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Hitting Home - The Air Offensive Against Japan [Illustrated Edition]
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The strategic bombardment of Japan during World War II remains one of the most controversial subjects of military history because it involved the first and only use of atomic weapons in war. It also raised the question of whether strategic bombing alone can win wars, a question that dominated U.S. Air Force thinking for a generation. Without question, the strategic bombing of Japan contributed very heavily to the Japanese decision to surrender. The United States and her allies did not have to invade the home islands, an invasion that would have cost many thousands of lives on both sides.
This pamphlet traces the development of the bombing of the Japanese home islands, from the modest but dramatic Doolittle raid on Tokyo in April 1942, through the effort to bomb from bases in China that were supplied by airlift over the Himalayas, to the huge 500-plane raids from the Marianas in the Pacific. The campaign changed from precision daylight bombing to night incendiary bombing of Japanese cities and ultimately to the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The story covers the debut of the spectacular B-29 aircraft—in many ways the most awesome weapon of World War II— and its use not only as a bomber but also as a mine-layer.
Hitting Home is the sequel to High Road to Tokyo Bay, a pamphlet by the same author that concentrated on Army Air Forces’ tactical operations in Asia and the Pacific areas during World War II. Taken together, they provide an overview of U.S. Army Air Forces’ operations, tactical and strategic, against Japan. The U.S. air offensive against Japan is the central story of the Pacific war—a drama of human courage and sacrifice and of a unique partnership among modern air, sea, and land forces.
The strategic bombardment of Japan during World War II remains one of the most controversial subjects of military history because it involved the first and only use of atomic weapons in war. It also raised the question of whether strategic bombing alone can win wars, a question that dominated U.S. Air Force thinking for a generation. Without question, the strategic bombing of Japan contributed very heavily to the Japanese decision to surrender. The United States and her allies did not have to invade the home islands, an invasion that would have cost many thousands of lives on both sides.
This pamphlet traces the development of the bombing of the Japanese home islands, from the modest but dramatic Doolittle raid on Tokyo in April 1942, through the effort to bomb from bases in China that were supplied by airlift over the Himalayas, to the huge 500-plane raids from the Marianas in the Pacific. The campaign changed from precision daylight bombing to night incendiary bombing of Japanese cities and ultimately to the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The story covers the debut of the spectacular B-29 aircraft—in many ways the most awesome weapon of World War II— and its use not only as a bomber but also as a mine-layer.
Hitting Home is the sequel to High Road to Tokyo Bay, a pamphlet by the same author that concentrated on Army Air Forces’ tactical operations in Asia and the Pacific areas during World War II. Taken together, they provide an overview of U.S. Army Air Forces’ operations, tactical and strategic, against Japan. The U.S. air offensive against Japan is the central story of the Pacific war—a drama of human courage and sacrifice and of a unique partnership among modern air, sea, and land forces.
Author
Daniel L. Haulman
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Reviews for Hitting Home - The Air Offensive Against Japan [Illustrated Edition]
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
1 rating1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A well summarized history of strategic air power in the Pacific war.
Prepares the reader for digesting more advanced studies.
Highly recommended
Book preview
Hitting Home - The Air Offensive Against Japan [Illustrated Edition] - Daniel L. Haulman
This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com
To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com
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Text originally published in 1963 under the same title.
© Pickle Partners Publishing 2015, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Publisher’s Note
Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.
We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.
The U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II
Hitting Home — The Air Offensive Against Japan
Daniel L. Haulman
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
Hitting Home — The Air Offensive Against Japan 5
The Pacific War Begins 6
Doolittle’s Raiders Strike the First Blow 8
An Island-Bopping Strategy 11
The Superfortress Takes to the Skies 12
Over the Hump to Matterhorn 16
The Capture and Use of the Marianas 20
Building Up the Force 28
The Home Islands Ablaze 29
Specialized Missions Take Their Toll 34
The Question of Japanese Surrender 35
The Manhattan Project 37
Potsdam 39
Unleashing the Atomic Weapon 40
The Surrender 48
SUGGESTED READINGS 50
REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 51
Hitting Home — The Air Offensive Against Japan
The strategic bombardment of Japan during World War II remains one of the most controversial subjects of military history because it involved the first and only use of atomic weapons in war. It also raised the question of whether strategic bombing alone can win wars, a question that dominated U.S. Air Force thinking for a generation. Without question, the strategic bombing of Japan contributed very heavily to the Japanese decision to surrender. The United States and her allies did not have to invade the home islands, an invasion that would have cost many thousands of lives on both sides.
This pamphlet traces the development of the bombing of the Japanese home islands, from the modest but dramatic Doolittle raid on Tokyo in April 1942, through the effort to bomb from bases in China that were supplied by airlift over the Himalayas, to the huge 500-plane raids from the Marianas in the Pacific. The campaign changed from precision daylight bombing to night incendiary bombing of Japanese cities and ultimately to the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The story covers the debut of the spectacular B-29 aircraft—in many ways the most awesome weapon of World War II—and its use not only as a bomber but also as a mine-layer.
Hitting Home is the sequel to High Road to Tokyo Bay, a pamphlet by the same author that concentrated on Army
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