Addendum: I wroteI had no idea that the US used those sorts of numbers in their raids - was this only after Okinawa was taken? Most of the other airfields used in the island hopping campaign were barely able to support a squadron of B-17s or B-29s. The supply of bombs and fuel to the airfield(s) for each raid must have been an enormous undertaking.
(In World War II, the US used flights of 500 to 1000 manned bombers to destroy 62 cities and two flights of one bomber each to destroy two more cities, using nuclear weapons.)
Funny how one stray bomb making an Iraqi orphan is a huge drama throughout the Western world, and yet less than 60 years ago we were carpet bombing entire cities into the ground with unguided iron bombs. Now we have to make sure the night watchman doesn't get hurt when we take out a specific room in an enemy building...
Cheers Russell C.
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