Not as Strange as It Sounds
But there was method to LeMay’s madness. The Japanese anti-aircraft batteries had been proven to be least effective between these altitudes, and even less so at night.
Removing the guns, which were not likely to be needed at night, was going to lighten the loads on the aircraft. Removing the guns also meant removing the gunners required to operate them from the bombers during the missions.
Task Force 58 Lends a Hand
During the first carrier-based raids on Japan since the Doolittle Raid, the Navy’s Task Force 58 had run roughshod over the Tokyo area in February of 1945 attempting to eliminate as many Japanese aircraft and as much of their support infrastructure as possible in preparation for the invasion of Iwo Jima.
These raids also had the beneficial side effect of having neutralized numerous fighters that could be used against LeMay’s bombers.
The First Meetinghouse Mission
When as many of the B-29s based in the Marianas had been repaired and prepared as possible, Operation Meetinghouse was a go. Led by pathfinder B-29s responsible for group navigation and initial targeting, a total of 327 B-29s took off from the sprawling bases in the Marianas on March 9th 1945.
Knowing their target was Tokyo, many of the bombers also carried crew members who, despite LeMay’s orders, had reinstalled the .50 caliber machine guns in their B-29s and went on the mission.
Raining Fire on Flammable Japan
The majority of the bombers carried cluster bombs, which were set to release their napalm-filled bomblets between 2,000 and 2,500 feet above ground. The bomblets were designed to punch through the light construction of the structures and spread napalm inside them. Other bombers carried white phosphorous bombs.
These ordnance selections were carefully considered. Sample Japanese “cities” were built State-side at test sites using representative building materials. A variety of munitions were tested against them. The napalm cluster bombs and the white phosphorous bombs were most effective against the sample Japanese buildings.
Losses and Damage
In all, the 299 bombers attacking Tokyo during Operation Meetinghouse dropped 1,666 tons of bombs on target. 22 of the bombers failed to return from the raid, several of which were overstressed when flying through the turbulent air caused by the fires over the burning city and broke up in mid-air. The damage done to Tokyo that night was staggering. 25% of the city was destroyed, an area of approximately 16 square miles.
It is impossible to determine the exact number of dead and wounded because figures cannot be accurately deduced. Suffice it to say that at least 100,000 were killed and likely thrice that number wounded and / or burned, with over one million left homeless. Operation Meetinghouse was the single most destructive bombing raid ever, and only gusty prevailing surface winds prevented a Dresden-like firestorm.
Continued Destruction From the Air
XX Bomber Command continued to use the weapons and tactics first employed on the night of 9 March 1945 for the remainder of the war against Japan.
Subsequent raids were not as destructive, but nearly eliminated the ability of the Japanese to manufacture weapons and most other war materials. By June, the B-29s began dropping leaflets over cities to be attacked three days prior to the attack warning the civilian population that an attack was imminent.
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