air intelligence report, v1n17

8/8/2019 Air Intelligence Report, V1N17

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/air-intelligence-report-v1n17 1/11

o SMALLER

CITW8 "'T PAGI 3-

" . r " . ~.PAGI 12~ JIMA

· 0 IITERWflG ~ G 1 2 1!AMWORK

o JAP PLAII!PAGE 22LOSSES

e TOKYO GIl0UU



2122

347

89101112

1420

30 June 1945

ill BCJlCCJI OPERATIOIfl

Smaller Cit ies Hit in Ei4bt Attacl<sDamage Photo ](agosb1maDamage Photo Hamamatsi

Damage Photo YokkaichDamage Photo Fukuol<as t r ike Photo Sbizuol<a!.lining lI issions

g ~ ~ ~ ~ w e ~ : ~ r F ~ e ~ ~ n p o P U l eurbulence

JAPANESE m. DEFENSE

k Brings B-29 BackInterwing i ; ~ ~ e n e s Doring lIayJaps Lose

FLAK INTELLIGENCE

XX I B 0 M BER e 0 MMAND

dalliTElliGENCE REPORT



R br"1h PlY

dropped 3,157 tons ot bOCbs through10/10 cloud by radar tr .... an averagealtitUde or 21,250 teet.

'Una totals are: 58th, 119 Ale.

742 tons; 73rd. 132 Ale, l.O31 tClnSj313th, 85 Ale. 600 tons; 314tb. 108Alc, 784 tons. Twent7 t lv. dropped

176 tons on ta r..gets ot opportQn..tt y aDd two WblcbbCllllbed the p:rl..mary also CrOPpedt (N r tons OIl othertargets. Fortytwo aircratt re_turned ear11 •

"0 eDeIlY ai r..craft 1III!re eneCNOoo

t.red. There wasno loss or da.ma.!:edue to tlak aodoDJ., a tew ai r..

craf t reported any tlak at al l aDdthls was meager aDd inaccurate: Inview of the undercast the Magerflak 15 an indication ot pocr r&l1arand controlled t ire and eaphas1:.esth e Jap dec1sion to use 9'err Uttleof the i r AA strength thrClO&h anundercast.

One hundred P.515, a irbarne asescort, were torced to turn baCk

because or the weather. em. all ' ' 'craf t or the 314th lUng cresbe4tour mUes at sea atter taaott.

No wrvivOl"s were r 'pcI'ted. P'GI'tJs IX landed a t I'I'o Jtaa oa retlD'L

Pos t strike Hconaall1Suce r' "veale 2.71 square .un.. ~ o 8J'ttdamage resul tllll!l: trca tb1e attaek.o r th iS , 2.13 11 In 011.-.'_111th e total ot daaa&t to tba ~ 15.5i squar••uaa. f t••58 ..aU . or duIP ......_ '.t'

.... ~ _ . _ w

CitiesIHU'in

- or the more important in -ItIUttlons are the }Qn.anishi A1r-W't Co.pany Raruo Plant, subJ ec -III to &l'I attack on 9 June j th e. . . ElectrOde Company, one of th eline larS' 1IIaDUt'acturers o f e le c_- - in Ja.r:ljtne Amagasakl Steel. . . ~ t c a o Metal I D ~ u s t r Y i Su_

J.anu.k1 Propeller Plant and~ ~ C b 1 Gear WorkJJ. important~ ot Vtry large precision

. .11 burned C'Ter larger ci toof!l

dJar-n got a re s pi te th is

l'S tbll' uo1t5 or the XXI BomCom........U'.ted their incendiary bombsI r:J th8 ,aaller ci t ies . Eight

~ l o a s .,ere tlOl'n against these.-= 10 • ,erie' of t hr ee ope ra -st-, 'l'b' overall resul ts were

. .. taare4 to be~ t pollOl'UI are r.,orU or. . l1Jl1oa1:

_JI,lG.lS.ll<I

tbt DlPsakt. . &rea mergesJI'O t.Il. (Blka ur-.. at_ at the.u-I'D tId of

. .811. It 15,..U, s.portant

tw It!! petl'oleum_, aircraft

lIcWla, ,teel prodti l .eb1ne tools uctS, o r ~ n . a n c e__u. a n chemical

(6:45-5)

I t 1s Intencled t ha t t hi s w.el<1y re _port • source or information tor CO'1\_

bIlt erew, and s tar t officers IIho have ahe;ltirrlllte inter.at 1n the ope ra tlQM ofth e llX1 BOIIbe.r Conwancl. · ~ l t h l n t h o u

l1alts i t sMaUI recelve the 1I'1dest pos_

sible cirelllat10n perll l issible u nd er t heprovls1ooa of AR - ' 8 0 ~ 5 .

I n o rd er that a max1r.J1m of Intell1_Sene. Cl8Iy be inclucled, th e report 1:5l!ven an O'I'erell classif icat ion o ! S ec -re t . "'/hen th e nature of the I l la ter ialwarrants, Incllvldual art icles hove re -ceived II lower security clesslrteetlO!l.

The report Is 10 e s s . ~ b l . ~ that thecOliponent sections lIlay be r f!l l loved andcirculated or rUed Slparetflly. If IJW-tions UI reproduced, securi ty regula-tions l IU,t be obaerved and t he sou rc eeredited.

, ¢ - , L -JAMES 0 ; GARCIACOlof.ld, G.S.C.AC ot S. A-2

UTH: C.G. XXI B.C. Initials \J.QjlDAn '30 June 1 9 ~ 5

COM'lSpondlinee regarding th is p u b ~licatlOll .hOl.1lcl be eddreUed to th e Com.M n c l l ~ Ceneral, XXI Domber C0lCl:1400,"PO 234, e/o PostlT.allter, Sen Francisco,CaUfornia, Attentlonl At:. or S. A_e.

t •.

. ~ . ' .

.:;':'=",",- ,',



was h i t by

• ~ ~ ~ e 1 t ~ O ~ ~

••

t!1.e 314 tt l 't11ng on the nt&bt ~

one percent of th e built-tiPdestroyed. (confidentl,l)

there to .75 , at total ot the buIlt-uP

II'!' pClrcent Pew" numbereCl.11of the citY; O!ska and t tve~ - 1 J l W ~ t 5 II I n osak a1 t ' ! ' ~ ,half d&J!I68nai a copperJ J : T O C 1 ~ '=:':10n' and elec~ " " " t a 1 J 1 1 D A1II8&&SIl1d th e P'u-

rII:......~ ne CcmpAny. a geartrio ~ 11J'pla plant (90 percent

~ o P ' l l ~ _ .. .ed ) and a ~ l 1 n~ - a , t d ,ud . .. ."""'"

:G: KAGOSHDIA

onll of tour urbanNotlliUo\r8d in Ineel1CUary miS

. . . ,ttae 19ht of 17-18 June.

. , . CD tb81JD r ate d a s th e larges t

. . dty o rt an t u rb an area In" , ..t ~ ' b U . Its port has beent naval use I s in ce t he

II 1OC8t1on U important fo r be:-. the approaches to Japen east._ , or ~ b U .DI_hIM serves as II supply cen·

• r&1lroad junetton and port to r.'lIDOJI lIaval Air Base in ad -11t1aD to having i ts Qllfn a i r f ie ld

III • •plalle base. I ropor tan t 1n-artW t a r ~ e U l In the c1 ty areIII DaOShua Railroad Repair Shops- ' t . ~ e r.agoshlma Frelght Yards.OtbIr 1nltl,trla1 ac t i n t ies lncludeatlns1n 011 s to ra ge , mar ln e en_f ~ tools, chemlcals ,explosives,1lt:tl'1cal equlpment ordnance mach_1IIlT IUld reported submarlne con_' ~ t 1 0 1 1 . fotal area of the dense_It ~ t e d urban area 15 approx-

lot.., 4.5 square lIl1les.

" ~ U ~ ~ ~ t o n 206. 120 a i rc ra t t o f"1IIh!1I _re airborne agains t

I1h lllll ·ot 1 these, 117 dropped'liarr tar ncendtarles on th e"radar) Je t (34 v lSUAlly and 63

''',150 t e e ~ an aver88e a l t i tude1111 011 a • One dropped s lx~ l l r e r a t t ; : : e t ot opportunlty.

not effect ive~ . . , .'Ilk. aircraftItchttl"llve enem oppoUtlon was. . . . . . . III..,y t l 'Ik planes weret1el:

1ll'rat:d 11l4c a a t th e t a rse t~ tOCIerate ~ a t e and med1um

!tit • ho t ntense and 1n~ : P o r t e d . 0O n ~ O searChlight;-''''1zla4 lltlkrlawn a i rc ra f t .as

t1nor dam:auus and three~ ge.

square IIlUes• or 41 percen t

or th e bu1l t_up a rea or the clty ,were destroyed by th e attacklbring_tog the to ta l d es tr uc ti on t o th ectt)" to 50 percent. 'nle TagoShlmeRailroad Repa1l' Shops were 25 per

e

cent destroyed.

OMUTA

Omute wes th e target to r "oinion207. also on th e night or 17_16June. Th1s ct ty, wit h t he a dj ac en tc oa l p ort of Ul1ke and the under_lying coal f ields , is one or themos t impo rta nt ch . i ca l centers ot

th e empire, produc1ng coke by-products , acid", exploSiVes and ter_t i l i z e r ! . Omuta 19 one ot theleading ports tor coal sh1pments.It 15 th e 51te fo r ooe or the Japs'10 la rges t synthetic oU retlnef:1e.s

and 15 a major ret1nin8 c en te r o fz inc . Coal repruen t s 90 percentof i t s exports. :.fost ot 1t " im-ports are tor th e M1tsu1 procesSingplants (011 aDd zinc) •

The 58th Wing: had th1s target,putt ing up 128 a1l 'cratt trom 1600to 1922 on th e n1ght ot th e 17th.One hundred s1Xteen dropped 766tons on th e primary from an averagebomb1ng al t i tude ot 7,800 feet.Eighty nine banbed by radar,19 byv 1sual means, two by radar withv 1s ua l c or re ct ioM, COUl' by radar_bombSight and two by dead reckonil1&.Three bombed targets ot opportunltyand seven were non..ettect ive.

Only one attack 'II'llS made by en

81llY a i rc ra f t . There 'll'ere no losses and no damage rrom th e meagerand inaccurate heavy and '1Ied1umf lak wh1ch Ca!ll8 up through the 4 to10/10s undercast.

On l y . l l square mile o f d ua gewere vis ib le 1n post str ike photos.F1res were s tU l bW'n1ng on 21 June.

HAIW.lATSU

Hamamatsu was attacked on the

n igh t of 17..18 June by the 73rd'V1ng on U1Sslon 208. '!h1" oity isan outstand1nc lIIi.ltW'e of deosehOUSing and !Imall tndustr1al plants.I t i s an outlying cOfllponent ot tl'leNagoya industr1al are . and c o n t a 1 ~important plants p r ~ u o t n a : p e . ~ ~ tn mater ials used In th e 811"ora ta tdUStl"y. bong th e lIlore taper n



DAl'.AGz' after 73rdWing strike total·ed 1.38 squart d -las. Tbll photoshows a ~ ot it .(8 70 t i l l )

t'rCICI in mdlArll!l droppedby 73rd nOS on~ g I I t or ,17-18!:l:lS. (ieafUtn--

'1\lJO'"MiSsion 211 was an1llC• • "

tack aga1nst the FumoD ....on th e night ot' 19-20 - •73rd Wing and the 313t1l. J-"fo r thiS one, the 1Srd;i142 and th e 313th 9S eth,se 237 plaoel, 282tons on th e prll1!U'1 WI""ua l and radar .eaDS he- a ...a l t i tude of 8,900 t"t ,

Two frCJl the 'F!I'tI 'III . .from th e 313tb b._ iIifI..opportunl ty . '!'hutteD, 10were from th e 73r4 . . . . . .t1ve.

.. ...Ene." atr . , ~ l l ' " I I I ! ' ! ~

w1th 17 eaeIT ~ ~ at tackS. Most or . . _t6medium cal1ber . : : : . : ' ~..heavy AA t i re ,

;,..njjII

a te . 'nlree . 1 r O r ~ ... ~ , nor damage f r -no losseS. 'ftlel"""'''''ports of tnert. . .

t"

f iner ies . harbOr t'

t ing Plant , 811 ScUta..of u n l d e n t 1 t l e d ~ l . . . . . . . .

.... l I l i , . l ~T o r ~ .

Three mOl'e attacq1ar cit1es war. '!lII&of 19-20 June lladl O I , , ~these th e S8t-It W 1 n a l ~ " ,airborne " ' l n s , tilt il lSba n area (M1581011 e l O ~ "re d thirty si x dr • Ole,incendip.ries on t h ~ ~ _ ~ ~ ,ual and radar me6113 , ,_

101l0s clOOd. B O l D b ~ . l l t " ' "7 ,800 teet . Plve I t - = ~ 'non-effective. - ...

Ten to 15 enemy 81rCl'thmade 14 weak and ~ : . ~ __tacks . Flak 1n theeavy and medium &Dd

There was no lou to tlak_.two sustained m1nor da-.. fNIlTwo crew members w er. tBJ ..to severe turbuleDeI Oftr . .get .

Par t l a l ccweraa' 011. poltMpho to:s shows 1.1 IqlllZ'l.u., I52 percent of . the bullkp ""*of the city, de9tr01td u_.

of the m1ss10n.

The 313th did a fine job on thismiSS1on, almost completely destroy_il18 the 5011d bunt_up port ion of

the city Which was the target. The81'ea damage total! 1.23 squaremiles. Aeons the spec1ric targetsdestrOYed OJ' dafllll.ged ...ere,;,l1 re-

The 73rc! "1ing's attack destroyed1,.28 square miles or 30 percent ofthe bullt-uP area of th e c1 ty ,ra15lr,g the total damage to th e ci ty to1,.7 square miles. The Imperial

Gcvernment Rai lway Shops and th eJapan WUsical Ins trUl llent CompaoYwere both damaged.

YOJIXAICHI

In the la s t of the 17- 18 Jun esUles, 9. aircrat't of the 313thlUng were airborne against Yokk:aichlurban area from 1956 to 2107. Elgh_t nine dropped 569 tons of lncen_diaries on the primary target byv1sua1 and radar lDeans fral l an averaie a lt i tUde o f 7,500 feet. ThereWlS 7/10 cloud cover. Five a1r

craft were non.etrective.

Ten enemy aircraft were sightedbut only one attack cade againstthe B-egg. flak was meager and in accurate, heavy and mediWll. Jam_mers and rope were considered el'fective aga ins t the 12 s e 8 r c h I i ~ h t sreported by the crews. One a i r -craft sustained minor damage. Therewere no aircraft losses.

targets here are the Japan Kuslcll. lIGJtrUmen t Plant, estimated to pro-duel!! 20 percent ot JsP propellers iImperial Goverr:tlllent RaHny Shops I

third largest in JapeD; Kawasak i1I\lstcal Instrument Company. probable p:rodueer of veneer. l ight air-

cran and gUder,.

ODe nundred thirty ~ a1,rcraftwe:e airborne from 1900 to 2011 onths 17th. one hundred thir ty drop-pe1 911 tons of incendiaries on theprlmary target trOlll 8,400 fee t . Onedropped visually end 129 by ra(lart b r ~ h 9/10 cloud. Seven were noneffective.

Enemy opposit1on was \'leak, threefighters making two attacks. A fewcrews observed very meager am scattered heavy and medium f lak. Therewere DO losses.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/air-intelligence-report-v1n17 6/119 I

~ •••ng.d_uP on by tho 7,r' a"" ,13'" . . . . . . ..: n l .h t ot 19-20 Jun' thIS , . . . . . trl1<O ,,,,to

ows part of the results. (as d I ')

•

l , th tllC C'

was well plastered by the :3 11 b:1Il"'

night of 17-18 June. The s o l 1 ~ c ~ . .

portion of the Jitr "all allm

05

destroyed. (Olilf p)

-. .__ . .. •. ..... ~ " " . l ' ....~ -- . . . _ ~ , ; ~ ~ , . , -

J



g

borne. 123 of which banbed the pri_mary through 3/10 ClOUd , 96 v1.5I:I&1.11 and 27 by radar fraa 8,800 teet.They dropped 869 tons of bombs.Two targets of opportunity' ab owere hi t .

Enemy a ir appos! tioo 0 " weak,

15 aircraft making only three at tacks. Two &ireratt were lost tounknown causes and two sustainedminor dem8ge from generally llI8a8er

and inaccurate medium and heavyf lak . There were & ( n ineffective

5earchllghts.

Photo coverage shows the IIIlllnportion of the d ty destroyed as aresu l t of this mission. Damage to tals 2.28 square mUes or 66 per·cent ot t he bu ll t-uP portlon or theci ty . Industrial dal8Se includes75 percent of Target 2084, the SUII·Homo Light Metals Company, de·

stroyed. (Secret)

'. ,...c . r . " · ) ' ( : ~ ~ ~ = ' · , . : . ~ ~ : 7 , ~ ; ; 7 ; · · i : 1

damage was 2.28 sq ua re m il es , 66 percent ofth.e buil t -up area of th e c it y. a tt er the 314thWln,Q; s t r ike on th e night of 19-20 June. (Cant)

-- '

a i rcraf t a i r -

u

l3. thrte 11nl ------. . . . . . . . . . .""' ' '"• 15, 17a18 Il8 misSions k:tIle, !a n ' and 19-20 J were f lown by the 3l3th WiM during t i l t wee • on~ ~ e l d . l I I e,ooa and lune. On th e f i r s t of these:50 aircraft d!'e aJ.r<o

Stra1ts FUla/OOO-pound mines. Targets were the Ipproacbd to

lo'Cb ttle se ' oka , Kar at su and Fushik1.

1.:4" ILubo cOnc1 misSi andl11&ae:' On the la O ~ 28 were a ir bo rne t o mine SbilllODOIek1 SV'...:saru• S t 28 mined Shll1lonosekl Straits . lfua

JU,

~ . at til" re no oa83e . h l 1 o ~ s s e s ( , no atteelaJ by enelll7 a1rCl'att, aDd lUt1e' t l l l

• Secret)

~ 314th Wlng attacked Shizuoka• tllt 1I1sht or 19-20 June. Thisu the largest cl ty on t he s ou th~ . or Honshu between Nagoya andtalrtul. I t ls th e trading andlII'ilt1ll& center of an agricul tural. . . lKl.t 1t has become more IndusII1I11Jtd recently. Ttle clty is on*' !obaldo IIllIoln l ine and produces~ : parts! paper , machinery,

....... t ex tl e s.

!'Ie 3Uth

, ...u.

PoSt strike phot" show approx\JItd1 1.:5 square miles destroyedl= tllU attack. 20 percent of th etM1 &.5 square miles of buil t-up1111. A ra llr oa d yar d and Hakata

ur e damaged.

SHlZUOKA

I'ling on the nit! t ,"under attack by th o 314th20 June. (Confidential)

...---.:... ....



"

....- - ~ . : - . _

-• >

d er con st ru ct io n at I1Jo to guardthree new frequencies al10ted as·cluSively to AU...sea Re5CUf signals.ThiS station w111 perlllit eTG ~ . 1 1to receive in_flight dUtr

eSJ.ats"

ages direc t f re- alrcrart, and . toa le r t ~ b o ! l and ra!lCQI vessels u·stantly and without recourse to artIother agency. line radIO ope1'atar"experi.nc.d Ia B-1!9 c(llllUl11Il1UOOl.have been udgll.d by tb t xXI . . .COlI to h'lp operate tl1U le-tiOa.

VeIIl .DII'" fU#Il! f t l " ~ ! ..U: ;1f,:::

p".... . . . . - .

_ 4 to aerlal navigation. To~ U keen disappointment. i t was" ~ 1 D ' c l tile llountain was vi t a ll L'Ie bland defense plan. The~ ware appeased somewhat when

' I l ' l permitted to build 8

.. . II1gbwa)" to the to p of the,

XlralUlroshaped Surabaehl. 8 tea t?' Ja1l!l cla1ttled was tapes! t b i s .I" Pl'LJoner! who See t he s te ad ytr-. or tZ'ucks switch_baoking up:' precipice are Said to losel.t I'e:e.lnlng oanposure.

A I ~ - S E A RE:SClJE AT two

1 t I l ~ n < l e r T as k C ro up 94 .1 1. co-f t e 1 l t t ~ o all Searoh and rescuec..,. • !lV.nable to th e XXI BOllI)to, ~ : I l . reCently C'r0lll Salpan tobare be reased tae1l1tles also~ ~ l alloted eTG 94 .11. who..e.. ~ e u : Ilt'o brings th e XXI BOllI

hee.rt ~ e I " v e center clos. '0I ~ 0 a ,s tone ot opera..s'llartt

e 1'110010 station 1s ua.-

l! F.. Flak damage to wing •.l! iIG!!T. 'Undmlll1ng ortenleroU 1n 8-295 re turningnlll b&re nacelles.

~ ' l l requ,re """aertbl1

""enance than thOSe ~ O I I .....

Id co ral founcl.atl0Dll ill till

anas.

E.GER TO JPBL • "b TIle seabee' ••a ,...a}'1te assigned the JOb 00

Mt. surabachi nidl 11 '

--_.

-----

Over Tokyo on 24 Iley a t 9 60 0 t ee t . this B_29 ot t . b e 1 l 1 ~ :suffered a direct heavy hak h i t in nUlllber one'caught fire . Before th e pi lot . Lt . J . K. A n d e 1 " O l l ~ ..\ \ 1 l ' J l P U l 1 i n g i t out of 8. dive a t 2.000 f t . , si x of th:"'tft1IIl'~ ou t over JaPan. The complete story of hOw the rOll ~ 1 I 1

• .: I ,. creo.1' t:leubers got t his a ir pla ne to 1'.1"0 60peared tat ,lJi'f " the A.I.R., Vol.I, no . 14. (Note th e tires blod

11' f i : : : ' = ~ ~ . t l l l l l i f ~ S1n the l(ariana" 15 no t available)n tne volcanic ash heap which COOl_priges lD.O!t or Two Jllll8.. Outcropp_

lna roek fOJnd on '.It. Surabachl andat the extreme north end or th e i5_

l.and is cru9hed and layed on a grad_ed ash and clay fOUndation. As_;lhalt prepared with the crushed:,ock 15 Used for a toP. These str ips! ~

t : : e r ~ n g Plctthe already operat1ng Lrvw0=



jumping i t icmedIate],y, pulled backand prOVided close support for thecripplee tealllrDate. In fact, T·20took such good care of y.24, thatboth B..29s continued on the run,dropped their bombs and knockeddown s ix of their attackers Withthree more claimed as probables.There was excellent coordinationbetween gunners of both B·29s.

FIGHT CONl'IlWS:S

This running battle between thebadly damaged superfort (wfth it sT-20 friend escorting) and the Jap3c ont inu ed f or 40 to 50 miles overland. ~ e 'after l ands .end , the"SUperftghtress escort" stayed with! ~ _ 2 4 and alon& with ,'-40 of the314th, helped tl e l!''lping D·29

I 3 R I ~ ( ; Sm·lCJ mlCI(

IlIPS GAllG UP

lA Deping With Jap t ighter pol',lht II1ps proceeded to gang up1-l4 as It lost a l t i tude and

• All estbated 12 to 15 enemy_5 ! ~ t t e d the B-29 and made:C1:ately 30 paSSes a t i t .

! W9 lI8I'ked T-20, seeing 101-24c.d lose speed, with th e Jans

I recent miSS ion agains tJ crt' m.e:nbers oC B-29 t.l_24 ot

.9t/1 Boob GroUP, 3l4th Wing,

. tile followina: story.

) ' to bad weather at th e assemIII point, ~ . 2 4 call:e out of th e.. , leading five other B-e9s to w.! t!lt t arge t. The se five plenes.. Qot only trom other groupS but_ rlllllS. it was appal'ent through

II till Ilarldngs.

A t ~ t I mirnlte or two before.. lIlIY, 11·24 was h i t by flak -

IIfi1 bi t in number two and tour-r,:ts. In the words of th e CFC", '011 clll:le flowing ou t in

as thick as your arm".

ty belts a notcb or two t1&tlw•

Another 46atb Group w'oted by Major R. R. Hralll &111a beating f'rCIII the dret'tth e colossal fires atNone were injured bUt _ -

doors were stuck open.

A B_29 of the 29th 0fGlI'!',Hng, plloteC bY 118.'01' r.r.was caught in an updraft " .uoka which tore of t t b ' a ! ~bomb bay doors. ttae ••

radio operator and CfC'"wounded as a result orJ':aroune in th e interior

All three pilO 1Ii!r a. th e r f ace tlak . . .da y than 1be turbdl'(Confidential)

remain a t ~ e s . It,

af ter a St r lk0 r n o ~ t

moves th e came;e. :be -O\G -.sen"-s i t intact I ' I ~ Lab. t , ..

al/LY T1IE 811>The story or XX nn.

miSSions beill& s IIwo to th e ~ P l r e tauri ~ 65th Weather R e c ~ t t rOll . and or the l I a ' t p . S I r e e ~based on Iwo tlylllg 1 ' ~ ~ ~ "th e t igbters or theIn-llCommand,wl1l be the S U b ~ure art icles in tbe l I-ea.good us e Iwo is PIlt to' J,,,ever, is only the b e c l " ~ ' "greater plans fo r !t.,are an immediate Pl'ospentt!L1f l l lment . The t o u g h e s t ~ 'pr oblems there bave beeo siIlllll..when f ac l1 i ti es r ap Id lr ._complet ion a re In OI"del',

t raf f ic a t lwo will be lltrad1el"scarcely a ruffle.

Demands of the pUt r...have been a Challenge .1111.a l l concerned in takt1l(.and manning this sh01'e.to.sb/n.s t al l a. t ion a t the tar !lI11 i I

stre tched supply line, S o : ~ ~f rom Tokyo . (Secret)

\ \ \ \ \ ) \ ) ~ ~ ' I; · ' " , · - · > 4 % L ; t ~ ~ ·

•

~ ~ " " , \ . e , , , , , ~ ({f(I'

.Crews interrogated by th e 5_2 a t

the XXI BOlIlCOlIl Combat Staging Unitat Iwo upon arriVal there af te r re _

cent incendiary strikes on Ja n c i t -it s nave l1kened the1r ride overtba target to a tr ip over NiagaraFalls in a rotary waShing machine.Lt. T. G. Welsh or the 468th Group,58th '<'11"8, ran into an updraft overToyohashi that tOSSed h1s airplaneaJound and sent i t into a dive from'Il'bich he pUlled ou t a t 3,000 fee t .The right gunner and the borubardierSustained minOr inJuries, whltle another Crew meulber,whose shoes becameCoated with sea marke r 1n the re _S\lltine: Shambles aboard th e planeSlid he thought the end had come

w ~ e n he saw hi s golden Sl1ppersa..ready tor the Pear ly Gates .

Lt . Welsh said th at in th e f u Ul'e t.hey wCl1ld a l l wear their safe.

oumb05110 wbich consiSt ot eight B_17swith Mappable l ifeboatS! siX ofwhich are alway' avallab e a t Ilfo,plU5 the shorter range OAIOAs. Inatdlt10D., cto 94.1] ,,111 be alloteda! uD t XXI BomCom B..29s to r use assearch superdumbo! as occas10n de -1I6ndS, and 1l'111 assume operationalcontrol of their searches.

erG ~ . l l a150 maintains operational control during XXI BomComl I ~ s 1 0 D S or reseue DEs and othernrtace craft, and c oor din ate s o p

era tions o f t he U feguard s ubs. All.eIperienced Air-Sea Rescue of ne e I '

o the 73rd 1'111& represents th e XXIBocaCOlll a t cro 94.11. The ISlandr.omand of 1"0 Jlma has renderede'ery assistance pOSSible towardthe cClDpletlon and augmentation ot

t ~ e s e facilities.

PHOTO UNIT

'lbe pnotographs of dama.ged a i raa f t which illustrate t hi s s tn I';

; ~ l ~ ~ ~ ~ Y ~ vXI BomCom Combat

cell. from each o ~ ~ ~ ~ t i : . Five

Service Groups combined t 0 Ai rl rl th the 1 a Iwo worktile two G r ~ ~ s ed T g ~ o t o equipment ofg4ged p r i m l U ' i ~ 1 s section is en!eal, public r e l a ~ , P r c w 1 d 1 n g h1stor-

ons. aDd engln_



The pos51bllity discussed abovefinds possible 5ubstaat1at1on inSalle findings of th e C.I.D. XXIFlomber CO:nr.land. Interpreters lIavanoticed that by each searchlightlocation 1n the Tokyo area (a s wellas 5 ane other areas) there Is apeculiarly shaped round revetae.ntlookins very much like 8 saucer•(see !"1S. I)

The shape or this reV'lltlllent i5certainly no t characteriStiC ofnormal fielel fortification precUC!!bu t 1s much more characteriStiC ot

rll!l.Sh powder to produce ageneral 11lUI:l1nation of thesky 1s not to be d1scredit.ed . SUch a phenolllenon ispossible,particularly if anovercast prevailed above

th e ai rcraf t t o r ef le ct and diffusesuch 118ht and silhouette the air_

craf t 1n a fairly larse ;::el'era1area .

B.1ILLIANT LIGHT

1,_5

Sloe crews stateCl tha t these. . . nOlls were so intense that it

• t the . y to look a t them andIl t t..'le sq was tlooCleCl with l igh tIfat:eq-Jate 1ntensity to i l luminate.... B ~ 2 9 aircraf t in th e arel!l..I t ~ 0 l I r e ~ 1 n e d bright fo r 10.15

then died out.

. . .r&etttally a l l crews repor t ingiltbel' ~ ~ h e s further s tated tha t"f lu--ina the brief' period ot"I: h 01" hmed-Iately to1101Ji08,~ t a1l'cratt were p ic ked up by..... I ll it e or normal sea.rch.lUi:ht

~ eCillllU_ll1.aensUe of erews i. that.

is tion fiOlD. these po• •n~ t e b PerutUng th e DOnal'II. ta to strect v i sua l pl0Jr,.

crll'W3 have raporQI obSlrnt!on at green~ U b r ; e e n ground flasbes&!CII5 on the grounCl 1nfall10 defense area. S1XL ~ flaShes were loca110M the bOlllb run. ' l l ley f lash .

1iI«l a::4 orr at several seconCl in wn1S prodUcing a very intensell:J,\l\lt not producing a t igh t beame&."Ieteristic of searchl ights .

Ctter ere" have reporteCl s imilar~ : E : ! n a in the vicini ty or th e".u rlng of searchlights Just1:I::b at 'racl'l1Jm,wa as well as in:f ~ t : r o ar llII!l •

The crew ot I' 24

1n their prs1;; '11 tr,T_2Q Who Saw thel/llt k, ,vided them sUch e x e : H ~ t ~I t ' s th e old -buOd)' I

best and 1n this c ~ . I h ~ , :Wing cooperation l I h ~ t l lwas roeal ly rOUgh. • t:e

(The members or t.2.lto meet the !lien or 1 ' l ferably . a b a r . " S t a t e s ( ~ : 1 t ,dent iel) .

~ - ~ : ' ' ' ' . _ - ~ - - ~. q

~ ~ l l 8 1

......s..es t it out" from Air-Sea ]escueboat to boot unti l 1'11'0 was f ina l ly

ranched.1!_24'S troubles s t i l l rreren' t,ver. She had 47 holes 1n he rruse1o.ge, t ...' o eng ines out, If!{F shotJp and a t ire ripped to shreds. 1';110

"as socked in . So, w 1 t ~ no landingl.n!ltructlons. 1I_24'S commander,after five a tt empt s t o 18nd,f1n811ypancaked hi s plane on a fighterstrip _ later discovered to be 500feet too short fo r a 3-29 lend lng.



The Ps''1 answered a graa t llIanyquestions with "het they thoughtwere false and misleading statements, although they stated thatthey kept s i lent on some ouestionswhich they thought had real lIignificance.

At no time did 1nterrogators ofJapanese nationality quest10n themen about politics or their reasonsfo r fightiog the _ r . This type ot'

interrognt1nt: was done by meJOlbersof the I.N.A. who, incidentl1, weremuch diSgusted when the A1Iericansprofessed ignorance of tbe 1lI.n1nsof I.N.A. aOO confe!lsed'to no know-

ledge of C218ndra Bose, the Iod1aDleader formerly stationed in Tokyo.Japanese Naval ot't'icers n r e pre!ler.t a t several 1"terrogat10n!l and

concerned th&ms.lve!l principally" i t h questiOns about rad10 frequencies and equipment.

I hi, l '

b;:(-'" tHWIoae IDcident worthY of 1ncl

U51on

O C c l l J ' l ' ~ 1n connectJOD d t h aD

AlIN'lceD lor" ofncer Ilbo. it 11thought, was coUabarat1tJ& wiUl tb .

JaPl bY tr71DC to . , - p ' ~ l c a DPl i . Lt. 'lCGO"erD. atteJ' hit ftr.

t

laterroP t10D at W ' " lAo"C.....l_ - ,wod sa' ~ , : I "tb18 OUl.Hl' (a Lt. J1 .,.........,

O S " , 1PIIb- ~ - - -dla

to l f._cod ..- ". tt'. . .\ hl l

'""-1!"1iu=-,.:,ft:."1:.:0:. ~ ..Il l.. td.. • - " "

answer - than 't o check the veraclty- of statements.

t'lfl.tast Usue of th e A.I.R.bIhhed a XX Bomber Command~ p o r t on the experiences of

eelr 11J' ere'" in a Japaneseprl.SOll C&:llP in Burma. Follow

15 an additional report on,gI'the Japanese interrogated

,:.tSl

I:!l1 and a l i s t of typical

,.-stions.

PrtJODl!1's ar e in agreement t h a t.me thole 1nterrogations were.WJrUblyaccomplished,but, not_

lIktalld1., the Japs had posses_.. of a great deal of accurateIIt_UOD. pa rt icu la r ly In r egard.. the XX Be chain of command.. . . , and Squadron designations and. . or cOlUl8nding o f f i c e r s . They

also to know a grea t deal. . the location and general 1ayIII or botb the Indian and ChineseWI rhlds.

_ ~ ~ ~ ! DOI'Clally carried in the~ , w e r e noted by some Ps'll; : : ' ~ Y l l ' i o u s interrogat,jons. Pre.... they were salvaged fran. . t4 5-295 as they included such

~ radio f a c i l i t y charta a.... a: trOl chart and varic':.us.... b. erl. In many cases Ps'7_ . \ l I ~ ~ : e d through i n t e rpre-

'1 "nglO-Burlllese.

~ e s t i O l : llUs were wide11 varled and

It t!l«lQes tbe way trom the number1l !"IsJ"d tan 8 B-29 t o questtoD!

- .tbe Ull1ted s tn e p o l i t i c a l policy

. . .Sill! Buraa tates 1nsofar as Inbet.ten were COacvoed. PI'I'I't- ~ t : n d slepped,and in .cae

b l'ttlu1n&n.d wIth the11" 11"..t b . ~ b t to answer qua.tlonll.

to bald that the J .pa , 1D..., t I"eportarace by belQg able to

IlIalllQ1 toWith Ps" answer......s e t an answer _ all9'

Sufficient 1nten.altycraft to see other e . ~ l general area; thereto ~ t l t t : t .t i r e l y POssible t h a ~ e U I t II\.I s or SUfficient lnte ~ ~ _ ,permi t SearChlights ~ l t r t:::ual pickup or 151rcI'U: ttr

ltt"

area. ~ ' Photo Intel llgenee

offers a POS!llble &XP1a...th e mechanics or the 0peratl __ ,gestad In the sbove

PaI'Itr':\Available I n r o r o a t t ~ 11

meager to make r e c ~ l l I l a t 1 l 1 l : 'p o s s i b l e Counter measll:esj1t Is highly desirabl! ~ combat crews pay p a r t l e ~ t\ ,t icn to these green t l a s ~ e s t i l ,

port ill information, ( ~ t i s l )

I Ii •

CO:ICWSIotIS

Crew r epor ts def initely suggest thepOSSibility that theene:ny is eQploying anu n k n ~ n type of flashpowder to produce an111u:aination of a gen.eral area in the skyto a known altitudeof 10.000 feet. Thisillumination is of

a reflect ing surface. ;Ught In th emiddle of each of these revetmentsthere Is sonle small ob jec t ( approxlestely the s u e of a 60" searchl1ght.) These small objects ar enot positively identified due tohigh alt1tude photography; however,they have been identified t e n t a tively as sOl:le sor t of searchlightdetector (sound or electronic) .

'Ihere is a further possibil i tyt ha t t hi s saucar revetment might be

a crude type of r e f lec t ing surfacefo r an unknown type of flalt powderignited in it s center. SUch a re f lect ing surface, even though shaped of earth, could give some directional propagation to a l i g h tsCW'ce near i t s f ocal po in t. Cre'"reports have repeatedly claimed

that these flasheswere not of a parallelb e a ~ type,bu t more ofa widely divergingbeac Which i l luminat·ed a large generalarea at 10,000 feet.

'. :.:: - .

air intelligence report, v1n17

Documents