Us Official Photographs

Fire bombs on Tinian beachhead

Highly successful in the invasion of Tinian were the new "fire bombs" one of which is pictured above as it exploded on the beachhead at Tinian island. In one day as much as 10,000 gallons of the liquid fire were dropped from altitudes as low as fifty feet by 7th AAF Thunderbolt fighters on Jap pillboxes, gun positions and troop concentrations well in advance of our attacking ground forces. The photo was taken by a 7th AAF F5 reconnaissance plane, used for the first time in this theatre.