The Planes Came

It was just after midday, when thousands of Osaka workers had paused to bolt down meager lunches in the partly ruined Chicago of Japan. High in the heavy overcast the U.S. planes rode in--more than 400 B-29s and 150 escorting P-51 Mustang fighters. For three hours the planes were overhead. High-explosive bombs fell first, driving Japanese air-raid workers to the shelters. Then the fire bombs fell, destroying without interruption.

Sister city Kobe, 20 miles northwest, was still smouldering from an earlier attack. Flyers had driven through snow, fog, thunderheads, antiaircraft fire and fairly strong fighter opposition--but they had left Kobe "one hell of a hot place."

At week's end the planes came again, and this time added Nagoya in a three-way simultaneous rain of demolition bombs. Next day Superforts made their fourth strike of the week, bombing five Japanese industrial plants and repair bases in the Tokyo area.

The Superfortress teams had now hit most of Japan's large cities, and were preparing variations on their attack pattern. Tons of British pathfinder bombs had been shipped to the Marianas and would soon permit the 21st Bomber Command to bomb at night with greater precision. U.S. Army officers announced that fleets of 1,000 planes would soon smite Japan. Tokyo warned its medium and small-size cities to expect the worst. The big bombers were not the only planes that struck Japan. Kyushu Island, whence enemy planes attack Okinawa, was worked over for several days by U.S. fighters from carrier decks and land bases.

First-line flyers reported that Japan had a new defense fighter, faster, more maneuverable and better handled than anything they had seen before. Promptly the U.S. answered by unveiling the Grumman F-7F Tigercat, soon to make its combat debut with Marine fighter squadrons and Navy supercarriers. The Tigercat has twin engines, climbs a mile a minute, rates in the 425-m.p.h. speed class. For Japan the planes came, kept coming, and would continue to come.

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