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The US Twentieth Air Force was a bomber command based in the Marianas ( Guam and Tinian in particular) during World War II. They were assigned the responsibility of destroying Japan's industry. Because of the long ranges involved, the Twentieth airforce was equipped with B-29's, the longest range bomber in the world at the time.
The damage done by the Twentieth airforce was devastating to Japan's industry, and severely crippled its ability to fight. It was they who firebombed Tokyo on the night of March 9 - March 10, 1945, as well as dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The flight route from Marianas to Japan took bombers with radar and figher range of Iwo Jima. The loss of Iwo Jima deprived the Japanese of an important strategic point for their defense against the Twentieth Airforce.
They were under the command of Hap Arnold, and later Curtis LeMay.
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force USAF is the aviation branch of the United States armed forces. The mission of the USAF is "to defend the United States through the control and exploitation of air and space. Organization There are three components of the USAF: