The new Premier of Japan was ushered in with a bang on 7 April 1945, when for the first time in World War II land based fighters escorted Boeing B-29's over Tokyo. Two hundred B-29's based in the Marianas, and a hundred North American P-51's pulled a one two over industrial Tokyo that brought twenty-one Jap planes tumbling down. Here, the sleek Mustangs have returned from their mission and a crowd gathers to get first-hand information from the pilots. This raid was the climax for which the Marines paid so dearly on Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands where these fighters are based. James VandeHey’s 78th Fighter Squadron P-51 #100, Jeanne VIII, which was named after his wife.
The new Premier of Japan was ushered in with a bang on 7 April 1945, when for the first time in World War II land based fighters escorted Boeing B-29's over Tokyo. Two hundred B-29's based in the Marianas, and a hundred North American P-51's pulled a one two over industrial Tokyo that brought twenty-one Jap planes tumbling down. Here, on 8 April 1945, the day after the raid, Boeing B-29's, North American P-51's and Northrop P-6l's are parked along Number #1 strip on Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. Mt. Suribachi may be seen in the background. 78th Fighter Squadron
