Japan Devastated While the B-29s had been concentrating on targets in support of the invasion of Okinawa, they were able to fly two night incendiary raids on Tokyo and Yokohama. On May 14, General LeMay's Superfortresses began a series of concentrated fire bomb raids against Japan's most important industrial cities. By June 15, the AAF had destroyed the industrial capability of the leading six cities -- Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka, Yokohama and Kawasaki. Great factory complexes were devastated and millions of people were homeless, seriously reducing their effectiveness in those war industries that remained in operation. Incendiary raids also were carried out on smaller cities with similar success. The AAF's B-29 loss rate during the fire bomb campaign was 1.9 percent. As enemy air opposition grew increasingly feeble, the AAF began to drop propaganda leaflets warning the inhabitants to flee certain Japanese cities scheduled to be bombed. Despite this advance warning, enemy opposition when such cities were struck remained ineffective. Click here to return to the World War II Gallery. Find Out More Related Fact Sheets Boeing B-29 Superfortress Note: The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the National Museum of the USAF, the U.S. Air Force, or the Department of Defense, of the external website, or the information, products or services contained therein.