U.S. Bombed

Discussion in 'USA' started by PingaHead, Sep 2, 2006.

  1. PingaHead

    PingaHead Junior Member

    Were any US cities bombed during WW2?
     
  2. sapper

    sapper WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    The Japs floated balloons over the States hoping to do some harm.Cannot recall all about it.
    sapper
     
  3. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Not including the attack on Pearl Harbor Hawaii, which was not a US state at that time and the Aleutians which is a US possession and part of Alaska which was not a US state until 1959.

    The United States mainland was first shelled by the Axis on February 23, 1942submarine I-17 attacked the Ellwood oil production facilities at Goleta, near Santa Barbara, California. Although only a catwalk and pump house was damaged, I-17 captain Nishino Kozo radioed Tokyo that he had left <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Barbara</st1:place></st1:City> in flames. No casualties were reported and the total cost of the damage was estimated at approximately $500.<o:p></o:p>
    In what became the only attack on a mainland American military installation during World War II, a Japanese submarine surfaced near the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon on the night of June 21-22, 1942, and fired shells toward Fort Stevens. The only damage recorded was to a baseball ground's backstop. <o:p></o:p>
    On September 9, 1942, the first aerial bombing of mainland America by a foreign power occurred when an attempt to start a forest fire was made by a Japanese Yokosuka E14Y1 seaplane dropping 170 lb incendiary bombs on Mount Emily, near Brookings, Oregon. The seaplane, piloted by Nobuo Fujita, had been launched from the Japanese submarine aircraft carrierI-25. No significant damage was reported following the attack, or after a repeat attempt September 29<sup>th</sup>. <o:p></o:p>
    Fire balloons<o:p></o:p>
    Between November 1944 and April 1945, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region> launched over 9,000 fire balloons toward the American mainland. Carried by the recently-discovered Pacific jet stream, they were to sail over the Pacific Ocean and land in <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>, where the Japanese hoped they would start forest fires and wreak devastation. About three hundred were reported as reaching <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>, but little damage was caused. Six people – five children and their minder Elise Mitchell – became the only deaths due to enemy action to occur on mainland <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region> during World War II when one of the children tried to recover a balloon from a tree near Bly, Oregon and it exploded. <o:p></o:p>
    <o:p> </o:p>
     
  4. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Japanese bombs delivered by weather balloon were called 'Fu-go'. Over 9000 sent, all a bit pointless and I suspect contributed a lot to the initial flying saucer myth.
    Good illustration of hits on Montana here:
    Montana Earth Science Picture of the Week
    Cheers,
    Adam
     
  5. Kieran Bridge

    Kieran Bridge Junior Member

  6. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

  7. A-58

    A-58 Not so senior Member

    The war department issued a blackout order on the impact of the fire balloons launched by Japan. Only a few casualties occurred, but the vast majority landed in outlying areas causing forest fires as were intended. Little damage occurred as a result of the fires which were easily contained by civilian smoke jumpers and the 555 Parachute Infantry Battalion (the first all black parachute unit) to be deployed to augment the civilian authorities. The 505 PIB and other assets and materials that were diverted to combat the fires were sorely needed elsewhere in the world at the time. As a result of the news blackout, the Japanese decided to discontinue the operation and use the materials in their other sorely needed uses at that time in the war (1944 I believe). Some balloon bombs made it as far east as eastern Canada, and a few even drifted down into Texas.

    Also late in the war, a Japanese fighter plane launched by a submarine bombed a small village in Washington State. Again, right off the top of my head I can't recall if there were any casualties in that incident. The type of bombs dropped were incendiary, with the intention of starting forest fires. Two of these such raids took place within the same week from the same sub.
     
  8. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Keiran

    On a recent vacation - we overnighted in Vernon from Agassiz and went through Lumby down Hwy 6 to the Halcyon Hot Springs at Nakusp - had we known of

    that Japanese bomb - we might have take the long route through Revelstoke…no hero me

    Cheers
     
  9. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Watched a documentary this morning all about the fu-go. I had not heard about these before. The program also focused on another aerial phenomena of WW2, the foo-fighter:

    Foo fighter - Wikipedia
     
  10. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer Pearl Harbor Myth Buster

    The UFO flap didn't get started until July 1947.
     
  11. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  12. Robert-w

    Robert-w Banned

    At least one Fu Go was found in Mexico.
    The largest single concentration of explosive fired at the USA was done so by a British ship when a hedgehog anti sub bomb launcher was accidentally discharged on the New York waterfront. Fortunately the safety devices worked and none exploded. The accident happened at night and RN teams managed to retrieve all the bombs from various yards etc in the small hours of the morning before major panic could ensue.
     
  13. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

  14. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    The air defence of Oklahoma is discussed from 11:20 to 12:55 in this clip.

     
    BFBSM likes this.

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