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During World War II, a series of Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands took place between November 1944 and January 1945. These raids targeted United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bases and sought to disrupt the bombing of Japan by B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers operating from the islands. The Japanese lost 37 aircraft during this operation, but destroyed 11 B-29s and damaged a further 43. Preparations were also made for commando raids on the bases in early and mid-1945 but these did not go ahead. While the attacks on the Mariana Islands did not seriously disrupt the USAAF air campaign, they had an effect on other American operations. After determining that the Japanese raiders were staging through Iwo Jima, American forces stepped up their attacks on that island. While the decision to invade Iwo Jima had been made before the raids commenced, stopping the attacks formed part of the justification for the landing. In addition, further air defense units were deployed to the Mariana Islands to protect the B-29 bases. ==Background== United States forces captured Guam, Saipan and Tinian in the Mariana Islands between June and August 1944, as part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign.〔Tillman (2010), p. 68〕 These islands were needed to provide bases for USAAF Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers to attack the Japanese home islands.〔Cate and Olson (1953), p. 578〕 Construction of the large air bases needed to support B-29s began on Saipan in June 1944, before the end of the Battle of Saipan, and work on air fields on Tinian and Guam commenced in July and August respectively.〔Tillman (2010), pp. 70–73〕 The B-29s of the XXI Bomber Command began to arrive at Saipan starting on October 12, and the 73rd Bombardment Wing began flying warm-up missions against Japanese-held islands in the Pacific on October 27 in preparation for operations against Japan itself.〔Tillman (2010), pp. 77–79〕 The USAAF bases in the Mariana Islands were within range of a number of Japanese air bases in the Pacific. These included Wake Island to the east, Truk and the Gilbert and Marshall Islands to the southeast, Woleai to the south and Yap to the southwest. To the north the Japanese had air bases in the Nampo Shoto chain of islands and Bonin Islands, which included three airstrips on Iwo Jima. Several of the minor islands in the Mariana chain also remained in Japanese hands, and there were airfields on Rota and Pagan.〔Cate and Olson (1953), pp. 578–579〕 The Japanese were unable to use most of these bases, however, as they had been isolated and heavily damaged by United States air attacks, and the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) and Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) had relatively few aircraft and pilots available.〔Cate and Olson (1953), p. 579〕 Despite the limited threat of attack, the United States military took steps to protect the B-29 bases in the Mariana Islands. The USAAF's Seventh Air Force played the most important role, and continuously attacked the Japanese-held islands until just before the end of the war. United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) aircraft and XXI Bomber Command B-29s also occasionally participated in these attacks. The Seventh Air Force also provided air defence for the Mariana Islands; this task was assigned to the 318th Fighter Group, which was equipped with P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, and the 6th Night Fighter Squadron which flew Northrop P-61 Black Widows. The Thunderbolts were also responsible for suppressing the Japanese-held Mariana Islands, though it proved difficult to stop the 3,600-man garrison from repairing the airfield on Pagan.〔Cate and Olson (1953), pp. 580–581〕 In addition, the US Army stationed elements of eight anti-aircraft gun battalions and two searchlight battalions on Saipan between July 1944 and February 1945.〔Stanton (1984), pp. 490–509〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.antiaircraft.org/saipan.htm )〕 The head of the USAAF General "Hap" Arnold, who also directly commanded the Twentieth Air Force, was concerned about whether these defenses were sufficient, particularly given the high cost of the Superfortress bombers. Accordingly, he allocated a Microwave Early Warning (MEW) radar to protect the bases on Saipan. This advanced radar was not immediately installed, however, as the local commanders believed that the island's air defenses were adequate.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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