World War II Planes

     Planes changed the outcome of the war because of the major plane battles they were used in such as Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Britain.  There were a lot of major battles in World War II. Most of the battles dealt with planes. Planes were a very big part of the war and were the major turning point. Without planes, the Allies and Axes powers would not have succeeded in winning the battles they did. Many plane tactics were used to win battles such as Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

     Pearl Harbor

     The attack of Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941.(Pearl Harbor) The Japanese invaded this military base. Japan had 353 aircraft ambushing Pearl Harbor.(Pearl Harbor) The United States had 188 aircraft destroyed by the Japanese.(Pearl Harbor) At Pearl Harbor, 2,402 personnel were killed and 1,282 wounded.(Pearl Harbor) The Japanese losses were scarce with only having lost 29 aircraft, five submarines, 65 men killed, and one sailor captured.(Pearl Harbor)  The dive-bombers job was to attack the ground targets. “His plane called for a carrier air attack on this fleet at its base in Pearl Harbor,” explains J. D. Hayes (Grolier)      

                                      Pearl Harbor being bombed.

Iwo Jima 

     At Iwo Jima, the battle was between the Americans and the Japanese. First 30,000 United States Marines landed on the island and then later came 40,000 more Marines.(Battleof Iwo) The atomic bomb was meant for Japan in late 1944, four months after D-Day.(Battle of Iwo) After the long battle, the Japanese causalities were as high as 21, 570 when there were only 22,785 Japanese in the first place.(Battle of Iwo) Only 1,215 Japanese survived.(Battle of Iwo) There were many paratroopers that were people or objects that flew out of planes to fight or bring supplies to the soldiers. These dropped supplies such as ammunition or medical supplies. “This could be achieved by a strategic defense,” states J. D. Hayes (Grolier)

                                                                                 Americans putting up a flag in Iwo Jima.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

     The Japanese government ignored an ultimatum given by the Potsdam Declaration after six months of epic bombing on 67 Japanese cities.(Hiroshima) Finally, the U. S. dropped the nuclear weapon called "Little Boy" from the Enola Gay on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.(Hiroshima) Three days later, the U. S. dropped another nuclear weapon on Nagasaki named "Fat Man".(Hiroshima) These two nuclear weapons were the only two used  throughout the entire war. 90,000-166,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 60,000-80,000 in Nagasaki.(Hiroshima) On August 15, Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers.(Hiroshima) "The fear of a Soviet invasion along with the shocks of the bombings were more than enough to convince Emperor Hirohito to surrender," explains Siyab (Listified)

                                                                                                                                Enola Gay after dropping first atomic bomb.

“Battle of Iwo Jima.” World-war-2.info. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.world-war-2.info>.

Cavite naval yards after Japanese raid. 2005. Discovery Education streaming. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.discoveryeducation.com>.

Enola Gay after dropping first atomic bomb. N.d. Discovery Education streaming. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://player.discoveryeducation.com>.

“Facts on Pearl Harbor.” Ezine Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.ezinearticles.com>.

Marines Raising American Flag on Iwo Jima. N.d. Discovery Education streaming. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.discoveryeducation.com>

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“10 Facts about the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Listfied. N.p., 6 Aug. 2009. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.listfied.com>.

Wiseman, Paul. “EBSCOhost.” Middle Search Plus. USA Today, 21 July 2008. Web. 2 May 2010. <http://search.ebscohost.com>.

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