Next Airing: Monday, May 5 @ 9pm ET/PT
Meet Jim Smith, radio operator on a B-29 that flew WWII's final mission. Smith, attached to the secret 315th Bomb Wing, flew the longest continuous mission of WWII, six days after the atomic bombs, ending the largest and most violent conflict of arms in the history of mankind! On August 14,1945, the 315th Bomb Wing was ordered to strike the Akita oil refinery, northwest of Tokyo. Incredibly the mission blacked out Tokyo in one precise moment of time that spared the Emperor from being kidnapped by military rebels who had taken over the palace. The rebels had planned to isolate the Emperor and prevent him from recording a war-stopping surrender message to his people. Aided by historians, see how the B-29 air strike unwittingly collapsed the coup, saved Tokyo from nuclear strike, and ended WWII. TV PG TV PG
The Last Mission (on T.H.C. Monday, May 5)
The Last Mission (on T.H.C. Monday, May 5)
This looks like an interesting show, but sometimes I have to wonder how much historians stretch the truth in order to make things interesting. This very well may be a case in point. (The History Channel)