The 6th Bomb Group

This was a night incendiary mission involving 32 planes from the 6th Bomb Group:

The fifth and last Blitz mission was a repeat performance at Nagoya on the night of 18-19 March. The bomb load was mixed: 4,883 X 100 lbs and 135 X 500 lb incendiaries were carried. Enemy opposition was moderate with two planes damaged by flak.

[Pirate's Log, p. 33]

20th AF Mission 44

Date: 18 March 1945
Code Name: Microscope #3
Target: Nagoya Urban Area
Participating Units: 73rd, 313th and 314th Bombardment Wings
Number A/C Airborne: 310
% A/C Bombing Primary: 94% (290 Primary, 0 Secondary, 0 Last Resort and Opportunity)
Time Over Primary: 190304K - 190548K
Altitude of Attack: 4,500 - 9,000
Weather Over Target: 2/10
Total A/C Lost: 1
Resume of Mission: 82,000,000 square feet (1890 acres or 2.95 square miles) destroyed. Total damage to Nagoya from missions 41and 44 - 139,800,000 square feet (3200 acres or 5.0 square miles). Twenty aircraft non-effective.  One aircraft ditched on way back. Enemy air opposition weak - 44 attacks no claims. AA medium to heavy, meager to moderate, inaccurate. Radar control indicated for first time by very accurate tracking by searchlights. Average bomb load 13,144 lbs. Average gas reserve 1085 gallons.