The 6th Bomb Group

This was a night incendiary mission involving 35 aircraft from the 6th Bomb Group:

Target for the 1 July mission was Ube, located on Honshu about fifteen miles east of Shimonoseki. Thirty-nine airplanes were airborne with a bomb load of 1399 one hundred pound incendiaries. Two ships lost an engine soon after takeoff and were forced to jettison their bombs and become early returns. The thirty-seven others bombed the primary target and striking clusters burned out 1.8 sq mi of the built-up area. The Japs offered little defense - four fighters were sighted but none attacked the formations.

[Pirate's Log, p. 49]

20th AF Mission 242

Date: 1 July 1945
Target: Ube Urban Area
Participating Units: 313th BW
Number of A/C Airborne: 112
% A/C Bombing Primary: 89% (100 A/C)
Type of Bombs and Fuzes: AN-M47A2, 100# incendiary bombs fuzed instantaneous nose and E46, 500# incendiary clusters set to open 5,000 feet above target.
Tons of Bombs Dropped: 714.6 tons
Time Over Primary: 0147K - 0312K
Altitude of Attack: 10,000 - 11,600
Weather Over Target: 0/10 - 5/10
Total A/C Lost: 0
Resume of Mission: Photo reconnaissance showed 23% of the built-up area had been destroyed. Seventy-one A/C bombed visually and 29 by radar. Twelve A/C were non-effective. Twelve E/A sighted made 3 attacks. No claims. Flak was heavy and medium, meager to moderate and inaccurate. Twenty-two A/C landed at Iwo Jima. Average bomb load; 14,958 lbs. Average fuel reserve: 716 gallons.