· . .

'

VOL I 110.' IIAHIL I....

() MUCN WAI lAD

MONTll Foa JAI'I PMI ,

e .lAPS TRAIlI_T
I'lAIlfl 011 IAlIOH -,
e J~ IIW va.

_17
NIHT TACTICS PMI IS

e
e
FLAK fVASlOfl

INI' IIICCMNITIOfl
_II
 XX I B 0 M B ERe 0 M MAN D

~lilTE1LiGENCE REPORT
12 April 1945

XXI BOI'COM OPERATIONS

Three Aircraft Plants Bombed Same Night 3
73rd Attacks Nakajima Plant 4
Kyushu Hit on Command's 50th Strike 5
March -- Bad Month fcrr Japs 6
Gibson Girl Leads to·Rescue of 20 8
XXI BOMCOM TARGETS
Japs Now Transport New Planes on Barges 9
Photo Coverage of the Week 12
J AP AIR DEFENSE
Jap Day vs Night Tactics 13
Direction and Level of Approach of E/A 14
Tojo Packs 40 mm Punch 16
British Plane Markings 16
Evidence of Jap Air Crew Shortage 16
Jap Night Fighters Tricky 16
FLAK INTELLIGENCE
Evesion of Flak 17
SPECIAL REPORTS
High Altitude Ship Recognition 2;1.
Warning Gunners -- Watch for This GUy 24
Can't See 'Em __ (tfust Be Sunk) 24

•
 ""I~,11.S

~
------- .

~~ Xt'(/#]omCc1II. OPERATIONS

It 1s 1ntended that thls Weekly re_

port be a source or il1forlllat'1on tor co:n_
bat1tcre"s and starr orfic81'S who have a
leg 1lllate interest in the OP81'ations of
the ;0;:1 BOIlIber COllmland. "'!thln thou
lilllits 1t should receive the "ldest pos_
provls1ons or An ~80-5.
slble circUlntlon perlllisslble under the

In order that a IlIB.Xi/tlJ1lI ot Intelll_

gence cay be inclUded, the report Is
liven an OVerall clasSiflcatiofi of Sec_
ret. ihen the nature ot the materlal
warrants, indivldual artlcles have re_
ceiVed a lower securlty claSSiricat1on.
Olll o The report Is So assembled thet the
C p nent sections lIlay be r8lll0ved lHKt
Circulated or tlled sep8retely. It por_
tions are reproduced, security regula_
credited.
tions IIIUst be Observed and the source

CorresPOndence regarding this PUb_

~n(H!.l&
lication ShOUld be address lid to the Com_
APO 234. c/o POst"~ster,
General, XXI DOlDber COllr:land,
San FranCisco,
California, Attention: AC Of S. A-2.

9h-ta Ale PLANTS BOMBED SAME NluHT

.-
r '.
' .•.. •
. ....
~ t
~~
• •
fj~
~ '
JAIIEs
fI
.,f;~~
n.· GARCIA
C010l:lel, G.a.c.
Ae or a, 04.-2
XXI 80abIr c~,.s
Jap ~aln on the nlcbt. or
AprU b, sendlQ& each or t.be
.nt.l, oplratlns _In.. aaainst
croned tu.rDM ear17 &ad 61 l1ropped ... 1n&l•
l.r and by ra.dar Oft the ~aobUa_
A.1.rc.Jo&.rl. Coapalq (TUpt ,..) .lob
is DII&1" the TaebU.... AlrrteU. i.
H: C.G.XXI B.C. Initials(4& tr.nat a.1rc:ran plant. in Japaft. aU_ . . t or 10'70. TbU plant. U
DATI~ 6""11 1"" ~ tbe.r baa doge4 r.connala-
attellPU since the at.rlll:el,
credited wtth t!M uar.tb1.7 or about.
au percent. or t.~e c " ' t pla_
ruwu are Judaed to be eual_ produced la Japu:. Ibe Olme.~blp
in aOM cas... of the plant bu not bua _ub-
1laM4 but. i t u bel1 .....4 to be
73RD KITS T4CHIJl'.A~4 .SHab i Ina tM Azw:I r1«hla' OUU'
aDd poulb1.7 Mat r~ur rat aDd
"'Inc aounted 113 a1r-
__ ..
t.he recoa:alssanee tJ'P'U Clare aDd
Ida..
the alaalon. P-'" ...-
.
.- .. .
;",: •. ;:""t;~'
.. "
. :ftt 1Ib.ieh attacked tbl.
tar••t drOpr4 1,931 15M_pound oPal
ase 7D-poun bcencUarles and 6~
tlares with utlobsal""u4 rasul t s,
""oa 5,700 to 7,200 ,t••t.
Port,. ellht ot tbe "1118" air-
vart bCllDbed r.a• ..,ak1 IndusQ'lal
&I"_,L_ dropping 1,502 15150_poun4
and :l5!: 7o-pow:1C5 IBa by radar.
hit wget ot opportnnl ty.
ODe a1rcratt was lost to unkncnrn
caus... About 215 righters were
seen and three attacks sustained,
Plak was 118cUum to heavy, meager to
lIoderate and inaceurate.
SUTD finS SHIZUOK.&.
The 314th l , target tor the night
ot 3-4 Ap1'll was the Shlzuoka Alr-
cratt Engine Works. '!'his plant 1.
bel1evecS to be owned by the Ul tsu_
b18hls and Is one of the newer otles
In the business. Still In the pra-
cess or eonstructl~n.
put would constitute only a re18_
tlvelJt small percentage of total
Jap combat aircraft enslneJ!l. How_
ever, with engines an indicated
critical item in Jap aircrat't pro-
duction and in view or production
potellUals or this modern plant, lt
has been cOnl1dered a target worthy
ot' attack.
Forty &1ght ot 49 alrcraft drop-
ped their bClllbs through a to 2/10
clouds visually and by radar. Al_
titude tor bClllbina was 7,000 to
9.000 teet. Tonnage dropped inclu-
ded 705 S50_pound OPs and 2p 480_
pound IBa. ResultJ!l were estimated
:\\~fi73':itfttadu.#~ep~
.: .. ~ .
MiSSion No. 5l,flown b~ the 73rd
"lng on the night of 1-2 April was
a heartbreaker. S1:x aircfatt ta11.
e~ to return and no new ~amage was
toun~ on the target -- the Nakajima
A1l"cratt Engine Plant at Tokyo, (Tal'oo
get ~57).
rLthe 121 aircraft a1J'borne.
115 bombed vhually an~ by ra~ar
thro~h the haze which wes over the
• targdt. Altt tude tor bombing was
.. P' ,_......::..
a. poor to ucelhllt
enem;y f'1ghters 1Nlre Ob;ery'::-'
attacks were lIade. Plair '" tltt'
and heavy, lDeager and 1_ ~
No B.. 29s were lost. ~ .::>
3l3TB HITS KOIZ01Q:
ape"
Twn
The [obuml Plant ot tbe
j 1ma Aircrart COIIlpany (Taraet ~
is located Just SOtltb ot til 0..0:
Itolzuml Airfield about 60 .u~~
ot TokTo. It is one at the
Japanese aircraft incmstry.
duces Navy Cotllbnt types ar.d b
It:
pal alr.frame-assembly PlantsP"~h(.
tlmated to account r~)" 25 ~
of total Jap combat a1J'cran. '
The plant was hit on the 1#1
of 3-4 AprU by 48 aircraft or III
313th Wlng. They dropped 1,(1'
550-pound OPs and 202 flares. r.
target was completely clouCl eOft!ll
and radar was used. Eomb1ll& llt-I
tude: 6,000 to 8,000 teet. Crtr
present out- est1.nJated results as good, CIl
observed.
Elghteen additlonal a1rcran,t'
the 78 airborne, bombed the n
area or Tokyo with 520 5SGopa
general purpose bombs, by I'd
from 9,000 to 10,000 teet. YW:I
aircraft faUed to bOlllb.
Thirty one enemy aircraft III
seen over Koizum1 and 26 over fiIII l
bu.t only one ToDY and one UDi~'
tied plane ventured to attaet. )1
aircratt were lost. Flak was bllll!·
meager to moderate and inae e:",
Some :,ocket flares were reper
(Secret)
5,900 to 7,900 feet. 'the1 :~
464 550-pound general purpOs ....
11"-
One ot the B_29S1 W8~:lDI'
lost to enemy tighter S :otf'I rr
35 attacks which the bOll . . "
ce1ve~. ene enemy tighter07'"
stroyed, two probably deJ!ltr 11'..
One aircraft llrobabl1 ~ :::--1'011 b'
to flak, Which.as of
type. med1Ul1l and'heav1••
th:-,.r'
moderate. (5e;ret)
1•
The ~'ing encountered 24 fillhte
and saw 31 more wh1ch CllCl not ai~
tack. Forty five attaCY..s were maCle
on the bombers, one of Which sus-
.:z: tained da1llllge.
en Continuously pointed rlak heavy
meager to mo~erate and in8~cur8t;
was encountered. There was SOlDe
.:::> barrage tire. Two trawlers opened
fire on sOllle of the air.craft, daQ8.~
,).. gina one flYing at 600 feet anCl
~
possibly causing another to Clttch
1n the vicinity. Ten surv1vors of
this a1J'crart were picked up by a
.'" (. l1tegue.r~ sub. This was the only
plane lost on the mission.
fj~e XXI)Bo~er (rounde~
1f1r~t sg
Cotmp8.nd. One enellO' aircraft was claimed
O'Jt its a ChunM'ed mis_ a8 probably ClestroyeCl anCl four as
::rf~rttciPated
!IOM on t~t Cl Y 0 March,,1 th damaged.
& tllo-w1ng er-t • argets for
Strike Attack No. All buildings 1n the plant area
In by the 73rCl anCl 3l4th \'lings ,,,ere ot Target 1870 rece1veCl at least
the Techiera1 !!achine Works and the. one ~irect hit anCl were reporteCl on
OIIUra A1rtield on the Jap home is- fire, with the exception of one
land ot Kyushu. smoke_covereCl bUild1~. Sixteen
bull~lngs in a barracks area recei_
The last of 149 aircraft sched- ved damage and two were gutted. One
hangar type building was 60 percent
uled for the attack were airborne
by 04l~ hours. destroyed,three others were gutted,
one had minor root dSllI8ge. Add1~
ttonal damage to other bullCl1ngs
The Tach1arai ~achine Works (TeI'--
let 1870) is located in north_ was seen in the str1ke phOtos.
ust K)'ushu and i8 a part of tl)e
fach1arei ArJ:lY Air Arsenal. It is 3l4TH WING
devoted to production of aircraft
Ill(ines aDd sOllie aircrart assembly. The 314th Wing mounteCl 34 air·
In addition, it serves as a repair craft, two or wb.ich d1Cl not bomb.
unit tor the Tachiaral Army Air- The others bombed omura Airfield
Held, 1Ih1ch it adjoins. visually thr ough a to ../10 cloud
trom 15,700 to 17,500 teet,dropping
The c.ura Naval Alr Station. 2eo 550_pound OPs.
('rarlet 849) is part or the vast
1JInr, A1..rcrert complex {pr04uction., The aircrart at this WiD! raD il>
to 30 enemy aircratt, but recei'fed
IUllibly 'of enginea airtrames'
::it1eation and repair eenter.ete~ only ineftectt.e oppodtiOD rN_
I&i 11 prilltarily important as the them. They claimed two as Clestroy-
btl n t operational lan~ an~ seaplane ea,one probable ard two 4Pale4. 80
1 or the Sasebo area. !_2w were lost.. F.Lak ft!I I118qer
to tntense and Inaccurate to acCur-
73RD WING ate.
It ~:.7~rd Wing round ao cloud 0'1.. Prel1JliDl1'1 esti_ttoD ot tbI
lilt 'Il'or:;rset, the rachiarai llach_ bcablD1 aceura01 of thlJ Ws. 111-
eratt &1:-' ark! 106 or the 1115 alr_ dieatea that it • • uceuent. ntft.e
bOIl It. ~Ol'Qt bOlllbe~ it viauallJ t U l l t . . hit b1 thre. conce ",,",
~~!*d '1 S83 to 17,500 f.et. Tbey tlon.s or about olD' bUrSta eacbo
,:ir....re obi"""'" aDd 1n th.t l,U\
550-pOUM geaval
of t;be .trin ~OI the tarae . .
l%ltt ,.bl -- 4.&3 tOni. line
iCl hot bOlllb. ,.11:8 eOftJ"e4. (8eCJ',t)
•
l elTe lltr.lke mUsions by the
X I BOllber COlImIsnd against the Jap_
8MS. hOlll.land during !!arch con-
tributed toward lDak1ng it an unhap..
damage
o.ustry tor
sqt:are feet.

Five
(to Target 193) to ~

missions
tbe

111ft...,
month was 1'13.

Wel"e
blred tarSe'tS and mallY unidentified
ll1dUJ
ttles • The Alcnl Aircraft
torkS, E1tokU plant, Target 1729,
The other two mlssiona cl7llplet_
ina the larch series are cl.8.ssit1ed
as Top Secret and cannot be report_
P1ID.ooth tor the Nips. attacks against deSignate" 1:" ed here •
.., daaaged 4Uring the first Nagoya
ary targets 1n the e1Hel! ot
Three ot the attacks"Em!! again s t Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe. ~ attack. The charts which tollow SU:tmar_
tha enemy" &1reratt industry, mak.. suIting from these sttack! L! 1ze all the da1ll8ge to aireraft
In& a total ot 18 such missions at In two mission! to Kyu!hU,units
sesed at :31.81 square mUes.. ot till Bomber command bombed Oi ta. plants aD.d urban areas trom the be_
th, end of !larch. The additional cludecl 1n this Is damage to 61 ginning ot our operations to the
taclliar&1 and OmUra air fields and
till taehiarai l!ach1ne Works w1tn end of March.
lcod to exeellent results. (ContidentiaI'

tp~ Tt:Vtr Fi J)~S /Uri I MAIL

~ PIMIAf.l gummahf fU of I APR IL.15

(11111." 'u In tOl.&lt or sq~u. r~_tl

lUIm'
..... RE'Wl1:S

..............
G~OIJllD
4.~!A
,~
C"r~'L.\tr/·
'n ~.c.
A""~ ~A"A::C
OI'Hi:l
~OrAL '0. ~
;Tllr;;S
~,n •...., lIq ...n aq _II . . """I~r:J

Ht"blillt U ....nh
f;tln. :r........ Il!f • e. 709--;OCX 3,111,000 1,2'2,750
II.~"AGE
"u
lG.U !fa:'
t,S40,OOO
SI,892,ooo
C1t1 ..... : 9 "J
aU ..
ll'lC.ncl".1 Z_ 1 .... : 5,9 Iq -.t.

.."""">,"
1.~2.7W
16-11 .... .,000,000 ...... or ~on. 01 doHP01td: J.4 Iq d
"IT,ubl..,!
~b

~1I..
_ 11Jo.,..n
•
41,....ntt
\!Il••• hl.... Pant
9,290,00

5,m,oo
5.142.000

1,132,000
1,1J7,77C'

"11,4U 270,500
1,137,170

341,996 I
I ,
• ..."",
~~-

4 rill
5.000,000
149 5!ot 000
t.651,OOO
.....,., •
.l's.~ rr .. 5 '. '45 apt"n
T",,~ Il~

CIt)' ..... ' 14 Iq .t•

....
;
~I"'" .I...... rt _.lI07,ooo
16.11 ... 2,11 In... netl • .,. toM 11: 3,M Iq :01.
Co, • Ta.hl ..... 10,600,000 t,e"IO,OOO 140,000 ao.ooo I
, 1)5,4S8.OOO , .... or Zo,," U dutrQ1Id'
l..!lO Iq .1,
Ht!ll_PI''lt
41r..nrt Co,
.,,, Da_.. U rMult or "U1 bllne
... Ot.

~J1_
4,950,000 t,400,OOO 7~~.000
I 755.000
W'lYSV l' hll 2,OOlI,000 t"',lt or IIp",on,,,,lt1 or Iaot re-
41 ..... rt Co,
r.oh"l Phnt 5,300,000 3,700,000
529,000 1 ~29.ooo I
, ~.,

t,ooo,OOO .m.
,.,.
I ... t OIl ,Utlonl, lIo_\1I'l>Ollltrllll
Pun ."IOIt 1Io. . .U<I
11!!
"'·...kl
.l<Mhl
Ur •• 'rt Co.
5,510,000
0.0 IS Ptb
'-10 'tar If 000,000
U6,146,OOO lS.8
Clt1 U'. . : UJ "J ai,
J'lc.n~I'" Z_ 1 ...0: 10" a!.
2,725,000 I
1,032,ooc. I 1,032,000 ,"", 4i''' or Zo,," II ~ .. tr01Il1:

.... 6U,146,000 16.14 • 8,t Iq aI,

....,,
WI Ah....tt 'orb
IltolN PI'nt 4,644,000 2,Alt,ooo 394.MO 394,560 It-U IIv Clt1 .r.. : 'ot 1m""It.'
imthl AI,..t.. rt CrlBI",
Co, • taohUe... 4,000,000 1,140,000
150,000 150,000 I
, ,"",
ete,OlO,ooo
tll6,010,OOO ,
J'lo.nlIt ... y ZOlIt '1' Iq 'I,
Ar. . of Z... Ii 5.. uOl'Id'
7.16 Iq at •
GRUIl tor.l':h
65 l.ta 000 U ~ 000 4,6::3,675
''''
orU,
l,tMI1l,5oo 5,713,175 I
" 1132,141,000 ~,636
•

6
., . •'i~·· .•... " .:••..•. :','
~
't '."\,1 .' " • ' • •'
It ... /'lU~,I".

SO,one GIbson Girl ...

ble tor the resC'Je of . .
@D 10 Karch, Lt. Col. Settle, 100 m1les apart. This .pi
tarlDflr17 ot the 9th Group. was tly_ out clear lr two thlnp:
hg • 8-29 Dabo elU'oute to Agrlgan
Island to start searching tor 44_ 1 - The Gibson Girl ..
V7&9 wo reported bimself u "near to work successfully. 1bSi
.,eunclon Island heading south" 15 sent out signals dlU' l tl&'
IIl1nnte. betore he lUteh.d. Upon two mInutes of each Ilhlll11'
arrlTlns at Agrlgan, Col. Settle
picked up an '50s on 500 Kos. He 2 - All crews must llln
began to \1011ow it on his radIo what the islands ot the
compus, Arter f'lylng tor 300 look 11ke so they WOl1'\
lilIas, he callle upon three rafts to_ their position near • •
gether With 11 sur,.!.,.ors. all in
gaod condition. After arriving on
tbe scene,he requested instructions
t'r0lll the ground statton. He was
told to statl4~ untll rel1eved by
a Dabo Which was dispatched to the
poalt1011. reported.

Upon 1'8118"10£ Col. BettIe, the

D1mbo lDllde contact _lth a minc_
heepU' and b1 late afternoon, the
entire erew or esVS27 ot the 314th
Wina was sately aboard the shIp. The first case ot alii
cr81l'S being rescued nth
During ~~e time this cr~ ~ of hIs corner reflector ...
8eodlD.« out cUstress calls on the out the other day, WheD all
Clbson GIrl, the Cook Inlet, a sea_ Reseue Dumbo pleked liP'
~lane tender, was also homIng on hIs radar screen. and h:2:
the sIgnal rrOlll her POsItIon 100 it. found the entire a-
D.Ues to the SOUthwest. An Alr-5es
~escue Dumbo WlS homtn~ In also. between Aseunelon aDd
lands. (Fr'om 3l3th "10&
About 1400, the Cumbo slgl1ted ttlne Rescue Bulletin) (cont1'
SU1"Thors on the bea"h at PaJaros
Island. Naturally both Dumbo anO
Shlp gthought these Survlvors were t ...n OIalra IlD4 Kobe (1:1 til. rbl of
::ndln out the distress call. They Row a Japanese aircraft tactory
Osaka Ba1. (S•• llbOto&l'apb &bonl
torerl~gre than a 11ttle Surprised \ullt to make seaplanes ...tII the
case nTh OU\
that Such WflS not the
the hne ~~ b appened to be alone.
trob1trD. at produCIIl& aDd dlstrlbu-
111lC laad.basfld planes Is . .11 11- Th. r.awanllbl C~." bII lOGI
~ors or 25V52~arlng !'rom the survl_ r:i~at&d In XXI B.C •• C.I.U. SPf.C- been Imen. .. Japu'l tare-Olt ...,.
er ot I"~' be1lll nth Va. 11-
the OOSltion f ~~O mUes north.and 'P°rt No. 14, 23 Marob IN5.
eb" AlrCl'&tt CClQUJ IVln~ a
leld 0 ..... Cook Inlet. On
~r;::1 tactQl'J • ..,. coaoern.. IlD4 ..-tu-~
1'erena rOUnd
aboardto these
be f"r surViVors • tbey In qu.atlon is F.a-
luch W .. tllUl'~1DI f111DI NlW
thll.)' Aireran COIIP&Il7'1 r.la- al aTiI u4.ur. !bUe ban ai-
..: 1'as supposed
lWay.
om 44V159 which
.l.scunclon I ,~o be to the south or
S_nd, about 60 mIles
to.t.
•
-1' Plant at PUkae (!VI.t
O!). about balt 1r&7 M .. ual17 MeG bailt at \be o1dIl' .....

.9.
 J~
1aM factory at Naruo (Target 90..25 The IIl&j or p t ~
16), about five miles east of the tilled land i~iolo~ JUti ~lWtr:.,
Pume plAnt. large seaplane 1'&. h. 1-.~
nautical ch8ract:~1l 'llll.~tQt
It is alSO indicated that tb.
• mat hod - is used in trensport-
Uhi ia thought
aanltte.ctur.rs.
to b. on. ot lta

The land area surr ot tbe ~1

pLANT FOUR YEARS OLD
The hee plant was bullt no
1Il0re than about four years ago and
sOlIe Intelligence observers expect-
ed that it might have been deSigned
to make navy planes other than the
tl~ing beets featured at Naruo.
Photographs revealed, however, that
the plant was intended even more
spec1tically for the production of
tl7ing boat! than the older factory.
I
'!:I completed aircratt trom that
...... lliUUbUhi A1rcra~ rectory on
The C.I.U. repon further de.-
north 1s ..ell bUll~iSi~ t\~ leribe. tbe Xonan 63 as bavill& a
reS1denttal_1nduatttJ. lilto ,j h' ,,!It side or the Harbor to wing with n.arly atrai&ht leadirll;
fording no 1'0011I tar iSb~li~ ~he !lAlora Atrtteld on its west edle, tapved tl'ail1nl .dl', and
std.. Ylrbe the price tbe Je.ps par round.d wins tips, a sinll. tin and
point tor land..b8!84 re~ fQ~ ror thair stri't1n15 atter simplicity rudder. aftd as appearlll& to have
the nearest SUch ph ~
and ,conOlll1 will prove too e:xpen. the comentlollSl type landt.llg leu.
nomiya Airt1eld (t01'I!e1'~ 111'41 .1ya. Its lIlSln d1.lll.Mlons are li".o &3
Naruo Airfield), tow- ~~ n!CIt«i NEW pLANB tollows:
miles to the east (81 I Th' laM_based plaDe with which Span-6:5." teet lAqth-4.,f, teet
lett) This tleld' alao \;tl'.:theY _t thiS problem at Kawanilhi'a tall ,~an-el.6 teet
ocean tront and Is eQ1l1 ' ruP' plAnt is an interesting new. Porth. stud.nt ot Jap aircraft
seaplane ramps un40ubteiSl/~ C(IlIl-:l known tentatt.vely lUI tbe Xoo- prodUCtiOD, dev.loplllnts SUch as
accommodate the flyill8 bOlts 1II.l1~' It is a twin_engine mid- the example cited abOft are inter.
at the older Narno plent sll dnl type plane resembling the estinl Found!l tOI' speculation. "h1
slightly to the Mat. ' PranceS. Possibly the all"cratt is do the Japll hay. to resort to these
I f the Kawanlshi Co:tlq In uperlmental model. perheps the methods" What do they IHI.n in terlllS
the need to manufacture larl4. PiJo!dto, which is a night version ot ot total aircrart output?
naval aircraft at the F\llcu the Frances. It is more apt to be
instead of setting up another the Tental. listed as a twin_engine
"anU.bomber righter", tor Kawan-
tory elSewhere, it couHJ tn~
the fint"hed planes by tnet
ra11 to Ni9hinomiya AirUe1d,
ever, for reasons best kDCIIIl"
Japanese mind, (but more probUlll
fleeting the tight posit!"
respect to land transportat~
they have solved the probJll'
merely loading the plane, onto
ges at the seaplane ramp at !JlI
me plant and transportlng til_
rectlr along the coastl1lll1l1l
rolled ashore at the au:
small tugs haul the loaded
loaded barges back and rortb.

KONAN
PII(JVI11'II~j
63
0'.4"1"6

_C I U XX, BOM COM. _ U ,

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1 I\,prll through 7
llISSION DATE AREA I,;UV~AOI!:
QUALl!t
3PR5Vllo ]31 Mar I He.mamatsu 6",24",40· Good
m-
"'i~fJ::;""1J"""'"''p'"' ' ' ' "'\":-:"'''''~''';;;;~'''''''1ii"-''''''''
511111 131 Mar

5!oQ.12 131 JlAr

I Nagoya, Hamamatsu,

I
Okayame.
'r(Urnme I Sasebo,
Shlmooosekl
6" ,24." .4.0"

6",24".40"
FaLr-llu

I Good
u. ,~~~.
:~';"\)"'
,;.;,
".".
.'
.,
.
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.. w"''''~z..,......::.;''·''~;~~·''·'''''''''';··\··'·~
~
I
I

them to overtake our B_299.

,rap rtghter attackS against B_29
d&1 IIU,ton8 usually come, rrOlB~ the
5MU3 I 2 Apr Tokyo. Vito 6" .24",40" Exeel1ellt noSe; at night they are more orten 3. Haphazard st:lbl1n~ won our
ap1D!t the ta11. This conclusion r ormations.
51l1H 1 2 Apr sasebo, KurUlD8, Abortive No photos ana others .hleh tollOW ,are based
Shlmonosekl 00. a study of: five night and 19 day
.1u10115 flown by untts of the XXI
Bomber Coclll81lc5 over Honshu !rom 24
5M1l5 I 2 Apr I "~alzuru. Osaka, 6" ,24" ,40" Excelll>l.' lloTe1ilber 19o14 to 16 March 1945.
Okayama

511116 I 3 Apr Canceled

I I
Sm.17 I 3 Apr Shimonoseki. Yat_ 6" ,24- ,40"1Poar-8/l0
SUShiro, Kyushu E.
clal
on day missions the Jap attackS
Fprty sight percent 01.' Sap at- are equally distributed bet'IJeen
510.111 6 Apr Takasaki 6",24",40-1Poor - good taca on our day missions were made high, level and law approaches.
on the nose, whereas 90 percent or nttrty two percent of the 6,000 at_
the attacks at night were made at tackS on day missions were from a·
Sm.l9 S Apr Canceled tile tell. beve . 34 percent were rrom level
r percent were from belCllf.
and 34

SMl.20 I 4 Apr Shizuoka, Tokyo 10/10 cloud No photol 'nie enemy's preference for f'ron~
alattacks on day missions is prob- On night miSsions the .Taps sbow
!5Ml.21 I 6 Apr RUrume, Shimono_ Poor _ gaol Ibl1 due to the difficulty experi- a preference for lenl attacks, me·
6",24",40"
seki, TO!mya:1I8, enceel by the Jap in attempting to king S3 percent of the 231 attack!
Kure ~te.kll B.29s at high altitudes on the five night miSsions fr(XtJ. e
(et..OOO to 32,000 feet). Also, the level approach. Thirty one percent
5f(l.22 I 7 Apr I Shimonoseki, Ky_ t 10/10 ClOUdINo photOS Jll.p ~es h.imself a dirrlcul t tar- came trom high and 16 percent or
us hU, Kurume lit Ol:l !lose approeches because or the attacks came trom belCl'll'.
the bigh rate of closure.
510."" I 7 Apr I 't'akasakt, Nagano 6" ,24" ,40" Good
It is quite possible that be-
5!lP-24 7 Apr Minion aborted No pbotol
It:ka
4u.e to:
enemy's preference tor tail
night miSSions may be
Otl
cause of the 4&rkneSS the Jap t1gb"
ws cannot be seen until the, are
close,so that UD1 Jap attaclll
originating t'l'ce high 01'" 1C111' ~1 ..
7 Apr Postponed tiona are reported 81 att&clll ~
6~!5
I I ~ 'b.i~ ~~ Jap system or vectoring. lllT.l.
tall s or ,a..29a.
the fighters onto the
5)112. 7 Apr Tokyo 16" ,24",40" 1,..11' - baJ1
Th. two cbarts tollOlJ1n£ s~­
~. ue Japane.. approach tactiCS 011

l...-~
. .- &2i-......:~

'"
Better Jap flBhter pertor-
• at lOtrer altitudes, enabl1ng our 4a1 and D1sht atssionl: