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.
McDonald Islands (volcano) of the islands, at around in area. It has been the main focus of activity in recent times. Prior to 1996, McDonald Island had been a flat green island whose pumice beaches provided a great nesting area for penguin breeding. The island now has two main peaks, Maxwell Hill and Samarang Hill – the highest is Maxwell Hill at . Prior to 1992, no eruptions had taken place at the McDonald Islands volcano for 75,000 years. A series of eruptions started in 1992. The first recorded eruption from the McDonalds was from a submarine vent (a small VEI-0 eruption) in