The capture of Iwo Jima in February 1945 cost 24,000 American casualties, but it gave VII Fighter Command a staging point within P-51 range of Tokyo. On April 7, 1945, 119 Mustangs of the 15th and 21st Fighter Groups took off on the first VII Fighter Command Very Long Range (VLR) escort mission from Iwo Jima to Honshu. They rendezvoused with B-29s over Honshu and claimed 21 Japanese fighters. Over the next five months, Iwo-based P-51s flew 51 VLR missions, logging 4,172 effective sorties and shooting down 206 Japanese aircraft. The Mustang was perfect for the job: long-legged, fast, and lethal with its K-14 gunsight. But the real mission was survival. Pilots flew seven hours over open water, guided by B-29 "Uncle-Dog" navigation ships and a chain of submarines. When fuel ran low, pilots ditched within sight of the rescue net. In August, the Sunsetters claimed their last kills near Tokyo. The P-51 had done what no other fighter in the Pacific had done: escort bombers to the enemy's capital and come home.