feddoc
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All that stood between General Douglas MacArthur and the end of the war was one final campaign: Japan’s public surrender that the entire world would be watching.
Determined to make a lasting impression, MacArthur arrived in Tokyo Bay with 258 combat ships. The Army and Navy were tasked with filling the sky over the U.S.S. Missouri with warbirds - squashing any hope of resistance that might be lingering. Their arrival had been meticulously timed to the moment MacArthur would sign the surrender documents at 9:08 a.m.
The Army Air Forces considered themselves at war until the moment the surrender documents were signed, and many pilots were eager for one final combat mission. Others were drawn by sheer curiosity.
But the weather was bad.
Navy reports stated flying conditions were “average to undesirable” and at their planned altitudes of 8,000 – 14,000 feet the B-29s would be lost in the clouds - forcing the Army to drop them to 3,000 feet. The Navy followed suit - their Hellcats, Corsairs, Helldivers, and Avengers would come in at 1,500 feet.
Takeoffs began at 2:01 a.m. in darkness. By 8:33 a.m. they had joined up and were flying towards their 9:08 mark. Once there they would fly in a clockwise box formation so that viewers below would think there were three times as many of them. They would stay in this pattern until either 11:30 a.m. or until they were down to less than 600 gallons of fuel – whichever came first.
1,200 Army and Navy warbirds headed towards their mark, but despite all the careful planning they were late. By 9:45 a.m. the surrender documents had been signed and MacArthur had announced “These proceedings are now closed.” Afterwards he was heard whispering to Admiral Halsey, “Bill, where the hell are those airplanes?”
In his autobiography, Reminiscences, MacArthur said, “At that moment, the skies parted and the sun shone brightly through the layers of clouds. There was a steady drone above and now it became a deafening roar and an armada of airplanes paraded into sight, sweeping over the warships…. It was over.”
Determined to make a lasting impression, MacArthur arrived in Tokyo Bay with 258 combat ships. The Army and Navy were tasked with filling the sky over the U.S.S. Missouri with warbirds - squashing any hope of resistance that might be lingering. Their arrival had been meticulously timed to the moment MacArthur would sign the surrender documents at 9:08 a.m.
The Army Air Forces considered themselves at war until the moment the surrender documents were signed, and many pilots were eager for one final combat mission. Others were drawn by sheer curiosity.
But the weather was bad.
Navy reports stated flying conditions were “average to undesirable” and at their planned altitudes of 8,000 – 14,000 feet the B-29s would be lost in the clouds - forcing the Army to drop them to 3,000 feet. The Navy followed suit - their Hellcats, Corsairs, Helldivers, and Avengers would come in at 1,500 feet.
Takeoffs began at 2:01 a.m. in darkness. By 8:33 a.m. they had joined up and were flying towards their 9:08 mark. Once there they would fly in a clockwise box formation so that viewers below would think there were three times as many of them. They would stay in this pattern until either 11:30 a.m. or until they were down to less than 600 gallons of fuel – whichever came first.
1,200 Army and Navy warbirds headed towards their mark, but despite all the careful planning they were late. By 9:45 a.m. the surrender documents had been signed and MacArthur had announced “These proceedings are now closed.” Afterwards he was heard whispering to Admiral Halsey, “Bill, where the hell are those airplanes?”
In his autobiography, Reminiscences, MacArthur said, “At that moment, the skies parted and the sun shone brightly through the layers of clouds. There was a steady drone above and now it became a deafening roar and an armada of airplanes paraded into sight, sweeping over the warships…. It was over.”
