Japanese Surrender Ceremony “Show of Force”
It seemed that all of the aircraft north of Henderson Field were going to fly over Tokyo Bay as a “display of power” before, during, and after the formal surrender ceremony.
Pacific War: B-29 Blasted Upside Down Firebombing Japan
During the low level nighttime firebombing raid over Osaka on March 13, 1945, a Japanese military arsenal violently exploded hurling a directly overhead B-29 upward 5000 feet, flipping it upside down and into a slow roll, high speed death dive to the ground.
Completed Tour of Duty – Looking Back, Going Home
B-29 Flight engineer Lawrence Stewart reflects on his war experience and the path crews took to getting home from the Marianas.
100 Flak and Bullet Holes from One Mission
The B-29 crew survived a massive Japanese fighter and flak attack that destroyed one engine and punctured their aircraft with some 100 flak and bullet holes.
Horrifying Flirt with Ditching Our B-29
Their B-29 was violently shaking and rapidly losing altitude from a damaged engine that had caught fire. The crew faced ditching in the middle of the Pacific.
Search and Rescue – Submarines and Dumbos
Search and rescue submarines, destroyers and aircraft operated between the Marianas and Japan to rescue downed B-29s. B-29 crews were periodically assigned to search and rescue as a part of their mission duty.
First B-29 Landing on Iwo Jima
The 9th BG B-29 Dinah Might made an emergency landing on Iwo Jima on March 4, 1945 while the Battle of Iwo Jima was still ongoing. The crew took Japanese mortar fire while frantically repairing a gas valve.
Prep and Fear of the Take-Off and Mission
The tension of the take-offs with about 138,000 pounds gross weight including over 7,000 gallons of high octane gas and ten tons of bombs can never be passed on to a reader of these memoirs. It can't be done. You yourself would have had to have been there as we bounced down the runway hoping and praying. The only voices to be heard were those of the airplane commander and the pilot as they checked off increasing airspeed, etc. The rest of the crew were praying in silence. "Dear God please help us to survive another take off, another mission and return us safely to Tinian, Amen."” – Newell Penniman.
Emergency B-29 Landing at Iwo Without Brakes
Taking a crippling flack hit over Tokyo, Newell Penniman's B-29 crew was forced to make an emergency landing at Iwo Jima without brakes. To partially overcome the loss, the gunners tossed their parachutes out the exits of the plane upon landing. Read the first-hand story..
Explosive B-29 Crashes
The USAAF lost 267 B-29s to engine fires, mechanical failures and takeoff crashes, nearly twice as many as from enemy fire during the Pacific War. B-29 crashes involving heavy fuel and incendiary bomb payloads were violently explosive. The up close experience of explosive B-29 crashes is told first hand by Donald Kearney who served as a runway flagman at North Field.
