MISSION SUMMARY
Mission Number 319
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Date:
8 August 1945
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Target:
Yawata Urban Area
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Participating Units:
58th, 73rd, and 313th BW's
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Number A/C Airborne:
245
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% A/C Bombing Primary:
90.20% (221 Primary and 6 Opportunity)
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Type of Bombs and Fuzes:
M17 and M19, 500# incendiary clusters set to open 5,000 feet over
the Target.
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Tons of Bombs Dropped:
1,301.9 tons on Primary and 37.3 tons on Opportunity.
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Time Over Primary:
081101K - 081136K
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Altitude of Attack:
19,000 - 24,300
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Weather Over Target:
4/10 - 6/10
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Total A/C Lost:
4
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Resume of Mission:
Results reported by crews were unobserved to excellent.
Smoke column rose above 20,000 feet.
73rd BW photos show good results, with numerous fires in the
center of the built-up area, and that 21% of the city had been
destroyed. Fighter cover was
provided by P-47s and
P-51's in the
Target area.
Eighteen A/C were non-effective.
Sixty to 70 E/A sighted made 53 attacks and shot down one
B-29.
Flak was meager to moderate and damaged 20
B-29s.
The 58th wing only got off 35 of 131 scheduled A/C due to
runways being blocked by wrecked A/C. Eighty-five A/C sighted their
Targets and 136
bombed by radar. Three A/C
were lost to mechanical reasons.
Claims were 2-0-2.
One-hundred (100)
B-29s landed at Iwo Jima.
Average bomb load: 11,268 lbs. Average fuel reserve: 545
gallons. E/A damaged 3
B-29s.
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