ABSTRACT
Having secured the Marshall and Caroline island chains, the US Navy prepared to climb the next rung of the ladder leading to the Japanese home islands. The Mariana Island group was dominated by three islands in particular: Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. Saipan had been mandated to Japan under the Versailles Treaty in 1919 as reward for its nominal participation in World War I. Tinian, a sister island to Saipan, was the site of a large Japanese air facility. From the runways on Tinian, the Japanese could venture as far south as Truk, or, conversely, as far north as Tokyo. These runways were a primary target of the Allied advance. The marines on Saipan had complained of the lack of proper air support, and with good reason. Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa had promptly executed Toyoda’s plan to destroy American air and naval power.
