Moreover, once Iwo Jima was secured, its airfields would be available to fighter aircraft escorting the bombing missions and to battle-damaged or otherwise stricken B-29s for emergency landings. B-29 bombing missions consequently had to fly a longer, circuitous route around the island. air raids as well as a base for intercepting Japanese fighters. A Japanese radar site on Iwo Jima was assessed as providing early warning to the Home Island air defenses of U.S. Army Air Forces, a service branch that had lately come to the fore in the Pacific due to the strategic bombing campaign against Japan. The Bonins operation was to be carried out first, in part due to considerations put forward by the U.S. They were also integral parts of Japan’s vital inner defense zone. Thus, the more easterly Bonins (the Nanpo Shoto) and the more westerly Ryukus (the Nansei Shoto) are figurative stepping stones to the heart of Japan. Both island chains range roughly north to south in the Pacific south of the central Japanese Home Island of Honchu. Luzon was to be followed by the occupation of the Bonins-Volcano group (including Iwo Jima) and of the Ryukus (including Okinawa). The target date for the Luzon operation was 20 December (although it was actually carried out 9 January 1945, with all strategic locations not secured until March). Securing Luzon, the largest of the Philippine Islands, received priority following a forceful submission by General Douglas MacArthur, Southwest Pacific Area commander, and his staff.
Operation Detachment, the amphibious assault on Iwo Jima, had its genesis in the 29 September–1 October 1944 strategic planning conference of senior Pacific theater commanders and Joint Chiefs of Staff representatives in San Francisco.
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