A Prank Led to America’s First Nominated Female to Office, and Other Lesser Known American History Facts

17. Changing the B-29’s Bombing Doctrine

The Super Fortress had been designed for high-altitude bombing, but that type of bombing did not work over Japanese skies. Unlike Europe, Japan is situated beneath a fast-moving jet stream that made bombing from high altitudes difficult and often impossible. As a result, B-29s were ordered to fly lower, and bomb from medium altitudes to improve accuracy.

When general Curtis LeMay took command of the 20^th Air Force, he introduced additional new tactics: realizing that Japanese air power by 1945 was negligible, B-29s were stripped of defensive weapons that had become superfluous, in order to maximize bombload. The bombload was changed from the high explosives suitable for European cities of brick and concrete buildings to incendiaries which would prove more effective against Japanese cities whose buildings were mostly wooden. And the B-29s were ordered to bomb from low altitudes.