It was not until June 10th, almost a month after our aircraft landed on the Island, that our first successful escort mission was run. The Tokyo escort mission on that date in which the 506th and 15th Fighter Groups supported a medium effort XXI BomCom strike against selected targets, was the first occasion on which the itching trigger fingers of the 506th pilots had an opportunity to fire at and shoot down a sizeable number of Jap airborne opposition. The 506th, providing the leading escort from the DP to the target, took off in the morning at the uncomfortable hour of 0545 (25). Reaching the DP at 0900, the 462nd as high cover, the 457th on the left, and the 458th on the right, lower and slightly astern, the Group proceeded inland. They sighted a squadron of Tony's apparently lying in ambush for the bombers. The Nips took to their heels. Three or four of them who failed to get away fast enough were jumped by Major Dejarnette's flight, 462nd Squadron, and one each was racked up by the Major, Lt Bash, and Lt Rosebrough. Another stray from this squadron of Tonys was jumped by Capt Lee, 462nd ; Capt Lee made two passes at the Jap who spiraled down and crashed into the mountains. Lion's share of the kills was bagged by the 458th; picturesque, mustachioed Capt Pete Nowick, the Mad Russian, bagged two Franks or Tojos. His wingman Lt Neil Smith remarked later, "I called out the bogies to him and he went after them. And boy, did he get them". Lts Feld and Sowers each: blew one up in the air and one shot down in flames is split between Lt Mikes and Lt Seegers.

The 457th had, comparatively speaking, a much more tranquil afternoon than either of its neighbors. Action was recorded on only one flight, Dooley Green. Lt Lawrence and Lt Hetland got a short burst into one Tojo, Lt Skiver and Lt Gardner got hits in the cockpit of a Tojo; Lt Skiver ripped off a short burst at another and Lt Gardner flamed still another. Our total score was 10 destroyed, 4 probably destroyed, and 2 damaged. Over and beyond the fact that the mission was our first real pay dirt job over the Empire it was of great value to the Group as an indication of combat problems and techniques to be worked out in the future. The 506th pilots, it was agreed, were eager to close and come to grips with the enemy, so much so in fact that they, very nearly ran one another down in the mad scramble to tap the few Nips sighted. As Lt Newcomb of the 457th put it, "It's, getting so we've almost got to fight the other boys off to get to take a solo shot at a Jap plane". Net result of this policy was, of course, poor air discipline (26) . Nobody was lost on this mission, the quality and number of Jap fighters being what it was, so that the lesson learned was entirely gratuitous.

The 1800 tons of bombs dropped by the 300 B-29's escorted were divided between the Hitachi Aircraft factory and engineering works at Chiba, the Nakajima Aircraft factory at Omiya, the Japan Aircraft factory at Tomioka, the Tachikawa Army Air Depot, and the Kasumigaura Seaplane Base and Air Depot. Most of the buildings at the Kasumigaura Depot and all the major buildings at the Hitachi engineering works were destroyed (27).