First B-29 Landing on Iwo Jima

THE B-29 SHUTTERED TO A HALT AT THE VERY EDGE OF THE RUNWAY. JAPANESE SOLDIERS OPENED MORTAR FIRE ON THE AIRFIELD AS CREW MEMBERS HURRIEDLY REPAIRED A BAD GAS VALVE

Although combat crews had been warned to stay away from lwo Jima, the first B-29, a combat crew from the 9th Bomb Group of the 313th Bomb Wing, landed there following a mission to Japan in early March. As the Superfortress was low on fuel, the aircraft commander could take several courses of action to save his crew. He could bail out the crew near the island, ditch the airplane in the ocean alongside the island or attempt a landing on the 4,000 foot strip on the major airfield held by the Marines. He chose to attempt a landing, setting the airplane down on the edge of the runway near stalling speed and immediately applying maximum braking power. The B-29 shuttered to a halt at the very edge of the runway. Japanese soldiers opened mortar fire on the airfield as crew members hurriedly repaired a bad gas valve, thereby freeing up the gasoline trapped in the wing fuel tank. There was enough fuel in the fuel tank for the return flight to their base on Tinian Island. As soon as the repairs had been made, the flight engineer started the engines and the aircraft commander taxied the airplane to the end of the airstrip for takeoff. The aircraft commander gunned the engines and took off, barely lifting off at the end of the airstrip amidst a hail of bullets fired at the B-29 by Japanese defenders and continued on his flight to Tinian.