Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands and anti-aircraft guns shot down about 37 Japanese aircraft during these raids. After the Marianas began to come under attack, the United States military stepped up its raids on the Japanese-held islands which could be used to launch raids on the B-29 bases. Particular attention was given to Iwo Jima, as it was correctly assumed that the Japanese aircraft which attacked the Marianas were flying from Japan and staging through the island en route to their targets. Following the first raid against Saipan in November, XXI Bomber Command B-29s were dispatched against Iwo Jima's airfields on November 5 and 8.
Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands Pagan. The Japanese were unable to use most of these bases, however, as they had been isolated and heavily damaged by United States air attacks, and the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) and Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) had relatively few aircraft and pilots available. Despite the limited threat of attack, the United States military took steps to protect the B-29 bases in the Mariana Islands. The USAAF's Seventh Air Force played the most important role, and continuously attacked the Japanese-held islands until just before the end of the war. United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC)