Mission 75 - Marifu Railroad Yards (Aug 14)

This was a daylight raid on Marifu Railroad Yards on Honshu. No opposition was encountered.

The last mission of World War II was flown on the night of 14 August. Sixth ships flew to the Marifu railroad yards at Iwakuni on Honshu. Forty-two planes took off at 0619 with bomb bays loaded with 500 pound general purpose bombs. One ship returned early and two bombed the town of Sanagoseki. No enemy opposition of any nature was encountered. All radio operators were briefed to listen for a coded message indicating the war had ended which meant all airplanes were to return to their base. The message, “Break Utah Utah Utah Break” did not come, and the mission was carried out as planned.

[Pirate’s Log, p. 54]

Board for the Last Mission (“Pirate’s Log”, p. 58)

This was a daylight precision raid on Toyokawa Naval Arsenal. The strike photos showed that the Sixth had achieved a high level of proficiency:

On 7 August the Group changed to a daylight precision attack on the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal, thirty-seven miles from Nagoya. Only twelve Sixth ships were scheduled and all bombed the primary target. No post-strike photography was made for damage assessment but strike photos indicated 90 per cent of the Sixth’s bombs fell within 1000 feet of the main point of impact.

[Pirate’s Log, p. 53]

20th AF Mission 327

Date:	14 August 1945
Target:	Marifu R.R. Yards ( 90.30 - 2202 )
Participating Units:	313th BW
Number of A/C Airborne:	115
% A/C Bombing Primary:	93.91% (108 Primary and 2 Opportunity)
Type of Bombs and Fuzes:	M64 (500lb. G.P. bombs fuzed with 1/10 sec. delay nose and 1/100 sec. delay tail)
Tons of Bombs Dropped:	709.8 tons on Primary and 12.7 tons on Opportunity.
Time Over Primary:	141255K - 141319K
Altitude of Attack:	15,800 - 18,500
Weather Over Target:	0/10 - 5/10
Total A/C Lost:	0
Resume of Mission:	Strike photos showed excellent results, with numerous hits on the target. All bombing was visual. Five A/C were non-effective. P-38s and P-47s gave support. Flak was heavy, moderate, generally accurate and continuously pointed. Forty B-29s landed at Iwo Jima and 1 at Okinawa. Average bomb load: 14,370 lbs. Average fuel reserve: 596 gallons.

Mission 75 – Marifu Railroad Yards (Aug 14)

20th AF Mission 327