http://www.endusmilitarism.org/casualty_projections_Giangreco.html "GENERAL EAKER said that he agreed completely with the statements made by General Marshall in his digest of the memorandum prepared for the President. He had just received a cable in which General Arnold also <page 559> expressed complete agreement. He stated that any blockade of Honshu was completely dependent upon airdromes on Kyushu; that the air plan contemplated employment of 40 groups of heavy bombers against Japan and that these could not be deployed without the use of airfields on Kyushu. He said that those who advocated the use against Japan of air power alone overlooked the very impressive fact that air casualties are always much heavier when the air faces the enemy alone and that these casualties never fail to drop as soon as the ground forces come in. Present air casualties are averaging 2 percent per mission, about 30 percent per month. He wished to point out and to emphasize that delay favored only the enemy and he urged that there be no delay.
COMBINED SUMMARY OF 20TH AIR FORCE & 9TH GROUP OPERATIONS 20TH AIR FORCE 9TH BOMB GROUPC From June 5, 1944 on From February 9, 1945 on Missions 380 75 Sorties Combat 31,387 1843 Other 1,617 169 Total 33,004 2012 Bomb and mine tonnage 171,060 11,376 B-29 losses Combat losses 494 14 + 5 non-combat Training losses in U.S. 260 1 Air crew losses Killed 576 26 + 1 ground crewman Missing 2,406 96 (12 repatriated) Wounded or injured 433 30 http://www.9thbombgrouphistory.org/Chapters/Chapter_07.pdf
