Bombing time
The U.S. strategic bombing trip to Japan began in April 1942. However, the massive bombing did not begin until June 1944. Specifically, on June 15, 1944, the American B-29 bomber group began carpet bombing the northern part of Kyushu in Japan like a flock of eagles. On November 24, these mighty eagles swooped down on Tokyo, causing a storm of storms. Subsequently, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe and other cities were not spared, and they were all swept away by this powerful bombing storm. On August 6 and August 9, 1945, atomic bombs named "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" were dropped on Japan, forcing Japan to finally surrender and end World War II.
Casualties
At the end of the Pacific War, the United States conducted an air raid campaign against the Japanese mainland that lasted for more than a year. From June 15, 1944, American B29 bombers began bombing northern Kyushu, Japan. Subsequently, starting on 24 November, US B-29 bombers carried out 94 fierce attacks on Tokyo, followed by continuous bombing of more than 60 cities, including Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe. By the end of the war, US planes had carried out more than 15,000 air raids and dropped about 100,000 tons of bombs, covering an area equivalent to 43 percent of Japan's total urban area. At the same time, US planes also dropped more than 1,200 mines in Japanese waters, blocked all sea lines of communication, sank merchant ships with a total tonnage of 478,000 tons, destroyed 1,913 planes, and damaged 1,501 planes. As a result of the bombing by US planes, 660,000 Japanese residents were killed or wounded, 2.2 million houses were destroyed, and nearly 10 million people were left homeless.
After the other two atomic bombs were dropped, tens of thousands of people were killed in Japan and tens of thousands of people were affected by radiation.
Why bomb Japan
This story began in 1941. That year, Japan decided to open the way to the south, and sent 350 fighter planes to attack Pearl Harbor in the United States.
This sudden attack disgraced the United States on the international stage, because they had not yet stepped into the mud of World War II. The US Government angrily said that this was the greatest insult to the country, and if we did not retaliate against Japan, how could we stand up for our authority in the international community?
However, retaliation is not an easy task. On April 13, 1941, Japan signed a Soviet-Japanese neutrality treaty with the Soviet Union, which made it impossible for the United States to use Soviet airfields. In view of the fierce war between China and Japan, the United States decided to choose an airfield in Zhejiang, China.
On February 3, 1942, the modified B252B bomber began test flights, and the two bombers perfectly completed the initial mission, proving the feasibility of this mission. On April 18, 1942, 16 planes were transported by aircraft carriers to the shores of Japan, but before they could take off, they were discovered by Japanese patrols. In desperation, they took off early. The flight distance and time were much longer than expected, and the estimated flight time was ten hours ago. After takeoff, they kept flying at low altitudes to evade Japanese radar equipment. Their goal was to attack Japanese military bases in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, etc. But due to the long flight range and the lack of ammunition, the damage to Japan was not great. However, the successful landing of American planes on Chinese territory was a deterrent to Japan and demonstrated the determination of the United States to bomb Pearl Harbor. Since then, the horn of the counteroffensive has been officially sounded, and the situation in World War II has begun to change dramatically.