XX Bomber Command
In June 1944, the USAAF's XX Bomber Command began flying combat operations with B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers from air bases near Kharagpur in northeastern India. Although the Command's primary role was to attack industrial targets in the Japanese home islands, approximately 50 percent of its missions were undertaken to support other Allied operations in the Pacific. The XX Bomber Command reported to the USAAF's Twentieth Air Force, which was personally directed from Washington, D.C., by the commander of the USAAF General Henry H. Arnold, rather than the Allied theatre commanders in India and China. Major General Curtis LeMay assumed command of XX Bomber Command on 29 August after Arnold relieved its first commander.