Today In History: 23 October [1944] -- US B-29s start using using Tinian Island as a base.
USAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress aircraft begin using Tinian Island, in the Marianas )Pacific Theatre), as a base for the systematic bombing of Japan. Both US bombers the Enola Gay and the Bockscar (which dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively) flew their missions from Tinian's North Field.
PHOTO: A 307th Bomb Group B-29 bombing a target in Korea, c. 1951
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Photo Attribution: Public Domain via Wikimedia. USAF Photo
October 23