air intelligence report, v1n8

8/8/2019 Air Intelligence Report, V1N8

1/11

all oancelled lIT~ 110. ~ O O . 9 . di ' eot in 28 1Joy.1I8

VOL' 110.8 U A'''ll/94S

n. FII\ES GUT T O ~ Y O' I I AI\.$ElU.l ' '"'6 3n.. JAP SUICIDE' i l l AIRCRAFT ''"'6 ,

'A6E "


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26 1,... ."

o -u"" or e r l ..... ~

XXI BOMBER COMMAND&1 TElliGE (E HE RT


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I t 11 lnt.mlld that th u weekly, . . .port be .. s au rc . o r IntOJ"IU.t1on tr,r c o ~ .ba t crews and , tar t officers "ho have .letlt1nlate intere.t In the operations orth . XXI Bombv COIlIlIIand. "I'lthln th c..1111.tt. I t shouUl nce l.. th e " l ~ " t Pl_11b1l c 1 r c ~ l a t l o n P t r ~ 1 1 1 1 b l . Under'th.provl .1oas or AR ~ e o . ! .

In order that .. lllU1lIamI or intell t_senee lIIIIy be included, the rapart 1_Itven an overall claU1tlcatlon or Sec_ret . "!hen th . nature or the lIIatertelwarrants, indiVidual article, have I'll._ceivad a l ~ . r 'fiCurtty classification.The repor t 1s '0 aJllSllllbled tha t th eCOIlPOlMlnt sectlon.!l lila,. be removad andc i rcu la t ed o r t ih l l separately, It POI'.

t lOI\5 ar e reproduee(l. security regula_tions lIIust b., o ba er ve " and the SOW'cecrMlted.CorresPondenea reCu41na thill PUb.l1e .t icn ehould be addreSSed to th e COIIl_I I I & n d l ~ General, XXI BOIDber COlllUnd.

APO 234, c/ o Postlllalter. San Pranct.oo.Caltfornia, Attention: At; or S, 4-2.

. f . , - L -J.tUS D. GARCIAC01oa-1, G.a.c.AC or s, . l H: C.G. XXI B.C. Initial. CLt b.DATI 26 April 1945

T.o large_!!eale 1neend1ary a t..uek3 on Tokyo by th e XXI BomberCO:cI:Isnd during th e week leveled another 16 square miles of tha t e1tyand hesped more weight upon a na_UCIl already staggering under th ebUrden ot the war they a.sked far.Bit by bit , from photographs,prisoDe.L's ot war, intercepts at en

elll1 radio broadcas'ts ana olOher soureU,the scope ot the damage reeent_17 aeeOlllplUhed becomes more det1nable. oestruct1on or industr ies ,I_U and large, is now eounted inleores of thoUS:l.n.ds . Cornmun1c8t.1Ql13In tne areas attac!ted ar e ehaot1caDd being more overburdened daily(it flOW appears that no trains ar erunning between Tokyo and Yokohama).1'bere is plenty of evidence tha t:11I unexpected destruction causedl the bOlDbings has Jarred th e Japso their tOUndl!ltions.

orono ARSENAL BLASTEDIfhSlon No. 67 ot th e Bomber~ n nOlrn on th e night of 13_h APrh, was d1.rected ag8inst th e~ o n e e l l t r a t i o n or 11ldustry in Northq.o knOltn es th e Tokyo Arsenal,aVilal Part or Japan's arllls arldI'll!litlons prOduction fecH1 t1es .

' 1 ~ 1 n e s were loaded to capacity~ or n c e n ~ i a . r i e s , plus eo 500-poundto ~ bunch of tre gs in e ach l oa dSCOUt"s,ge the f ir e f igh te r s.

Total aircraft airbcrne n re 348 ...frQII a l l three Wings. The " inforces were p r e c e d e ~ to the targetby s1% pathfinderll trOlll each Wing.Bombing was by radar.

WING RtsULTSA quick look at the mi!!!!ionbreakdown by Wing!! llhow!! the to l ..10lfing:73rdJ!M: Of 120 alrcr:lft air.borne dropped 971.4 ton!! trOlJl5,500 to 9,000 teet through 2/10cloud. EnelDY aircraft oppos itionwas reported a!! slight and flak~ v y , meager to moderate, ~ s t l 1inaccurate. One er1ecy tighter was

C1estroyed. Three B-29s were lost.3l3th!1!l&: or 115 airbcrn8,llO"1Jr'Oppe


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KAWASAKI

~ t 1 1 l D ~ U \ . l f l i l I UL ~ J ! ~ ~ . , ~

1n most reports the use or ropeand the desynChrontzation or el:l.gines were effective against thesearchlights. Some dul1UllY fires 'IIereSuspected.1)AY.AGED a ~ g e to the city of TOkyo fromth is misSion is 10.7 square miles.Seven numbered industries 'IIere det.in i te1y d a ~ g e d and 20 numbered tar.gets are within :>1' adjacent to theburned areas. (Secret)

One came in to 50 yerds. There weretwo attacks by raeket ..f1r1ng enelllYa i rcraf t , and also sOllle ground firefran rockets.Flak was heavy and medlum,moder.ate to intense,ioaccurate and accur.a te . Ten aircraft returned earlyandf ive failed to return. Four enemya i rc ra f t were destroyed.

from 7,900 to 8,800 reet through 0to 3/10 clOUd. One h u ~ r e d seventythree enemy aircraft were Sighted,with 30 attacks reported. Hal t o tth e attacks were rated as eggres ..s ive, being pressed to 200 yards.

314TH WINGThis wing had 108 aircraft ai r ..borne, of which 95 dropped 597 tOMon th e primary from 6,900 to 10,000

fee t . Thirteen enemy aircraft, or168 sighted, attad:ed. Flak W65med ium and heavy t moderate to in tense,. inaccurate to accurate.S ix aircraft returned early and

six fa il ed to return.73RD :nNG

This wing attack'ed the southernpart of Tokyo city de.!l1gnated asIncendiary zone No.2. I t put 118a i rc ra f t into the ait', 109 of whichbombed th e primary with 992 tonsfrom 8,300 to 9,800 feet. P1fteenenemy aircraft were sighted and 20attacks received by the boaberJ

5

3l3TH WIlla

dr:.edl l l

airborne, 99 a i rc ra f tp r 682 tOil! ot bombs on th e'1 by radar and visual mean'"

Included in the to ta l damage as_""ment of th is coord ina ted mis-slOl1,and t he one against Tokyo jus tpreeedlt\8 i t , is damage to 54 num-bered targets. Among these damagedtU!l t l I are: Ars en al s, ordn an cesupply depots, clothing depots,IUl1powder works, power s ta t ions ,ehllll1cal plants, armories. ra117ardJ, radio s tat ions , fre ight7ard" warehouses, piers, instru_Hnt works, iron works, elevatorr ~ t o r l t 1 , steel and chrome works,"'",bel" plants, wire cable Ca:lI.pan1esa Spinning mills.lar A g ~ i n the attacking a i rc ra f ta 08ded with incendiar ies , pluse 1 r b ~ ~ : u n d GP pe r a i rc ra f t . Totalr r 3 against Kawasak i, 219 __are th13th and 3l4th '.'ings. HereP01'ts: e highlights of th e wing re -

Close on th e heel! of th e s t r ike&ldnst the TokyO Arsenal came adual blO'll' .. . at Kawasaki urban area.nd the urban area of South Tokyo.fhe,e 111155ions, No. 68 and 69, werenown on the night of 15_16 April .'Theil the 5IIloke !'rom these had begunto clear, PIS located 5. 2 moresquate miles of Tokyo burned aOOebrot 3 square miles of ashes inr.ansaki, a l i t t le south of Tokyoproper

rdination between enemy I"J.aKo e ~ a r c h l 1 e h t s , and fighterS and8 nlightS _ part icularly th e5 e s ~ : r 'nlere ",erE' mal\Y reports ofl a ~ e h i 1 g h t s i l 1 ~ i n a t 1 n g th e bOlD-ser, in the target area while enemynghters orbit ted above and then~ 1n to attack. There was one;:;ort of t lares being dropped byn enelV)' aircraft trom above th e:a:betS , illuminating them fo r en-e:t! tWiter attacks

,

-....f

. i ' ~ 1.- V " , i

..--:-'4- . . . ~ .TOKYO .. ' _e."


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:J:'"::>,l,*'f-....~

nJ.lht. AltbOGIb \be p r l . - r 1 ~ poae at then .tlllODI 11 t.o obt.aiD_-. th.r 4at.a. a WP ofth _ alSO bCDb urbaD - lDI!U1t.rta1ar_ of JapaD.prca 5 oae U lJI I' il , S l'

ot th e M8 mer...uot. . dJ'-"i&1rb0l'll8 h a " 'Oe'ID .rIMt l.... at

No. 75 _M Y,anoya, 30 314tb Wingplanes dropped 86 tonsi dallege tohangar': five ~ / damaged The above m ~ ! l S i o l 1 S were flam OD11 Aprlj.. On ttl-e following day siXothers were tlq,n.No. 16 _M Tachiarai, 20 frca13rd, f!fI tODSj five E/A destroyed,11 dallll}gedi three destroyed, temprobables, nine damaged in air. 'I"loB_29s los t , one ral'!llled and one dUMeb.ed.No. 11 and eo .M )tokubU and 1.!.o-oye E, KUShira and Akuna hit by 39trUll 313th Wing: five E/A damagedi1:51 t.oDS dropped.No. 78 .M Kano:ra, 103 tons frca30 314 th Wing B.29ait'l'O E/A burnl:1l&and one lI.ore dall8gIQNo. 79 __ l Im i by 21 !'rca 73rdWing dropping 89 tons; seven ! l l

daaged No. eo _M (se, '17 aod 80); 18VA possiblY d.-ged OD 1\"o1D1w.No. Bl M. N1t.tagabar'& - U or3Hth dropping 41 tons; 00 85S. . . .ment of resulU. (S.cr. t )

$ ~ i l l l each 24.hour period s inc .'flu e"ber, three 73rd Wing B-298Ib ! : n 'cheduled to fi y weatherM\-.l&l1ll"ilSions against th e Ja p.. ~ To provide constant_t.a r raeonnaissanee on XXI t a r .'b , ' : t , , : ~ t e s , these ai rcraf t s r lat.t!'Tau---Y ewer targets a t spacedthrou.RhOllt the day aDd

'0 . 74._ Rittagehara, sevenn ~ \ h B.29s dropped 25 tons i hi tsIllI fUl II ' lyt and hangars.

rt on the ground ar e badl"s a l J ' ~ \ y the attack ' ,o r unleSS11 .,-eelll"the dalllBge maY no t be v i ' Mtt8Yb\lt'n, tM a1l'. GrClllna observe.-lbl8 rtet' airfieldS tata!ln fTc:m th edOll o ~ u a l l Y revealS a greatOOel. ~ ' " 180 than that assessed from,or8 d

~ o t O S . d ~ i t i o n , the scatter ing otIn a ai1'craft by th e attacks,,118 8 ~ : r of runwaYs, morale effect~ a = . a & 1 I ' and ground crews, frequently(Ill a eancelatlons of miSS ions aOOC8US :r, In other tr6Ys th e enelD)'" s op~ ~ ~ l o n s . The NavY haS reported al!5Sen1ng of attackS by enelD)" a1rre rt rollowing the XXI B.C. opera-ilOn5 against the air f ieldS.

~ 1 I I I f I I U / U j 6 t JBrieflY, the 1.2 missions .,..ere as

roUo'" :10. 70 !z\Di Airfield hit oy20.ireratt or the 7:!lra ,'i'1ne, dropping tOn!. Fires started in ban-,e: areaSj eight enemy ai rcraf t d8mapd or ~ l 9 t r o y e d .10. il M. Tacb.iarai, 84. tons by21 of 7:!1rd Wing; lS FlA damaged Cll'

d l l t r 0 1 a ~ .10. 72 ._ KokubU, 20 313tb. Wing: ; dropped 148 ton!; direct h1ts4 w 6 ~ ~ ! I ; tour E/A oestroyed,t'1ve

' 1 r ~ ~ r ~ ~ baoya E. b i t by 20113 tOllll' rdi313th Wins, dropping&ad b I l ' r a ~ k s ' rect hits on hangarS, s even E/A damaged .

~ l I o s t important ot all , 1111.is t he p rote ctio n ot flct1Eroad, open spaces are clJliaround every plant . several litodrecl thousend houses erafel led in Tokyo."The face of TokyO is c

from day to day. AnyOni' 'fIlo:been away from the city r_ ..monthS w11l find he nO l ~ find his way around in city 'S wards". (TokyO in QtrIP.Europe_Exchange. Broacl.C&5t bLl. '[eickert, 4/5/45 ~ ( i l . e 5 t r i ~ ~

"You can See t ~ scale of the t b ~ I : : :program in 'tcllro~ ' th e fact that al!ol\!\bi l l ion yen 'fa, , ~ iated to r the i/l."",\e result? T w e n t n ~i'irebreak!J eaeh f ' ! ~ 1 :to 200 metel'S Itde, IIBO f1rebreakS or !ll'to 70 meters r l d ~ ~Around the raill&111ot ions , every html'!lbeen torn (l0lfn. I l I I p o r t a ~ t t n . ~centers have been made into 'esplazas .

wi th th e wora whieh laor fastening an 0!l:I1n e a t t door. The r e S i d e n t s ~ : a ~ ~ :ha d frOlll f ive to 14 dan t ~ ~ ! ~ 1"In only a fe"" daYS,tIlo ttI,l,were deserted. '!'hen tha 1 1 1 ~ ' 1came. A thick (lf OI'1l.) III~ ; ; . ' "to one of th e (WOrd) or t ~ and 10 or 20 men 1n 1II0St e ~ ' ,Surf ic ien t to tear ~ O I I n ~ t ' \ 1by this method. It the h':t:lt"",515 ted Such P l ' 0 I : ~-:O:h tractor or 4ni I. r ~ '. brought up and t ~ , ~ '. ~ tit,. went dO'ltn.

., . , : ' : ' 1 ~ '

(TOnO RADIO)

a ' i l l l , ~ ~ - ' " ~ : : t . i '~ ~ . [ ~ ~ _ S ' 1 l ' . IOn 17 end 1e Aprll. in a to tal strayed. after p r e l 1 " i n a ~ ~ . s ~

ot 12 miss ions , smal l elements or s t r ike and reconnaUU b f 1 ' " ~XXI Banber Command b i t ai r r t e lds on In addition, many hangar:',,,""'"y,yushU in support or 5aTJ operations and other buildingS wer~ o u n d Okinawa. A thausen(!l tons ot and runways pi t ted .bombs m'ost1y fragmentation, were th '( l r o p p ~ on th e air t ields and cloae A large por'..io n at .,.,..,.to a hundred enemy aircraf t were ot th is type operation at'_aJll.r e I ? F ~ ; : a b l Y damaged or d e eve r. V is ib le on a photoO"'1 . ",.,.', _ 6..

"Jap!.nese houses,and most businessb ui ld in gs e xc ep t fo rsome in great ci t ies ,Bre buil t l ight ly and of wooden ma.t e r i a l . AS a resu l t , they burnllkestraw. Drastic measures had to betaken to p r ~ v e n t th e spreed off i res , which are e as il y s ta rte d i nth e great Japanese c i t ies by th eterr o r i nc end1ary bomb raids . Largescale an t i - t i r e measures in Tokyobesan about one y ea r a go , followingth e caJ=ture of Saipe.n by th e Americans. Although broad fire-breakswere cu t through Tokyo a t that time,many more houses ar e fa1lin3 today."Th, new p la n fo r defense a f i re , worked ou t by th e cooperativeeffor t s of mili tary and governmentof f ic ia ls . began jus t recently tobe pu t i n to e f fe c t. For one or twoweeks agents went through thestreets of Tokyo marking many houses

The higher l o ss e s s u st ai n ed byth e B - 2 ~ on th15 mlssion':a3i-a a tt r ibuted to increasing effect ivenessof the enemy in using h is f ig h te rsaDlS f l a t . Observers repor ted tha tlIlost of th e losses were of bomberswhich were over the t a rget af te rth e main bod)' of a i rc ra f t had 18Ssed. ( s ~ c r e t )

'Ooe Ughter 'It!:.' , p' i troyed. N1ne:a1.rcr,.rt returnc ' 10' r 1y, one crashedon land1D& a t Iwo.

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-,The (piloted) luiciGe pam 11a ow_w1ng monoplane witb cOlITent iona! fl1r;ht controls. Ttle I11 16 ru t and the length or : . .ruu!age measures 20 teet. Thewingl and empetU'l4r;e are ot plJ800dand th e !Uselase i , lI&I5e or alu::.inUlll. The l,o oo -pound ..arb .dp r o b a b ~ SAP tTPe. is attachec1 t th e leadin& edr;e ot the lr1nr;.

-The .. ingl bave a un1!orll snepback and are taper:ed. The eClpennege su rf aces a re square. The presence of armor plate behiM ~ h warhead and th e pilot and absence offuel tanks suggests thet heavy caliber Ure lIculd be necesnry to, top th U lIeapon.-There ar e three rockat motorSa nd pro viS io n to r ein& rockets.Range is probably !bort with l i t t letime fo r maneuvering around a target . construction or the rusal.al laDd th e fact that t he re a re no provUiol15 fo r 6J1 undercarr1qe preclude' the possibility t(lr aDJ' bUta ir launcbings by a mother plane.Gun camera photos taken by pilOtsof th e Hornet anI' F;)'U!bU 011 21lIIarcb 1945 shalf several Bett)'S inf l ight w1th rl7ing bombS .U1ble oDunder side of !'USelaU. Euct

TID: "Pm!. .... Three_quartererlcbt trOlllt . i...

or the J ap hOlD.ela"'.A trained ""u.companies \IIoat or P'from Which In .. n ~ ' ' ' ' ' ' lports to Weather Senroute. AU 1hIltttt. Il"-i Ic ra t t la M a t Gu_ II t a " ..llIissions where e r l l 1 r S ~ tS,ad by persOnnel or th , :st r a l . While a t Guaa. er.....por t a l l Ship U a h t ~ tIIi!in te l l igenee O,"8n 'ttor.~ quarters XXI BOll1ber c--:Six ot th e Me a i rc ra f t have been loSt: '?22 ot th e personnel or tbetic ra f t were re5 tued . E!IIIIr_has been l igh t , a total of If igh ter attaelcl havl l l (_ .ed to r a l l th e m1s310lU. i l I ~a i rc ra f t was destroyed. (

l evel f l i gh t . Lard1nS liltf laps were lowered at 12 OX,an d s imulated land1ng p r o e ~carr ied out to check ttl_ I ~ speed ot th e damaged will!i IIIgeneral reaction5 or th l l!a t a lower speed. No staillllfec t s were obse rv ed a t 1 4 5 1 1 ~ ,pe r haul'. This assuredsa te approach fo r landil1!i._My f i r s t attempt to 1,11Itoo high and a go-a:r0uD4without d1t t icu l ty . A I ~ ~110 miles pe r hour ..... in fIIth e t ra f t i c pat tern and: t approach W8l!!I made at 160liour. The s h i l l ng speeda i rcraf t under normal ~ wauld have been 95 mtl nr..but th e damaged wing,taairplane a t 135 mlleJ ~ t'used power on No. 1 a n 4 ~gines to help keep th e d ,high &S I broke my gUd" ritalanding was accomplished __ f t. 'further damage to th e alrCP'

(Confidential)

8

"On 25 If:arch 1945 I experiencedth e tollow1ng r l igh t characteris_t i es or a B..29 to l lowing th e s he ar in g of a 14 t o ot s ec ti on ot th ewir:g t ip in a m i ~ a 1 r co l l i s ionwith ano ther E-29 over th e Hallidayleland bcab1ng range."Col l is ion occurred a t 20,000feet and th e a i rcraf t "& 5 broughtunGer cont ro l at 1!5,00Cl t e e t . Low_

erlng th e la nd ing ge ar h elpe d tobrlng th e a i r c r a f t out ot th e WideIweePing sp i ra l . The air lpeed didno t exceed 250 miles pe r hour inth a sp i ra l . The le t ...down to t r a f f io al t i tude wa, made at 180 milesp . . hour but I think th e landinggear and f laps should h av e b ee nused as this 1I'ou14 have allowed aslower descent With less chance ot~ t h e r damage to the wing.-The drag and loss of wing e r f i ciency caused a r e a ct ion s im il a r toloss of ~ enginel . Ten degrees01 t laps increeAed f l igh t s t a b 1 1 i t ~bu t most of th e rudder and ai l er oncontrol had to be used to maintain

1 destructionTb.1 5'llr incr eall ~ m e j o r indusor Jlpanl.. c l t ~ : ; torced th e enemyT d 'D. "19 14 f f la l ,1 " , ,gne' ..lIan SU I . minus eet 0 r : n ~ ~ ; ; ~ t : u a d r r ~ ~ t ~ ~ t i ~ a ~ O : :l.IOLl. S i n c r ~ " ' h ~ ~ ~ S and ant ia i r c ra f tflGll b1 - ru l in stopping1 st L t. Woodrow B. Palmer, p i lo t ot th e dalll8g1 UI not been 3UCcess arll that th elane. t e l l s his s to ry of hOlt' he la nd ed t he B_29 ).29 strikes, i t aP: 'er b begun. ;IP,l11r:e hi l U1,', ' . ~ d tb e roey, prCCr u pre cI t tU or secret weapons.Witb the present 1 ," e1 o f irtf'or;._nOll i t 11 impossible to pre4ic\h i utant to 1l'hicb thiS programW been cr wU1 be carr ied. It. , - be that the air aver and around;Ipan will ,oon be cluttered with

.. ft .. itlcrealing DU1llber of inven\lOIlI .1aUar to V-l, V_I, je t-propUIlO nChte1", roc:k8t_propelledr1Ibtvl t ~ 1 n r ; winc' radio con- . a Id 'btwlbl. and a i l the otherItIVtlll&l1cet of th e t l r inc circUS.'THE VlPIR-

In oonJunotion with the apparentM84 of the .nemy to r a det.n"- . . " on n.. weapoUl, th e f i r s t or""'e, Tbe V1per-, h u be.n enlGlIatereG lQl! captured a t Okinawa.1\ 11 Gucribed in an AlFPQA. reportI I tau" l

t ! a ~ ! ! ! ' ' ' ......r dropped a eom.biDed to tal or 6215 tons or IBa andRII OQ Tok;yo I Nagoya, Kobe f Osakaand other loealities. DesPite. e ..ther eondlt1ons at hCKDe base,the three-e._day schedule 1s DOW be_in s very elosely adhered to ; wit .DesS 89 weather - strike aircraftairborn.e during Karch an4 33 duringth e period 1 .. 11 April , or whieh94 pereent were eftective.While the cumulat'1ve bomb and

~ n c e n d 1 a r y damage is significant,i t 15 easier t o e st imat e th e etfeetthe, . perslstant, unpredictableattack:! have had on Jap morale andphysical U-belD8. I t 1s :late tosay that sinee the inception ofthese weather_st rUms, a l l Jap urban t ire defenses have been con stant:,. alerted and no sleep hesbeen untrOUbled 1n the major eities

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7/11

capable of carry 1ng the -Viper",there is SOl"le doubt a5 to Whetherthese reported at tacks were actuallymade by that mlss1le. :Vhlle thepOSSil)11tty exLsts that the C l ~ ' S l l Cwas launched by the Val and there-fore is a scalIer type or roelre tbCl!lb (perhaps slmUar to the GemaDHenschel 29:5). 1t seeMS core probable tha t the Vals were actuallyused to divert ettentlon frl1ll themother ship aM allow 1t and lt s~ V i p e r " to reach i ts launchlng post.t10n unobSel"1ed.

11

"'"'ntlSe attacks have been coordin_ated wlth attacks by Va13. Sincei t i s not beHeved that th e Val is

(.... 'f1tr.t o r cockp it


8/11

i4Qti:';(II.

Some of thesa reports suc!1 as(1 ) appear to refer to ground laoocheO rockets while other' (2 :5 and4.) have th e character Is tics ~ rock.e t projectiles launched from enelll1a i r c r a f t . 'The phenomena related ill(5 ) Ooes not, however, seem to f itthis Oescr1ption and may be sClles o r t ot a scarecrow flare desigMdto ~ i v e th e impression of a d,ltr01ed B_29 and thUS impose a psychological hazard on B-29 cre'll'S.However tbe most puZZl1rl1 ofthese reports appear in (6 11).:blthese repor t s th e ball of We appears to have characteriStiCS 'lbichwould teDd to demonstrau bUDInt r o l , a capabf:l1t1 or the -Viper-.While th e possibilttr or a radiocontrolled miSsile can not be c ~ pletely diScarded, the inherent IW-t i c u l t y in the use ot IUcb a " ,pODin nlsht aerial wartare I". abOIt

"Atter l ee vi ng coa st c r .s igbted two Cherry r, o bahs or".t i r e , one a t seven olcloCk, othera t f ou r o lc lock S e e ~ d to Clr.lle trOllbelow, SlOWly. P'ollO'll'ld apP!'OJ:i.mately mile behind. B-29 thr0U8hViolent ..,asive ectlon-.t1Jo 45 de.gree turns to r1Sht end. on, to left,able to lO!e them. Balls appearedto burn ou t anO lose altttUdl.11.Several enemy aircraft observed to have two bright l ightswhich flowed l ike f ir e , one locatedon either e : i ~ e of enaine (I f i t. e r e single engine Plane). Lights. e r e whiUs h r ed , es tl ca te d to befive. teet apart. Not bel1eve/l tobe exhaust flames ~ 1 n c e they appear.ed to be turned of f InO on

13

" ta r l eadOS the s econda ry'-a f111tl8 acrosS th e penin_/!itt eD landI, end. watat gunner,ulI et what he ! '1r! t thought toob,el'flJd b r_colored searchlight onbI an amC:JlIM'ed l ight was gain1D&U ound and at same time i t wasoa tbea altitude and apparently1 i ~ 1 1 8 them. Airplane commandero to lZ 000 f e e t then camec l 1 a ~ ~ 10 000 teet bUt a i r c r a f t ord:U of h r e fo llow ed. At t h i ,~ 1 radar operator picklid up ail'_ereJ't Ibout one 1Il1le bebind.'Tdl gunner then observed stre8m9

ot' tire emanating trom object to1.1C1ing tbem, and coming ou t Inbursts. One burs t about 24 inches1011&1 and then about a s i x inchbUlk, followed by another burst ofnu e aboot 24 lnches long. TheseIpwots of flame kept up t o r about111 to eight minutes when f l r e "entCQt altogether. No explosion wasl.tD. Ball of r t r e appeared to beIbcut 12 lnches in diemeter. 0Ur_1111 81'ad'te action b a l l of . t i r etollall'lld, although a t times b a l l oft1rt seemed to f a l l behlnd, then,11n. Tail gunner f'urther reportedlW ' appeared to galn and diminiSht ll1tensity "hich may have resul_las ia observing di, tance. Whento ioS!len ball of f i r e was about 25

~ miles beyond coast l i n e over"e OCean.'10.

Oiled ball of f i r e , estimatedtnches diameter, seen a t t e r turnOIl target. B-29 heading 120 de_';:6(lS, speed 220 K, altitUde 7,000hlet , Ball of f i r e seen two O'clock118tl, ClOSed on t a i l , level , fol_S 1 ~ l d 8_29 level approxbate ly 30IS . 'n1'n rnaOe steep dive, h i tr X p ~ ' flve Oistinct bright white!S OSlons seen . f 1 r s t seenabrotO ' t e f ' ~ ~ _ 3 0 mUes beYOnd c oa st U ne

' ' ' I OCean._

atlil n& caw 's e a s much as 35IlJo : and T&J'ylng a1rspeed fromd t \ o e50. AS a result B_29 l o s te of fire on three cecas ions: r i t pallsed through clouds; bu t. .ch ttme B.29 emerged trom clouds,NJl ot fire waS on 1ts t a i l . F1reppeared to be steady phO!phOreS:eat g10'll' and b a l l of f i r e stayedror aboUt five m1nut e s . -'I."::n one lll.!Jtanct tit-of f i r e appeared to .from enemy aircraft 5."Four balls ot rs h e ot a fighter plallt llt ..l e v e l heigbt then d r 1 t w ~f l a r i n g up or burnill8."6."Ball of fire f'lrst Ill:f i v e o 'clock level about 3"lbehind B-29. Near 8! CIl! bI amined b a l l of tire I Il lI _

Size Of a basketball . 11lIer.action taken in form ot l2II'lI,of f i r e turned inside 8.2913follOWing. Appeared that -=B-29 made a turn ball or rut"behind bu t on straight811ll7 I t make up l o s t distance. !-2!'alt i tUde going dawn to 6,o:nin order ' to gain a ir spe'd ulLi:a l l y turned back toward COUd "was estimated that ball "followed fo r about five (Jl lSIu t e s . . , _.tot."One crew member thuTctshor t streamer behind ba1ot sWhich was f a i n t and til fIdIThis l i g h t appeared 0t\ll'l,b a l l of f i r e was rnaki '1", ,I:rlincreasea a t t e r resum t II ICOUrse. S treamer o f l i bI1Ifo r about one minute a (lISt,'t i r e headed back tOWllrfi;W'it taded abruptly. J! l,fiJIof this crew thought he , nt';-connection " i t h ball 0(11111that Wing had navigationiog on l e t t w1ng t i p . -"Just at!; lea'lins _al';r target on course otaM a t 7,000 f e e t , obS !tIappeared to be b a l l of (i :..ing llt about four 0'01 illUlledletely took evadYffl"ga1nl na: and lOSing sOO

4

a i r c r a f tto be fIcourse. "

"A reO b a l l o t f i r e was SeenOro;Jping Slowly frO'!l 1,000 fee t to500 f e e t below and ahead or oneB_23. Ther. it droPPed l1ke a bUl_l e t and exploded on th e groUnd. Onecrew reported Seeing Some obj ectgoing away trom t h e ~ j u s t beforethey reached the target . I t wasbelieved to have been a f ighter .Fl.'IIes seemed t o be coming from i tand as it turned two balls of f i r ec an e up t ow ard th e B_29 trom behindb ut d id no t g et c lo se to i t . "3.

1.

Has this ~ e v e l o p m e n t aqy rela_tionship to our combat report or~ b a l 1 8 ot tire"? While i t becomesreadily apparent that a l l of thesereport! have not s temmed from thesame causative source, i t does no tappear beyond the realm o f pos s! .bl11ty that some ot the so-called"hal1.5 9f ftre" may have been gen_erated by the rOcket motor of th e"Vlp8l'''. In one form or another a8many 8.! 302 sightlngs by 140 crewswhich may be classified under theh e a d l r ~ "balls ot ttre" have beenreported. While a large percentageot these sightings have continuedto r a most two-three minutes. somehave perUsted tOr as long as 15mlnut!s. A few are Quoted below.I.

"A yellow ball of t i r e aboutsix inches 1n diameter observedmovlfl8 upward a t e n e ng le of about75 degrees. Fire burned ou t a t8.000 feet . Six white balls off i r e seen to come up fro!ll Nagoya.A greyish b a l l or f i r e about th es i z e or a Soccer ball paSSing belowth e a i r c r a f t in th e target area . AreO ba l lo t t i r e was' Seen coming upfrOlJ below."


9/11

\

- - 40. '1'he aedilla eltitucSa day Illi'stonS resulted in 't8ry greet in "crea,e in percent total cSamage, al".os t eat1relJ as a result of aD tn crease in flak 4P'ge. RO'I'ever 1.a05t of thiS bas been or

. inor natuJ"e

15

1. There has been no increasein total percent loss on 1011" altitude night missions or on mediu:naltitude day missions comparell. topreviouslY flOll"n high altitude ~ s s ions. Actually there has been adefinite decrease in t ~ i s rate.This decrease is explained by:o Use of greater averageforce on low and medium altitudeattackS with subsequen t g reatersaturation or enemy defenses.o Improved 'bO:nbing resultsleading to progressive disorganizat ion of enemy defense.e Sharp decline in ene:nyf ighter react1oIl..A Availability of e ~ e r ~gency '"landing facilit ies on IWOJ ime wi th subsequent sharp decreasein losS through ditching.

2. 'l'be 10'1" altitude night mi5 asions and medium altitude day oiss ions resu l ted only in a relativelYinsignificant increase in percentloss due to flak.

:3 The lOW altitude night !!Iis-91on; resulted in no signir1cantincrease in percent dauge (totalor flak) to our aircraft.

IConclusions ...",,', /.

The statistics used ar e drawn!roe. missions against t ar ge ts i n'olls Tokyo and the Nagoya areas.Il1ssions against a l l other te r Pta also have been exam1ned. How-"er, they add nothing to th e conelusions that can be drawn f'r0lll th e~ or t he Tokyo and th e Nagoyav,tons. ll'urthermore. these two. , : ' are the only ones ageins tt 1 ~ h a SUfficient number or mU!l ' or dtrrerent type have been.:: to permit a reliable comperi-tt ~ ~ s r e s u l t s or th is cCIllpsrlSoa-1. ~ n " h d a l l l l 1 g e ar e given 1n tb eWl1 c. tollow.

5. Low altitudeteet) night missions.6. !.!edium altitude da)" missions.7. IUsslonll against KyushU a i r Halds.1Ms study is concerned primarilynth the types 2, 5. and 6.

m~ iij'MPIBiSONo/LOSSMUtDAMlGEWSIN ~ A R I O U S TYPES ofMISSIONS

( l O GS l ) : o illce the beginnl o f ope ra b the XXI Bomber command our~ ~ j t have f lown on mis si on s o f.. . erlU tht (0110'11'108 types.1. Shake.dCM'n missions to!lfo

Ilea or TJ'Uk:.2. High altitude (25,000.:34,000

r e ~ t ) day missions.~ sea_search. mls91ons. Uine.1eying missions.

(5 .000- 9 , 000

It4S ; r.:,,,pIIL : " " J ? ' - - ~

a l l - -1Despite extremelY \which obscured th e t , a r , ~ o t e o pemy a1rcraft were e diiar.a i r ; IB destrOyed and 19 ~ 1 I I 1th e ground. An B,OOO t o ~ ~ } 5 0 'exploded in Ise BaY,oi lers and one 20P roo:a"talllsunk and a 150 foot c V O " ~dal1l.8ged. In addition, ii1l.s tal lat ions a t th e d th'r a l l fac i l i t ies ar oun were "thoroughly strafed t " Yustang fighterS fU s _ 'action in th e pacifiC11II101assault on lWo Jima. 1G"on D-plus- l5, they flew it'!:ground support fo r the..p 1 ' ~ dlve-bOlilbed and s t ra t jifII'targets of Chichi and gab'(Confidential)

14

bably dest royed in the air' 5/,stroyed, probably destrO)'ed (I:aged on t h Kl'oond. 'tIo tit 'ilp lanes dest royed were t r o ~ ~ ports shot down over T o ~ o !l&.oIJ:l:,On 22 April, an equal t lmj '

P_51s s t ruck at Suzuka !lavelCr\l'and l \k enogahar a Airrteld, leinear Nagoya. Shipping in lft""'1Is e Bay and a factory a d l o t o ~ l ! 'a i r f ie lds were also s t r a t e e , ~ 1at tack was conducted r r l ~ l l l l 'low as 10 fee t . The 30 enellQ'tlVlers encountered were daserl'tllnextremely unagressive" a ~ f l ak , while varying trOll tA ,Ito intense, was i n a c ~ ~ "pi lo t said th e only gall"':'came f r om a ganner on a . 'who was potting a t him with'g>.ln.

bans or t ire are gell.eunknown fashion, by I \ ~ " . ,Japanese night t 1 g h ~ l ' t l l l l t ~ ' - ' 1l:llem is as ye t unSOlved: 111I1,Thus While sOllIe ormay be or weapons prrrli ~ countered, there &1't o t b . : : q ~may be th e fi rst 1 ~ ~ \ \ltlth e ac tiV it ies or tht ~ \ Japan have forced the ,..,"-e vo lv e n e" and r e v o l u t l ~ _ods of defense. (Seeret) "

,;


10/11

9.22

50.0010,94

..

,,l l

," ,

""

1.770(1,64) 1101.32(2.541 6o0(1.59)2.74

. '10(1..0)

.25(.74)

o

4(4)

o1(2)0(1)

0(1)2

53.00 1.51

12.1018.05

(TotalDaaaga

57.1 I 1

21.'

!

37.8

:57.312.742.5

1.513.264..30

52

2321

De,

'I A.lI tDau

~ n r a g e MA'For H.A. ~ a missions flat< loss and da:rage const1tute

42( of to ta l losS and d a ~ g e .For L.A. night mUsions rlak loss and damage constLtute

76 ( of to ta l losS and damage.fo r fI..A. day missions flak loss and damage constitute

95 ( of to ta l l oSS and damage.

'far&l' LA1l1lht missions

.,erlge RA411 Illusionsme 119910tl

_. TotalloSS 11:- Totaldamage

11.E Apr...~ , . r 6 , e

TOKYO COMPARISONS

,

fOI/'(O MfOIUM ALTITUDE DAY M I ~ " l J ' "Totol Totol iNo.Ale 105S lC Oamage " Flakos s \(

,"

.70(1.40)

...

??o( .92)o1. 74

"".....

o

.71(2.47)162

.25(,74) U

0( . . . ) I"1.70

0(5,8611 2oO(1.4t511 ,0(.50) l 0

Flakloss

.22(.67)

10(3)

0(1)0(1)

(

.921 0(1)6.551 0

13.211 ?13.701 ?

11.301 2:14.8512(7)

2( ')3 .7 . 112.92 I a

0.&0

,.

N.2&" . 5 0 I 0(1)21.6029.20 I 020.30

13

5

'2

1

6

5382111414

16.33 18. 05

Tota.LOamage

147

T(lI(YOLOW ALTITUDE NIGHT III

, V 1\ u HIGH D A Totel Flok ~ l damage ( lo s s !lii'11 0

o I

145

.9 2 I 1

(

3.62 1 402.10 I 45

5.214.95

6:5

(

1.175.04

' .258.700.502.28

6. 5 3.26 24.1 12.10

21 113.55

3.69 4.:50

111.753

35

1

TOKYO HI611 ALTITUDE MISS/ON IriOUNI

Total105S2

328 1 7303 I 11

61 1 0109 I 1

283 I 14115 I 8

1199 39

Figures 1n p.renthes 1s ar e losses 'Clue to unknown e8IUtland may I n c l ~ . t ' lak.MiSSions *8 , to . s ~ anO M nown over 10/10 undemlt,

Tote1No.Ale loss

90

51.9

4.

15 '

50

171

.'4

.9

119

88No.Ale

3 Apr3 Apr

9 liar1 Apr

Oot.

13 Apr

Doe

Mer25 Feb

9 Jan

19 Feb21 Jan

27 Dec

Det.24 NO'

8 27 lo v


11/11

Airborne hoa l s

ght of 2.500 pounOs. It is equiPpe to carry 12 lllEIn, althoughmen have been aboard at on' time.I t can be transported and droPped by any model B17 aircraft. EXperimental launchings ot the 11febOBt t rom B.29S ar e n(Jll' b81Df> cooducUd. The boat 15 hoiSted 1nplace underneath the aircraft b1means ot the s t a ~ d bOllb bOiStgear and 15 secured by tour cablesattached to the bOlllb shackles. Theboat 19 released from the aircrafta t an alt1tude ot 1.500 teet bfthtbombardier us1ng UlfI bo d s a l ~ Arter th l boat lea.,.es th e plene, at r iple olu!ter ot 48 teet p a r ~chutes. opell b1 statiC l1nl ,l.cldI::.th e boat I t es teet ,.corate ot descent. 'l'ba 'bO&t . . . .the watar at 500 baroo4- att.1tude to (IWlhiCG tb a iJIpaO'e

19

in RIR&/5 Rrt eMue

....

last Word!l.&bt B.I7s equipped "tth Airb ~ f l e Ltreb08t!l arrived recently to

lGll'1 the 4th !:mergenc)' Rescue S q ron at Saipan and 1wo J1Illa. These4roppe.ble boat!! ar e bound to bringt & nn high the ever_increasing~ t l ' t e n t a g e of XXr- BO'IDber conrnendc ~ e n rescued af ter ditching. In Spired by a version used with greatluee,n i n European waters. thesehHeboat.s eliminated lD8r!Y or th et ~ d S aM cUscomforU ot long ..! ~ reseu.e. t lore important. 8~ with run armament e.Rd th e ex"t a ~ O range prov1ded by tokyo"t r I elln fl y 1n and drop thU~ r . ; p r ~ p e l l e d means or getaway to1bere t ~ close to enemy shoreSlet flllv1 I!I rescue DO or sub can-!II. gate.

' b 1 1 1 1 t ~ o ~ 1 r b a r n e Ufeboat 1s a COlDIlll O'I'f'&ltatl and motor b oa t w it heng th o r 27 t ee t and a

, ~ I ~ \ e ~ 6" .

tl 'i ' l a ~""

101

-

.66

.25

."...10/10 undercast.

1Flakloss

a

1

1B

13.50 0.67

13.10

83 55.00

o36

46 20.42 13B

Totaldall)!l,ge "

108 2

MEDIUM AL1ITVDDAY MIl

.35

.3 4

2 1.32

o2. 3 .8 875 2.22

to ta lloss '(

11

..,>I'tI'fo r H.A. day m1ssions f la k l os s and damage c45 ( of the total loss and damage.fo r L.A. night miss10ns f lak loss and d..maS'9 or the total 1059 and dallJl,ge. tI/II'fI""For U.A. day m1ssion f lak loss and damage Cof the total 10S9 and damage.

12267BOO

290225

265

.N., : : . . ~ : : G - = - O . : - Y A : - : - : L _ O W _ A _ a . - : : 7 ~ T U . : - ' D . . . : . ' E . : . : : N I G I I 7 "- "'ll!1Ttl tota.l Flak - - - - - " " : : :No.Ale l ~ S : ;( da;nage loss ;(24 8.42 0 n

!:1ss1on H48 Cla.tn by a single formation overI

NAGOYA COMPARJSO,-1Total a o t a l 'FlakType lIiss10n No.Ale Alt. La" Damage L""-nrage HA '7 25-33.000' 5.53 35.30 1.5>day mission -Average LA 267 4.5_ 9,000' .B8 13.50 ."night mission -"ed-1um Alt. 101 16-25,000' 1.32 55.00 ."day mission

Average48 30!&r

oat.

._ ~ "a r5u,

41 lllo!ar.,..-: 44 18 :.lar

4.'"

air intelligence report, v1n8

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