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114-519: The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in the Mariana Islands for strategic bombing during World War II . The command was established at Smoky Hill Army Air Field , Kansas on 1 March 1944. After a period of organization and its assigned groups receiving their B-29 Superfortress aircraft, the command transferred first to Peterson Field , Colorado, then deployed to

228-421: A couple of runs over the target had to be made before the bombardier could find an opening in the clouds. At 11:00 am, Fat Man was released from the aircraft and after a long descent, the bomb exploded. The yield was estimated at 22 kilotons of TNT . Approximately 35,000 people died at Nagasaki from the immediate blast and fire. After releasing the bomb, Sweeney was forced to divert to Okinawa because of

342-573: A large navy and extensive naval fortifications. It opted to build up its naval forces, neglecting fixed defenses. Nevertheless, Truk was the main base for Japanese operations against Allied forces in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands , serving as the forward anchorage for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), and Truk Lagoon was considered the most formidable of all Japanese strongholds in

456-454: A little over three months they had built a support base and air field on Saipan, capable of supporting the 240 B-29s of the 73d Bombardment Wing and their logistical support units. On Tinian, the SeaBees built the largest bomber base ever, North Field . The 6th Naval Construction Brigade built four 8500-foot runways for the 313th Bombardment Wing , and all required infrastructure; then went to

570-403: A more specific firestorm event. When it was over, sixteen square miles (41 km .) of the center of Tokyo had gone up in flames and nearly 84,000 people had been killed. Fourteen B-29s were lost. The B-29 was finally beginning to have an effect. By mid-June, most of the larger Japanese cities had been gutted, and LeMay ordered new incendiary raids against 58 smaller Japanese cities. By now,

684-509: A new directive on 19 February. General LeMay had analyzed the structure of the Japanese economy, which depended heavily on cottage industries housed in cities close to major industrial areas. By destroying these feeder industries, the flow of vital components to the central plants could be slowed, disorganizing production of weapons vital to Japan. He decided to do this by using incendiary bombs rather than purely high-explosive bombs, which would, it

798-495: A problem with a fuel transfer pump, and because of the long flight with multiple bomb runs and circling for better weather. There was not even enough fuel left to fly to Iwo Jima. After refueling on Okinawa, the B-29 returned to Tinian. The Japanese Emperor ordered that the government accept the Allied terms of surrender at once. It took time for the full details to be worked out, and there was

912-764: A range which the B-29s could just about manage. Most important of all, they could be put on a direct supply line from the United States by ship. In August 1944, Major General Haywood S. Hansell , Jr was directed to take over command of the organization. Serious planning for the movement of the XXI Bomber Command's B-29s from their Second Air Force training bases in Kansas to newly constructed combat airfields on Saipan, Tinian and Guam began in April 1944. The construction and defense of

1026-494: A range which the B-29s could just about manage. Most important of all, they could be put on a direct supply line from the United States by ship. The XXI Bombardment Command had been assigned the overall responsibility of the B-29 operations out of the Marianas bases. The first B-29 arrived on Saipan on 12 October 1944. It was piloted by General Hansell himself. By 22 November, over 100 B-29s were on Saipan. The XXI Bomber Command

1140-463: A result, most of the first production B-29s were still held up at Air Technical Service Command modification centers, awaiting modifications and conversion to full combat readiness. By March 1944, the B-29 modification program had fallen into complete chaos, with absolutely no bombers being considered as combat ready. The program was seriously hampered by the need to work in the open air in inclement weather, as many hangars were simply too small to house

1254-451: A second atomic attack. The plutonium bomb called " Fat Man " was loaded into a B-29 known as Bockscar (Martin-Omaha built B-29-35-MO serial number 44-27297, the name often spelled Bock's Car), named after its usual commander, Captain Frederick C. Bock . However, on this mission, the aircraft was flown by Major Sweeney, with Capt. Bock flying one of the observation planes. The primary target

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1368-408: A series of fifteen strikes against oil production facilities which essentially shut down the Japanese oil industry. The B-29Bs were also stripped of much defensive gunnery, adding capacity for additional incendiary or high-explosive bombs. By now, the B-29 raids were essentially unopposed by Japanese fighters. In late June, B-29 crews felt sufficiently confident that they began to drop leaflets warning

1482-665: A very real danger that some elements of the Japanese military would still not accept surrender, and might attempt a military coup d'état, even against their Emperor. In the meantime, conventional bombing of Japanese targets still continued, with a record number of 804 B-29s hitting targets in Japan on 14 August. On the morning of 15 August, the Emperor broadcast by radio his command of Japan's surrender in an address to his nation. Practically none of his subjects had never heard his voice before. All further offensive operations against Japan ceased after

1596-672: A week before the US raid, the Japanese had withdrawn their larger warships (heavy cruisers and aircraft carriers) to Palau . Once the American forces captured the Marshall Islands , they used them as a base from which to launch an early morning attack on 17 February 1944 against Truk Lagoon. Operation Hailstone lasted for three days, as American carrier-based planes sank 12 smaller Japanese warships (light cruisers, destroyers, and auxiliaries) and 32 merchant ships, while destroying 275 aircraft, mainly on

1710-780: Is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) operations. The Twentieth Air Force commander is also the Commander, Task Force 214 (TF 214), which provides alert ICBMs to the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). Established on 4 April 1944 at Washington D.C, 20 AF was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force deployed to the Pacific Theater of World War II. Operating initially from bases in India and staging through bases in China, 20 AF conducted strategic bombardment of

1824-473: Is part of the larger Caroline Islands group. The area consists of eleven major islands (corresponding to the eleven municipalities of Truk lagoon, which are Tol , Udot , Fala-Beguets, Romanum, and Eot of Faichuk group, and Weno , Fefen , Dublon , Uman , Param, and Tsis of Nomoneas group) and 46 smaller ones within the lagoon, plus 41 on the fringing coral reef, and is known today as the Chuuk islands, part of

1938-574: Is responsible for maintaining and operating the Air Force's ICBM force. Designated as STRATCOM's Task Force 214, 20th Air Force provides on-alert, combat ready ICBMs to the president. Combined with the other two legs of the Triad, bombers and submarines, STRATCOM forces protect the United States with an umbrella of deterrence. The Twentieth Air Force was brought into existence on 4 April 1944 specifically to perform strategic bombardment missions against Japan. This

2052-409: Is served by United Airlines . The government operates a radio station. Interisland communication is often accomplished using citizens' band radio . Telephone services are limited on Chuuk, though a cellular network is established within some islands of the lagoon and in the near future on the outer islands. High speed Internet access via ADSL has been made available on a monthly subscription basis on

2166-468: Is the wreck of the submarine I-169 Shinohara which was lost when diving to avoid the bombing. The submarine had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The coral encrusted wrecks attract a diverse array of marine life, including manta rays, turtles, sharks and corals. In 2007, 266 species of reef fish were recorded by an Earthwatch team, and in 2006 the rare coral Acropora pichoni

2280-617: The 31st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (unarmed B-29s fitted with additional internal fuel tanks within the bomb bays and various photo mapping cameras) were also reassigned to Fifth Air Force at Johnson AB, Japan where they were combined with other aerial reconnaissance units. With the end of the Korean War in 1953, Far East Air Forces reorganized its forces and Twentieth Air Force units were reassigned. The bombardment units were reassigned to Strategic Air Command in 1954; fighter units to Fifth Air Force in 1955 and used for air defense. It

2394-643: The Cold War 's end and the breakup of the Soviet Union , these changes reshaped the basic fabric of the nation's nuclear deterrent forces. In the decades since its reactivation, 20th Air Force has experienced four major command identities. After one year in Strategic Air Command and another year in Air Combat Command , 20th Air Force was moved under Air Force Space Command in 1993. December 2009 marked

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2508-529: The Federated States of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean. This is a list of islands, villages and population following the 2010 census: It is not known when the islands of Chuuk were first settled, but archaeological evidence indicates that islands of Feefen and Wééné had human settlements in the first and second century BC. Later evidence indicates that widespread human settlements appeared in Chuuk during

2622-509: The Potsdam Conference on 31 July. On 6 August the atomic attack began with a flight of three special reconnaissance F-13As (RB-29s) which took off to report the weather over the primary and secondary targets. Col. Tibbets followed in his B-29 aircraft, Enola Gay , an hour later, accompanied by two other B-29s which would observe the drop. While on the way to Japan, Major Claude Eatherly , flying Straight Flush , radioed that Hiroshima

2736-623: The South Pacific theatre of World War II. There was a myth that Truk was heavily fortified, and it was given nicknames like "the Gibraltar of the Pacific," or Japan's equivalent of the Americans' Pearl Harbor . In fact: [T]he reality was somewhat different. (...) The lack of fortifications was less due to Japan's regard for international law than to Japan's economic limitations. It could not afford both

2850-566: The "Battle of Kansas". Beginning in mid-March, technicians and specialists from the Boeing Wichita and Seattle factories were drafted into the modification centers to work around the clock to get the B-29s ready for combat. The mechanics often had to work outdoors in freezing weather. As a result of superhuman efforts on the part of all concerned, 150 B-29s had been handed over to the XX Bomber Command by 15 April 1944. Operation Matterhorn

2964-520: The 14th century AD. The first recorded sighting by Europeans was made by Spanish navigator Álvaro de Saavedra on board the ship Florida during August or September 1528. They were later visited by Spaniard Alonso de Arellano on 15 January 1565 on board of galleon patache San Lucas . As part of the Caroline Islands , Truk was claimed by the Spanish Empire , which made an effort to control

3078-521: The 314th Bombardment Wing's remaining two groups, the 39th and 330th , joined in the attack on the Hodagaya Chemical Works in Koriyama . With the addition of the 39th and 330th, the XXI Bomber Command now had three wings, twelve groups, thirty-six squadrons of 15 B-29s each at their disposal. In May, the 58th Bombardment Wing completed its move from India to Tinian , adding four more groups to

3192-465: The 58th, 73rd, and 313th Bomb Wings dropped incendiary bombs on targets at Yawata in the southern island of Kyūshū. At the same time, the 314th BW hit an industrial area of Tokyo. The Japanese defenses were still effective enough to down four B-29s during the Yawata raid and three at Tokyo. Since there was still no official reaction from Japan, the Americans felt that there was no alternative but to prepare

3306-624: The AAF command staff which were aware of the Manhattan Project , and planned on using the B-29 to drop the Atomic Bombs, were concerned that the B-29 would be unable to carry out that highly secret mission. Since little progress in the bombing campaign was being made, General Arnold recalled General Hansell and moved General Curtis LeMay from the inactivating XX Bomber Command in India to take over XXI Bomber Command on Saipan. General LeMay arrived in

3420-429: The B-29 airfields on Saipan began almost immediately, even while the fighting was still going on. Naval Construction Battalions (N-C-B), the "SeaBees" began construction at a former Japanese airstrip called Aslito. This was later renamed Isley Field , after Navy Commander Robert H. Isely (unfortunately his name was misspelled and the incorrect version stuck). The SeaBees did not meet their schedule but came very close. In

3534-451: The B-29 encountered the Jet stream , which was a high-speed wind coming out of the west at speeds as high as 200 mph at precisely the altitudes at which the bombers were operating. This caused the bomber formations to be disrupted and made accurate bombing impossible. Because of the jet stream winds and bad weather, only 24 planes attacked the primary target; the majority dropped their bombs on

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3648-487: The B-29 raids were essentially unopposed by Japanese fighters. In late June, B-29 crews felt sufficiently confident that they began to drop leaflets warning the population of forthcoming attacks, followed three days later by a raid in which the specified urban area was devastated. By the end of June, the civilian population began to show signs of panic, and the Imperial Cabinet first began to consider negotiating an end to

3762-447: The Emperor's broadcast. After that time, most of the B-29s in the Pacific were diverted to missions of mercy, dropping food and clothing to thousands of Allied prisoners of war held in Japan, China, Manchuria, and Korea. 1066 B-29s participated in 900 missions to 154 camps. Some 63,500 prisoners were provided with 4470 tons of supplies. These flights cost eight B-29s lost by accidents, with 77 crew members aboard. The Japanese surrender

3876-634: The FEAF Bomber Command took over command of the 19th Bombardment Group and of the 22nd and 92nd Bombardment Groups which had been transferred from SAC bases in the United States. The other major components of Twentieth Air Force, the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing was reassigned to Fifth Air Force at Itazuke AB, Japan in September 1950, where its F-82 Twin Mustangs and F-80 Shooting Stars were used in combat over Korea. The very long-range RB-29s of

3990-474: The Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata on Kyūshū . Unfortunately, the Japanese had been warned of the approaching raid and the city of Yawata was blacked out and haze and/or smoke helped to obscure the target. Only 15 aircraft bombed visually while 32 bombed by radar. Only one bomb actually hit anywhere near the intended target, and the steel industry was essentially untouched. Although very little damage

4104-529: The Island of Weno from May 2010. Tourism, especially scuba diving among the many wrecks of Truk Lagoon, is the island's main industry. Copra (dried coconut meat) is the only cash crop , and output is relatively insignificant. Most of the inhabitants of outlying islands engage in subsistence activity only. In 1969, William A. Brown and French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and his team explored Truk Lagoon. Following Cousteau's 1971 television documentary about

4218-558: The Iwo Jima Air fields on 24 January. Thirty-three more returned to Iwo Jima on 29 January. The 313th's 504th and 505th groups joined in the attack on Kobe on 4 February, while on 9 February their sister groups, the 6th and 9th, made their initial training mission against the Moen Island Air Field on Truk. United States Marines landed on Iwo Jima 19 February 1945 with a mission to seize the island and for Navy SeaBees to utilize

4332-536: The Japanese Home Islands. It relocated to the Mariana Islands in late 1944, and continued the strategic bombardment campaign against Japan until the Japanese capitulation in August 1945. The 20 AF 509th Composite Group conducted the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, and remains as the only air force organization to have used a nuclear weapon in combat . Inactivated on 1 March 1955,

4446-528: The Japanese airfields to build emergency landing airfields for XXIst Bomber Command as well as fighter airfields for VII Fighter Command . On 25 March the Battle of Iwo Jima was declared over and the island secured, although mopping up continued until June. Construction Battalions extended and transformed the former Japanese fields to accommodate B-29s and the first AAF units moved in during the beginning of March. The high-altitude bombing raids on Japan carried out by

4560-468: The Japanese fleet was based at Truk, with its administrative center on Tonoas (south of Weno). At anchor in the lagoon were battleships , aircraft carriers , cruisers , destroyers , tankers , cargo ships , tugboats , gunboats , minesweepers , landing craft , and submarines . In particular, Yamato and Musashi were stationed at Truk for months around 1943, unable to participate in battle. The Japanese garrison consisted of 27,856 IJN men, under

4674-851: The Joint Chiefs of Staff made the decision that Operation Matterhorn would be phased out, and the 58th Bombardment Wing's B-29s would be moved to newly captured bases in the Marianas in the central Pacific. The last raid out of China was flown on 15 January 1945, which was an attack on targets in Formosa (Taiwan). The 58th Bombardment Wing then redeployed to new bases in the Marianas in February. The Marianas chain of islands, consisting primarily of Saipan , Tinian , and Guam , were considered as being ideal bases from which to launch B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan. The islands were about 1500 miles from Tokyo,

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4788-574: The Makasan railroad yards at Bangkok, Thailand . Bombardment operations against Japan were planned to be carried out from bases in China. There were four sites in the Chengtu area of China that were assigned to the B-29 operation—at Kwanghan, Kuinglai, Hsinching, and Pengshan. The primary flaw in the Operation Matterhorn plan was the fact that all the supplies of fuel, bombs, and spares needed to support

4902-644: The Mariana Islands, while the newly re-deployed Eighth Air Force would command B-29 wings based on Okinawa. This realignment was made in advance of the planned Invasion of Japan ( Operation Downfall ) set to begin in October 1945. XXI Bomber Command was inactivated, its organization under the direct control of Twentieth Air Force. By mid-July 1945, the combat missions over Japan were essentially un-opposed, with VII Fighter Command long range P-51 Mustangs operating from captured Iwo Jima airfields flying escort to

5016-535: The Marianas on 20 January 1945. General LeMay had analyzed the structure of the Japanese economy, which depended heavily on cottage industries housed in cities close to major industrial areas and issued new orders on 19 February. His plan was to destroy the feeder industries, that would slow or halt the flow of vital components to the central manufacturing plants, and disorganize the production of weapons vital to Japan. LeMay decided to do this by using incendiary bombs rather than purely high-explosive bombs, which would, it

5130-485: The Marianas-based B-29s. Missions primarily consisted of low-level incendiary raids on smaller Japanese cities, both at night as well as daylight on a daily basis. The 315th Bombardment Wing , which became operational at the beginning of July, carried out a series of strikes against oil production facilities which essentially shut down the Japanese oil industry. The 509th Composite Group was deployed overseas in

5244-513: The Nakajima factory at Musashino . The Japanese aircraft engine industry essentially ceased to exist after this time. On 13 April 327 B-29s burned out eleven more square miles of Tokyo. Seven more B-29s were lost. On 5 June, the B-29s attacked Kobe with such effectiveness that the city was crossed off the target list as not worth revisiting. By the end of the month, the six major cities on LeMay's list had all been effectively destroyed. Late May saw

5358-549: The Pacific was inactivated on 6 December 1945, and Twentieth Air Force placed under the Pacific Air Command, United States Army . The last of the World War II combat wings, the 315th Bombardment Wing, returned to the United States on 30 May 1946. The 19th Bombardment Group remained at North Field , Guam as its only operational group. In 1949, budget reductions forced the realignment and consolidation of Air Force units in

5472-670: The Pacific and Indian Oceans. During the course of this operation, the Japanese Navy seized the German possessions in the Marianas , Carolines, Marshall Islands and Palau groups by October 1914. Chuuk then became a possession of the Empire of Japan under the South Seas Mandate following Germany 's defeat. Naval Base Truk in the Truk Lagoon was the Empire of Japan 's main base in

5586-591: The Pacific, and the mission of Twentieth Air Force became the defense of the Ryukyu Islands and it was reassigned to Kadena AB , Okinawa . It commanded the following units: On 27 June 1950, the United Nations Security Council voted to assist the South Koreans in resisting the invasion of their nation by North Korea. President Harry S. Truman authorized General Douglas MacArthur (commander of

5700-511: The Pacific. On the various islands, the Japanese Civil Engineering Department and Naval Construction Department had built roads, trenches, bunkers and caves. Five airstrips, seaplane bases, a torpedo boat station, submarine repair shops, a communications center and a radar station were constructed during the war. Protecting these various facilities were coastal defense guns and mortar emplacements. A significant portion of

5814-579: The US occupying forces in Japan) to commit units to the battle. MacArthur ordered General George E. Stratemeyer , CIC of the Far Eastern Air Force (FEAF) to attack attacking North Korean forces between the front lines and the 38th parallel. At that time, the 22 B-29s of the 19th Bombardment Group stationed at Andersen Field on Guam were the only aircraft capable of hitting the Korean peninsula, and this unit

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5928-467: The XX and XXI Bombardment Commands were grouped under the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (USASTAF), under the command of General Carl A. Spaatz . The history of XXI Bomber Command terminated on 16 July 1945. On that date the command was redesignated Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Twentieth Air Force . This redesignation brought to an end the XXI Bomber Command as a separate establishment, as it

6042-439: The XXI Bomber Command as a separate establishment, as it was absorbed into the internal organizational structure of Twentieth Air Force and was placed under the command of USASTAF. A reorganization of United States military commands on 16 July 1945 placed Twentieth Air Force under the command and control of the new United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific . Twentieth Air Force would command B-29 wings directly based in

6156-578: The XXI Bomber Command. In April 1945, General LeMay gave new orders for more incendiary raids. This time, aircraft engine factories at Musashino and Nagoya were to be hit, but urban areas in Tokyo, Nagoya , Osaka , Kawasaki , Kobe , and Yokohama were also to be attacked. On 7 April 153 B-29s struck the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aircraft-engine complex at Nagoya, destroying about 90 percent of that facility. Five days later, 93 B-29s destroyed

6270-467: The aircraft indoors; by delays in acquiring the necessary tools and support equipment, and by the USAAF's general lack of experience with the B-29. General Arnold became alarmed at the situation and directed that his assistant, Major General B. E. Meyer, personally take charge of the entire modification program. The resulting burst of activity that took place between 10 March and 15 April 1944 came to be known as

6384-586: The airfields would be the United States Navy 's responsibility, as would logistical support. Before the B-29s could begin operating against Japan from the Marianas, the islands first had to be taken away from the Japanese. This began with Saipan on 11 June 1944 when a four-day naval and air bombardment of the island began. On 15 June United States Marine units stormed ashore, followed a day later by Army units. After several weeks of heavy fighting, during which over 3000 American and 24,000 Japanese people died,

6498-499: The arrival of the first of the 315th Bombardment Wing , whose B-29B planes were equipped with the new AN/APQ-7 "Eagle" radar. The antenna for this radar was an 18-foot, wing-shaped unit mounted under the forward fuselage. The antenna swept a 60-degree arc along the flight path of the plane, and a higher frequency (X-band) signal gave a much-improved radarscope picture. The 315th had been trained for low-altitude, nighttime pathfinder missions. Between 26 June and 10 August, they carried out

6612-479: The attack on Tokyo on 25 February, as did the 314th Bombardment Wing 's 19th Bombardment Group , flying out of North Field , Guam. With these new tactics, a total of 302 B-29s participated in the Operation Meetinghouse raid on Tokyo on the night of 9–10 March, with 279 arriving over the target. The raid was led by special pathfinder crews who marked central aiming points. It lasted for two hours. The raid

6726-522: The camera plane's altitude but did not attack. These photos, along with other intelligence gave the XXI Bomber Command the locations of the Japanese aircraft manufacturing plants and enabled mission planners to plan missions for the combat crews to attack. In honor of his mission, the aircraft was named "Tokyo Rose". The 3d Reconnaissance Squadron continued to fly single plane missions to Japan, taking high altitude pre-strike target planning photos and post-strike damage assessment photos. The losses incurred by

6840-446: The central Pacific, being headquartered at Harmon Field , Guam, in the Mariana Islands . Its assigned units engaged in very long-range bombardment operations, primarily against Japan until mid-July 1945. The Marianas chain of islands, consisting primarily of Saipan , Tinian , and Guam , were considered as being ideal bases from which to launch B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan. The islands were about 1500 miles from Tokyo,

6954-471: The command of Vice Admiral Masami Kobayashi, then Vice Admiral Chuichi Hara , and 16,737 Imperial Japanese Army men, under the command of Major General Kanenobu Ishuin. At one point, dropping a nuclear weapon on Truk was discussed by the United States government. In 1944, Truk's capacity as a naval base was destroyed through naval air attack in Operation Hailstone . Forewarned by intelligence

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7068-467: The command was reactivated 1 September 1991, as a component of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and became operationally responsible for all land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Twentieth Air Force headquarters is unique in that it has dual responsibilities to Air Force Global Strike Command and United States Strategic Command. As the missile Numbered Air Force for AFGSC, 20th Air Force

7182-595: The command were not causing a large amount of damage to the targets, primarily due to the jet stream winds over the islands. The failure of the command to successfully carry out its mission was causing severe problems, both with the War Department in Washington, which had planned to eliminate the Japanese industrial base by the same strategic bombing techniques which were being carried out in Europe. Also General Hap Arnold and

7296-507: The effective altitude of defending fighters. LeMay suggested that high-altitude, daylight attacks be phased out and replaced by low-altitude, high-intensity incendiary raids at nighttime. The aircraft would attack individually, which meant that no formation assembly over the base at the start of the mission or along the way would be needed. This would extend the range of the aircraft and allow them to reach targets in northern Honshu and Hokkaido . The 6th and 9th Bombardment Groups joined in

7410-399: The enemy being done. 8 December saw 82 planes attacking the Iwo Jima Air Fields (Motoyama Nos 1 and 2). Then it was back to attacking Japan, hitting Nagoya on 18 and 22 December. The airfields on Iwo Jima were revisited on 24 December and Tokyo the final target of the month on 27 December. In addition to the wing strikes, December saw the initiation of another type of single plane mission:

7524-468: The final transition of 20th Air Force to the newly created Air Force Global Strike Command . Twentieth Air Force Headquarters' changed its location in 1993, moving from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to its current home at FE Warren Air Force Base , Wyoming. Today 450 Minuteman III missiles remain on alert. Twentieth Air Force headquarters is unique in that it has dual responsibilities to Air Force Global Strike Command and United States Strategic Command . As

7638-411: The first time, the B-29 encountered the jet stream, which was a high-speed wind coming out of the west at speeds as high as 200 mph at precisely the altitudes at which the bombers were operating. This caused the bomber formations to be disrupted and made accurate bombing impossible. Concerned about the relative failure of the B-29 offensive to deal any crippling blows to Japan, General LeMay issued

7752-403: The forward bases in China had to be flown in from India over the Hump, since Japanese control of the seas around the Chinese coast made seaborne supply of China impossible. By mid-June, enough supplies had been stockpiled at Chinese forward bases to permit the launching of a single attack against targets in Japan . It was a nighttime raid to be carried out on the night of 14/15 June 1944 against

7866-497: The ground. In the ensuing explosion, yielding about 12 kilotons of TNT in explosive power, about 75,000 people were killed and 48,000 buildings were destroyed. With no official statement from the Japanese government, there was no let-up with the conventional B-29 raids. B-29s from the 58th, 73rd, and 313th Bombardment Wings hit the Toyokawa Arsenal the next day. On the night of 7 August, the 525th Bombardment Group dropped 189 tons of mines on several different sea targets. On 8 August,

7980-425: The ground. The consequences of the attack made "Truk lagoon the biggest graveyard of ships in the world". The attacks for the most part ended Truk as a major threat to Allied operations in the central Pacific. The Japanese garrison on Eniwetok was denied any realistic hope of reinforcement and support during the invasion that began on 18 February, greatly assisting U.S. forces in their conquest of that island. Truk

8094-414: The island was finally declared secure on 9 July. The seizure of Saipan enabled invasions of Guam and Tinian to proceed, which were attacked on 21 and 24 July respectively. The Marine Corps and the United States Army 77th Infantry Division's 305th Regimental Combat Team landed on Guam. By 10 August the island was secured. Tinian was assaulted on 24 July, and by 1 August it was secured. Construction of

8208-436: The islands in the late 19th century. Chuuk Lagoon was inhabited by several tribes that engaged in intermittent warfare, as well as a small population of foreign traders and missionaries. Spanish control over the islands was nominal. The Spaniards stopped to raise a flag over Chuuk in 1886 and returned in 1895 as part of an attempt to assert control and negotiate peace between warring Chuukese tribes. No permanent Spanish settlement

8322-564: The lagoon and its ghostly remains, the atoll became a scuba diving lure, drawing wreck diving enthusiasts from around the world to see its numerous, virtually intact sunken ships. The shipwrecks and remains are sometimes referred to as the "Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon". Scattered mainly around the Dublon (Tonowas), Eten , Fefan and Uman islands within the Truk group, several shipwrecks lie in crystal clear waters less than fifteen metres (50 ft) below

8436-549: The longest American air raid of the war. Other B-29s laid mines in the Moesi River. At the same time, a third batch of B-29s attacked targets in Nagasaki. These raids all showed a lack of operational control and inadequate combat techniques, drifting from target to target without a central plan and were largely ineffective. In Washington, it was decided that new leadership was needed for Twentieth Air Force. General Wolfe's replacement

8550-517: The missile Numbered Air Force for AFGSC, 20th Air Force is responsible for maintaining and operating the Air Force's ICBM force. Designated as STRATCOM's Task Force 214, 20th Air Force provides on-alert, combat ready ICBMs to the president. Combined with the other two legs of the Triad, bombers and submarines, STRATCOM forces protect the United States with an umbrella of deterrence. Bombardment Wings Fighter Wings Missile Wings Other Wings and Groups Chuuk Lagoon Chuuk Lagoon

8664-413: The population of forthcoming attacks, followed three days later by a raid in which the specified urban area was devastated by mass carpet bombing. By the end of June, the civilian population began to show signs of panic, and the Imperial Cabinet first began to consider negotiating an end to the war. However, at that time, the Japanese military was adamant about continuing on to the bitter end. In June 1945,

8778-399: The raid, with 279 arriving over the target. The raid was led by special pathfinder crews who marked central aiming points. It lasted for two hours. The raid was a success beyond General LeMay's wildest expectations. The individual fires caused by the bombs joined to create a general conflagration due to strong winds of some 17 to 28 mph (27 to 45 km/h) at ground level, that prevented

8892-443: The results were indifferent, with bombs scattered all over the general target area. Aware that there was now a new threat, Japanese aircraft based on Iwo Jima staged a low-level raid on Isley Field on 2 November , damaging several B-29s on the ground. Retaliatory strikes were ordered against the two enemy airfields on Iwo Jima on 5 and 11 November with the 497th and 498th Bombardment Groups dispatched to bomb airfields there, but

9006-560: The results were once again poor. As in the XX Bomber Command Operation Matterhorn bombing campaign from India, the B-29s were in danger of being dissipated in tactical missions and even these were not all that successful. In order to properly plan missions to Japan, up-to-date reconnaissance photos of the proposed targets were needed. Other than information which was used during the Doolittle Raid in 1942, there

9120-408: The roads and transportation systems are poor or in disrepair; an extensive infrastructural redevelopment plan began, consisting of a five-phase project to completely reconstruct the existing sewer, water and storm drainage systems as well as pour concrete roadways in the majority of the villages of Weno. Chuuk International Airport ( IATA airport code TKK) is on the administrative island of Moen. It

9234-537: The secondary target of the Tokyo Docks. The group returned to Musashino on the 27th and closed out November with a raid on the Tokyo Industrial Area and Docks. The pace picked up the next month, with a return to Musashino on 3 December. Again, poor bombing results were achieved, with the high speed jet stream winds scattering the bomb drops and the aircraft in the formation, with the result of not much damage to

9348-570: The spring of 1945. The 509th was initially a part of XXI Bombardment Command based in the Marianas . By July, the bombers were established at North Field on Tinian , which had just been completed for the 313th Bombardment Wing . It was, however, under the direct operational control of the commander, Twentieth Air Force. The mission of the unit was the operational use of the Atomic Bomb . It had only one Bombardment Squadron—the 393rd, commanded by Major Charles W. Sweeney . The 509th Composite Group

9462-477: The squadron in this type of activity were relatively light. Seldom were the Japanese able to get fighters up to 30,000 feet in time to intercept the photo ships. All four groups of the 73d Wing were sent on their first mission to Japan on 24 November with 111 planes airborne. The target was the Nakajima Aircraft Engine Plant at Musashino in the arsenal sector of Tokyo. Also, for the first time,

9576-445: The surface. In waters devoid of normal ocean currents, divers can easily swim across decks littered with gas masks and depth charges , and below decks can be found evidence of human remains. In the massive ships' holds are the remnants of fighter aircraft, tanks, bulldozers, railroad cars, motorcycles, torpedoes, mines, bombs, boxes of munitions, radios, plus thousands of other weapons, spare parts, and other artifacts. Of special interest

9690-412: The target, and four Superfortresses had to abort because of the usual engine problems, and combat formations were scrappy. The bombing results were mediocre, with only nine planes bombing the primary target and only a few bombs hitting it. The same two groups returned to Truk on 30 October with even fewer bombs landing on the target. The third try, on 2 November, was briefed as a radar bombing mission. Again

9804-489: The two other bombs ( Little Boy , Fat Man ) had arrived on Tinian on 26 July, being delivered by the USS ; Indianapolis  (CA-35) . On 24 July, a directive was sent to General Carl A. Spaatz ordering the 509th to deliver its first atomic bomb as soon as weather would permit. The Japanese cities of Hiroshima , Kokura , Niigata and Nagasaki were potential targets. President Harry S. Truman gave his final go-ahead from

9918-490: The war. However, at that time, the Japanese military was adamant about continuing on to the bitter end. In June 1945, the XX and XXI Bombardment Commands were grouped under the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (USASTAF), under the command of General Carl A. Spaatz . The history of XXI Bomber Command terminated on 16 July 1945. On that date the command was redesignated Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Twentieth Air Force . This redesignation brought to an end

10032-417: The weather strike. These were missions to Japan to collect weather data and drop nuisance bombs on Japanese cities. Again, these were high altitude missions with surprisingly low losses. The 3d PRS lost two planes in December. Out of the 75 weather strike missions flown in December, there were only three losses. During the same time period the 73rd Wing lost 21 planes to all causes on the six multi-plane raids by

10146-583: The west end of the island and at West Field laid down two 8500-foot runways for the 58th Bombardment Wing . On Guam the 5th NCB built North Field for the 314th Bombardment Wing and Northwest Field for the 315th Bombardment Wing . The 73d Bombardment Wing was ordered to the Marianas rather than to the CBI Theater after its training with Second Air Force in Kansas. The first B-29 arrived at Isley Field , Saipan on 12 October 1944. By 22 November, over 100 B-29s were at Isley Field. The XXI Bomber Command

10260-547: The wing as a whole. The pace continued to quicken for the 73d in January. Musashino on 9 January cost six planes; Nagoya on 14 January, another five. One weather strike, out of 83 flown, was lost on 10 January, but help was on the way as new B-29s from the United States were arriving almost daily and new groups were arriving in the Marianas. The 313th Bombardment Wing , operating from Tinian, sent 44 planes to Pagan Island on 16 January, another 33 to Truk on 21 and 28 January to attack

10374-464: Was Major General Curtis E. LeMay , who arrived in India on 29 August. Supply problems and aircraft accidents were still preventing a fully effective concentration of force and effort. In addition, Japanese defensive efforts were becoming more effective. By late 1944, it was becoming apparent that B-29 operations against Japan staged out of bases in China and India were far too expensive in men and materials and would have to be stopped. In December 1944,

10488-439: Was General Kenneth B. Wolfe. The first B-29 reached its base in India on 2 April 1944. In India, existing airfields at Kharagpur, Chakulia , Piardoba and Dudkhundi had been converted for B-29 use. All of these bases were located in southern Bengal and were not far from port facilities at Calcutta . The first B-29 bombing raid from India took place on 5 June 1944. Ninety-eight B-29s took off from bases in eastern India to attack

10602-509: Was a completely self-sufficient unit, with its own engineer, material, and troop squadrons as well as its own military police unit. Since the Manhattan project was carried out in an atmosphere of high secrecy, the vast majority of the officers and men of the 509th Composite Group were completely ignorant of its intended mission. With the testing of the Atomic Bomb completed in the United States,

10716-429: Was a success beyond General LeMay's wildest expectations. The individual fires caused by the bombs joined to create a general conflagration, which would have been classified as a firestorm but for prevailing winds gusting at 17 to 28 mph (27 to 45 km/h). When it was over, sixteen square miles of the center of Tokyo had gone up in flames and nearly 100,000 people had been killed. Fourteen B-29s were lost. The B-29

10830-533: Was absorbed into the internal organizational structure of Twentieth Air Force and was placed under the command of USASTAF. Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) ( 20th AF ) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base , Wyoming . 20 AF's primary mission

10944-652: Was actually done, the Yawata raid was hailed as a great victory in the American press, since it was the first time since the Doolittle raid of April 1942 that American aircraft had hit the Japanese home islands. On the night 10–11 August, 56 B-29s staged through British air bases in Ceylon attacked the Plajdoe oil storage facilities at Palembang on Sumatra in Indonesia. This involved a 4030-mile, 19-hour mission from Ceylon to Sumatra,

11058-490: Was assigned the mission of destroying the aircraft industry of Japan in a series of high-altitude, daylight precision attacks. However, General Hansell was fully aware that his crews still lacked the necessary experience to carry out such missions. In late October and early November 1944, a series of tactical raids were carried out as training exercises for the crews. On 27, 18 October B-29s attacked lightly defended Japanese installations on Truk . The submarine pens at Truk were

11172-512: Was assigned the task of destroying the aircraft industry of Japan in a series of high-altitude, daylight precision attacks. The first raid against Japan took place on 24 November 1944. The target was the Nakajima Aircraft Company 's Musashi engine plant just outside Tokyo. 111 B-29s took off, Seventeen of them had to abort due to the usual spate of engine failures. The remainder approached the target at altitudes of 27–32,000 feet. For

11286-464: Was chosen (secretly) to be the operational component of the Manhattan Project in 1944, and performed the atomic attacks on Japan in August 1945. However, in early 1944, the B-29 was not yet operationally ready. The aircraft had been in development at Boeing since the late 1930s and the first XB-29 (41-0002) flew on 21 September 1942. However, the aircraft suffered from an overwhelming number of development issues, and with engine problems (fires). As

11400-570: Was clear for a visual bomb drop. Navy weapons expert Captain William Parsons armed the bomb while in flight, as it was deemed too dangerous to do this on the ground at North Field, lest an accident happen and the bomb go off, wiping out the entire base. At 8:15 am, the Enola Gay released Little Boy from an altitude of 31,500 feet (9,600 m). The radar fuse on the bomb had been preset to go off at an altitude of 2,000 feet (610 m) above

11514-632: Was done at the insistence of General Henry H. (Hap) Arnold , commander of the USAAF, mainly to avoid having the new B-29 Superfortress being diverted to tactical missions under pressure from the China Burma India Theater commanders. Twentieth Air Force was to be commanded by General Arnold himself at Joint Chiefs of Staff level. Twentieth Air Force was completely autonomous and its B-29s were to be completely independent of other command structures and would be dedicated exclusively against strategic targets in Japan. In addition Twentieth Air Force

11628-711: Was established, and tribal violence continued until the German colonial era. The Caroline Islands were sold to the German Empire in 1899, after Spain withdrew from the Pacific in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War . During the First World War , the Japanese Navy was tasked with pursuing and destroying the German East Asia Squadron and protection of the shipping lanes for Allied commerce in

11742-399: Was finally beginning to have an effect. On the night of 13–14 March, eight square miles of Osaka went up in flames. On 16–17 March, three square miles of Kobe were destroyed, and on 19–20 March in a return visit to Nagoya, three more square miles were destroyed. This destructive week had killed over 120,000 Japanese civilians at the cost of only 20 B-29s lost. A month later, on 12 April,

11856-520: Was formally signed on 2 September 1945, aboard the huge battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay , bringing the Pacific War to an end. Following the end of World War II, Twentieth Air Force remained in the Pacific, being headquartered on Guam . The vast majority of its fleet of B-29 Superfortreses were returned to the United States as part of "Operation Sunset". The United States Strategic Air Forces in

11970-454: Was hoped, cause general conflagrations in large cities like Tokyo or Nagoya , spreading to some of the priority targets. In addition, LeMay had concluded that the effects of the jet stream, cloud cover, and high operating altitudes were to blame for the failure of the B-29 raids to do any significant damage to the Japanese war industry. The initial raids against Japan had taken place at high altitudes in order to stay above anti-aircraft fire and

12084-441: Was hoped, cause general conflagrations in large cities like Tokyo or Nagoya , spreading to some of the priority targets. The first raid to use these new techniques was on the night of 9–10 March against Tokyo . Another wing—the 314th Bombardment Wing (19th, 29th, 39th, and 330th BG) commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas S. Power —had arrived in the Marianas and was stationed at North Field on Guam. A total of 302 B-29s participated in

12198-593: Was identified. On 12 April 2011, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation program Foreign Correspondent screened a report on Chuuk Lagoon likening the effect of the impending massive release of tens of thousands of tonnes of oil from the rusting Japanese warships into the coral reef to that of the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. However, given the poor state of the Japanese war effort in 1944, many of

12312-427: Was inactivated on 1 March 1955. Twentieth Air Force was reactivated on 1 September 1991 as a component of Strategic Air Command and located at Vandenberg AFB , California. Its mission was the responsibility for all land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)s. 20th Air Force's rebirth came at a time when America's nuclear forces were entering a decade of unprecedented force reductions and changes. Spawned by

12426-501: Was isolated by Allied forces, as they continued their advance towards Japan by invading other Pacific islands, such as Guam , Saipan , Palau , and Iwo Jima . Truk was attacked again from 12 to 16 June 1945 by part of the British Pacific Fleet during Operation Inmate . Cut off, the Japanese forces on Truk and other central Pacific islands ran low on food and faced starvation before Japan surrendered in August 1945. Most of

12540-462: Was ordered to move to Kadena air base on Okinawa and begin attacks on North Korea . These raids began on 28 June. On 29 June, clearance was given for B-29 attacks on airfields in North Korea. The B-29s were frequently diverted into tactical attacks against advancing North Korean troops. On 8 July, a special FEAF Bomber Command was set up under the command of Major General Emmett O'Donnell. On 13 July,

12654-454: Was scant information about the locations of Japanese industry, especially the aircraft industry. On 1 November 1944, two days after arriving on Saipan, A 3d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron F-13A Superfortress (photo reconnaissance-configured B-29) took off bound for Tokyo. The 3d PRS attached to the 73d Bombardment Wing . The aircraft flew over Tokyo at 32,000 feet for 35 minutes taking picture after picture. A few fighters made it up to

12768-553: Was the Empire of Japan 's main naval base in the South Pacific theatre during World War II . It was the site of a major U.S. attack during Operation Hailstone in February 1944, and Operation Inmate , a small assault conducted by British and Canadian forces during June 1945. Chuuk means mountain in the Chuukese language . The lagoon was known mainly as Truk (a mispronunciation of Ruk ), until 1990. Other names included Hogoleu , Torres , Ugulat, and Lugulus . Chuuk Lagoon

12882-597: Was the name for the B-29 Superfortress offensive against the Empire of Japan from airfields in China. On 10 April 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) informally approved Operation Matterhorn. The operational vehicle was to be the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) of the XX Bomber Command . The headquarters of the XX Bomber Command had been established at Kharagpur India on 28 March 1944. The commander

12996-515: Was to be the Kokura Arsenal, with the seaport city of Nagasaki as the alternative. Bockscar took off on 9 August, with Fat Man on board. This time, the primary target of Kokura was obscured by dense smoke left over from the earlier B-29 raid on nearby Yawata, and the bombardier could not pinpoint the specified aiming point despite three separate runs. So Sweeney turned to the secondary target, Nagasaki. There were clouds over Nagasaki as well, and

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