This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Bachelor.

James Scott, his new book as Black Snow, Curtis Lamay, the Fire Bombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the atomic bomb. It is early March 1945.

Curtis LeMay, commanding a bomber command out of the Mariana Islands has a new idea about how to advance his

campaign against the Tokyo warmaking and bring the war to a close.

James, thank you.

We go to the briefing of the day is March 9th, but you tell me in your

in your reporting that the word was out beforehand.

How so what kind of word to the crews of the B-29s?

LeMay in early March, they posted a message saying they're not going to be any more raids

for several nights. Of course the airmen who are used to fly in these sort of

patterns are very aware that that signifies a change is coming and so the rumor mill just starts burning at that point and then of course

LeMay before the crews get briefed he then has to bring in all of his wing commanders and tell them exactly what's going to be going down because they're going to have to then run these briefings for all these thousands of pilots, vomiteers and navigators, for what amounts to a very radical new way of attacking the Japanese.

The plan is extremely detailed.

However, it involves elements that are surprising when you first read them.

For example, we've talked about low-level bombing, taking a bomber that was designed to fly

with pressurized cabin six or seven miles

above and do strategic bombing he's taking it down to 5,000 feet but no weapons James?

Exactly no well you know LeMay orders the bombers No weapons, James. Exactly.

Well, you know, LeMay orders the bombers all stripped of their guns.

And if they don't take guns, then they don't need to take ammunition, and they don't even need

to take gunners.

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