Although the British knew by 24 April from Signals intelligence that Burma Area Army HQ had left Rangoon, they were not aware that the Japanese were about to abandon the city entirely [REF].
Early on 1 May, eight squadrons of B-24 Liberator and four of B-25 Mitchells, and two squadrons of P-51 Mustangs from the 2nd Air Commando Group USAAF bombed and strafed known Japanese defences south of Rangoon [REF].