21st bomber command tactical mission report 177etc

8/6/2019 21st Bomber Command Tactical Mission Report 177etc

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S T I f l eBy authority ot

e .G XWentieth Air ~.~ /-~~-z.f.._ ..~ )~VJF=..


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No feature of this report may be re ...produced or dis.semina ted wi th.outprior approval ot Headquarters . A r n : wA i r F o r c e s .

.. . ~ . . .FORE I 1QRD

This report covers XXI Baflber Con:ma.zx'lMiasions No. 173 (1.9Msy). 17.5 (16May). 177 (18 May). 179 (2Way). 180'(22 May). 182 (24 May). 164 (26 .M a y) .am.165 (27 May). All were Illinill8missio.na flown by the XXI Bombe ; t " Com . .lll9.nd Is 31.9th.Bombardment 'Jing

........... * For interinnnissions notooTered inthis repcn"t. see the following XXIBomber CamtaD1\Tactical Mission Re-po.rts:

_ Mi;3sion Tsrget D a t eIssued174 Nagoya Urban ,t\rea 8 J'ul,y176 ~gota South Urban 8 july.Area176 'Taehika.wa Aircraft 10 JulyPIand. &Depot .181 Tokyo Urbap. A:rea l2 Ju17183 Tokyo Urbs.n .Ar&a 14 July


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SECRET. . . . . ----~HEADQ,UARTERS

XXI B CMBER C C M M A N DAPO 234

TACTICALMISSIONREPORT

Page No.

313th Bombardment WingField Ordera No. 49; 51; 53. 55.57, 58, 60& 61

XXI Bomber C mm aMMissions No. 173; 175: 177;1 1 9 . 1 8 0 , 1 8 2 ,184 & : 185

.1.2 SectionXXI . B c I D . b e : t ' COJrma l l d

Target s : Niigate. Maizuru, Tsuruga. Fukuoka. Fushiki. Nanao andShimonoseki Straits Areas

1 3 . 1 6 , 1 8 , 20, 22, 2 4 . 2 6 . and 21 ~f 1 9 4 5Table or Oontents

Tactical Narrative ,. . . . . . .. . .Annex A - Opera tiOllB ...... Part I _NavigatioB Track Charts

Part II - Mining Section A-Mining Results ana Code

Designation at Mines andMine Opera tiOM

Section B-Ch'll'ts Showing Mine Location.Part I I I - R a d a r B a r t IV - Gunnery. ~ Part V - AirooSea l1escue Facilities Table

Annex B - WeathEIl'. ... ." ..... 45

Part I - Mission No. 1 7 3 ~ 46Part I I - Mission No. 1 7 5 . 5 1Part III - Mission No. 177 , 5 6Part IV - Mis.sion No. 179. 61Part V - Miasion No. 180 66Part VI - Mission No. 182. 71Part VII - Mission No. 184 .. 7 A \Part VIII - Mission No. 18.5. 81

A n n e x 0 - Communiaations Part I - Radio . . . . Annex: D - Intelligence 88Part I - Enemy Air Opposition. 89

Part II - Enemv Antiaircraft 69Annex E - Consolidated statistical S,.mm:Jaries 91Annex F - Field Orders and Dir ectives. 1 28Part I - 313th Bombardment W1..ng , Field a rd e ra 129Part II - XXI Bomber Command .Directives, MMDMe mos and Planning .Annex 178.Annex G - Distribution .. '. " 193

111l~1 41 42 54 1414 3

8 687


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z ~ : : ' : , : " : : : : ' ; ' . : : t ;' : ,: : = : : ~ : ~S EGR ET IBy Auth. of the C . G .XXI Bo mber Oommand27 ,l!M 46 : r 0 c :Date Initials

HE i .DQU J ..R TER SX XI B Oi~ BE R O OM Ml.N D

APO 234

SUBJECT: Report of Mtn.i.ng Operations, 13, 16, 18, 20, .22, 24.. 26,and 27 May 1945,TO: Commanding General,T\'/G nt leth Air Force, '_"asl'tlngton2B, P. C ,

1. IDENT IF I CATION QF hilISSIONS:8., On. the bas.!s of XXI Boniber Command directives dated 2:5January and 11 Ma.rch 1945, the 313thBombardment ~rind continued mine ..

laying operations a.g,ain::tstra.tegic Waterways in the Japanese homeland.

" b.Mis S ion. assignments by the 313th Bombardment Wing iIb Jbo!?th -Bomb.nrgment Group Ware as follows!Bomber CommandMiss ion N l Im b e r 313th WIng Date ofFle1d Orge,r Fi!(ld Order Mining Mias lonNumber

49 12 M a . y51 14 MIl,Y53 17 M a y55 19 May57 21 Ma.y58 23 M 3 . . y60 25 M a y61 26 May

C. Tare;ets Specie ied :(1) Pr !maryAre as":

(e,) The 'iiestern .Am:q:oe.ch-co the ShimoD.osekl. Steai ta;.Minefield Mike, Mining MiSslOn8 No, 10, 11. 13. _ . 1 . 4 0 . 15. ind 16, ... Thema in channels are used by the enemy through Mizushima Suido, betweenFutaoi Shima and Aino Shima and between Shira Shima and Myoken Saki.The anchorage area east of Mutsure Shima was also included.

(b) ' I l l ! Eutera J,pproach to to o ShlmoDOek~ stre.ita:,Minefield Love. Mining Miss.ions No. 1,0, 12. 1'5, 14. 16. e,nd 17. -Them,ain channels are used by the enemy through the western ap;pll'oa.ch toSuo Nada, 1 bearing approximately 125 degrees true from He Said and theother 180 degrees true. The anchorage areas directly ea.st of He Sakiand no,rth and east of MOjl were also iacluded.

(Q ) NHIIa,ta: Mlnefi2ld. Uncle. Mintn, Mtsioll No.10 am~ ,15 .... This is tbe area ....thin the harbor limits of Nl1gata Ko,Yf1th the main minefield density tobs in the channel leading betweenthe breakwaters frcm due north. The Waterfront area between wharves1, 2,and3 waBabo Inc hrdsd,

-1....::tii .Q Ii~.1,


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(d) Mllizuru: Minefie 1d .Zabra. !Unin, Miss ion!L No.II and 13. - The entrances to Ma.buru and Mlya.%u through, Miynzu We.D,with the main har:-.viest mine cono-antro.tions to be betweeD MUBOgllCUlo. MdBnkuchi )fisnk i an.d.b


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of partioular importance to prevent the firing of any minas on sm(lllship13 or boats and, therefore, to avoid athl'fartshlp firing and theuse of mines of excessive sensitivity. A preluainary estimate of theaccura.cy derived from the Wing'B estimate of the poaitlons of mininl5sticks, .togothor 'with the con~idoro.tlon of enemy. ..hip truff tc , Ie!.to the conclus ion that the llUtnberof ship pasu ag0.~per we ek at Shimo-noseki Straits and other targets oxoeeded by 1 1 or 5 times the numberof mines per week whioh it was possible to place 1:1 the channols es-tablished by the enemy. It was therefo:;-e concluded thO:l.ta n(l.rrOWtarget width was desirable in order that maximwndamagewculd be doneto each ship mined. sinoe a delay of a few days or .?3ak~ in ';:he firingof mines in the Channel could be tolerated to obtai!').m",.:dmummine ef-fecti ve ness, 'l'hi s ooncIus ion was of pl'imary impo:r;;ar.CEl .iir.co 1wasin direct oontradietion to the theoretical concept tbat ma.ximumdamagecould be obt~ined if every ship passing was mined, oven with n verysmall damage, This previOUS concept was true only if the number ofmines available to sink ships W!l.Sonsider'l.blv in excess of the weeklyshi.p traffic.

(3) These conclusions were implemented by directives tothe l(ring which are in a pInnnLng annex (in Part II., Annex F of thisreport) to the mine directive. On the basis of this annex, the MineModifiCation Unit prepared recommendations given in Sections B and Cof J..nnexF which were followed by the 313th Wing in their mine orderto the Mine ,I,.sse,mblyDepot. The orginal mino directive is given inSection D of Annex F andorig.inally contemplated tightening the block-ade of the Kobe-Osaka region. as well as initiating the blockade ofthe North Honshu ports and maintaining the Shimonoseki Straits block-ade. .1 . car


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(3) The enemy is making considert..ble prepo.ro.t1one fordiverting shipping to northern Honshu ports, o,nd such diversion may havea.lready started. The mining of the ports from Nligata to Fukuokawas necessilry to disorganhe these diversions, tUld in particular, toprevent re lief of the burned cities through these ports by the im-portation of rood,. which is now one of the most critical items inJ o .p 0.0. This is espeoially true of food !lomingthrough the ports ofl/iyazu, Maizuru, Tsuruga, Fushiki, and Niigato., \'ihicb csn supply theurban are-as of Nagoya. Kobe, Osako., Kyoto, and Tokyo.

c. Mining Objeqtivesl(1) The object ive of Mining Missions No. 10 through. 17was to re-establish and maintain complete closure of Shimonoseki Straits

to 0.11 vessels of 1000 tons or over by re-mining o.t frequent intervals,o.nd further, to establish closure at the diversionary ports of Niigata.Fushiki, Nanao. Tsuruga, Miazuru, Fukuoka. and Karatau.

(2) Twonewmine fir ing, mech!Ulisllls, the prell5ura mecha-nism and the subsonic mechanism, both of which are considered pzac>tica.lly unswe epab Ie , were to be used in these operations to assureeither closure or ineffective sweeping by the enemy anq. a consequenthigh Shipp.ing oCl.5ualty ra.te.

d. Details of Planning:(1) Ooe.rg.tional Ph,nning:

(a) The g&nero.l planning for this operation wassimilar to the planning for previous mine-laying missions as outlinedin the reports of Mining' Missions No. 1 through l~o. 9 with one excep-tion. Because of the sustained nature of tho operations and the factthat they were being conducted by one Group, the 9th Bombardment GroUPte . large portion of the planning was Carried out on a Group level. Thismade it possible to utlize in the planning of each mission the experi-ence gained in imrtIediately preceding missions.

(b) The s elect ion of appr oache 8 and mine-layingruns was i.nfluenced mainly by radar reference points and the mostf~vorable axis of attacks to pla~e a m~ximumn~~ber of mines 1n thechannels. ~ntiaircraft concentrations Were also taken into considera-tion, but in several CaS08 it was necessary to penetrate heavily pro-tected areas in order to place the mines where ~hey could be mosteffe~tive. Diversity in axes of attack Was employed wherever ?osslble.

(0) In ~neral, altitudes of attack were kept o.sloW us possible consistent with enemydefenses arid torrain, In themissions against the northern Hcnahu ports, where it was nece aaar y togo to intermediate altitud.es to cross mountain ranges, altitudes of8000 feet were used since fuel consumption did not permit descent tolower altitude in view of the climb that would have been necessaryfor tbe return trip.

(d) All mine-laying runs were planned and briefed0.5 ra.dar runs. Radar counter meo.suz-e s wera to be useri in t1-)eheavilydefended areas. Because of the fo.7cl'ab10 phas o of the moen, aJ.l crewsVi'3rebriefed in visual methods of mine-laying in the event that theirrndar was inoperative.

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(e) In all of these mLuiona. take-offs were SOPo.nd o.ircraft proceed~d independently to thr;! target. There waa noneoossity for 0. oomplex 9c.hedul1.ng system in view of the amull nutUbersof o.ircrlilft part 10 ips.t ing,

(f) The tl.otico.l pl an for th() se operation", all ofwhich were flow.n by the 9th Group, wo.s 0 . 1 1 follows I

1. On. 13 May, 12 o.lrcraft were to take offo.t 1600K,3 to mine the Shlmono8oki Westarea o.to.n 0.1titudltl of 6000foot, 5 to mine the Shimonoseki Eo-st area o.t 7000 feat, and " toml11ethc lH1go.ta ar ec at 8000 foot .

~. On. 16 May, 30 o.lrcrt\ft were to take otfa. t 180OK. 24 to mina the Sh1rnonoseld Westare 0. 0.t o.no.l ti tude of 6500foet and 6 to .mlne the Malzuru nreo.at 7000 fa,et.

~. On ra Mo.y,34 alrc.rcUt were to take offo .t ISOOK, 22 to mine the Sh~monoseki Eo.st c.rea at o.n altitude of 6000.teet and 12 to mine the Tsuruga aro(l, at 6500 !'eet.

j. Qn 20 May. 32 a.ireraft were to takeoffat laOOK, 23 to mln .e the Shlmonossld ~!l'e8tl.l.l:'Oa o.t o .n altitude of 550.0.feet, 5 to mine the Shimonos~ki East ClI"Iaat nn altitude of 6000 ree,t,and 4 to mine the Mab:u.ru urea o .t 6500 feet,

... Cn 22 Mo.y,32 airoraft wer!) to take offQ ;t laCCK. 1S to mine the Shimonoseki 1Nest o.l:'eo.o.t an oJ.tltude of 550.0.feetnnd 6500. feet and 14 to mine the Shimonosokl East area o.t 7500feet.

... On 24 l1o.y.31 aircraft VlSre to take 6ffo.t laOCK. 10. to mine the Shimonoseki 'Nest .:ll'Oa o .t an alt1tud.eof 650.0.feet, 11 to mine the NUgato.arsa. at 80.0.0..feot, und 10 to min.Gthelia.no.o-Fushikl areo.s at 8000 feet.

1. Op26 Ma.y, 30 aircrn.ft were to t!lk.e orfat 1800~, 2 to mine tho Shimonosoki Westo.ro.a. at o.na1tltudl' of 650.0.feet, 7 to mine th"" Shimo.noseki Bust are 0" ! l . t : 650.0. feet, 15 to min.ethe Fukuoka a.nd Karatsu areo.s at 5000 feGt, and 6 to mille the Fushiklnre,o. o .t aOOO rest .

~. On 27 Hay, 11 aircraft ware to take offC It 1700K, 10 to mine the Shimono,seki East area. at an altitude of 7500feeto.nd 1 to mine thGl Fuku.oka ar ea at 5000 f-eot., .

(2) D~ta,1lor attQ,ck phDI(a) ;,,11 details of the atta.ck plans for these milt ..

s rcns are gi.ven in 513th Wing Field Orders in Annox F.(3) Determ ination of !,HUe Loa,g :

, a) On the bas La or oalcula tionlS 'by the :nng andGroup Flight Engi neel' a , it Was dec ide d to 0arry nob amb b o .y tanks onthose missions,. and to oarry 12 lOOe-pound mina" to all ports undel:'o.tt.o.ck, or 6 2000. pO\l.1d mines to themorQ, remote ports and 7mlnesto the closer targets.


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(b,) As experience wa.s ga.in:Gd in oruise oontrol onthese m.islIion,s, itwns found. that " I llQ OO pound m d n e s cou'l.d be carriedna eo.sHy 0.3 6 to . all perts becauso of the m,ere fo.vora.ble Load dis ...tr ib 1,1 tioll, Thls 10o.d:Lngwns theref ore 1,1 sed in Minlng Miaa:l.on No.. 15and eubseq1,lent mi5siens.

("c) Mine lending fer eacn o.ircrQft WD.S spec if1edind lvidu all yin the anne xe s to. the io ld cr dor is fer the mi s s iellS Fcr ,purpo sa s of se cur i ty o.ndease ef handli ng,. un mine s were ideo-t1:f' i,cd as to prep.nrntionby !l code de'signatlen nil set fcrth in the313th Wing Tactical SOP No.. 158 (included in XXI Bomber Commo.ndTo.otioal 14,18 sion Report fer Miss ien. Number 47, 'Min.ing Miss 10n No.1.)

(d ) The mino prep atat ien r0r the se opero.,t 10.ns wasvary closely soheduledbeoause of' the 1n.tG D,rrivo.1 and unlo.lld.ing o rthGsupply ships, wlththe resul tthQ;t tn very few e.Q;SClIlere mines Cl.lroil...o.blo more than 1 or .2 days be.f'ore each missien. The schedule for mInePl:'Gpa.rution was made out in accor-dance with the eriginal directivefor the operations so as to. have minos with desirable tarj!;o1; \'fidthsa.gtl.inst the distribution ef eMmy shipping expected in eo.ch port.censidering depth of Wo.t03r, etc., availo.bla 01" each operation. ;'8the, mission progressGd,. intelligence on enemy reaotiens mo.d6 it, necess-ory fer the XXI Bomber Cemmand to. change target prlorit1es" so that insG'vera1 caae s !D.ines were planted with excessfve ta.rget Vlid.ths againsttho shipp ing expected beco.use th9Y were the o.nlym ines availnble. Ingeneral. however. a target width of 100 feet was presented to theo:ve.rage ship by the mine distributien plantod in each field.

(e ) Oeto.ila of hand 1 ing and lead ing of m1nos inaircraft were o.cco.rdingto To.ctical SOP No. 15-8.

(4) M~nlng lnstruct.lons i(fl) 11 mine S vlI':lre to be laid by 1 0 . 1 ' the 3 fellow-

ing ro.dnr me,thods: (l)By forword Blent _rl'.ngo to thG ra.dar alpl1ng po~ntlll,(2) By back slant range to the radar aiming pOints, and (5) timGdrun-out to the radar aiming paints. In the event of radar f'ailu,re.bom.bardier pilotage and timed run en dead reckoning we.re to be usedfor plttntingmlnsB.

(h) Jetthoning o.reas were deslgnated immediatelyeff the runway e.ast of Tinian, en route to thG Jo.panese hom.eland, a.ndin area:s30 m.ile.s away from Iiloll islands en .route, as in previous minin~missions.

(e ) The .importanoe of ac cur My in p letUng minepesitions waS atrsssedio all briefings. Mrcraft were fitted withradar scope C IlJIlGrs to record the position of' m.ine release, Detaihof rado.r scope photog!' aphy w e re spec 1 1 ' le d Ln ths f is 1d orde r I!J.

(5) Ng.yi'Gt 10M! Plaooinu For datai1 aof route St ma-nOUVGrs Elfter attack and other InfOl'matlon ol'lno.vlgatlonplanning, seetra.ck charts in ;'.nne.x,:". Part I, 0Jl4Annex F fer 313tb Wing FieldField Orders.

(6) Rruiar ,PIMQil).p J . . t J indice.ted, all mina -laying runs\101"0. planned find briefed as radar runG.

('7) Rgdar csnmtgr lieQ.5UrafUNc ROM Burch WaS to beCondu cta d on the miss io.nStbu t .1twas planned to d iape noSe "r ope IC w indew) whenave r airo raft deemed it neoe es ary


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(8) Air-Sea Rescue Planning', For details of air-searescue facilities, aee Annex A" Part V,3. EXECUTION OF THEMISSIONS.

a, Take-pfr I Toke-ofrs were (l oc om pli she d u nd er f av or ab lec ord Lt I e n e us followa:Mining .h Ir ore.i't First Lalitl4isslon .hirborne Toke-Ofr Take-Off10 12 l30800Z l30904Z11 30 160800Z 16084.0Z12 34 180800Z l8084lZ13 30 200800Z 200927Z14 32 220801Z 22084.0Z15 30 24.080lZ 240945Z16 30 260800Z 260B35Z17 11 2707003 2707HZ

b. Rou1e{a Q \ I : t :(1) Thera were n o d Gv io ;t lo ns in routes out for Mining

Liisslons No. 10,- 12, 13, 16, o.nd 1 7.(2) On Mining iiiiss ion No. 11,. 2 o,ircra.ft hlld inoperative

rc.do.r sets and dropped mines by dead reckoning In the Inlo.nd Sea..~nother plane could not release the mines Ilt the target, but finll1lysa.lvoed its load in the Inland Sea,

(3) On Mining Mission No. 14, 2 aircraft had inopera-tive Loran sets and these aircraft were blown off from 20 to 35 milesdue to higher winds than had been foreoast. Bod we~ther conditionSprevented celestial fixes from b ling taken,

(4) On Mining Mission No. 15, .2 ~ircraft with inopara-tive radar sets drogped mines in toe In1 and Sea, o.nd outilde Nagoya.Bay, respectively.

c. ave r Targets =(1) Primary Areas:

(II.) Or the 209 aircraft airborne on these miss ions,190 mined primnry areas. ;. totOol of 1284 mdno . s was pla.nted, of which151 were 1000-poul\Cl and 1133 were 2000-pou.nd sizes, The mine Case"were fitted with 0. variety of presalre. sub-sonic, magnetic, and acousticl11.ino-flring mechanisms to prevent effective enemy oounter mansures,:. deto.iled breakdown of mines dropped in each mine field 1s includedin Part II, Section A. In gcnaro.l. unsweepa.blo types were- pIo.nted intho Sh1monosekl Straits areas,

(b) Time's of mine releases en the various mills ionsbymineflelds were 0.5 followSI

MissionNumber Mine!'ield First Relense Last Release

1 0 Mike 131520Z 131545ZLove 1315.24Z 131616ZUncle 13l541Z 1316.29Z

-7-


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MissionNumber

.2!.Q.B!;'I,

Minefield Fint Releo.Be Last ReleauMike 16154BZ 1617263Zebra. 161614Z 1616l4ZLove 1815623 IB1646ZZebrQ 1816062; 181709ZMike 201548'a 201711ZLove 201602Z 201636ZZebra 201608Z 201626ZlUke 221607Z 221664.ZLove 22160.2Z 2217l1ZUncle 241644Z 241720ZNan 241818Z 241759ZMike 241604Z 24.l6S3ZNiln 281602Z 261825ZLove 261632Z' 261625ZC ho.rlie 261644Z 261730ZMike 261643Z 261705ZLow 271458Z 2715243Charlie 271516Z 2715263

11

12

13

14

15

15

17

(c) 4~ltitudas of o.tta.ck ro.n@;edfrom 5300 to 8400feat and the co.libro.ted indicated o.ir spe ed o.t mine release averaged230 miles per hour.

(2) Saeond.ilrv .:Joa.s:. Four aircraft dropped their fullloads of mines in secondary arao.s, 3 in the Inland Sea nod 1 in NagoyaBay, Two tdditiona1 nircraft pla.nted sfuglo minos due. to release aya ..tern malfunction on their initial run in the Inland Sea oreal bringingto 29 2000-pound mines the total planted in soconda~y areas. Detailedloco.tions of' these mineso.re plotted on chll..rts .in Annex 1.., Part II.

(3) Jettioneh .:. total of' 112 mines, 13 1000.pOllndand 99 acOO.pound sizo, was dropped in jettisoning areaS speoifiedin field orders. Deta.i1ed 10c-ation.B of' these minGs are plotted onthe charta in .~nnex .:.. Part II.

d. Route Bhlck,- There were no substa.ntia.l deviations frombriefed routes on these missions with the exception of 13 aircraftwhich landed a.t Iwo Jima nnd 2 at Okina.vm.

e. Landings: Aircraft of' the missions lo.nded as follows:MissionNumber First Le.ngine: Last Lnndina:10 13215520 132353Z11 162125Z 1700l6Z12 182210Z 19010lZ13 202146Z 202308t14 222149Z 222356Z15 24214SZ 250052Z16 262204Z ,27Q05:3Z17 272128Z 272226Z


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f. Losse!! I Five e.1rcra.!'t were lost on these missions dueto the following Causes:(1) Mechanioal and ace ident, :5.(2) Enemy antiaircr aft,. 2.

g. Ope rations Summary I(1) Nlylutionl (See Annex A ., Part I, for track oharta).

The navigation on these missions was about as briefed. Deviationswere mln.or and well within the limits of accurate naVigation. A highpercentage of' radar sets was operative over the target areas" so thatnavigation generally was satisfactory, Loran Was effecti'V'e.

(2.) Miningl: (See Annex A, Part II, f'or details)(3) ~llght Engine~~. (For fuel consumption data Be eConsolidated Statistical Summaries in Annex E . )

(a) NarraUve of the Missiol1s as Flownl Maximumrange procedurs were used for all cruslng operations.

(b) ~ The ruine load per aircraft averaged 12,561pounds and the fuel load consis~ed of full wing and center sectiontanks. Take-off gross weight averaged 133,619 pounda per aircraft.

(c) Fue1Rpse!'ye ,. Fuel reserves were a.mple, averaging152 gallons remaining on landing.

(4)!UlJ.&t1 (See Annex A, Part III" for detailed repoct).o r the 190 airoraft mining primary areas,. 179 released mines by radar,(5) Guo-narn (See Annex A, Part IV, for detailed report),

There waS little gunnery necessary on these night missions.(6) Air-Sog. Rescue:. O n Miss ion No. 180.. eoB-29 crashed

into the sea 10 to 20 miles off the Japanese coast after 2 enginesand navigation instruments had been shot out by en.emy antiaicraft.Eleven crew members bailed out and 3 were rescued by a submarine ina he::..vysea.

h. Weatherz (See Annex B, for weather summariee and oharts)i. Coromunicationst

(1) R a d a r Counter Measures I No ROM search was oonducted.Rope was d is pe ns ed by individual aircraft 'rTi-t;h appnront1y good resultswhenever it was d ee me d ne ce ss ar y for proteotion from antiaircraft andsearchlights.

(2) !allil (See Annex C, Part I, for details). Therewere no incidents of jamming O r i nt er fe re nc e.

j. Intell 1genee l(1) Elnemy.A.ir Oppos1j;lopl (See Annex D, Part IItoc

details). One hundred and one aircraft sighted on these 8 miss ionsmad e only 10 attacks.

tail a ). (2) Enemy Antia.ircraft: (See Annex D, Pa.rt H. for de-In general, flak was reported as meager to moderate and in-

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A .

OP1!RATJ_g

Part I.NIlvigAtion Track CbartF.:lI't II - Mining

section A Mining ResulhSection B - charts and Radar ScopePictures Shewing Mine

Location.

~rt III - Radarpart IV-Gunnerypart V - Air...$ea Rescue Facilities

Missions N o . 173, 175, 177, 179. 180, 182, 184 & 18513, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 & 27 Mly 1945

0011-


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SECRTF'RIL1945130

a173-175

MISSION NO 177-17~DATE 13-21MAy'45X X I BOMCOM.---,I313th. WING

!-- -KY-- _35-----. \ Mission No.173------1 175___ 177--.--x- 179IITARGET' .

~CHICHIJIMA

---+--25"JIMA I

IIJ I

o

Force No.3

1 #GUAM. II

TAKEOFF LANDING1st l.alSt 1st, Last.NO.I?3-130800Z 1309042: 1321551 132353i!

M 175al,60eOOi! 160827Z 1621251 170016Z" 117.-110000:1:' 1000"t1Z lei!;ZIO~190101 i!II 179=2008001: 200851! 202146Z 20Z30Bi!

TRACK CHART XXI BOMBER COMMAND SECRET 7-43'5~ REPRODUCED 35th.P.T.U.

N


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APRIL 1945 SEeR-'j

TARGETlost221711l2417592261730l271526i!

180-182MISSION NO 184-185 ~DATE 2.2 -28 MAY'45X X I BOMCOM.---I,

h. I

lst,MissionNo.180e 2216022 182- 241540i! 184- 261532 Z" 185- 271'4582

'1'0

"CHICHI JIMA

- - _ < - 1 - - - - ; , , -I( E Y-K--~-MISSION -10;0_l-j~ I.I'- - - - - - - - - - 1----- I\\l o . - - - - ~ ~ ~ ~ - - - - - - - - ~ ~ ~ - - - - - ~ ~ - - ~ _ r - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - r _ - - - - - - 3 0 De(J.

.---+--25-JIMA I

IIJI1 J . :. : . . . . .---zOOI 0I

Mission No, 1st180 22080lZfB2 240801 184 260S00lIB5 270700

Lost22084012409415Z260835Z2707142:

1 s t .222149Z242145i262204~2721282:

TAKEOFf. LANDINJaLaat222356l250052'l270053Z272226i!

TRACK CHART XXI' BOMBER COMMAND SECRET RE'PROOUCED~~ I1 \P 'ru.


17/63

PARI' II - MINl.NG RESULTS'"

SEIJI'ION A

1 . The follOwing report 1s submitted in accordance vdth WarD ep ar tm en t l et te r, AG 4 7 6 . 1 (20 October 1 9 4 3 ) =". I.a . The oharts in this section show the positions of allmines. planted in : the a. s ope rat ions. Whe re the :t'e su ltsof mor e than 1mining mission are indioated on the m'rna chart, the mission number isgiven by the Roman numbersl adjacent to each string of mines. The pre-paration of individual mines in a string is . sp ec if ie d i n A nn ex 2 tothe respective Field Orders far t he m is si ons . r ef er enc ed to the runnumber given by the Arabic numer al adjacent to the line of mines ,shownon tl?oecharts. The Field O rder numbers for the various missions areas followsl

M in in g M is s io n Wing Fiel~ Or der Bom Com Mission No.t_xXI

XIIX I I IXIVXVXVI

XVII

495153555 758606 1

1 7 31 7 51 7 71 7 91 811 821 8 4185

The legend on these charts further indiclltes the methodof plotting so 8S to differentiate be tween positions esta~lished byr adar scope photographs, by the navigator of the aircraft. or by theassumption that the crew planted their mines as briefed (whe re noother date was evailable). Positions e~tabliShed by radar scopephotogr aphs are believed 'lccur,~teto 1/2 mile, and those by the nav-igator to 1 mile. Principal navigational aids and enemy defenses e n-counts-red are given in other Specialist Reports in this Tlotical Mis-s io n R ep or t.b. T he number'of B-29 3ircraft sche duled for these opera-tions was 2l2; of these, 209 were airborne and. 1 94 we re effective inplanting their mines in either primary or second3ry minefields. T hebreakdown by mission is as follows:M in in g M is si on A l e SchGduled A l e Airborne A L a Effective

xXIX I IXIIIXIVXVrlI

XVII

1 2303432323130_l

l2303430J23030-ll209

1 227303 0302729~1 9 4otal 212

... The evaluated figures used in "this r eport wer e not available forinclusion in the Consolidated statistical Su mmariss.


18/63

c. A totH 6f 1284- mines of 111 types was planted in theseope.rations. Of these, 151 were lOOO~lb.slze and 1133 were 2000-1b.size.. The mines cOIltained 3 v3.riety of firing mecb:misma operatingon magnetic. accuat ic ,sub -soni c. a.nd pressure influenca fields" Shl Pcounts end delSYed arming were used 00 the magnetic types and steri-lizers set ''It 200-dQY nominal ope.ratirigtim6 were employed i n gIlmines. The dehilEd preparation of each mine phnted cart be obt3inedfrom. the appended charts am .{,nnex2 of the Field. Orders. throush theUse of' the "Oode Desigll3t ion for Mine.s -:too .M1e PreptUa tioD (17 ~y1945).. A aUIIndry of the mine type,s planted in eachoper:ltion fol-lows as Table I, and a sumtn..'UYf' mines dropped in other than prillllll'Ytarget is given in Table II.

Table I to Section A~t:1FX of Mines Pbnted

Mininr


19/63

.gQRE.!

M!ning Mission XII - Mlark 25, (2000# size)Foroe I -Field Love Foroe II - Field ZebraiShlmonosj'ki Str AreaL ___jtsurusa Areal Total'P.lanted Planted PlantCode ScheQ,uled l!n Target Scheduled In Tsrget ~ J,n Tgt-;21..\~ 8 7 - - 8 7Q31-AB 9 7 9 7Q 4 _ 1 - A 8 7 4 - - 7 4XlI-BB .3 Z 3 gXSI-B(;1 7 7X'71-BB .3 2 3 2Vll-B!? 38 29 38 29Mll-IB 3 2 9 9 12 11Mll-M8 2 2 8 B 1 0 1 0Ml.3-GB 2 2 8 i 3 1 0 1 0Ml3-KB 1 1 8 B 9 9M31-B6 7 (, 2 3 23 30 29M31-G8 5 4 1 0 1 0 1 5 14M : 3 1 - K 8 .3 .3 8 B 11 11M 3 1 - M t ; ! 4 3 1 0 1 0 1 4 1 3N41':'Bt;! 1 6 13 1 6 13N 4 1 - I B 6 (, 6 (,Dl1-B6 4 .3 - - 4 3Dl2-BB 2 2 2 2Dl.3-B8 -2 _g .2 _2Total Minesl~ 1 07 8 4 84 216 191Total Sorti as22 18 12 12 34 30

M1n~~ Mission XIII .. Mark ~5 (2000# size)Force I .. Field ~otee II - Field Force III - FieldMlke (Shimonose ki Love (Shimonose ki Zebr a (Maz urustr Area) str Area)' ; ; , ; ; A ! ; ; , . ;. e:;.:a:,L> _Schedul- Planted Schedul- Planted Sehedul- Plantedee l In 1'8t ee l In Tgt ad In Tgt. .vn-sa 1 0 2 98WI-IS

MIJ-G8Nlj.1-BB 27 2 7Nlj.l-1B _ _ _ . . 2 _:zTotal Mines 138 13?Total Sorties 23 22

30 24- - 1 11 ~14 1 4- - 1 d. B.-24 28 284 4 4

305

Mi ni nG Mi ss ion XIV .. Mark 25 (2000# size)Force I 'iField Force II .. Field Force III - FieldM ik e( Shi mo no se ki M ik e( Sh im on os ek ~ L ov e( Sh im on os ek iStr A r e a ) Str Area) str Area)S c h e d u l - P l a n t e d S o h B d ul - P l a n t e d Sehedul- Planted

~ ed In Tgt ed !nTgt ed In TBtDl- B BX31-BBX51 . .BBX 6 1 - B 8

1 6 1 4 6 2 16 1 621 20 11 9 15 1 51 2 11 1 3 1,3 12 111 1-1.6-

~!.Q!!!1:

Total P.~ 1.&1.32 1 221 1'1 '14 1 4 121 ~-196 1 8 4

.3 2 ,3 $

TotalP ..At. 1.W,3 8 ,3 247 4 437 3 51 1


20/63

Force I - Field Force II -Field Force III -FieldMike(Shimonoseki Mike(Shimonoseki Love (Shimonosakistr Area2 str Area) str Area2 TotalSehedul- Ph,nted Schedu,l- Planted Sobedu;!,-- PUnted P .Code' ed In Ts:!! ed InT~~t ed In'Tst ~ l.T..x71-B8 12 11 4 ~ 1 6 1 5Mll-BB 5 3 7 6 (, 1 8 1 5Mll-I8 1 1 B B 9 9MllooM8 4 4 6 6 10 1 0MJ,3-GB B a 8 8Ml3-KB .J! ..l. _ _ _ 8Total Mines \ - -5 4 48 \ 5 4 4 6 8 4 83 1 9 2 1 77Total Sorties '9 8 9 a 1 4 1 4 32 30MiniM Mission X!l - Mark 25 (2000# s~2e~

Force I -Field Force II-Field Force III - FieldUncle (NEgata Nan {Nanao and Mi.ke (SJ?,imonosekl\Tea) Fus h iki Area 1 str Area2 TotalSchedul- Planted Schedul- Planted Schedul- Planted p. '

~ ed In TB! ed In Tgt ed In Ts:!1; ~ I.Tt.nl-B8 1 I 1 2 1.x31-B8 1 1 -. 2 3 1X51-B8 1 1 1 2 1X71-B8 1 1 1 1Mll-BB 2 2 0MlI-IB 3 3 5 .5 '8 8Mll-MB 3 3 4 4 7 7Ml3-GB 2 2 5 5 7 7Ml3-K8 3 2 4 4 7 6M31 -GS 7 ~ 7 7 7 , t 2f ~7M31-K8 7 7 6 9 23 18M31-M8 6 5 7 6 7 6 20 1 7N41-B8 29 22 1 7 ~5 I 1 47 38N41-18 4 2 '7 5 11 7Dll-B8 9 7 9 7Dl2-B8 . 5 4 5 4D13-B8 1 3 - 6 l r . J ~ ~GI-B8 9 J_ 22-otal Mines 77 62 70 63 7Q 4 9 217 174Tot al Sorti as11 9 10 9 10 7 31 2 5Minins Mission XV I - Mark ,2000tt size)

Force I .. Fi eld Nan(Fushiki Area)

Force II ..Field Love(Shimonoseki str Area)PlantedScheduled In TarGetPlantedScheduled In Target

X 3 1 - B BX51-B8Vll-BBM31-BBM,31-GS 477772

77772. 4

-17-.!..R1L!


21/63

For ce I - Field Nan(Fushik1 AreaPlantedScheduled In Target

T o t a l

For ce II - Fie ld Love( Sh1 mo nos ek1 St r A re a)PlantedSche du le d ~ T ar get

Force IV - FieldMike (Shimonosekistr Area)Schedu l- Plante ded In Tg!

2111 42

Force I I I - FieldC ha rl ie (F uk uok aArea)Sche dul- P lante ded In Tgt

-o

M31':'M8 5 5 .4 4N41 . . .8 7 7N 4 h ' I 8 9 BD l l - B B . 5 . 5 8 8D l 2 . . 8 3 2 4 4 -D1- B 8 _g 2 . . . . 1 ' . . . . lTotal Mines . 3 5 3 3 49 49T o t a l Sorties 5 5 7 7

X l I - B B -- -X 3 1 - B B 19 J9X 5 1 - B 8 l l7 1 - B BV l l - B BM I l - B BM l . I - I 8 .3 .3Mll-Me .3 3Ml3-G8 .? 2M 1 3 - K B .3 .3M , 3 1 - B B --M.31-G$ .3 .3M , 3 1 - K BM.31 -M8 1, 1N 4 l - B BN l j , l - I BD l l ' : ' B 8 2 6 2 6D 1 2 - B B 1 2 1 2D l , 3 - B B 11 nTo ta l Mines 96 98T o t a 1 Sorti e s 1 4 1 4

1212

2112111 42

PlantedScheduled In TarBet121

12817672.3.32.31 ,361107.94 120~28

Force III - FieldChArlie (FukuokaArea)$che dul- Plante de d In TIS !

2

211

Mi ni ng M is si on XVI ..Mark 26-1 or Mark 36-1 (1 000# size )For ce I . . Fie ldN an (Fu shikiArea)S ,c he du l- P la nt eded In Tg!

Q;21-AB 4Q3l-A8 6Q41-AB 2C31 -BB .3 .3C33-B8 ? 2C41-B8 .: ..1.Total Mines 12 1 2 12T otal Sorties 1 1 1

12817672.3.32.31 .3611 0784 i19

_!.7,19428

To ta l PlantedSche du le d In Targe t4 06 02 0.3 .32 2

. . : J . J.24 122 1? 4 1 2196 19~220 20jO 29

ooo

1 000# ~ 2000# Total Mines Total Sor tie s ..8...

~ E Q B ] ; I


22/63

Minins Mission XVII ~ Mark 25 (2000# size)Force I ~ FieldL~ve(ShimonosekiStr Area) , 'Schedul- Plantedad In Tst

Xll-BB 21X.3l-B8 9>51-B8 7X7l-B8 .3Vll':'BB 7Mll-IB J ..Ml.3-GB 1M13-KB 2M 3 l - B B 6M31':'ae 3M.3l-KB 4~l"MB 3N4l-18 2Dll':'BB 1Dl2-B8 1D13-l3B - ...! 'Total Mines 70Total Sorti 9 1 3 10

Force II ~ FieldCharlie (Fukuokaarea) , ..S,chedul- Plantede d In T at Schedu le d

TotalPlantedI,n TarBt

1 475251126.3231111558

1 479.35J. .12'652.31111629

41 41n9114711265~32111',n11

. . . .2 2

-1 -;;1SUmmar):of Minig.s Misaions X thro!!Bh XVII

Total Sorties 'l'ota1 MinesMk 26-1 or M k ,J Mark 252 6-1( l OOO i l l (200oil l Total141ssion Plant Plant' Plant PlantNUmber ~InTgt Schad! In T s ! ! Schad. In Tgt Sched. ~n TI'r t .

X 12 12 140 i 3 9 140 139XI 30' 25 186 151 186 151XII 34 30 - - - 216 191 21 6 191XIII .3 2 30 196 184 196 184XIV 32 30 192- 177 192 177XV 31 25 - - .. . 217 174 217 174XVI 3 0 29 24 12 196 194 220 206XVII 11 -2 - - - - - - . . . . J 1 . ~ - .11. 62- - -212 190 164 151 1280 1133 l444 1284Table II to Section A

Summa'tx of Mines Other than those Planted in Target In mining MissionsX ~ hrough XVIINo. M i 1 i ' e s ~ M f S S 1 " O D . - lNn----wo."--'SLze--][!--COOf'aI"nat,es'- - "'"'Remarks

1 X1 n2 II2 "1 "2 ft1 1 II I 30

91 4 1000 Q41-AB 1620N 14534E Jettisoned2000 Q.41_A8 3 2 5 O N 13220E n X31-B8 " " "X51-B8 II "" X71-B8 1 1 ~ It" Dll-B8 3332N 13215E Al terna te FldII Q}j.l-A8 " . . n. . X31-B8 " 11 . . .9 -

e];QRi'I

""

- .


23/63

N o. M in e s Missign R u n N o. , !ll..a1132211111121122111111111111161111114261221111411111122

XI

X I I

"1 \"X I I I"1

XIV"""""

IIIIII'I-

"""III"

2 62 67

111 11 522 1

3 0 2 0 0 022627112 42, 3n"2"91 0""14"II"1 62 08 2000II

""

II

CodtJ!31-B8X71-BBnu-ssD12-B8D13-B8Q31-ABDl2-BBX71-BBDll-BBD11-B8DI2-BBXlI-BBX31-BBX 5 1 - B Bq;;! l . ..ABXU-BSX31-BBQ41..A6M31-G8Q21-ABQ31-ABQ4.1-ABN 4 1 - B BVll-BBM31-BBM31-MBN 4 1 - B 8Q31-ABQ4]. . .A8Vll-BBVll-BBDlI-BBMlI-IBN41-BBVll-BSX 5 1 . .BX'7l ..BBVll-B8

. .' .II

"n"1 1

""IIII""II"nn

N41-IBVll-B8""""""1\

"II

C o o r d i n a t e s R e m a r k s

"3 3 3 2 N 1~15E Alte~te Fld,4 3 5 N I34JOE"2611N l3954E2 < J 2 0 N 1 , 3 6 1 2 E3 4 0 1 N l 3 1 2 3 E3 4 0 2 N l305BE

2 5 4 B N 14007En IIItI'"1122N 14420E" . . .

"

Jett~soned"(landexploded)Jettisoned"

~"""

"3358N 1 3 I 3 2 E A l t e r m l . t e F l dl545N 1 4 6 0 3 t E J e t t i s o n e d

"II "II, 151930N 14606E "

""IIII

n, .

"221bN 1 4 2 4 6 E 2 5 0 , 3 N 1 4 0 4 5 E "

II

"

Ale b l e w - u po n t a k e o f fX 5 1 - B B 3 3 4 4 N 1 3 1 2 2 E J e t t i s o n e dM l l . .8 1 5 4 3 . 3 0 N 1 4 6 0 6 E X l I - B a . " X 3 1 - B B I' X 5 1 - B 8 . " "M l I - B 8 2 . l 5 7 J 1 f 1 4 2 . 5 ' . 1 1 1 "X i l - B B . X 3 1 - B B R "X 7 1 - B B 3 2 0 6 N 1 3 4 4 7 E X 3 1 - B 8 3 2 0 0 N 1 3 4 4 1 E "N 4 1 - B B 3 7 5 4 1 4 N 1 3 D 1 4 5 0 E "M 3 1 - B 8 3 4 3 & N 1 3 6 5 4 E A l t e rn a t e F l d.M 3 1 . .B " . , M 3 1 - M B . " "N 4 1 - B B N 4 1 - I B ,

R

"gIIAla fei led toTake off


24/63

No" Mines Mission Run No " Size Code312111411111212111112

"II

W"'I11

21111g2113111113111 60

IIX V I'I'IX V I III'ITotal

31

16

2000 M31-B6M]l-06M31-KBM31-M6M31-KBM31-G8N41-B8N41-18M31-B8M31-GBM31-KBM31-MBN41-BBN41-IBDll-BBDl2-BBD13-BBM_31-BBM31-GBM31-KBMll-BB

33 "II. ,II

Qsordinates Jlemarks

"3"7

R

3334N 13155E Alternate Field"

25 IIIIII

"

"" " 'I" " M31-B8Xll-BS X31-B8 X51-BB

" N41-IB D12-B81000 Q21-AB" Q21-A8" Q31-AB" Q4.1-AB2000 XlI-BB" Vll-BBIf Xll-BSII X31-BB" X51-BB" X71-BB N 4 1 - I B Vl1-BB X l l - B S Jf31-BBII X51-BB

1 457 N 1 461 1i E Jettisoned" "II

1508N 14603E "II

II"It

"II

II

"

2II

III635II"

BALANCE

1 5 5 3 N 14606E II

" " II, . .II "A/C failed to

T9.ke off. - - . .- - I"I3 3 5 5 N 13615E Jettisoned1 5 2 B N 14623E u1 5 3 0 N 1 4 6 1 5 E .3341N l31321E Alternate Field2315N 141lbE Jettis"oned"

"" " II152BN 146l6E ,."" II

Total Mines Planted in Primary t 1284Total Mines Not Planted in Primary , _ _ 1 f u lTotal Manes Scheduled 1 4 4 4

d. All mines used in this operation were obt':l.il1oof ran MineAssembly Depot No.4, Tinian.

e. The Mark 2 5 Mod 1. Mark 2 5 Mod.2, and Mark 25 M M 4 minesplanted in this operation were equipped with 9-foot parachutes j allother mines had 6-foot parachutes. Nineteen paracbutes were seen tofail by crew members; 3 mines were observed to explode on impact, and1 short static cord was returned in an airoraft.

-21-


25/63

f. The basic tactics' used in this operation were the S9.JDeas those previously employed in Mining Missions No. I through IX.g~ Casualties aus't aLned in these operations include .5crai't lost, 2 of which were presumed to have been 10st to enemy3 aircr8i't wi th majar d..:l.lI1clge, and 6 a1rcra ft wit h minor dunagEl;.

sonnel casualtie.s numbered 29 killed or missing and 1 injured.h. The cri t1que of mine-laying results that follows is b,~sedupon the most accurate data available on the final positions bf allmines planted. Radar confirmation 1'1aSused wherever possible, but ininstances in which the data of the' combat crew flying the missions con-flicted'with the radar photographs, the two were weighted clrefully. In

general, if the radar data 3nd cawbat crew d~ta were in conflict, theradar photos were used for determining at le9st one point on the mine-laying track of too aircraft, and the data of the combat arew for de-termining the rolease position with reference to this point.

a.ir-action,Per-

(1) Minefield lIiJike("/estern approach to ShimonoseklStraits) -.All of the mine-laying oorties to this field wer-e directedagainst nar-row ohannels and anchor- ge areas being used by the enilmyas determined by photographic recannaias~nce. In most instances, thechannels wer e 1500 ta 2000 feet in width. In order ta mine these chan-nels, it was necessary to dr.op'strings of mines at minimumspacing atvariaus angles to the channels, using between 6 and 12 mines (depend-ing on mine size) in order to place 2 or 3 in tM channel. A detailedstudy of the results of those missions Show that, of the 78 sorties made to this area (including the 8 sorties to the Straits anchorages,listed as to Field Love' in the Field order but plotted with Field. Mikean the appended charts), 55 Crews placed their mines so that the max-imumnumber fell in the cnanne Is , 11 crews placM sane-rIl1nes but not theI D B . X : l . t 1 r um llUJDbe~ in the channels. 11 orews Pl?HI~4 all: thei,r mi nes out ~~q.ethe Channal& but .~n ~ffe~tive rnlte;r depths ...and 1crew placed its 'minesOn land (MLltsure Islam). This is considered excellent rpinelaying, par-tioularly since 5 2 runs were confirmed byradgr. 2 4 w~re .obtained fromnavigator's estimates, and only 2 were assumed as briefed.

(2) Minefield Loye (Eastorn appro"lch to ShimonosekiStraits) Mine-laying in this ar-ea also was directed against narrawchannels and anchorage areas. The plots show that the 4 8 sorties sentto this minefield (excluding the 8 considered. above with Mike) resultedin 32 crews placing their mines so that the m-u lmum number fell in thechannels, 9 orews placing some mines but not the maximum number in thechannels, and 7 craws placing their minos outside the channels but ineffective water depths. Tbis aga Ln is considered excellent mine-laying.Of the 4 8 runs, 36 were confirmed by r3dar phatogr~phs. and l? were e s-tablished by navigatar's data only.

(:3) Minefield Zebra (Tsuruga. Maizuru and Miyazu Areas) -The minefields in these arons were planted approximately as briefedam probably di erupted shipping in the affected areas. An analysis .o fthe result.s showed. that of the 12 sorties to the Tsuruga field, allcould be considered effectively in the briefed position, while of tho9 sarties to the Maizuru.-Miyazu area, 7 could be considered effectivelyin the briefed posi tion,and 2 were outside t he briefed position butin effective water depths. The number of radar confirmed runs farthose areas is 1 6 , as against 5 in which the navigator's data alonehad to be used.

-22-


26/63

(4) Minofield Nan (Fuahiki and Nanao Areas) - The miningof Fushiki i s inhorent1y a difficult problem bec~uso of the very sm3llarea of mineable natersvailabls ani the poor radar reference points.A detailed ana Lyai.e of tho results at this port disclosed that 4 ofthe 11 crellt'J ovor the area placod their minos effoctively in the brief-ed position, and tho remo.ining 7 pl'.lcod acme of their mines in effoc-ti Ve wate.r dopths but not i n th 0 port are a. )l'our addi tiona 1 crews'placed 2 plane loads offoctively 11 S briefed in the entr'311Ce to Nanao,end 2 plano loads in ei'hctivo wat~r dopths - not as briefed - but ing 'O cd Lcea tions 0 Of the 15 runs made on those areas , 12 are confirmedby radar photos rx 1 3 are based on navigator's data.

( 5) Minefield Uncle (Niigata Area) - The minefield inthis area uas planted approximJ.tely as briefed, \'lith 10 of tho 13crows 'over tho area placing th0ir mines offectively in briofed posi-tions, and the ramaining 3 crews placing than in effective i"13.terdepths rlhera they may be of value. Of tho 13 runs, 8 arc confirmedby radar scope photogralJhs and 5 are baaed on navigator's data ..

(6) Minefield Charlie (Fukuoka 9.nd Karatsu ArGas) - Theminefields in thGse areas I"/oroalso planted approxima te ly as brief 00.Of the 10 crews over "the>Fukuoko ar oa ," 9succceded in placing theirmines effectively in briefed positions, although 2 were forced tosalvo because of rack mlfunctions. The 1'eooining crolVprob3.bIy droppedtheir mines all land. In tho IC9.rstsu area, all 5 crows over tho ar oaplaced their mines effectively in briefed posi tLons ; Of the 15 runstotal, 11 are conf irmed by radar and tho romaindor aro based on nav-igator's data ..

i. In glneral the mil1o~layin.g results in this sories ofmissions are excellent and dcmonerr-ato l:x:ceptiom.l skill on the pgrtof the partiCipating cravs.

Code Designation for Mines and Mine PreparationTablo III to Section A

1.. The type mochanism .Lndthe preparation and sotting of thecomponents in all mines are specified by the following codel

a. b\ rat Symbol (lett or) - !I'klchaniam and Preparation"

Code LottorABCDEFGHIJKLMNQ ,RSVX

Doad PeriodMechanism {seconds} Typo LooksM-9 Mod 1 3 2 Look Reverse 51 ~ 8 " lOt" 3 2 Look Random 5! "" 8 " lOt "" 3 . 3 Look Rever-se 5i" 8 "l o t "M-ll Normal 2 Look Reverse" Increasod d e - "sensitive periodA-3 Mod 1 MMlA-3Mod2 ( J J . Microfarad condenser in firin'; cha11Ilcl)A -3 Mod2 (2 [I II II n - "1:~

-23-'!QB.~!


27/63

b., Second Symbol (number) ~ Sonsiti vity Setting.M-9-1 M-U M..n M.-ll A-3-1 MMl A - 6Code (A thru L)* (M) (M) e N ) ( Q ,) (X)~ (ll"'* . J . ? J . . .J3l _ill ( < ; 2 .ill-1 Infinito In.. Normal Q F i n o 1000'2 20 20000 2-3 4 Medium 1003 100 10000 3 ~ i

i f Med.ium 504 10 6000 4- Mediwn 305 3000 6-9 206 157 _ . . . 10 Lott 0r refors to first symbol ($00 above) .. * Numeral in paren , refers to notes bGlol'l':(1) Value of resistance shunted acroas sonsi t1'o1 operating coil.e 2) Value of resi stan co shunt ad 'loross sear ch coi I, or(J) Value of toroid current in microrunpclre.s necessary to firomechanism. d(lsonsitizcd by transformer shunting.(4) Valuo of condenser- 1mmicrOf3I'


28/63


29/63


30/63

_., _ -..ut QInIIo ~~. _--- ~ '" oa I "t& IIIR _ UML& (N II 'A TA A .R E A)

AL~ - aooo- eoGOnA& ..-wmID II"tDCA'RO ... INIUO DOMPH'-.OENe. . - - - - - . . , -""""''''.'''''''"Mr_ F . ~ . ~ " " "._ _ . .----.tlnIICK.... ~ ~ ..... -_.i__"_-+ __ -..J~ __ . . . L . . _ r - _ _ _ _ : _ _'__,,:__:I.--+_":""_!_-.-~--;_ w . _ _ . . . . - . . . _lit ............_ n._IG_,,'----. .-.~_ ",. ... I... A~_~ .... :a.--._D ...._.__...-.......W.......M... ....,. ,..,. .....~~---.~,. ..,.,..,.

,_ , _ ._. ....... 110IrIIIICATD 1ft___ _ .. ......urc.. - e _ ,. ..... __ " ~...,. TO " .. lIT.

. . . . . . .-. . . - , , -NWI.,If.,


31/63

N A D A _

tjI

MINING MIS~IO."m:_aT ......~ ..I! 0...,...,Of' ...~........ PLM1'&D ." OR I'CAA.,C'_ 5 H l I i I O f 4 O S E K 1 SlAALTITUD ~.5000-~l.IBR"Tl[b Jf'C)~TItD AIR

'-EQEND .1000L .& _ . . .. . .. :~TOI't _"SCO"-~O~~ JO... 'nC,

C" A"TTAC.K.o iOOO ~. __ : I.OCATIOI'I _.OGATlOI"I.""~_llrwl""'I .....

a._ ""....~. MI....fl n - .5 8 1ll-32 Ir._" __ 1..... 4_"a",." " " ' 1 1 0 . . . . . Il_ tau.4, .........u.__ "".._ " ..._AI_ ., 131)1-22 I_ _ " " ' l l J I I ' U: , ..U..u..._ , '1 . I 'a, 15. '" 1 6 .

toOO .... MI"I&:


32/63

SECRETINING MISSION:.atBeST ...VA\l.AeLe CAT... OF 1"1ruo.1._TIO"_ ",.MIMES P\.ANTCO ,N 01>. N!!4R "111\.0 Z A(TSU RUGA A RE A)

"LTITWOE - 5000- 8000 FT.CAL.IBRATED INOICATI!:O AIR &PltlO

&..E.GENC

o IOOQ .... -..C:

UKAT,on COI't"",MCO II!j( ..........IICO~ IIHOTO_ ~ -__ rrll:!"M ""I~ __....~c .""',,. OIl~ ""_1So r: ATTAC.K.LOCA . .. .Or t _ . S N I . Q . . . . . . , . . . .004"10"1.~OU"Tl,,"~ .._o ..,~ ..... '1O I4 Im>G__ TAIIUI" I t o , ~ .~ . . ,..,1OI't "" ~ _ TM _ I'll"....._ort",L.OI"IG; ..... .-.xu. 01' A'l'TAe.:U)C","MQ" UTA_O ..,,,"- ..'ClATlOri. .

1000.... MII"IC'

NOTC.: ,,~o; __ T1O'" o~ UC>4 II(IIf'IC I,. ~T.O ,'" .. .. .. .. .. & ' 1< It TO I"Io;LO OJIIDCIU ... .. . AaMC.O'IV'I'IUMEAAI....e.....CR;rTTTO LINk Of' 0ItDea~ DROPPING 15 ..AOM "18..,. TO rT".

SALvoaoMroea:_AA"" oel'iClTlr.....Of' ........CIIlC .. Qlllf'IOTE. "u _ ......0COI"II'>Il_TIOI'f TO 1.OCII:notI.

W A K A S A

o

T A R G E T Z .. Z .,I I< lA L ~ 1 1 1 1 1 1 , " 0

I lAUll llM. MI~E. 10 M.LESl-ipoapDO ,CALE*WUM' 'I.OTTE~

SECRET


33/63

SeCRET

_.l..-_

If '

MINING MIS~I... " -~.' a.TA 01' ~........ "'-N't'T1I!.O ." C IA . NEA( ) . 1 A I Z U R U - M IY AZ

l j

W A K A S A ,


34/63

.'

~J:'II>1 0 1 1~6i' " O J

_~

III


35/63

Q : J I I


36/63

... ,. ............... 1.. QlCTA OP I'IM....L. POSoIT.on" OFIWI'1U PL.J\MTIO 11"1QA "EAR. ",IILD NAN(NANAO-FUS~IKI AREA)ALT1TUDIE - .000' eOOOFT..CAIoIM"Tt!D If'lDlFATI!.P AIR 5PEI.D UO MP

1000 t.a. ~: UlCM'lIII"I C O I ' I I " . . . . ao ." ~..",._I ," ..,.. TAiUln liT g oo CHO. ." .. .

~ Of' ~!l.T """". ," TH ST.. . _ . , ., . ,0 . . , . DI'ATT""''''&000 ~.. ""."., I.IICMJD" DM~_O ........ &. . . . ..,_...~\IQ&DM""":~ DIII'IOTI"C O ,...CUW:1.11~I'IOTI' anr.1 . . .CONOI_TICI4'" N I"OCATlOI"'.

o

rtOTCl... ~ 01' III\Q< Mil'll I. InotCATIlO~ . TO I 'TItLI: I O~!l.. .." ..... ne.O~I.. .


37/63

:::-r:----_'_-;--"""""'~=:---" -.--" ,-- ..~,-1 \ ' ' I,I ""t i.,.~_. ..... v.o,,

........... , ,i- .....~(y.. ..~.~....

~ . , . . . ,.;, ,. ~

'il ( J.,,~ ..~"~""Im~n"j'''' "


38/63


39/63

PART I I I - B I\D AR

1. Radaz- BonbingAN/APQ-13Ja . Number of aircraft mining prim:lry areas I. 190b .. Number of 3ircr3.ft r -o Leasing minos by radar: 179c. Numbr of aircr'lft rrdc"3.sing minos by D.B.I' 11d. Percentage of rsdF'lI' sets opor tivo over t"1rgct: 94.5%o. Numbor- of aircraft using ml"imuth st3bilization: 130

72.8 f. forQontago of mning al rcrsft using azimuth stnbi!ilization:I _g. Avcraga maximumr3.Ilgo of landfsll: 6 8 , , 5 nautical milo8at 6 5 0 0 to 1 2 , 0 0 0 ft.h. 'Average maximum range of b0'1COI18: 136 naut i.esI milos at10,000 to 16.000 ft.

2 . Radar Navigation A P N - 4 1a. Both fixed and trailing antennas ware .uaed .b. Average msxirmna usable r:!ngo I

(1) !kound-wavc: 400 Dautic3l milos,(2) Sky-waves 1300 nat tical miLca,

c. Fi ve malfunct ions ',vore reported.3. IFF .. SCR-625 :

a. 100 per cent operations nero reported.b . Sets ~ore checked on 3D 3veragc of 40 t i m e s per aircr3ft.

P.iR t. IV - GONNERY'"

l~ No. of A /e firing: 6.2. Average turret load:

O F U A400 400 LA400 . U'400T4003. Average No. of rounds fir e d in conbat por tu r r e t,U F . ! !A T LA Y:."5 2 " 4 "6 34 . Nco of r OW 1ds fir e d in combat: 980.5 . No. of rounds use d for tost firing' . 2 5 0 . ..\vorage pe r gun: 170.6,. O ms Loaded I Hot.

.. Based. on Wins Gunnory Of'f'i c ors I Roport s.-41-

' ! .QEE.1:


40/63

7. Malfunotions' C.F.C. - none ::md Cal .50 M.G. - Link jam.8 . Equipment o por at io n ( tot ll p er CG nt Bg c o pe ra ti ve ): C . F . C . -100%and Oal .50 M.G. - 99.73%9. Remarks. Only 10 enonv aircr3tt attaoked on those missions.This aooounts tor tho small number ot rounds tired in canbat am. thelow averagos tor turret tiring.

- 4 2 -


41/63

: Mission No~.- - ---;.,-;- . 175 - I 177 . j 179 .- 1I S U ID i i iN F S . t II Loca tion 3220N-13245E 3230N-13230E~2OON-13230E:2OON-133:30N

Time on Entiro,/ I - \Location Missio~---------,- - - - - - - - . ~ - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - ~ . - - - - - - - ;Location 3330N-13930ETime onLocation EntireMissionI

1 = : - =-====F====~~====F=====,*===-Ii~OO I I! Loc::J,tion 2000N-14330E ...- < " "" . - '- - -I ---+-----I Timo on l.32030ZLocation 132230Z 182030'Z.182230Z1520302152230Z 202030Z202230Zr ~ E ! l~os I - I !I Location Sarno as for respective positions of first suhraar-i ne! 1Lstod far each mission II

I \I Timo on 131630Z 151600z 181600z 201600zI Location 131730Z 151700Z 181730Z 2017302I-------! LOC'ltion 3330N-13930E - + I,I Time on 131630Z II Location 131~ ~j -.- --. - ._-_.-- - ._'-------=--II~A~ I = +ESSELS ! ! ILocation i 1800N-14430E .-/--- .. -----,-----Tim~~-t_-----t--~--1--I---

Location . Entire I .. - + - = -Mission i i --~oc~t~ON-13~~ . ~930E 280ON-13~OOE

I Time on I 131000Z - - t , 181200Z '\ 201200Z1~::~:_j_~319:_ ! 181900Z I 2019002Crash boats were stationed off Tinian during the critical times ott'ake-off and land il1g for each mission.

" ' 43-


42/63

.. . . . . _Air-Sea Rescue Facilities

Mission No. 180 _. !;:.: : :. : : : :_.= 1 ; : : : .2 = . : :: := : : : :: :: = 1 -_ ~ H l 4 = = : : : : : : I ~ ' . .= - : 1 : : : 85=. : : :===::: : :=3230N-1323oJ!- : 3400N ..1413QE 13200N-13230E!3200N-13300E

Time 00-.--- El;~i~---~2__----..-------._.~-1---------Location

SUBMAR IN E SLocation

Mission

.._-----"ocation 3230N- 13230EI--r--------"--- i . - - - - - - - - - - " -j--------- c__I Time on : I7"""_,;-.~o_c~t/o~_ . _;___.= := == - __ : ~~~~~::~SSii--I DUMBOS ', Location 2000N-14330E I , - _ . __ ._.-".; . -- ._.. .. _ .. -------.i--.----+------f-------.-,

SURFACE 1 -VESSELS .Location ! 1800N~14430E I---t----. . ~i~:t~~n~:SiO~f---->-- .26~!0~~dLocation 12BoON-13745E 12~O~~-1~93~E_ ~~~o~-1380~E_ 28~O_N-13800ETime on 2211002 - r 241200Z 261200Z271200ZLoca tion I 221800Z i 241900Z 261900Z 271900Z_ _ . . . _ . _ _ - _ _ : - - - - - - 1 _ _ ._ . _ _ " . , _

,,/""---- .__ ._ - ----_------ _,-_._--_.

*Two super dumbos were used to orbit the Slbmarine position atthe timesspe cif ied ..Orash boabs weresta tioned off 1'ini an dur ing the cri tica.L timesof take-ot'f and landing for each mission,

. . 4 . .


43/63

A N N E l X

B

W E A T H E R

Put I ...iss i on No. 173Part II - Mission No. 175Part III .. .ission No. l77P a. rt IV . ..is s. ion N o. 1 79Part V ...ission No. 180Part VI ...ission No. 182Part VII ...ission No. 184Part VIII ...ission No. 165

Missions No 173. 175. 177. 179. 180, 1aL..184 Q l ld 18513, 15, IB, 20, 22, 24 . 26 and 27 Ma.y 1945

-45..


44/63

PART'I - ' " M IS S IO N N O . 173WEATHER S U M M A R y

P LA NN I N G F OR E C AS T4-5/10 low cloud bas e 1 600 tops 6 to 10,000 ft inoreasingafter 2200K to 7/ 10 with fr egu ent light to moder ate showe rs,

Srune a.s at base s ,10 / 10 low cloud bas e 1 200 tops 16.000 ft withscattere d laye rs of 6 / 10 middle cloud from 14,000to 18,000 i't and rainshov..ers.4. to 5/10 low cloud base 2000 tops 5000 ft.

3/10 low clou d base 2000 tops 4000 ft with 3/10middle cloud from 15,000 to 17,000 ft and twolayer s of high cloud from 22,000 to 24,000 ftand 27-30,000 ft. All cle aring except low andhighest lay er by 1600K,

Route: T o ?SON:T o 270M I

T o coast:Tokyo andNagoya

Kobe andWest :3/10 low c loud base 3000 tops 6000 ft.

OPWTION.i . .L FOREOAST ~1EATHER ENCOUNTEREDBase atTake Orf I e/ro low cloud. base1 800 top 8-15,000 t; silO middlecloud base 1 1 .000 top 13,000 ftjl a i l O high cloud at 30,000 ft;visibility 15 miles lowering to2 miles in .showers,Route~ T o 21 oN : Sa m e as basss.210N to 230N: 10 / 10 low clou dbase 1000 top 8-15,000 ftj 10 / 10middle cloud in la ye rs be twe en11,000 and 15,000 ftj a / I O highcloud at 2 1,000 ft i visib i1ity1 5 m ile s lowe ring to 1 mile inshowe r s .230N tg 250NI 5/10 low cloud bas e2000 top 5000 ft; 4/10 middlecloud base 12,000 top 13.000 ft.250N to Tar ge t Ar eq: 3/10 lowcloud bas e 2500 ft, bop 5000 ft.Target: Shlmonosskl: 5/10 lowcloud base 3000 ft top 6000 tt;2/10 middle bas e 1 4,000 ft top14,500 ftj 6 / 10 high C loud at26,000 fti visibility 6 - 10 milesin haze .NiigatBI 6 / 10 l o w cloud. base3000 top 6000 ftl 5/10 middlecloud base 14,000, top 15,000 ft,1 0/ 1 0 high cloud 26,000 ftj visi-bility 1 0 mile s in haze; lightr i m e ic i ng in middle clouds.

3-5/10 low cloud base 1 800 top 5 to6000 ft; 7/10 middle cloud base8000 ft; 8/ 10 high cloud at 20.000.

To 20N'; S ame Ilsbases.200N to 22oN: 10 / 10 low cloud base1000 top 8w1 6, O O O ttj l a L l a middleclouds 1 n laye rs be twe en 9000 and20.000 ft; vis ibility 1 0 mile s low-ering to 1 mile in showers; lightning.220N to 27oN 1 6 -8/ 10 low cloud, base1500 top 6000 ft; 8/ 10 middle cloud inla y e r s between 9000 and 20,000 feet.a70N to T a rge t Area: 5/10 low cloudbe coming 1/1 a at end of zone , base2000 top 3-4000 ft.

Shimonoseld: 0-2/10 low clou d, base2000 ft top 3000 fti v is I b i l1 ty 1 0 ,miles in haze.Niigatal Cle ar with patch e s of groundfog.

-46-


45/63

Route.B.lt.urnln, ;S am e o.s Route Outgoing. Same a.s Route Outgoing except fO,Tc um uloni mbu s a nd showers encountered

at 24oN .Buse onReturn: 4/ 1 0 low clou d base2000 top 6 to 1 0,000 it1 4/ 1 0high clou d at 30,000 ft.

6- 9/ 1 0 low clou d base 1 200 top 6_ 1 5,O O (ft; 5- 6/ 1 0 middle clou d base 1 0. 000 .top 1 1 ,000 it; v ls ib ll i ty 2-5 miles 10rain.

WINDS .fl .t O F T .. FORECAST8@,Se to 2 0 o N 200n t o ' J O O N 300R to Tauet Tar,et

20,000 245/ 1 5 - 1 0 310/45 - 1 0 290/46 - 1 4 270/ 60 -171 5,000 235/ 1 3 -01 310/35 - 01 300/38 - 05 270/45 . . 710,000 225/13 1 0 320/25 08 305/28 05 270/35 03a . o o o 21 0/ 1 1 1 4 330/20 1 2 305/23 09 270/ ' 30 086,000 200/ 1 3 1 9 350/15 1 6 305/ 1 9 14 260/ 20 1 34,000 1 70/ 1 4 22 01 0/ 1 5 1 8 31 5/ 1 5 I 1 6 250/ 1 5 1 52,000 1 45/ 1 8 24 040/ 1 5 21 1 55/ 1 2 1 9 ~40/12 1 7Surfa.ce 1 35/ 1 3 28 Missing 170/07 23 210/08 21

W I N D S ALO FT .. O BSERVEDBase to 200n TiI 'get

61 00 290/26Surface 130/10 - 1 2

-47..


46/63

~~ a U . ~ ~I~~ ~. ~.~ lu ~'l \ ; : 1 \,) ~~ r n : :, ~!~

J

!I~I fl~~ "

~(j~~

UJ u.J0 0 0 0 0 0 < .J 0 a 0 0 0 a u0 a 0 a a a . 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 b 14- 0 0


47/63

PRGe~ooz9 /..3 I 0 A YVlCJ:z!J:~

MISflON 173

c>TRlJ l< n"~

o

._ . . . . . ._.~--.._.----r-------i-_


48/63

o} 1- _l~


49/63

F.\RT I." t JE /\.T IDR SUMMARY

BASES: 4/10 low cloud I base 1600 I t.opa 5000 it with scattered lightshowers j soattered middle cloud olearing to 3/10 low cloudonly by ISaaX. .FlOUTE: To 20~:

To 236i\i :To2ZON;

same as bases.10/10 low cloud, baBe 1000, tops. wi th 1ayered. mid..d.Le cloud to20 ,000 ft and continuous rain.5/10 low cloud. base 2000, tops 6000 with 5/10bonils of middle 01oud, bas e 14.000, tops 16.000 ft.10/10 100 end middlo cl aud in cold front with topst 020 1000 ft and rain fit;tending t,o and over Ja.pan'uest of 1.s6~t breaking ,.to 5/10 100 F base 2000,tops 6000 it. 4/10 middle cloud .. base 14.000. tops16,000 it. \10st of 1:360:E.

To COlst:

T- t IRGETS: 'Y o Honshu andKyushu I 2...~/10 low cloud; 4/10 high !cloud

at 23.000 ft.Operational ForecB.st ,leather Encountered

Base at Take Off: 4/10 lOR cloud.base 1600, top 6-8000 ft; 3/10 middlecloud. base 12,000 ft, top 13,000;4/10 high cloud at :30,000 ftj visibil-i.1 15 miles. lowE:r ingt a 2 miles inshowers.

2/10 10'11 cloud. base 2000 rt, top5000 ft; 8/10 high cloud at 2:5,000 ft.

Route Out: To ISDN: Same as bases. ;TO '20CU: 4/10 low cloud. OO8e2oo0l8Dr.l' to 26ot.J: . 4-5/10 low cloud ,base \ft'"op 5-6000 ft; 6/10 high cloud1800, top 6':'7000 ft; occasional top ;at 25,000 ft,15,000 ft; 1/10 middle cloud a.t 12,000 ;20CJ! jto 26%: 7/10 IO N cloud I baseft; 4/10 high cloud !l.t ,30,000 ft i ' ,'1500 ft, tqp 8000 f't YJith occasionalsoat ter-ed Ught sb00'er s 'tops to 15.,;20.000 ft. becaning 4/1026I)J to 29~: 8/10 1011 cloud, baSe top 5000 ft at end of 'Z.one; a.io/ic1000, top 9000 ft with occaai.ona I tops "middle cloud in layers bet\1'een la,aOrto 18. 000 ft; 10/10 .middl e c10ud. base and 20,000 ftjtb underst crms, rain10,000 ft, top 15,000 ft; 8/10 higb J;'eduoed visibility fran 15 miles tocloud at 26,000 ftj visibility 10 miles 1 mile.lower ing to 1-2 roi1es in shewers i light ,26 ~ to 3 2 ~ : 4/10 low cloud. 00serime ice above 12,000 ft. 2000 ft I top 5000 ft i_ visibility 1.029CJ.J to 33e>:N: 5-6/10 100' cloud I base mi1esin light haze,1800 it. ,top 7000 it; 6/10 middle cloud .32ONto target area: 3/10 10'i7 clou.&base 14,000 t top 15. 000 .it j: 2/10 bigh base 2000. top 4000 .:ft., 8-10/10 mid ...a1aud tlt 27.000 ft. dl e a1cud" base 9000. top 11.000 ft i33DN to target area: 3/10 lovl cloud, visibility 12 miles in haze.base 2.000 ft., top 5000 ft I. 4/10 middlecloud at 15.000 ft.Tal"get: NilgoY.: 3/10 low cl.oud t rose2000 ,top 5000 ft; 4/10 middle cloud.at 16,000 fti visibility 12 miles.

,Nagoya: 3/10 low cloud ,base 2000,t 9p 4000 ft,9/10 .middleclou( l , baae'9000, top 11.000 :ft; visibility lOmiles in ba,zej. winds a.t 8000 ftwere270 degrees at 35 knots.Route,Returning: same as Route Outgoing., Samo as Route OUtgOing.

..61 ..


50/63

. _-. .- ,..,---.- ------- -- - ,J- ..'---15 miles. ft.Winds Aloft ._ Forecast

a-tse to 2S?N 250Ji to 300H , o a n to 3l1,o:t Target25.000 2.95/35 ..0 250/65 -22 250/70 -24 250/75 ..820.000 230/30 -09 250/55 -11 250/60 -14 250/65 ...815.000 230/25 02 250/45 -01 250/50 -04 260/5.5 . . .710,000 220/20 11 250/35 08 260/35 05 270/40 025.000 200/18 19 270/25 16 280/25 09 290/30 082,000 190/15 22 300/20 17 290/20 14 300/25 12Surfaoe 170/13 26 300/15 21 280/16 1 9 290/18 14

Winds l~oft - Obsarvedmse to 250n 25~ to 100ff TarBet

18,000 250/25 260/42 ----11.000 240/33 265/387 . 000 270/40


51/63

. II:z . . .= . 1&~ . . , . . . .


52/63

- 'W O J IM A

MISSYON,sI


53/63

.)\,"" ~'": III./~(.. .r-'"/",_I. .

65A1PAN

. ,"_'

,\ T~Ut(~\,


54/63

~P A R T 1 1 1 . - M I S S I O N . N O , 1 7 7 .W E A T H E R _ S Y M IM R Y

P L A N N I N G F O R E C A S T~: 3/10 low clou ds, base 2000 ft top 5-8000 ftl 1 /10 middle clou d.base 1 2.000 ft; 4/10 high cloud base 30tOO O ft.

conditions as at base s,3/10 low clou ds base 2000 top 5000 ft,10/10 low Oloud base 1 000 ft. top 6-20,000 ft j1 0/10 middle cloud base 9000 ft. top 1 6,000,10/10 high cloud at 22,000 ft; rainshowers.?SON to the COAstr 5/10 low clou d, base 2000 top 5000 ft.Terre' ~~ste r p K y ushuj 6-9/10 low clou d base 2000 top 5000 ft; 6/10hi gh clou d a t. 2 3,000 ft coming in by l800K.Sou the rn C ou t o f HonShu; 1-3/10 low clou d base 3000 top 6000 ftO P E R A T I O N AL F O R E C AS TBase atTake O r r r VIC low cloud base1 800 it top e OO O ftj 2/10 middlecloud base 13,000 top 14,000 ft,Route~ T o 230NI Same condition.as bases.230N to 270NI 1 0/10 low cloudbase 1 000 top 6-10,000 rti 10/10middle clou d base 11 ,000 ft top22,000; 10/10 high clou d base25,000 ft; light Fime icing; visi~bi1 ity 1 2 miles lowe r ing to 2-3mile in rime.270n to 300N s 5/10 low clou dbase 2000 ft top 5-6000 ft i 6/10middle cloud base 1 1 .000 ft. top13,000 ftj 2/10 high clou d at27,000 ft; visibility 8 milaB inhaze.30~N to tar ge t ar e al 3/10 lowclou d base 2000 top 4000 ft: 1/10high cloud at 26,000 f t.Target I S hi mon os ek i St ra it s:3/1,0 low cloud base 2000 top4000 ft; 1 /10 high clou d at 30,000 it; visibilIty 6 mile s inhaze. Wqknsal 5/10 low clou d base2000,top 6000 ftl visibility 7;flilesin haze.Route Retllrning:Sa me as Rou te .O ur goi ngBase onRetu rn: 4/10 low clou d base1 600 top 68000 ft

W E A T H E R E N C O U N T ~ R D

3-4/10 low cloud base 1 800 with scat-te re d showe rs at Tinian.

T o 2loN: 3-4/10 low clou d ba. se 2000ft. top 5-6000 ft.210N to 230N : 8-10/10 low clou d base1000 top 7-9000 ft; 10/10 m. iddle cloudbase 9000 top 1 1 .000 ftj scatte re dlight shower sj visibility 15 miles lowering to 1 mile in r ain.230N to 260NI 3-5/10 low cloud base2000 top 5000 ft; 8/10 middle cloudbase 9000 top 11 .000 ft.26N to 32oN : 2-5/10 low clou d base3000 top 5000 ftj visibility 15 mile sin 1ight haze.320N to tar ge t lUeal 10/10 clou ds inlay er s fr om 2000 ft to 14,000 ft, be oclng solid with tops r ising to 22,000 t24,000 ft; moder ate to he avy tur bule ncrime tc ing wit h some ole ar ice re por tepe r Siste nt light contr ails at 25,000 fShimonoseki StUits 1 7-8/10 low eIoucba.se 1600 ft top 5000 ft; 6-9/10 midd:clou d betwee n 7~~000 ft and 1014,000ftl 4/10 high clou d at 25,000 rtj vis:bllity 10-12 miles in han.

S ame as Rou te Ou tgoint.

1-3/10 low clou d base 2000 ft; visi-b il it y u nr es tr ic te d.

. Q Q l I l l 1 2 K 1 i I . . l A k


55/63

10,0005,0002,000Sur.f'aoa

14,0007,000

280~15160/15225/15135/13

11202530

240/15240/15250/15230/10

111 92429

---,295/23 ..310/19340/15160/10

WINDS A L O F T .. O B SERVEP

07152023

201 :to 2501 250N to Tar,ej;270/15 285/42

290/30290/20280/10280/05

Tar,et300/24


56/63

. II: & I I= t\ . !;~ . ' 1 M.......- o < : 1 a .. . . . . . . . 1 M

C ! ) : : '"tr I~.

\

I~


57/63

rIIJI"">-~.r' 1r-I~' _I

'> C H IC H I J I M A

/

I.7~) PROG " t :)ST IC ;PArM-uA~ 'f3- ' . ~~ " L_---~--:--____-L_t;"

200Z .:~A:__!94&MljS/ONlf7Z---j--_~~ __ L_


58/63

, '"" "I

,\ TRuK "v "(~

.._-. -"


59/63

PART .IV .. M ISS ION NO, 17 9WE AT H ER S "tJM V,A R Y

P LANN IN G FOR EC AS T4-6 /10 low cloud base 1500 tops 5 to 10,000 ft with show~rB ine ve ning r edu cing ce iling te mpor ar ily to 1000 ft,

BO!:jte I I Q ~loN:To as O N ,I Q g OIU I: t :

Same as baee s ,10 / 10 low cloud and middle cloud to 1 8 , 0 0 0 tt withrain and cloud thickening in afternoon to '25,000 fti n a ft er no on in appr oachi ng war m fr ont wave ,6 /10 low cloud base 2000 tops 6000 ft; 3/10 middleclou d fr om 14,000 ft to 16,000 ft both incr easingslowly during the day.

T a r r r e t sI All: 8/ 1 0 low cl.oud b e . s e 1 50 0 tops 7000 ft i 6 /10 m id dle c lou dfrom 14.000 to 17.000 ft; 6/10 high cloud from 25_27,000ft west o t N ag oy a. i nc re as in g t o 10 / 10 afte rnoon and u ppe rcloud moving into are a e ast of N~goy a in afternoon.O PE R AT IO NAL F O R EC A STBaBEl atTake Off: 5/10 low cloud base1 800 top 6-8000 ft; 1 / 1 0 middlecloud at 15,000 tt; 2/10 highcloud at 30,000 f t; v is ib il it y15 miles lowering to 2 to 3miles in showers.Route~ To 250y gt Sam e as base se xcept no showers.& s O N to 280Nf 8/10 low clou dbase 1200 top 6-10,000; 2/10middle cloud base 15.000 ft,top 16,000 ft; 4/10 high cloud at28,000 tt; visibility 10 mileslowering to 23 miles i n s howe rs .28ol~ to 30oN: 10/10 low cloudbase 1000 top 8-14,000 ftj 10/10middle clodd base 12,000 ft, top17,000 ftl 4/10 high cloud at27,000 ft; light rime ice above14,000 ft; light to moderate rainreducing visibility to 1mile.: 3 p ~ to 34 O N I 5/10 low cloudbQse 2000 top 5000 f t.

J E A T H E R ' ENCOUNTERED

3-5/10 low cloud base 1600 ft.

To ZION: 3-5/10 low cloud base 16 to1800 ft, top 5-7,000 tt: 6-10/10 m.id-dIe cloud base 7000 top 8000 ft sta.rt-ing at l8CN j v is ib il it y 20 miles low-e ring to 8 miles in scattered lightshowers. I210N to 24oN: 6 /10 low clou d bas e1000 tt top 10-12,000 ft with buildups to 25,000 ft; 10/10 middle clou dsbetween 7000 and 8000 tt and 9000 and20, 000 ft i visibility 10 miles lowarinlto 0- 2 miles 1n heavy rain; moderateto heavy t ur bu le nc e a nd li ght ni ng .iliON to 280Nz 1-3/10 low clouds base1800 top 4-5000 r t becoming 6/10 at th,end ot the zone; ~/10 m id dle c lou ds ,between 16~000 and 17,000 ft.c R o N tg 50 N I 8/10 low cloud base1500 top 6-10,000 tt; some tops to20,000 ft ; 10/10 middle clouds base12,000 t t; v is ib il it y 10 m ile s lowe ri nlto 5 miles in light showers.300N t o t,r ge t ar eaf 8-10/10 low clou ttop 5.6000; "5-9/10 middle cloud base14,000 top 16-18,000 f tj v is ib il it y 15miles.

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C O N F IDE N T I A LTar&:E!t: Shim,onq!!ekl StraUs:6/ 10 low clou d base 2000 top 5000ft; visibility 6 - 1 0 miles in h a ~ e .Wakasal 10/10 low oloud base2000 top 5000 it; 1/10 high cloudat 28,000 tti visibility 6-10mile s in haze.RouteReturnin&,:S~de as Rou te O ut goi ngBase onReturnl1800 topclou d at15 miles

4/10 low cloud base6-8000 tt; 2 / 1 0 high30,000 ttj visibUity

Shlmongsekl Stn;U1 6.8/10 low cloudb a s e 1800 top 5- 6000 f t ; 8 _ 1 0/ 1 0 m 1 d -dIe cloud ba.se 14,000 ~op 21,000 f t .36~ to1360Er 9-10/10 low cloud top5000 it; 1 0 / 1 0 middle cloud base BOO~ft , top 9000 f t ; visibility 8 mile s ~he ze , -nnda o .t 6500. 310, 25 knotS.

Not ava.ila.b1e1 - 2 / 1 0 low clou d base 1 6 0 0 ft; 6/10high cloud at 30,000 tt; v i s i b i l i t y20 miles.

WIND S .ALO FT - FO RE CASTBa s e t o 200W BOOS t o ggoN 2g0N to SON Tvg;et

25,000 230/10 -21 260/38 -23 260/50 -29 260/50 -2B20,000 180/10 -10 260/26 -12 250/40 -16 270/40 -1815.000 160/10 00 255/22 -01 270/35 ..05 270/35 -0810,000 140/10 10 255/18 09 270/25 04 280/25 025,000 110/10 1 7 255/16 17 320/20 10 330/20 09a .ooo 100/10 23 250/14 22 360/14 16 010/14 16SLlri'ace 100/10 28 250/09 26 040/12 24 040/10 21


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21st bomber command tactical mission report 177etc

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