"The three airfields on Iwo were staging areas for additional attacks AGAINST US planes coming back from Japan. Not entirely effective attacks (not as effective as the British fighters at Malta, where that single British island was the key to the central Med supply lines against Rommel, but damaging none-the less."The Jap pilots by that time were no match for the USAF, and true they just weren't effective.
"In fact, damaged aircraft were landing on Iwo even before the fighting stopped!"
Jap aircraft I presume? "Damaged"? Of course -- the Jap Air Force was getting torn to shreds at that juncture.
Iwo would have been NO help after we isolated the Island from further re-supply anyway.
At least US bomber landed on Iwo even before the volcano was taken. Hundreds more by the next weeks.
2400 US planes in all. 24,000 US airmen (your predecessors!) in all.