The most destructive air attack of World War II was not the atomic bombing of Hiroshima but the firebombing of Tokyo by 279 Superfortress bombers on March 9-10, 1945.
Over 1,650 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on the city, raising a massive firestorm and killing from 80,000 to 120,000 people.
The bombing represented a new tactic by American General Curtis LeMay, who was unsatisfied with the results of “precision bombing” of military targets and wanted to switch to night attacks on cities with firebombs.