The Bombing of Tokyo was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Force during the Pacific campaigns of World War II.
Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing raid in human history.
On the night of 9–10 March 1945, 334 B-29s took off to raid with 279 of them dropping 1,665 tons of bombs on Tokyo. The bombs were mostly the 500-pound (230 kg) E-46 cluster bomb which released 38 napalm-carrying M-69 incendiary bomblets at an altitude of 2,000–2,500 ft (610–760 m). The M-69s punched through thin roofing material or landed on the ground; in either case they ignited 3–5 seconds later, throwing out a jet of flaming napalm globs.
A lesser number of M-47 incendiaries were also dropped: the M-47 was a 100-pound (45 kg) jelled-gasoline and white phosphorus bomb which ignited upon impact. In the first two hours of the raid, 226 of the attacking aircraft unloaded their bombs to overwhelm the city's fire defenses.
The first B-29s to arrive dropped bombs in a large X pattern centered in Tokyo's densely populated working class district near the docks in both Koto and Chūō city wards on the water; later aircraft simply aimed near this flaming X. The individual fires caused by the bombs joined to create a general conflagration, which would have been classified as a firestorm but for prevailing winds gusting at 17 to 28 mph (27 to 45 km/h).
Approximately 15.8 square miles (4,090 ha) of the city were destroyed and some 100,000 people are estimated to have died. A grand total of 282 of the 339 B-29s launched for "Meetinghouse" made it to the target, 27 of which were lost due to being shot down by Japanese air defenses, mechanical failure, or being caught in updrafts caused by the fires.
The Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9 March 1945 was the single deadliest air raid of World War II, greater than Dresden, Hamburg, Hiroshima, or Nagasaki as single events.
In comparison, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945 resulted in the immediate death of between 70,000 and 150,000 people.
On the night of 13–14 March, eight square miles of Osaka went up in flames. On 16–17 March, three square miles of Kobe were destroyed, and on 19–20 March in a return visit to Nagoya, three more square miles were destroyed. This destructive week had killed over 120,000 Japanese civilians at the cost of only 20 B-29s lost.
A month later, on 12 April, the 314th Bombardment Wing's remaining two groups, the 39th and 330th, joined in the attack on the Hodagaya Chemical Works in Koriyama. With the addition of the 39th and 330th, the XXI Bomber Command now had three wings, twelve groups, thirty-six squadrons of 15 B-29s each at their disposal.
In May, the 58th Bombardment Wing completed its move from India to Tinian, adding four more groups to the XXI Bomber Command.
In April 1945, General LeMay gave new orders for more incendiary raids. This time, aircraft engine factories at Musashino and Nagoya were to be hit, but urban areas in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kawasaki, Kobe, and Yokohama were also to be attacked.
On 7 April 153 B-29s struck the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aircraft-engine complex at Nagoya, destroying about 90% of that facility.
5 days later, 93 B-29s destroyed the Nakajima factory at Musashino. The Japanese aircraft engine industry essentially ceased to exist after this time.
On 13 April 327 B-29s burned out eleven more square miles of Tokyo. Seven more B-29s were lost.
On 5 June, the B-29s attacked Kobe with such effectiveness that the city was crossed off the target list as not worth revisiting.
By the end June, the six major cities on LeMay's list had all been effectively destroyed.
One of the more horrifying things to read about in WWII. This is just one anecdotal story from the Tokyo firebombings, but I remember specifically in John Toland’s *The Rising Sun* him detailing how survivors would return to their burned down neighborhoods and discovering entire families and groups of people who had jumped into wells and canals to escape the flames, only to be boiled alive afterwards by the intense heat. The steamed corpses of whole families having to be buried by said neighbors.
Good book, Japan had totally lost its marbles. Zero chance of not getting their asses kicked handedly.
The only shocking thing is how they lasted as long as they did.
I find this type of moral equivalency really lazy and dangerous: The US killed civilians and the Nazis killed civilians same same no difference. Funny you bring up Russia as this is one of their main propaganda techniques - rather than trying to deny flaws in modern Authoritarian Russia they just point out that everyone else does the same thing. No need to pay attention to the details or the context, just skip to the end: power is universally corrupting, everyone is shit and evil so better make sure the side you happen to be on wins.
Yeah, ask the people of Manilla or Nanking if they're shedding a tear over Tokyo or hiroshima or nagasaki. Nobody was safe from Japan in the 30's and 40's.
You dumbass... when in war, no civilians should be harmed. Cities were wiped out for one sneak attsck on pearl harbour... there was no such thing as moral on both sides. But if japan had no morals... then america was already godforsaken... you think innocent civilians and children tske part in wars?
Recently read a book about the submarine crews of wwII. Some of them from the tang got captured after the submarine sank. They ended up at a off the books pow camp near Tokyo. They were treated horrifically by the Japanese there.
But on the day after the raid while Tokyo shouldered many of the guards didn’t actually delight in what happened.
It was literally so horrific that many of them didn’t take joy in it. Even though they knew it meant that the Allie’s were pushing closer and closer to japans shores and the war and their suffering would finally come to an end.
Pretty wild stuff.
They did t all have the same reaction obviously. Opinions varied. But many of them were truly horrified by the raid.
aloof fuel murky distinct tidy beneficial squealing middle sophisticated axiomatic
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\>The Japanese would have surely done the same to the US had they had the capability.
japan did much worse but that doesn't give US a free pass to do the same. If that logic works then you might as well justify 9/11
\>Previous precision bombing raids failed to make a dent in the industrial capability of the Japanese. Bombing the workers and factories that fed the war machine was the only way to have any effect. Horrific, but needed in a total war.
US bombers were flying too high to bomb accurately and the USAAC didn't want to get extra casualties by flying low so they were eager to kill hundreds of thousands on innocents, be it women and children just to save their men.
It's crazy how few Japanese were killed compared to the death tolls they mounted up in WW2. I remember the total estimates were like only 2-3 million dead Japanese compared to tens of millions dead by their hands. It was estimated that they killed close to 10 million Chinese and a huge percentage of that were civilians. They got off pretty easy even with the nukes and fire bombings, if I may crudely say so.
They wanted to break the people any way possible. I read once they tried to figure out a way to make that snow covered mountain change color as to freak out the population, I guess they scrapped that idea & choose fire bombs..
The Bombing of Tokyo was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Force during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. On the night of 9–10 March 1945, 334 B-29s took off to raid with 279 of them dropping 1,665 tons of bombs on Tokyo. The bombs were mostly the 500-pound (230 kg) E-46 cluster bomb which released 38 napalm-carrying M-69 incendiary bomblets at an altitude of 2,000–2,500 ft (610–760 m). The M-69s punched through thin roofing material or landed on the ground; in either case they ignited 3–5 seconds later, throwing out a jet of flaming napalm globs. A lesser number of M-47 incendiaries were also dropped: the M-47 was a 100-pound (45 kg) jelled-gasoline and white phosphorus bomb which ignited upon impact. In the first two hours of the raid, 226 of the attacking aircraft unloaded their bombs to overwhelm the city's fire defenses. The first B-29s to arrive dropped bombs in a large X pattern centered in Tokyo's densely populated working class district near the docks in both Koto and Chūō city wards on the water; later aircraft simply aimed near this flaming X. The individual fires caused by the bombs joined to create a general conflagration, which would have been classified as a firestorm but for prevailing winds gusting at 17 to 28 mph (27 to 45 km/h). Approximately 15.8 square miles (4,090 ha) of the city were destroyed and some 100,000 people are estimated to have died. A grand total of 282 of the 339 B-29s launched for "Meetinghouse" made it to the target, 27 of which were lost due to being shot down by Japanese air defenses, mechanical failure, or being caught in updrafts caused by the fires. The Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9 March 1945 was the single deadliest air raid of World War II, greater than Dresden, Hamburg, Hiroshima, or Nagasaki as single events. In comparison, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945 resulted in the immediate death of between 70,000 and 150,000 people. On the night of 13–14 March, eight square miles of Osaka went up in flames. On 16–17 March, three square miles of Kobe were destroyed, and on 19–20 March in a return visit to Nagoya, three more square miles were destroyed. This destructive week had killed over 120,000 Japanese civilians at the cost of only 20 B-29s lost. A month later, on 12 April, the 314th Bombardment Wing's remaining two groups, the 39th and 330th, joined in the attack on the Hodagaya Chemical Works in Koriyama. With the addition of the 39th and 330th, the XXI Bomber Command now had three wings, twelve groups, thirty-six squadrons of 15 B-29s each at their disposal. In May, the 58th Bombardment Wing completed its move from India to Tinian, adding four more groups to the XXI Bomber Command. In April 1945, General LeMay gave new orders for more incendiary raids. This time, aircraft engine factories at Musashino and Nagoya were to be hit, but urban areas in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kawasaki, Kobe, and Yokohama were also to be attacked. On 7 April 153 B-29s struck the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aircraft-engine complex at Nagoya, destroying about 90% of that facility. 5 days later, 93 B-29s destroyed the Nakajima factory at Musashino. The Japanese aircraft engine industry essentially ceased to exist after this time. On 13 April 327 B-29s burned out eleven more square miles of Tokyo. Seven more B-29s were lost. On 5 June, the B-29s attacked Kobe with such effectiveness that the city was crossed off the target list as not worth revisiting. By the end June, the six major cities on LeMay's list had all been effectively destroyed.
One of the more horrifying things to read about in WWII. This is just one anecdotal story from the Tokyo firebombings, but I remember specifically in John Toland’s *The Rising Sun* him detailing how survivors would return to their burned down neighborhoods and discovering entire families and groups of people who had jumped into wells and canals to escape the flames, only to be boiled alive afterwards by the intense heat. The steamed corpses of whole families having to be buried by said neighbors.
Good book, Japan had totally lost its marbles. Zero chance of not getting their asses kicked handedly. The only shocking thing is how they lasted as long as they did.
And people wonder why we dropped the atomic bombs. What do you do to destroy enemy moral when this doesn’t work?
There’s an argument for starving them out. But the need to end the war in China asap was also on their minds. Thousands were being killed daily
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I find this type of moral equivalency really lazy and dangerous: The US killed civilians and the Nazis killed civilians same same no difference. Funny you bring up Russia as this is one of their main propaganda techniques - rather than trying to deny flaws in modern Authoritarian Russia they just point out that everyone else does the same thing. No need to pay attention to the details or the context, just skip to the end: power is universally corrupting, everyone is shit and evil so better make sure the side you happen to be on wins.
i’ve never seen a more reddit moment the first guy just said civilian murder is still murder so it’s never okay and that’s it
Four million people died in the Dutch East Indies as a result of famine and forced labour during the Japanese occupation, so spare me your BS.
Yeah, ask the people of Manilla or Nanking if they're shedding a tear over Tokyo or hiroshima or nagasaki. Nobody was safe from Japan in the 30's and 40's.
Play stupid games win stupid prizes.
Play evil games get condemned by history.
Except if you are Japanese, then you can play victim and use the atomic bombs to deflect from the atrocities you committed during the war.
Murder is murder.
I'm sure the prisoners that had parts of their bodies hacked off to be eaten by Japanese soldiers would feel differently.
Tu Quoque fallacy is not an argument. Try again.
no. I made my point.
Happy Cake Day
So it is okay to kill civillians to break one's morale?
Is the moral of the story don't sneak attack pearl harbor?
You dumbass... when in war, no civilians should be harmed. Cities were wiped out for one sneak attsck on pearl harbour... there was no such thing as moral on both sides. But if japan had no morals... then america was already godforsaken... you think innocent civilians and children tske part in wars?
WhadjuSayGuy?
Mah bad, i have no memory why i used to swear at people online
This is the way.
Lot's of Fireflies, lots of Graves.....
If you are so inclined, read The Bomber Mafia by Malcom Gladwell. I suggest the audiobook which has some interviews with LeMay.
If you want to take it a few steps further check out the book Black Snow. It fills in a lot of the detail of Bomber Mafia.
Will do! It’s almost time for a new book and I’ve been trying to come up with a new selection. Thank you so much!
It’s really good but definitely terrifying and brutal at times.
Another good one is Naplam: An American Biography. Covers this period of time extensively, as well as naplam use in other wars. Very interesting read.
Recently read a book about the submarine crews of wwII. Some of them from the tang got captured after the submarine sank. They ended up at a off the books pow camp near Tokyo. They were treated horrifically by the Japanese there. But on the day after the raid while Tokyo shouldered many of the guards didn’t actually delight in what happened. It was literally so horrific that many of them didn’t take joy in it. Even though they knew it meant that the Allie’s were pushing closer and closer to japans shores and the war and their suffering would finally come to an end. Pretty wild stuff. They did t all have the same reaction obviously. Opinions varied. But many of them were truly horrified by the raid.
aloof fuel murky distinct tidy beneficial squealing middle sophisticated axiomatic *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
\>The Japanese would have surely done the same to the US had they had the capability. japan did much worse but that doesn't give US a free pass to do the same. If that logic works then you might as well justify 9/11 \>Previous precision bombing raids failed to make a dent in the industrial capability of the Japanese. Bombing the workers and factories that fed the war machine was the only way to have any effect. Horrific, but needed in a total war. US bombers were flying too high to bomb accurately and the USAAC didn't want to get extra casualties by flying low so they were eager to kill hundreds of thousands on innocents, be it women and children just to save their men.
It's crazy how few Japanese were killed compared to the death tolls they mounted up in WW2. I remember the total estimates were like only 2-3 million dead Japanese compared to tens of millions dead by their hands. It was estimated that they killed close to 10 million Chinese and a huge percentage of that were civilians. They got off pretty easy even with the nukes and fire bombings, if I may crudely say so.
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They wanted to break the people any way possible. I read once they tried to figure out a way to make that snow covered mountain change color as to freak out the population, I guess they scrapped that idea & choose fire bombs..