Everyone knows the "Doolittle Raid" was the first bombing of Japan and everyone knows that Nagasaki was the last. But what about in between ? When was the second bombing ? From where was it launched ? And what/when were the major islands conquered that enabled frequent bombing ? Thanks in advance for answers.
To correct one immediate misconception, the bombing of Nagasaki was not, in fact, the last bombing mission over Japan.
There had been a lull in bombings after Nagasaki as the Japanese became willing to surrender. When negotiations seemed to have stalled, orders were given to remind Japan what was going on. The day of August 14 and into the early morning of the 15th, 1945, over 800 B-29s were used in attacks on five Japanese cities. On the morning of August 15th, the day of the surrender of Japan, over 100 carrier planes struck Tokyo; a second wave of attacks were called off when the Surrender was broadcast.
The second bombing of the main islands of Japan was the B-29 attack on the Imperial Iron and Steel Works in Yawata, Kyūshū on the night of June 15, 1944. The B-29s were from the Twentieth Air Force, staging out of Chengdu, China. The same day saw the start of the invasion of Saipan in the Mariana Islands. Saipan, along with Tinian and Guam also in the Marianas, would be the base for a steady increase of B-29 raids on the Japanese homeland starting in October of 1944.