Mission To Tokyo
Operation Meetinghouse, the Tokyo firebombing of March 9–10, 1945, is estimated to be the most destructive bombing assault in history. Told largely in the veterans’ own words, Robert F. Dorr’s Mission to Tokyo is a narrative of every aspect of this long-range bombing mission.
Flying B-29 Superfortresses at 28,000 feet, the U.S. was trying to take the war to Imperial Japan—but the high-altitude bombing wasn’t very accurate. Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay devised a new strategy, bringing the planes down to just 5,000 to 8,000 feet, increasing the danger of anti-aircraft fire but saving fuel and allowing for heavier bomb loads.
The result was the raid on Tokyo, which laid waste to 16 square miles and killed at least 100,000 Japanese, perhaps far more. Unfortunately, the bombing did not bring on the quick surrender some had hoped for. That would take six more months of bombing, culminating in the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Weaving this dramatic story with a history of the wider strategic air war—from the retaliatory Doolittle Raid in 1942 through the atomic attacks of 1945—Mission to Tokyo chronicles one of the most vital aspects of the war in the Pacific.
Hardcover Book : 336 pages
Publisher: Motorbooks International Publishers ( September 15, 2012 )
Item #: 13-644514
ISBN: 9780760341223
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 inches
Product Weight: 15.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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