Title: Blankets of fire : U.S. bombers over Japan during World War II /
Authors: Werrell, Kenneth P.
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press,
Year: 1996
Subjects: World War, 1939-1945 Aerial operations, American.; B-29 bomber.; Bombing, Aerial Japan.; Japan History
Abstract: When the focus of World War II shifted to the Pacific in 1944, the Army Air Forces (AAF), equipped with the new, longer-range B-29 bomber, tried to shift strategic bombing tactics as well. Blankets of Fire describes the adjustments necessary to target Japan and places them in the context of overall AAF and wartime strategy.
Contents: 1. The Genesis of American Strategic Bombing -- 2. Japan: Target for Strategic Bombing -- 3. The Boeing B-29 Superfortress: Best Bomber of the War -- 4. The Education of a General: Operations from India and China -- 5. Operations Begin in the Marianas -- 6. "A Blanket of Fire": Incendiaries against Japanese Cities -- 7. The Twentieth Shifts into High Gear: March through June 1945 -- 8. Finale -- 9. Conclusion: Futile Victory? -- Appendix: Twentieth Air Force Statistics.