A B29 Bombing Mission Is Interrupted by Japanese Fighters 💣 Air Warriors | Smithsonian Channel
Video from the channel Smithsonian Channel Aviation Nation about Boeing B-29 Superfortress, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 3:59. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.
On June 5, 1945, 45 B-29 bombers took off from North Field, on the island of Tinian, to attack a steel mill in south-central Kobe. The clip combines reenactment with the testimony of First Lieutenant Don Dwyer, a bombardier with the 9th Bombardment Group, whose aircraft led the formation.
Dwyer dropped his load of 19 bombs and the rest of the formation did the same over the target. Right after, a Japanese fighter dove at the aircraft. Dwyer fired at it with his sight, but the fighter hit it with four 20 mm rounds that knocked out two engines.
Without enough power to return to Tinian, the crew made an emergency landing on Iwo Jima, a recently captured island located halfway between Japan and the base. The crew is credited with three confirmed kills and two probables.