Target Tokyo Author:Lawrence Cortesi NOTHING ELSE HAD WORKED General Curtis LeMay was frustrated by the poor showing of the B-29 raids over Japan. No matter how often we hit, or how accurately, we weren't driving Japan to her knees. It was time for a drastic change. And what a change! The commanders of the 73rd, 313th and 314th Bom... more »b Wings were shocked by the plan, but none could deny LeMay's brilliance. If their pilots could carry it off, the results would be devastating. The question was whether or not the Superforts could make a bombing run from 5,000 feet against heavy defenses around Tokyo. Four hundred planes were committed to action.
On paper, as Operation Meetinghouse, the plan looked perfect. Now, in the air, the entire operation rested on the nerves of the crews of the Superforts. They came in at night, low, and loaded with incendiaries. Their target: Tokyo!« less