airlana
19-11-05, 04:11 AM
Here's more info on todays 2bkk's home page story
The mission referred to was the first of Operation Matterhorn which was the plan to bomb Japan with B29 long range aircraft based in China. The idea had been around for some time, but delays in aircraft and crew training meant it was early 1944 before operations were ready to begin. Intitially based in India, the 20th USAAF was duly formed and tasked with Matterhorn. Due to many factors, Matterhorn was not a great success and in course the bases were moved to Saipan and Tainan.
The first B-29 bombing raid took place on June 5, 1944. Led by General Saunders himself, 98 B-29s took off from bases in eastern India to attack the Makasan railroad yards at Bangkok, Thailand. This involved a 2261-mile round trip, the longest bombing mission yet attempted during the war. The engines of the B-29 were still causing problems, and fourteen B-29s were forced to abort because of engine failures. The target was obscured by bad weather, necessitating bombing by radar. The formations became confused and dropped their bombs at altitudes between 17-27,000 feet rather than the planned 22-25,000 feet. Only eighteen bombs landed in the target area. Five B-29s crashed upon landing after the mission and 42 were forced to divert to other airfields because of a shortage of fuel. The B-29 campaign was off to a bad start, although none of the bombers were actually lost to enemy action.
There's no shortage of material on the 20th USAAF and Matterhorn from technical and operational aspects to the 'heavy weight boys' in the military and government.
One of the better overviews of Operation Matterhorn is here (http://www.csd.uwo.ca/%7Epettypi/elevon/baugher_us/b029-09.html)
airlana
The mission referred to was the first of Operation Matterhorn which was the plan to bomb Japan with B29 long range aircraft based in China. The idea had been around for some time, but delays in aircraft and crew training meant it was early 1944 before operations were ready to begin. Intitially based in India, the 20th USAAF was duly formed and tasked with Matterhorn. Due to many factors, Matterhorn was not a great success and in course the bases were moved to Saipan and Tainan.
The first B-29 bombing raid took place on June 5, 1944. Led by General Saunders himself, 98 B-29s took off from bases in eastern India to attack the Makasan railroad yards at Bangkok, Thailand. This involved a 2261-mile round trip, the longest bombing mission yet attempted during the war. The engines of the B-29 were still causing problems, and fourteen B-29s were forced to abort because of engine failures. The target was obscured by bad weather, necessitating bombing by radar. The formations became confused and dropped their bombs at altitudes between 17-27,000 feet rather than the planned 22-25,000 feet. Only eighteen bombs landed in the target area. Five B-29s crashed upon landing after the mission and 42 were forced to divert to other airfields because of a shortage of fuel. The B-29 campaign was off to a bad start, although none of the bombers were actually lost to enemy action.
There's no shortage of material on the 20th USAAF and Matterhorn from technical and operational aspects to the 'heavy weight boys' in the military and government.
One of the better overviews of Operation Matterhorn is here (http://www.csd.uwo.ca/%7Epettypi/elevon/baugher_us/b029-09.html)
airlana