’It was a thrill to see rows of B-29s going through the sky’: The American Strategic Bombing of Singapore, 1944-45

B-29 sorties during the American strategic bombing campaign against Singapore in 1944–45 were the longest daylight bombing missions mounted to that point during the Second World War. Despite the campaign’s historical significance, a comprehensive account incorporating the perspectives of American aircrew, Japanese occupiers, local civilians, and internees who lived through the bombings remains to be written. This lacuna is reflective of the scant scholarship on the impact of Allied bombing on friendly civilians in enemy-occupied territories in the Far East. Although the combat results were mixed, Allied bombing raised the morale of civilians and internees in Japanese-occupied Singapore.