Peacekeeper, a brave and able warrior, is

Peacekeeper, a brave and able warrior, is retired Go! October 16, 2005 The 20th Air Force, bombers over Japan to hot missiles ready to go World War II Days While discussing Warren AFB's lineage, we took you from a strategically located outpost on the east side of the Rockies tasked to protect the transcontinental railroad and fight Indian Wars through some history to the year1949, when Fort Warren was turned over to the newly formed US Air Force to become known as Francis E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB), its name today. We did not, however, talk much about WWII and we did not carry you to the present. You are about to be acquainted with perhaps the most complex section of this report. We're going to take you from the Warren AFB of 1949 to the Warren AFB of 2005. To do that in a meaningful way, we have to start our expedition with the 20th Air Force (20th AF), which is currently headquartered at Warren AFB. We want to do this because the period from WWII to the present is one where the idea of strategic bombing began in a very serious way and evolved to an era where the US had fully committed itself to dominating strategic nuclear and space warfare if and when required. Tracking the evolution of 20th AF and Warren AFB will help us walk through this incredible history. We are going to start our expedition with the 20th AF and that means we have to step back to WWII. The 20th AF was constituted toward the We honor service and sacrifice. Please click the "Donate" button and contribute $20 or more to help keep this station alive. Thanks. Table of Contents Introduction Peacekeeper ICBM, the most powerful American ICBM The Peacekeeper Operational Team F. E. Warren Air Force Base, its incredible legacy 1 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

end of WWII, on April 4, 1944. Its mission was clear: end the war in the Pacific. That's exactly what it did, and it used strategic heavy bombing with the B-29 "Superfortress" and atomic warfare to do it. The 20th Air Force, bombers over Japan to hot missiles ready to go and a merger with domination of space WWII days Post WWII B-29 "Superfortress," presented by Boeing. A decision was made at the highest levels of the US government to defeat Germany first. As a result, bomber production of the B-17 and B-24 bombers and their employment in Europe and Africa received the emphasis. B-17 "Flying Fortress." Presented by Boeing. The British flew their first B-17 combat mission in July 1941 and the US flew its first B-17 combat mission against Germany in August 1942. The B-17 flew its first tactical mission in the Pacific war from India in March 1944, and over 2 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Japan from China in June 1944. Because of the shorter distances in Europe, the B-17 was to be the main US resource for bombing German-occupied Europe. In Europe, it was considered a strategic bomber, but in the Pacific, it was seen as more a tactical bomber. It turns out, the view of the B-29's role held by many Pacific War commanders ended up as a controversial one, and drove how the Air Force eventually became structured. B-24 "Liberator," presented by the Internet B-24 Veterans Group The B-24 entered the Pacific War shortly after Pearl Harbor. Indeed, a bunch of them were destroyed at Hickam Field in Hawaii in the Pearl Harbor attack. While the B-24 could fly greater distances than the B-17, again, the Pacific region is a big area and it played more of a tactical role than strategic. It helped check Japanese progress in New Guinea in the south Pacific and then supported the island hopping ground and amphibious campaign throughout the southwest Pacific. Map of the Japanese Empire at its peak in 1942. Presented by The History Place. The Pacific War for a long time had three theaters of war: 3 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

The Southwest Pacific, the island-hopping war from Australia to the Philippines and the Mariana Islands to Okinawa led by General Douglas MacArthur; the naval war on the high seas led by Admiral Chester Nimitz; and the China-Burma-India war to prevent a Japanese invasion of India and to evict the Japanese from Southeast Asia and China, led by a cast of "king-pin" characters, the most prominent of whom was Chiang Kai-shek of China. Prior to the onset of WWII in Europe and Asia, and even when the war in all theaters was going badly for the US, strategic thinkers in the US had been focusing their attention on destroying Japan from the air. One of the most prominent such thinkers was General Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold. He became commander of the Army Air Corps (AAC) as a major general in 1938, and commander of a newly formed US Army Air Force (USAAF) in 1941, essentially an autonomous element of the US Army. He was promoted to lieutenant general shortly after taking over the USAAF, and was promoted to four stars in March 1943. He was promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army in 1944, and in 1955 was made a permanent five-star general and named General of the Air Force, the only one so named in the Air Force's history. As early as 1938, General Arnold was anxious about war with both Europe and Japan. He had a mighty vision for the Air Force of the future, he knew the USAAF lacked a strategic bomber, and he knew in his mind and heart the US would need a strategic bomber for both wars. He saw the need in Europe because he feared England would be lost to the Germans, and the US would have to fly long distance missions to England from the US. The long distances in the Pacific were obvious. So, very early on, Arnold was a lead advocate for the B-29, which, in 1939, was submitted to the Army by Boeing as a proposal. As the war in the Pacific unfolded in 1942, Japan, as shown on 4 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

the previous map, occupied most of the Pacific region and demonstrated some capacity to attack Australia and India, though even for the Japanese, logistics tails were getting mighty long. The distances involved to take on the Japanese in this war were great. While the B-17 and B-24 could help, they both lacked the "oomph" and legs to take the air war to the home islands of Japan. An Army Air Force B-25B "Mitchell" bomber takes off from USS Hornet (CV-8) at the start of the Doolittle raid on Japan, April 18 1942. Photo credit: Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Presented by the Naval Historical Center. General Arnold was one of those behind the idea to launch a B-25 "Mitchell" bomber raid against Tokyo from the deck of an aircraft carrier. They needed the carrier to get the B-25 close enough to strike, after which it would have to recover in China. The famous Doolittle raid occurred on April 18, 1942. Sixteen B-25s launched from the USS Hornet, most hit their targets in the Tokyo area from low altitude, but none of them made it to the planned recovery airfield at Chuchow, China. The B-25s had insufficient fuel, one landed in Russia, two ditched in the surf along the Chinese coastline, and crews from the remaining 13 bailed out as soon as they got close enough to where they thought they would be safe. Two crew drowned on the crash landings, eight were captured, of whom three were executed by the Japanese and another died in captivity. Incredibly, most of the 80 crewmembers survived, and 64 of these returned to flying duty. 5 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

While a major boost to morale, the damage inflicted was slight. There were only 16 bombers involved, and each carried only one ton of bombs. As you will see, the 20th AF's B-29s came in by the many hundreds each carrying up to 10 tons of bombs. So, early in the Pacific War, the American air forces were left with the problem that they lacked an ability to strategically bomb the lengthy logistics tail used by Japanese forces in China and Southeast Asia and unable to strategically strike at the heart of Japan's home islands. This reality weighed heavily on Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang not only had to worry about the Japanese, he also had to worry about Mao Tse-tung and the communists. Mindful of all that Chiang faced, FDR ran afoul of his generals and admirals, and assured Chiang that Japan would not be allowed to take over all of China and that Japan's home islands would be struck. That provided the needed political motivation for General Arnold to press ahead with the B-29 "Superfortress," a bomber that could fly over very long ranges to take down Japanese forces in China, and then, as the Japanese were defeated in China, attack Japan from China. Good fortune would come as the B-29 rolled off the line: American forces would capture the Marianas and airfields there obviated the need for B-29s to strike at Japan from China; the job could be done easily from the Marianas. As you will see shortly, production and employment of the B-29 was part of a grand military vision developed by General Arnold, and he too would run afoul of many generals and admirals. A decision was made to confine the B-29's use to the Pacific. B-17s and B-24s were already strategically bombing Germany and General Arnold fancied the idea of saving the long-range B-29 for the Pacific to surprise the Japanese. 6 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

B-29 production at Boeing's Wichita Plant, presented by Boeing. The requirement for a long-range strategic bomber was given to the Army in 1939. Between then and 1946, a total of 3,970 were built at four main plants in Wichita, Kansas; Renton, Washington; Marietta, Georgia; and Omaha, Nebraska. Over 2,000 were operational before war's end. It carried a ten-man crew. She was pressurized and could operate above 30,000 feet at speeds ranging from 220-356 mph, with a range of 5,830 miles, with as much as a 20,000 pound bomb load. The B-29 was General Arnold's baby, a crucial part of his grand design. All was not rosy with this bomber, however. Her first flight was in September 1942, but she encountered so many production problems and modification requirements that it was clear she would not be ready for combat until some time in 1944. So Arnold, forever looking ahead, took several important preparatory actions while the aircraft was in production, before it flew combat. These decisions shaped the Air Force of the future. First, he organized the 58th Bombardment Wing (VH), with the "VH" standing for "very heavy." This designation subtly separated this bomber and this wing from the rest of the Army's bombing organizations. The 58th activated at Marietta, Georgia as a B-29 training wing in June 1943, and then in July, seven YB-29s were available for the wing to train its crews. The wing quickly moved to Smokey Hill Airfield in Salina, Kansas in September 1943 to begin training. The 58th's aircraft 7 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

arrived unfinished, and the famous "Battle of Kansas" kicked into high gear to get these aircraft in operational order on the quick. Second, in August 1943, General Arnold presented a plan at the highest levels that would send this newly formed 58th Bombardment Wing (BW) with four bomber groups to the China-Burma-India (CBI) by the end of 1943, ready to start bombing Japanese targets there and get airfields operational in China for attacks against Japan. It is worth noting here that Arnold, technically subordinate to the Chief of Staff, US Army (CSA), dealt directly with the top, often directly with FDR. This set the stage for strategic bombing to move into the realm of the highest levels of the US government, while tactical bombing remained in the local realm of field and theater commanders. Third, in November 1943, Arnold formed the XX Bomber Command, or the 20th Bomber Command, subordinated the 58th Wing to it, and put it at Smokey Hill as well. This began the structuring process for B-29 strategic bombing that would keep this bomber under tight control separate from the tactical world. Fourth, in April 1944, he continued that structuring process and managed to get the 20th AF constituted, tasked to fly the B-29 as a strategic bombing air force, and he subordinated the XX Bomber Command, and shortly thereafter, the XXI Bomber Command to it. He described the formation of the 20th AF this way: "The twentieth Air Force was created by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the application of a new refinement of global warfare The Twentieth Air Force will be in the nature of an aerial battle fleet, able to participate in a combined operations, or to be assigned to strike wherever the need is greatest." 8 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Pictured shortly before the peak of the 1945 bomber offensive against Japan are then-maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay (left) and Brig. Gen. Roger Ramey. Presented by Air Force magazine of the Air Force Association. You can be assured that activation of the 20th AF was no trivial matter. It was a big league decision and the players were all big league players. We need to spend a few moments on the 20th's formation because decisions made here had titanic consequences, short and long term. The B-29's mission, and therefore the 20th AF's mission, grew in clarity over time. At first, the task was to end the Pacific war. By now the task was to destroy Japan's industrial centers and cause such severe damage that the Japanese would lose their will to fight. The targeting emphasis here was on the home islands more than it was on Japanese targets in the CBI or the Southwest Pacific. As a result, Arnold had to face some of the world's most self-centered personalities to assure himself that the B-29 would be used to destroy Japan rather than for in-theater tactical purposes. We wrote about many of these personalities in our story about the 80th Fighter Group, the Burma Banshees. You might wish to consult that story. But we'll drop a few names to give you an idea: Chiang Kai-shek, General Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, General "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, General Claire Chennault, General Merrill of "Merrill's Marauders" fame, and British Generals Archibald Wavell, 9 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Harold Alexander, William Slim, and none other than Queen Victoria's great grandson and Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Battenberg, otherwise known as Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, known to his friends as "Dickie." We show Lord Mountbatten's photo here to convey the idea that many of the personalities listed saw themselves as having their own manner of "royalty." AAC General George Kenney, a helluva war fighter in his own right, commanded Allied Air Forces in Southwest Asia and opposed Arnold's plan, preferring to employ the B-29 against theater targets such as Sumatra and Borneo rather than against Japan. Chiang Kai-shek wanted them to rid China of Japanese troops. Arnold wanted to preserve this prized aircraft for Japan and Japan only. This divide between allocating resources for tactical and/or strategic purposes is one that existed for a long time during and following WWII, in some respects, still an issue today. You might recall it was an issue in creating the new director of national intelligence; there were and are concerns about the impact of that decision on providing our theater tactical commanders with valuable and time-sensitive intelligence. FDR went with Arnold. The plan was to base the B-29 in India and stage them through China for attacks against Japan. Once the Allies took the Marianas away from Japan, the B-29 would bomb Japan from there. Under a cloud of secrecy, during the course of 1944, the XXI Bomber Command, a second B-29 command, was formed at bases in Kansas and Colorado. The 73rd Bombardment Wing (VH) was formed to conduct the training and prepare to deploy to the Marianas once they were secured. Both the XX and XXI commands were assigned to 20AF. To make sure his plans for destroying Japan were followed to the letter, Arnold dual hatted himself as the commander, US Army Air Forces, his existing job, and commander, 20th AF, a new job. He would not risk the 20th being subordinated to anyone in the theater. Furthermore, he wanted his orders to come directly from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and not from theater commanders. He won approval for that as well, but just to make sure, he initially headquartered the 20th AF at Bolling Field in Washington, DC so he could be represented at decision meetings "downtown." These were monumental events. Strategic bombing now took on a whole new flavor from a command and control perspective: orders directly from the JCS to a numbered air force; direct and frequent presidential involvement in strategic bombing decisions; destruction, even complete destruction, of 10 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

a nation-state, the stakes. Arnold assigned Brigadier General Kenneth B. Wolfe first to command the 58th BW and then to command the XX Command. Wolfe had been integral to employment planning of the B-29 against Japan. He organized the 58th and the XX, got the crews trained back in Kansas, and moved them to four bases in Bengal, India, at Kharagpur, Chakulia, Piardoba, and Dudkhundi, for initial strikes against Japan from four bases in western China in the area of Chengtu. It was about 1,600 miles to any targets on the Japanese home islands from Chengtu. The B-29s' flight "Over the Hump" was no easy chore, and they had to replace bombs with fuel bladders to make the trip, then down-load the bladders and replace them with bombs at Chengtu, then fly their mission and return, hoping their airfields in China were still in friendly hands. Nonetheless, the XX Command had eight bases available in Asia by April 1944. We'll return to these flights a bit later. A Chinese soldier guards a line of American P-40 fighter planes, painted with the shark-face emblem of the "Flying Tigers," at a flying field somewhere in China, 1942. Photo, taken in 1942, presented by the History Department, University of San Diego We need to pause here for a moment to mention the 14th AF. You will marry up with it in a far different role later. A fellow named Claire Chennault was an Army Air Corps aviator in WWI forced to retire in 1937 at the rank of major after having disputes with his superiors. Following that, he was hired by Chiang Kai-shek as an advisor to the Chinese Air Force. 11 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Claire L. Chennault with Madame Chiang Kai-shek and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. In 1937, with China at war with Japan, he accepted an invitation by Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Secretary of the Chinese air force, to build the Chinese air force. Photo presented by the Secretary of State, Louisiana, "Delta State Museum." With the blessing of the White House, he formed the American Volunteer Group (AVG) and began training on P-40 fighters in Burma in 1941, prior to Pearl Harbor. They became known as the "Flying Tigers" and they fought valiantly and effectively against the Japanese through July 1942 when they were disbanded. A regular army unit known as the China Air Task Force formed soon thereafter and that became the nucleus of a new 14th AF. The 14th's mission was to attack the Japanese in China. Its airmen have been credited with destroying more than 4,000 Japanese aircraft, sinking millions of tons of shipping, and destroying hundreds of railroads, locomotives, trucks and bridges while helping to defeat the Japanese in China. Chennault was brought back into the Army and rose to the rank of major general as the 14th's first commander. He dealt directly with Chiang Kai-shek, much to the chagrin of rival commanders. He eventually had to relinquish his command toward the end of the war for disputes with other commanders similar to what forced him out the first time. We'll come back to the 14th AF toward the end of our report, and marry it with the 20th, both in completely different roles. It's quite remarkable, really. Back to the B-29 and the 20th AF, and flying from India to China to Japan. 12 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

B-29 on the ramp in India, ready to be loaded. Presented by Farrell Publishing, Vintage Photos. General Wolfe directed a suite of strikes with his XX Bomber Command. First, on June 5, 1944, a fleet of 98 B-29s launched from India on the XX Command's first combat missions and the first combat missions for the B-29. The targets consisted of Japanese railroad facilities in Bangkok, a 2,261 mile roundtrip flight. Then on June 15, sixty-eight B-29s staged from bases at Chengtu against the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata, 13 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Kyushu, Japan, a 3,182 mile roundtrip flight. These B-29 attacks against the Japanese home islands caused the US to officially announce the existence of 20th AF on June 15. You will recall it was constituted in April. Wolfe's next full-scale strikes occurred on July 7, against Sasebo, Japan, producing good results but too long a wait for Arnold. General Wolfe was replaced temporarily by Brigadier General LaVern Saunders while Arnold tapped Major General Curtis "Iron Ass" LeMay to get to the Pacific from Europe, where he had earned a reputation as a fierce airman and war fighter. This lithograph of LeMay was set in October 1942, when he commanded the 305th Bombardment Group, the "Can do" group, B-17s. The Normandy invasion of Europe occurred in June 1944, and LeMay, 38, took permanent command of the XX, arriving in India late in August 1944. He immediately increased training and mission frequency; he re-organized the flights into 12-plane boxes; he introduced the "lead bomber" concept; and he re-organized the Bomb Groups. But, in all candor, the logistics issues associated with attacking Japan from China were too much even for LeMay. 14 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

This is a 444th Bombardment Group B-29 being refueled at its airfield in China: "barebones" personified, reflective of the tremendous logistics challenges of flying from India to strike at Japan. Presented by the 444th Bombardment Group Association. His very heavy bombers were eating scarce resources needed by 14th AF units and others, and the bases in China were being threatened by Japanese ground forces in China. Worst of all, precious few bombers made it to Japan. LeMay was forced to bomb targets in Manchuria, Formosa, Singapore, Rangoon, and only the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. As an important aside, 14th AF urgently needed theater targets struck with some gusto. Among those, the port facilities at Hankow, China loomed large. Hankow was an industrial center, an inland port facility, and a former capital for Chiang Kai-shek. LeMay objected to taking on this target, citing his orders from the 20th AF and JCS. In response, 14th AF, commanded by Chennault, went directly to the JCS and asked it intercede. The JCS did, and LeMay complied, in a big way. Chennault had long favored the use of incendiary bombs. LeMay agreed and sent 84 B-29s to drop 500 tons of incendiary bombs from low altitude. Hankow, made up mostly of wooden buildings, was on fire for three days. 15 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

While Hankow was in China, the precedent was set to use the fire bomb against Japan, also largely built from wood. Furthermore, a precedent was set that did allow for employment of strategic assets in a tactical environment, a practice that remains to this day, though in some instances, begrudgingly. One of the many very important events of the Pacific War occurred in late 1944, when Admiral Nimitz's naval forces swept into the Mariana islands. Amphibious assaults took Saipan in June, and Guam and Tinian by mid-august. All three islands were strongly garrisoned by Japanese troops who contested every yard of ground. These were great battles of the war, and the sacrifices made to win these islands are incalculable. For our purposes, the capture of the Marianas meant that XXI Bomber Command B-29s began arriving en masse through October and November 1944. The Japanese home islands were now sitting ducks for the B-29. Tokyo was now only 1,400 miles away. The Japanese knew it. The Tojo Cabinet fell, the Japanese launched their fleet to try to get the islands back, and Nimitz's fleet soundly defeated the Japanese at sea and in the air. 16 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Left to right, General Norstad, vice commander, 20th AF, General LeMay, and Brigadier General Thomas S. Power, XXI Bomber Command LeMay sent the 58th Wing back to India, leaving China, much to the joy of the 14th AF, which now could command those sorely needed supplies to fight the Japanese in China. The XXI Command in the Marianas was best positioned to destroy Japan. B-29 raids against Japan began immediately, the first ones flown on November 24, 1944, but the results were not what were needed. In January 1945, now Lieutenant General LeMay went to the Marianas and took command of the XXI while Brigadier General Roger M. Ramey took command of the XX back in India. Ramey immediately began moving his fleet of B-29s to the Marianas. LeMay took command of both bomber commands and the distinction between the two began to fade away. LeMay integrated his heavy bombing with Pacific-wide naval, amphibious, ground and other air operations. Shortly after taking command, three of his bomber wings attacked Tokyo's industrial urban areas, and the attacks continued, employing large formations. Only Iwo Jima stood in the way. Japanese fighters there had three airfields and were able to harass B-29s on their way to and from Japan. Furthermore, Japanese Kamikaze attacks against the American fleet were staged from here. 17 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Marines of the 5th Division Landing on Iwo Jima - Mt. Suribachi is in the background - February 19, 1945. Photo taken and signed by Sgt. Lou Lowery, a photographer with the 5th Division. Presented by The Joe Papalia Iwo Jima Collection. As a result, American Marines invaded Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945 and one of the most famous battles of the war continued through March 28, 1945. Nearly 7,000 Allied forces died in this fight, suffering 26,000 casualties. Of these, 23,573 casualties were US Marines. Over a quarter of the Medals of Honor received by Marines in WWII were to those who fought this fight. Again, the sacrifices were incalculable. With the invasion of Iwo Jima in full force, and Japanese forces there tied down, on March 9-10, 1945, General LeMay sent 334 B-29s loaded to the rafters with incendiary bombs to Tokyo. The lead force attacked after midnight and the last aircraft left near dawn. Fires could be seen 150 miles away, seventeen square miles of the city was completely destroyed, and tens and tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of Japanese died. 18 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Yokohama ablaze from a B-29 incendiary bombing attack. Yokohama Yokohama is on the peninsula facing the western coast of Tokyo Bay, and served as a main port facility for Tokyo. Presented by Air Raid against Cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama Over a ten day period, the B-29s dropped nearly 9,500 tons of incendiaries on Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe, an impressive figure given the incendiaries weighed only about six pounds each. Multiple incendiaries were contained in canisters. 19 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Principal targets of B-29 incendiary bombing, March 1945. Map presented by Yokohama City for another purpose. With the capture of Iwo Jima completed, Tokyo was now only 650 miles away, and the hand-writing was on the wall, or so the Americans thought. The B-29s continued staging from the Marianas, fighters moved into Iwo Jima and were available for escort duties to the home islands, and the B-29s had a good recovery base if they ran into trouble. The Americans now dominated the skies to, from, and over, Japan's home islands General Carl Spaatz had been in command of Strategic Air Forces in Europe, and in March 1945 took command of Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific located on Guam. With General Spaatz, the XX and XXI nomenclature faded away into the 20th AF, and the 20th AF folded into the Strategic Air Forces Pacific. This enabled General Arnold 20 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

to concentrate on his Chief of Army Air Forces duties, which, as it would turn out, enabled him to sell the idea of a United States Air Force (USAF) as a separate military service. On August 2, General LeMay became chief of staff of the Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, which by then included the 20th and 8th Air Forces, the latter of which had moved over from Europe. Aerial view of Nagasaki mushroom cloud resulting from a B-29 nicknamed "Bockscar" dropping an atomic bomb on that city, August 9, 1945. Presented by Nuclear Weapon Archive. Despite the incredible damage being done to Japan's home islands, their industrial centers, and their people, Japan's government would not give up. Therefore, the 20th AF was ordered to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6. The B-29 named the Enola Gay did the job. Japan's generals still refused to surrender. A second atomic bomb was therefore dropped, this time by 20th AF's B-29 the Bockscar on Nagasaki on August 9. There continues to be controversy surrounding whether these atomic bomb attacks were necessary. We'll not argue the point here. But we 21 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

will say that our reading of the record is that the Japanese military still did not want to surrender even after Japan's key centers had been destroyed by B-29 fire bombing and the two atomic bomb attacks leveled two major cities. The issue is worth highlighting. Just prior to being notified of this second attack, a Japanese cabinet vote produced six in favor of surrender under certain conditions, three wanted to fight on, and five remained neutral. On learning of the Nagasaki attack, the cabinet meeting was moved to an audience with Emperor. He listened to the arguments, and asked the cabinet to surrender. But the final decision was not his to make. On August 10, the Japanese Army broadcast an announcement to keep fighting until the bitter end. Those favoring peace issued a message through the government sponsored news agency that same day describing Japan's conditions for accepting the Potsdam proclamation, which spelled out the terms of surrender. This route was used because the government controlled the news agency. The heart of the Potsdam proclamation was that the authority of the emperor and the Japanese Government shall be subordinate to the Allied Supreme Commander. Those favoring peace were trying to set conditions, which were not in the Allied lexicon, and their action refuting the generals' urging to fight on action made the Japanese generals angry. That said, they chose not to revolt, though there was a minor insurrection in Tokyo that was quickly put down. 22 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Hirohito surveys bomb damage in Tokyo, August 1945. Presented by WWII Multimedia Database On August 11, two days after Nagasaki, the emperor agreed to accept the offer (with conditions) made by those favoring peace and broadcast that to his people. The Allies responded, also by news release on August 11, figuring that the government was sure to get the response by this mode. The Allied response was received at about midnight August 11-12. A diplomatic note from the Allies confirming the broadcast was received some 18 hours later. Yet, the Japanese army continued to urge to fight on, wanting to commit some 20 million lives (kamikaze) to victory. On August 14, the Allies dropped leaflets over Japan to bring the negotiations out into the open. The emperor held an imperial conference at noon on August 14 at which time three military leaders urged him to fight on. The emperor accepted the Allied response, the cabinet agreed, and by mid-afternoon on August 14 advised the allies, again through the news agency broadcast, that an acceptance was forthcoming. August 14, 1945 therefore is used as the date of Japanese agreement to surrender and accept the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration. But in truth, surrender was still not a sure thing. On August 15, the emperor spoke to the nation, the first time his people ever heard his voice. In the mean time, Allied carrier-based fighter aircraft attacked Japan that morning of August 15, as no Japanese response had yet been received. They engaged enemy aircraft over Japan and shot down 26. Three Allied aircraft were lost. A second strike was on its way when the broadcast was heard. This strike was recalled. 23 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

A Curtiss SB2C-4 "Helldiver" bomber on patrol over Tokyo, 28 August 1945. Photographed from a USS Shangri-La (CV-38) plane by Lieutenant G. D. Rogers. Note light traffic on the city streets, also burned out areas and damaged buildings. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Presented by Naval Historical Center The Allies issued cease-fire orders on August 15-16, though everyone remained on alert, fearing the Japanese army would not abide by decisions made in Tokyo. US and British carrier-based fighter and bomber aircraft began patrolling Japan's skies. 24 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Japanese military and civilian envoys wait to board a USAAF C-54 aircraft at Ie Shima airfield, Ryukyu Islands, 19 August 1945. The delegation had come to Ie Shima from Japan in specially-marked aircraft, en route to General MacArthur's headquarters in Manila to receive instructions concerning surrender and occupation arrangements. The officer in the center foreground is the delegation's head, Lieutenant General Torashiro Kawabe, deputy chief of the Japanese Army general staff. Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. The Japanese assembled a delegation of envoys, mostly military with some civilians, they flew to Okinawa, on August 19, and then on to General MacArthur's headquarters in Manila, Philippines. Their aircraft from Japan to Okinawa concsisted of two Mitsubishi bombers painted white and marked with large green crosses, presumably to assure they did not get shot down by Allied forces. The delegation boarded a US C-54 transport in Okinawa for the flight on to Manila. The first overseas Japanese post to surrender was that at Mili Atoll, in the southeastern Marshall Islands, on August 22. Elements of the US and British fleets entered Sagami Wan (Bay) outside Tokyo Bay on August 27. Minesweepers and underwater demolition teams entered Tokyo Bay on August 28, and US Army airborne forces began to arrive at Atsugi airfield outside Tokyo that same day. On August 29, major fleet elements moved into Tokyo Bay and that continued through September 2. 25 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

Admiral William F. Halsey, Commander, Third Fleet (right) welcomes Fleet Admiral (five-star) Chester W. Nimitz aboard USS South Dakota (BB-57), in Tokyo Bay, 29 August 1945, after Nimitz flew in from Saipan. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Presented by Naval Historical Center. Admiral Nimitz was appointed the US representative for the formal surrender. He arrived aboard the USS South Dakota in Tokyo Bay on August 29. General MacArthur was placed in charge of the surrender and occupation of Japan as the Supreme Commander Allied Powers. He arrived at Atsugi airfield on August 30 and set up his headquarters at Yokohama. He would move it to Tokyo on September 8. 26 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, signs the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, on board USS Missouri (BB-63), 2 September 1945. Watching from across the table are Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland and General of the Army (five star) Douglas MacArthur. Representatives of the Allied powers are behind General MacArthur. Photographed from atop Missouri's 16-inch gun turret # 2. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Presented by the Naval History Center. On September 2, 1945, fully 24 days after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, all hands were aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, at which time General MacArthur directed the Japanese delegation to sign the instruments of surrender. The Japanese delegation complied, the Allies signed, and the war was over. We want to leave you with a thought about this surrender process. At the time the two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, they were thought to be the most lethal weapons on Earth. Yet, it took Japan several days to agree to surrender, another day to announce it, over a week to fly to Manila to "negotiate" the details, and 24 days before the surrender was official. This is remarkable. It is also important to note that the Allies were very cautious every step of the way as they approached the surrender. The Allies had no more atomic bombs. Had anything gone wrong in this process, had the Japanese generals prevailed and taken matters into their own hands, an invasion would no doubt have been required and intense incendiary bombing of the rest of Japan would most surely have been required. Contrary to popular belief, two A-bombs on Japan did not cinch a surrender as a sure thing. 27 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

While the ICBMs of today's world are far more lethal, and far more of them would be exchanged, one does wonder how exactly they might be fired in anger today, what the targets might be, how many might get struck, who might pull the trigger first, and what would happen after all that dust settled, if anything. Furthermore, we have probably grown out of the assured total destruction scenarios of the Cold War, and might well face volleys of far fewer weapons. If we learned anything from the Japanese surrender process, nothing is for sure, and we woiuld argue that to be so, even when using 300 Kt nuclear missiles. General George Kenney testifying before Congress following WWII, arguing for a separate air force. Presented by Air Force Magazine of the Air Force Association. In February 1946, General Arnold retired, and General Spaatz became the commanding general of the Army Air Force. The very next month, in March, the US Army Air Corps (USAAC) reorganized, forming the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the Tactical Air Command (TAC), and the Air Defense Command (ADC). General George Kenney, who had opposed assigning the B-29s to the 20th AF and instead wanted to control them himself as a theater air commander, was named as SAC's first commander, and located at Bolling AFB, Washington, DC. Ten bombardment groups (BG) were brought in, but most of them went through a process of demobilization, leaving only two left, the 2nd and the 98th, both equipped with B-29s. 28 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM

W. Stuart Symington, first Secretary of the Air Force and Gen. Carl Spaatz, first Air Force Chief of Staff at a press conference announcing the new organizational set-up for the Department of the Air Force, 1947. U.S. Air Force photo, presented by Air Force Link. Then, in 1947 General Arnold's next dream came true. The USAF was established as its own military service. General Spaatz became its first chief of staff. When the USAF was formed, SAC was assigned seven bomb groups, with only the 2nd and 98th having any aircraft. The other five were soon deactivated. Then, the 306th BG was formed and moved to MacDill in Florida and it too received B-29s. The 2nd located to Davis-Monthan in Arizona and the 98th to Spokane, Washington. The 20th AF remained in the Pacific and served in combat for a short time in the Korean War. Later, it was responsible mainly for the air defense of the Ryukyu Islands and then was inactivated in 1955. This would not be the end of the 20th AF, however. It would be heard from again. Please go to the next page to learn about the post-war 20th AF that lives today. If you thought this section resulted in great change, the changes you will be exposed to in the next and final section are even more remarkable and complex. 29 of 29 6/3/10 2:28 PM