hair (as you can see), blue eyes (which you could see if this were Technicolor), is 18, and Life magazine says: "sings with a fresh voice." |
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Bombs Over Burma This remarkable photo of three Superfortresses (note one in lower center) salvoing their bombs over a Rangoon target was taken by a member of the XX Bomber Command's Combat Camera Unit. B-29s of Brig. Gen. Roger M. Ramey's Command hit Rangoon the middle of February, their third attack against the Japanese's Burma stronghold. |
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Dry-dock Demolishers Largely responsible for the sinking of the huge floating dry-dock in Singapore harbor recently were these three pilot-navigator-bombardier load crew teams, all members of the XX Bomber Command group led by William H. Blanchard. They are (standing, left to right) Major Joseph V. McWilliams, pilot; Maj. Woodrow P. Swancutt, pilot; Maj. Marvin W. Goodwyn, pilot; Lt. Monroe Stein, navigator; Lt. Joe D. McGraw, bombardier; (Kneeling, left to right) Lt. Frank W. McKinney, bombardier; Capt. Donald Manfredo, navigator; Capt. Richard J. Seebach, bombardier, and Capt. Robert L. Swanson, navigator. The high altitude precision bombing by the Superfortress crews was hailed as one of the outstanding bombardment performances of the war. Loss of the huge dry-dock greatly weakened Japan's ship repairing facilities. |
The Navigator is a key-man on the giant bomber, for it's his responsibility to get the ship - and its crew - to the
target and back. The B-29 is equipped with many gadgets which tend to simplify navigation.
Piloting a Superfort is no easy job. Missions similar to those run by the XX Bomber Command keep the pilot and co-pilot busy until the plane is safe on terra firma again. The Side Gunner on a B-29 huddles close into his blister where he can get a full view of the surrounding sky. |
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Seated on a revolving chair, the Center Gunner scans the sky for enemy fighters while the plane is bound to and from the target area. His position increases with importance as the fighters close in. One of three pressurized sections in this crew compartment, just aft of the gunners section in the center of the plane. Bunks are provided for long missions. The radioman is an important person on a Superfort. His job is self-explanatory. |
An Ordnance Officer of the XXI Bomber Command attaches the finely-adjusted fusing mechanism to bombs including incendiaries and fragmentation bombs - getting them ready for Tokyo in the cavernous jaw of a giant B-29. |
Amidst his delicate precision instruments, the Bombardier sits in the very nose of the Superfortress, which has unusually steady flight performance to aid him in attaining accuracy. |
Thirty-five feet long, this tunnel bypasses the unpressurized bomb bays and joins the pressurized control cabin and the pressurized gunners' compartment. There are three pressurized and two unpressurized sections in the large bomber. |
A long distance away from the pilot and bombardier, the Tail Gunner is the protectorate of the rear end. His job gets mighty hot at times. |
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Re-Presents Trophy Col. A. V. Jones, Commanding Officer, re-presents the large trophy won by members of the XX Bomber Command's Air Depot team recently at a local meet. Scoring 64 points, the Air Depot boys were 7 points better than the second-place Indian team. From left to right are: Cpl. Dave Smith, who placed second in the 120-yard high hurdles, fourth in the mile run; Col. Jones, Pfc. Lansceniese, fourth in javelin; S/Sgt. Ray Ekedal, first in the high hurdles, broad jump, pole vault and high jump; Cpl. Fred Mier, participant in the two mile cycle race; T/5 Chester Bickel, second in javelin, and Lt. Fred Nebera, third in javelin. |
Enter Net Meet Among the members of the XX Bomber Command entered in the All-American Tennis Tournament at Calcutta March 19 are Lt. Herbert Maranz, left, and Capt. Mervin Newberg. |
"FASCINATING THE WAY THAT THING SWINGS FROM SIDE TO SIDE, EH, MAC?" |
"Not just the best trained soldier in the world, not just the best equipped
soldier in the world, but the BEST INFORMED soldier in the world." |