The Last Bomb Page #2

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as planned and flown,

is recorded from hourly reports

on the status panel,

beginning with takeoff time.

To veteran crews,

it's just another day's work.

One more 1,500-mile haul

up and down the ruddy Pacific.

15 hours, 7,000 gallons,

four engines, 11 guys.

Knock wood.

A water jump across

20 degrees of the globe,

a continent of ocean.

Destination, Tokyo.

It's like taking off in Mexico

for targets in Canada.

The 314th is airborne.

145 planes, one minute apart,

67 tons each.

(Inaudible)

Those B-29 takeoffs are a tough sweat.

That first long moment is the worst.

Some swear it takes luck,

like a wife's stocking, to beat it.

At Tinian, 100 miles north,

two more B-29 wings prepare for takeoff.

134 aircraft from the 58th wing.

100 more from the 313th wing.

At Saipan a few minutes later, the

veteran 73rd wing lines up for takeoff.

153 more bombers are added

to the mission's striking force.

The last B-29 is airborne at 15:40.

The tower at Saipan relays this

information to the controller at Guam.

First and last takeoff times

of each wing are recorded here

and go to make up the first

of a series of tabulated mission reports.

Copies of these reports are dispatched

to headquarters, Washington,

and posted on

the control room report board.

During that first hour, the B-29s

have settled down for the big grind,

saving precious gas,

cruising 1,000 feet off the water.

Ability, experience, confidence

ride in each plane.

A plan of action for 11 men

trained and tested to function as one.

The navigator sets the course,

logging island checkpoints as

they climb past the northern Marianas.

Pagan, Asuncion, Maug, The Pajaros.

After about four hours of flight,

the bombers pass close to Iwo Jima.

The hot rock. A black, gritty

pork chop halfway to Honshu.

Eight square miles

bought and paid for by our marines.

We made some quick changes.

Cutting away that

sulphurous volcanic crust

and rolling Iwo's surface into

one enormous flattop.

Three big airstrips now launch off

P-51s for bomber escort over Japan.

General Moore and his staff of

Seventh Fighter Command run the show

and direct all air-sea rescues in close

collaboration with Bomber Command.

A last-minute briefing check,

just to make sure today's fighter escort

knows all air-sea rescue positions.

General Moore's P-51s are warming up

for the longest fighter flight on record.

Seven hours and one engine.

Extra belly tanks.

Extra nerve and stamina in the cockpit.

About the time our bomber wings

are passing Iwo Jima,

the P-shooters are taking off,

scheduled to join them three and a half

hours later off the shores of Japan.

After a rendezvous at Kita,

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