Early in 1945, b29s began fullscale operations against japan. 1,500 miles to the targets and 1,500 miles back from bases in saipan, tinian and guam. Here was the begin ining of the end to the road to tokyo. After six months of reoccupation, there were few signs of war. Along the quiet summer shores of guam. Back in their clean native villages, american citizens again, smiling and friendly, unaware that a miracle had happened around them. A miracle that moved mountains of material, equipment and supplies. Across the pacific. That changed their dirt roads into highways, that manicured their jungles into blacktop fields. Nearby new communities of american citizens set up housekeeping with various types of self service. The latest laborsaving devices, few laundry problems and no modern inconveniences. By midsummer, 21st Bomber Command was in business, big business. Under general mays direction, they began punching the enemy with appalling power from guam, tinian and saipan, 600 plane missions increased the bombing weight 100 in two months. Behind this expanding power was planning. The plan began on the ground with maintenance. Assembly line technique cut engines chain time from three days to less than half a day. Ground crews worked day and night during the blitz weeks to keep more b29s on the line. By july, the bomb command is an efficient, welloiled, wel welldrilled machine of destruction. Here is a vital cog of that machine, 11 men on a bomber. While they wind up for action, lets find out where theyre going, and some of the things theyre going to do and why, and with what. How do they set up the longest, toughest Bomber Mission in history . It began about 12 hours ago in the war room at guam, with general lamay and his staff receiving a report on tomorrows weather in japan. Tomorrows forecast is typical. Nagoya, 10,000 feet. In the east toerksio area will be sixtenths of 22,000, threetenths at 14,000 feet, closing up solid after 11 00 a. M. Osaka and everything west is reported completely socked in. How will the general solve that one . His b29s are up against a blank wall except for possibly around 12 00 in tokyo. Four wings will strike toke yes at 10 00. Theyll go in under that weather and bomb at 12,000. Now its a question of target selection. First priority in the tokyo area is number 573. Intelligence informs the general that 573 is already threequarters destroyed. Check the tactical plan for 574. General lamay okays the target and commits all executive details to his staff. Operations with his deputy chief of staff and project officer goes to work, setting up the changes. In that plans folder is a mountain of preparation by special sections of intelligence and operations. 1,000 hours of research, colated facts and figures have been distilled into practical plan 574. Aircraft will assemble with b51s for escort. Smoke alerts will be dropped for departure from Assembly Point. One squadron each wing will carry m47 incendiary clusters. Squadrons 1,000pound gp bombs fused a quarter second nose and tail. Altitude of attack, 12,000 feet. Planes of 314th wing will carry capacity fuel loads of approximately 7300 gallons per plane, calibrated air speed of 210 Miles Per Hour will be flown by all aircraft on bombing run. Radar landfall, 3450 north and 140 east will be the same for all planes to afford a good land water contrast checkpoint. The navy is requested to furnish the following facilities for air sea rescue purposes, three vessels to proceed to positions x, four submarines assigned to lifeguard duties at position y. Two dumbos orbit at station c. Super dumbos at the following positions. Each section of the plan is doublechecked, to supervise certain aspects of planning, Lieutenant Colonel catan, former lead crew pilot, was recently brought over to staff as project officer. This officers extensive combat experience now helps to iron out operational kinks. He will accompany this mission to observe new Smoke Signals at Assembly Point, a field order is now dispatched to the wings. Takeoff timewings. Takeoff time is flashed to the controller. He coordinates the vast network of communications gathered at the heart and nerve center of command. Here in the control room, status panels and a Mission Board are maintained to show at a glance the countless up to the minute details of all daily operations. Prior to takeoff, each mission is set up on the board to afford a visual progress of the flight from takeoff to target and return. Colored yarns, one for each wing, are laid out to indicate the flight lines. Whicht pass close to iwo jima, the half way point. And proceeds as specified in the field order to the proper target. Other symbols are used to mark airsea rescue positions. A timetable of statistics for each wing is planned and flown as recorded from hourly reports on the status panel beginning with takeoff time. To veteran crews, its just another days work. Up the pacific, 15 hours, 7,000 gallons, 11 guides. Knock wood, a water jump across 20 degrees of the globe, a continent of ocean. Destination, tokyo. Its like taking off in mexico for targets in canada. Much the 314th is airborne, 145 planes, one minute part, 67 tons each. The first long moment is the worst. Some swear it takes luck like a wifes stocking to beat it. Turning in 100 miles north, two more b29 wings prepare for takeoff. 134 aircraft from the 58th wing. 100 more from the 313th wing. A few minutes later, the veteran 73rd wing lines up for takeoff. 153 more bombers are added to the missions striking force. Last one is airborne at 1540. They relay this information to the controller back at guam. First and last takeoff times of each wing are recorded here. And go to make up the first of a series of tabulated mission reports. During the first hour, the b 29s settled down for the big grind, cruising 1,000 feet off the water. Ability, experience, confidence, ride in each plane. Plain of action for 11 men trained and tested to function as one. The navigator sets the course. Logging island checkpoints as they climb past the northern mountains. Eight square miles bought and paid for by our marines. We made some quick changes. Cutting away that volcanic crust and rolling surface into an enormous flat top. Three big air strips now launch our p51 rz fs. General moore and the staff, seventh flight command run the sheen direct all airsea rescue operations in close collaboration with Bomber Command. A last minute briefing check. Just to make sure todays fighter escort knows all airsea rescue positions. Out on the line, general moores p51s are warming up for the longest flight on record. Extra stamina in the cockpit. After a rendezvous, the p51s head for Assembly Point led by b b29s designated as navigator ships. Theyre to the last empire. Reports of the controller back at guam give the flight position which kept up to the hour on the Mission Board. Still at low altitude, the b 29s are approaching the bad weather belt. Cold fronts appear suddenly across the bomber course. Pilot to crew, were going to start our climb. Check oxygen equipment. Tell buck he better get out to the dog house. As they begin their slow climb to altitude, the crews prepare for the vital business ahead. And from now on until they come off target and head home, its all business. The central fire control system is warmed up. Super human brain power at the flick of a switch. Each gunner flexes his sights and tries the coordinated fire controls with a few short bursts to clear the guns. After pushing up to altitude, the bombers arrive close to Assembly Point. Air in the pressurized cabin is comparable to 8,000 feet. But oxygen masks are adjusted and ready for instant use. From the south oeast our fighte escort appears which now turn off to wait for the fighters return at rally point. The mustangs climb in formation to take positions above the boxes of b29s. They drop the new smoke markers. The project officer observe this is part of the tactical plan in action. From various zone positions, the groups separate. And form on the lead ships in nine or 11 plane waves. The big parade is on. Fujiama, the white beacon marks the turn for initial point. Flight becomes heavier and more accurate. And now the first jap snoopers appear. Diving head on into the formations. Suicide farmers trying to ram up armers. Will other fighters dropped foser iffous bombs set to explode front of the on coming b29s. They know theyre tangling with experts. Some of the jap fighters meet the blast of bomber guns. A tail gun comes in a little closer. The tight bomber moves steadily on and get ready for business. Fighters fall off. But those clouds are beginning to close in it. It looks worse ahead. Then just east the tokyo area breaks clear. The bombers draw beat on 574. The planes sit tight for the bombing run. Heres where we pay off. 12,000 feet below, theyre going to receive 4,000 tons of destruction. The first waves of b29s already found their objective. Succeeding bomber groups add their devastation to the smoking targets. Tactical plan 574 is now an accomplished fact. The bombers turn and go down wind. Across the burnt acres of tokyo. Closeup cameras show the scars of the spectacular fire strikes last march. 51 square miles of treatment. Across the bay, a tail wind speeds them south this is fighter country with the first call on the intercom on mustangs peel off and go to work. With the big bombers homeward bown, they drop down for strafing runs. Concentrating on objectives from here to the enemy coast. Skimming along at maximum speed, the fighters pair off and go to work cutting vital jet life lines. Blast ago way at communications, radio installations, power lines. Swooping down on enemy transportation, railroads, marshalling yards, small suburban factories. And air fields. Then on the shipping targets, freighters, fishermen, trollers, harbor and coastal craft. Destroyer or luger, its the same enemy. Af strafing, our fighters climb back to rally pount and the waiting b29 navigator planes. With the first sight of the target, fuel gauges are down close to empty. But fighter spirits begin to rise. They wind up and finish with a kick, they come in whiplash speed and zoom into the victory rolls. One over for each jap killed. After the last fighter groups are in had, all hands sweat in the first limping b 29s. That runway is a beautiful sight. They let down with engines out, low in gas, all beat up by flack and fighters. In three months nearly 2,000 crippled or gas shy b29s havens in iwo. You can understand why those four fan boys blast those marines. And even name their planes after them. The lucky ones are fueled and depart for home bases in an hour. But iwo still has hazards. Weather can turn this station into a hopeless day. Fog and overcast blacks out the airstrip during the crucial periods. That means orders to bail out. Or with luck a b29 might drop in for a copy book pitching. From here you can see how the cloud cover up there smothers the runway and realize what one pilot went through. Sometimes a battle scarred bomber scattered back to iwo only to flat enoten out at the heartbreaking second. The whole crew gatt away from safety before gas enveloped them. Firefighters risked their lives to save the ship. This, too, takes courage beyond the line of duty. Far to the sewage most outh, wi waiting out the last endless hour. When time seems to stop. The position is radioed in. And the controller gets word of the approaching flight. At last they appear on the horizon. They fly across guam and turn into the landing pattern. 15 hours ago they left the other end of that runway. Its a pleasure to be back. A pleasure to roll on solid familiar blacktop. Its good to feel heat, to be among the living, swapping details with the ground crew. Fighters, the close call, the one that got away. But some of those b29 crews wont be able to talk it over today. 11 men and a bomber that didnt quite make it. They tear away the hot metal. One man lived to feel the eager gallant hands. One life saved and ten lost. Thats part of todays toll. There were many other days and nights that took their toll of Young American lives and the service of our relentless expanding air power. By the end of july our b29s had obliterated the ability to make war. 1,000 plane missions were going to hit japan with twice the monthly tonnage that ever fell on germany. The question was, how much longer would a beaten japan hold out . Great lands, sea and air forces gathered for the last invasion. Our b29s dropped two atomic bombs. Which hastened the surrender of japan and saved untold thousands of american lives. Tonight, programs of the anniversary of v. E. Day, victory in europe day. 75 years ago on may 8th, 1945, the allies accepted nazi germanys surrender of the arms forces, bringing an end to hostility and world war iis european theater. American history tv and washington journal mark the anniversary with a look at the leadup to the surrender and the meaning for europe and the rest of the world. Next, nephew of but ush code breaker talks about his book x, y and z, the real story of how enigma was broken. He chronicles how spies and mathematicians were able to decipher the german enigma code during world war ii. The