Thread: Japanese bombing of mainland USA.

We’re all aware of the terrible events on December 7th 1941 (“A day which will live in infamy”) at Pearl Harbour, but very few people know that the Empire of Japan actually did bomb the US mainland, killing 6 civilians; 1 adult female and 5 children.

Some years before the outbreak of war, Wasaburo Oishi, a Japanese scientist and meteorologist identified a high level, high speed wind flowing from west to east across the Pacific; we now know this airflow as The Jetstream.

It was decided by the Japanese high command to utilise this wind to attempt to carry hydrogen filled balloons to the west coast of the United States where the small bomb-load would be automatically released. Apparently more than 9,300 of these balloon bombs were dispatched but most fell harmlessly into the ocean, and of those which did reach the US; some 300 or so, none caused any major damage, apart from the one which caused those tragic deaths. By all accounts it came down in a wooded area and was found by the children. Being unaware of the nature of the device, they started to play with it and the result is now well documented. At the time, these balloon attacks remained secret to avoid public panic, although following these deaths, warnings were issued.


On the subject of the Jetstream, the Americans became aware of it during high level bombing sorties over Japan using their B-29 Strato-fortress aircraft when they found that the Norden bomb sight was unable to calibrate for an airspeed of over 300 knots and a negative ground speed; they were flying backwards!


Those killed near Bly, Oregon by a Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb.
1. Elsye Mitchell, age 26
2. Edward Engen, age 13
3. Jay Gifford, age 13
4. Joan Patzke, age 13
5. Dick Patzke, age 14
6. Sherman Shoemaker, age 11

Further details can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon

Ironic that all those killed were all of young age? Did they actually see the balloon and follow it not knowing the danger?