Tokyo firebombing

A series of Allied air raids on Tokyo during World War II, culminating in the March 9–10, 1945 incendiary attack that devastated large parts of the city.

Operation Meetinghouse: The U.S. Army Air Forces’ incendiary raid on Tokyo on the night of March 9–10, 1945. This was the concentrated attack most associated with Tokyo’s firebombing.
Twentieth Air Force: The U.S. Army Air Forces organization responsible for strategic bombing operations in the Pacific during World War II. Its units conducted the B-29 campaign against Japan, including the Tokyo raids.
Civilian casualties in World War II: Deaths and injuries among noncombatants caused by military operations during World War II. The Tokyo raids killed large numbers of civilians in densely populated neighborhoods.
Precision bombing: Air attack intended to hit specific military or industrial targets while limiting damage elsewhere. Tokyo’s nighttime area attack differed sharply from the ideal of striking selected targets precisely.
M-69 incendiary: A small napalm-filled cluster-bomb submunition used by U.S. forces against Japanese cities. Clusters of these weapons spread fires through Tokyo’s wooden neighborhoods.
Mariana Islands: A western Pacific island group that became a major U.S. military base during World War II. Captured islands there placed Japan within operational range of B-29 bombers.
Tokyo: The capital of Japan and one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas. The raids destroyed much of the city’s built-up eastern districts.
Area bombing: Aerial attack directed at a broad urban or geographic area rather than a single point target. The raid aimed to ignite extensive neighborhoods, not just individual factories.
Boeing B-29 Superfortress: A long-range American heavy bomber used extensively in the Pacific War. B-29s delivered the incendiaries from bases in the Mariana Islands.
Island hopping: A Pacific War strategy of capturing selected islands to establish bases while bypassing others. The campaign’s advance created the airfields from which Tokyo could be bombed.

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