Tokyo (December 3, 1944)

We started out today and we bombed a town northwest of Tokyo. A good deal of flack and about 7 fighter attacks. I claimed one damage and Hanks claimed another. We lost one plane by ditching. I am afraid the crew is lost also.

— Joe Caner Swann

This was the first mission in which the entire crew of the Star Duster flew together, and it was the first mission for the enlisted men. The primary target as the Musashino Aircraft Plant1 in Tokyo, with the Tokyo docks and urban areas designated as secondary targets. Eighty-six planes participated in this mission.

The target was bombed between 5:00 and 6:30 am with planes flying at 16,000 to 33,000 feet. The average bomb load was 5,000 lbs. The weather over the target was excellent.

Bombing results on the primary target were recorded as "unsatisfactory" with only 2,580 square feet of roof area destroyed. Eight aircraft bombed the secondary target, but the results were unobserved. An additional eight aircraft had problems and returned early, with two of these bombing Pagan Island.

The enemy responded with heavy, and at times intense, antiaircraft fire which was inaccurate. There were also 75 fighter attacks. Ten enemy aircraft were destroyed, with eleven more probably destroyed, and eighteen others damaged.

One B-29 was lost to enemy aircraft. Four more bombers ditched on the way back to Saipan.

Additional Resources

  • Read the complete journal kept by the Star Duster's right gunner, Joe Caner Swann.
  • Resume of 20th Air Force Missions, (see book information on the books resources page).
  • Mission resumes are also available on the Twentieth Air Force Association web site. This site is built with frames. To view the mission resumes click the "Missions" link in the top menu on the site's home page. This is mission 10.

Mission List

Footnotes
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