Vanishing Planes
The "Superfortress"
"Boeing B-29 Superfortress 'Enola Gay'", Smithsonian Institution
"Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II".
"Boeing B-29 Superfortress 'Enola Gay'", Smithsonian Institution
"It just blew my mind. First of all its size, and then its capabilities".
- B-29 pilot Robert Rodenhouse describing the B-29
"During the last two months of 1944, B-29s began operating against Japan".
National Museum of the United States Air Force
"Japanese fighter planes based at the two airfields on Iwo [Jima] launched attacks on the American bombers."
"Dangerous Missions: Assault on Iwo Jima", 2020
"Over a hundred American B-29 crews were lost."
"The Battle of Iwo Jima: The Incredible Story of Survival", 2022
"The B-29" | PBS
During the war, the B-29 bomber planes were used to bomb Japanese territory and mainland Japan. However, dozens of B-29s were lost during the war because the Japanese were able to intercept the planes from the island near Japan called Iwo Jima. The U.S. realized they needed to do something to save the planes and to make progress in the war.
"Iwo Jima" | Encyclopedia Britannica
"Crucial Strategic Importance"
National Museum of the Marine Corps
"[Capturing Iwo Jima] would eliminate Japanese bombing raids and the early warning interceptions, provide fighter escorts throughout the most dangerous portion of the long B-29 missions".
"Assault Preparations", National Parks Service
"In October 1944 the Joint Chiefs directed Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz... to seize and develop Iwo Jima within the ensuing three months."
"Assault Preparations", National Parks Service
"At the time of Iwo Jima, the replacement drafts 'attached to the 5th Marine Division, the 27th, had received eight to 10 weeks training and the 31st only five to six weeks.'"
Marine Corps University
"Chester W. Nimitz" | Atomic Heritage Foundation
The U.S. reasoned that Iwo Jima should be captured. Since the battleground was an island, the Navy and Marines were appointed to the mission. The only thing in their way would be the relentless Japanese army.