<p>Mission Nannie Able was flown on 20 July by 47 B-29s, which bombed by radar, and all bombs hit the target. Nannie Baker, on 1 August, was a visual bombing exercise for 46 B-29s, in which they hit the fertilizer factory and produced a very destructive explosion. On 3 August, Mission Nannie Charlie sent 39 B-29s against Hungnam with good results The three strikes neutralized the complex.
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<p>By then, the 98th and 307th Bomb Groups were on their way to the theater, having left the United States on 1 and 2 August, respectively. The 98th flew its first combat strike on 7 August and the 307th on 8 August, underlining the mobility concept that SAC had been advocating and now was demonstrating.
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<p>The mission of 8 August marked the start of the sustained strategic bombing campaign. It was planned to be a maximum effort every third day, using two groups, and by 20 August it had expanded to a three-group effort with a two-day standdown between attacks for crew rest and aircraft repair and maintenance.
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<p>The bombing pattern was leisurely. With complete air superiority, the limiting factor was air traffic control from Kadena and Yawata, Japan. Interdiction strikes and fighter sweeps were dispatched during the same time frame the bombers used, and the crowded skies posed a real threat to safety, particularly in bad weather.
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<p>It was fortunate that the North Koreans had no air defenses worthy of the name. Bombing by squadrons at lengthy intervals could have resulted in decimation of the B-29s if there had been a strong fighter defense or even powerful anti-aircraft batteries. Bombing accuracy was assessed later by ground parties advancing through North Korea. Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, was almost untouched by bombs except for its industrial complexes, which were gutted. That was typical.
