War is always cruel. But the bombardments of cities, in which strategically important objects alternate with residential buildings, are distinguished by particular cruelty and cynicism - often just vast territories are destroyed. How many civilians, children and women are there, the generals are of little interest. Similarly, the bombing of Tokyo was carried out, which is still remembered by most Japanese.
When did the biggest bombing take place?
The first bombing of Tokyo on April 18, 1942 was carried out by the Americans. True, here our allies could not boast of much success. 16 B-25 medium bombers flew out on a combat mission. They could not boast of a significant flight range - a little more than 2000 kilometers. But it was the B-25, due to its small size, that could take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier, which was clearly beyond the power of other bombers. However, the bombing of Tokyo was not very effective. First of all, due to the fact that bombs dropped from aircraft flying at normal altitude were subjected to a largethere was no need to talk about any kind of targeted bombardment. Ammunition simply fell in the approximate area with an error of several hundred meters.
In addition, the losses of the Americans were very impressive. The planes that took off from the Hornet aircraft carrier were supposed to complete the task, and then land at an airfield in China. None of them reached their goal. Most were destroyed by Japanese aircraft and artillery, others crashed or sank. The crews of two aircraft were captured by the local military. Only one managed to get to the territory of the USSR, from where the crew was safely delivered to their homeland.
There were subsequent bombings, but the largest was the bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945. It was a terrible day that Japan is unlikely to ever forget.
Reasons
By March 1945, the US had been at war against Japan for three and a half years (Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941). During this time, the Americans, though slowly, gradually, but forced the enemy out of the small islands.
However, things were different with Tokyo. The capital, located on the island of Honshu (the largest in the Japanese archipelago), was reliably defended. It had its own anti-aircraft artillery, aviation, and, most importantly, about four million soldiers who were ready to fight to the last. Therefore, the landing would be fraught with huge losses - defending the city, moreover, knowing the terrain, is much easier than taking it, while studyingbuildings and features of the relief.
It is for this reason that US President Franklin Roosevelt decided on a heavy bombardment. He decided in this way to force Japan to sign a peace treaty.
Technical Solutions
Previous bombardments did not bring the desired result. Planes actively shot down or fell into the sea due to technical problems, the psychological blow to the Japanese was rather weak, and the targets were not hit.
American strategists were well aware of this - the bombing of Tokyo in 1942 provided a lot of food for thought. It was necessary to radically change tactics, carry out technical re-equipment.
First of all, after the failure of 1942, the goal was set for engineers to develop completely new aircraft. They were B-29s, nicknamed "Superfortress". They could carry significantly more bombs than the B-25 and, more importantly, had a flight range of 6,000 kilometers - three times more than their predecessors.
The experts also took into account the fact that the bombs dissipated significantly when they fell. Even a small wind was enough to carry them tens and even hundreds of meters. Of course, there was no question of any pinpoint strikes. Therefore, the M69 bombs, weighing a little less than 3 kilograms each (this was the reason for the huge dispersion), fit into special cassettes - 38 pieces each. Dropped from a height of several kilometers centnerthe cassette fell to the indicated place with a slight error. At an altitude of 600 meters, the cassette opened up, and the bombs fell very closely - the dispersion was reduced to zero, which was what the military needed to easily reach the target.
Bomb Tactics
To reduce the dispersion of bombs, it was decided to reduce the altitude of the aircraft as much as possible. Target designators were at an extremely low altitude - only 1.5 kilometers. Their main task was to use special, especially powerful incendiary bombs to mark the bombing sites - a cross of flame broke out in the night city.
The next echelon was the main force - 325 V-29. The height ranged from 1.5 to 3 kilometers - depending on the type of bombs they carried. Their main goal was to almost completely destroy the city center - an area of approximately 4 x 6 kilometers.
The bombardment was carried out as tightly as possible - with the expectation that the bombs would fall with a distance of about 15 meters, leaving no chance for the enemy.
In order to further increase the ammunition, additional measures were taken. The military decided that the bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945 would take place as unexpectedly as possible, and the planes would not meet resistance. In addition, the generals hoped that the Japanese simply would not expect a raid at such a low altitude, which reduced the risk of being hit by air defense guns. Also, the refusal to climb to a greater height allowed to reduce fuel consumption, which means that even more ammunition could be taken.
Moreit was decided to lighten the heavy bombers as much as possible. All armor was removed from them, as well as machine guns, leaving only the tail, which should have been actively used to fight the pursuing fighters during the retreat.
What was bombed with?
Since the bombing of Tokyo during World War II was carried out repeatedly, American experts thought carefully about the strategy.
They quickly realized that conventional high-explosive bombs are not as effective here as in European cities, where buildings are built of brick and stone. But incendiary shells could be used in full force. After all, houses, in fact, were built from bamboo and paper - light and highly flammable materials. But a high-explosive shell, having destroyed one house, left the neighboring buildings intact.
Specialists even specially built typical Japanese houses to test the effectiveness of different types of shells and came to the conclusion that incendiary bombs would be the best solution.
To make the bombing of Tokyo in 1945 as effective as possible, it was decided to use several types of shells.
First of all, these are M76 bombs, which received the ominous nickname "Burners of Blocks". Each weighed about 200 kilograms. They were usually used in warfare as target designators, allowing subsequent bombers to hit the target as accurately as possible. But here they could be used as an important military weapon.
M74s were also used - each was equipped with three detonators. Therefore, they worked regardless of how they fell - on their side, on the tail or on the nose. When falling, a jet of napalm about 50 meters long was thrown out, which made it possible to ignite several buildings at once.
Finally, it was planned to use the previously mentioned M69.
How many bombs were dropped on the city?
Thanks to the surviving records, it is possible to say quite accurately how many bombs were dropped on the city on that terrible night when the Americans bombed Tokyo.
In a matter of minutes, 325 planes dropped about 1665 tons of bombs. Removed armor and weapons, as well as a reduced fuel supply, allowed each aircraft to carry almost 6 tons of ammunition.
Practically every bomb set fire to something, and the wind helped fan the flames. As a result, the fire covered an area that significantly exceeded the planned by the strategists.
Sacrifices on both sides
The consequences of the bombing were really terrible. For clarity, it is worth noting that ten previous American raids claimed the lives of approximately 1,300 Japanese. Here, about 84 thousand people were killed in one night. A quarter of a million buildings (mostly residential) burned down completely. Almost a million people were left homeless, lost everything they had acquired over several generations.
The psychological blow was also terrible. Many Japanese experts were convinced that the Americans were not capable of bombing Tokyo. In 1941, the emperor was even presented with a report, during which he was assured thatThe United States will not be able to respond symmetrically to an air raid at Pearl Harbor. However, one night changed everything.
US Air Force also suffered casu alties. Of the 325 aircraft, 14 were lost. Some were shot down, while others simply fell into the sea or crashed on landing.
Consequences
As mentioned above, the bombing was a heavy blow to the Japanese. They realized that even in the capital there was no hiding place from death falling straight from the sky.
Some experts even believe that it was this bombing that led Japan to sign the act of surrender a few months later. But it's still a very stretched version. Much more credible are the words of the historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, who said that the main reason for the surrender was the attack of the USSR, which followed the termination of the neutrality pact.
Evaluation by experts
Despite the fact that 73 years have passed since that terrible night, historians differ in their assessments. Some believe that the bombing was unjustified and extremely brutal - it was civilians who suffered first of all, and not the army or the military industry of Japan.
Others say it slowed down the war and saved hundreds of thousands of American and Japanese lives. Therefore, today it is rather difficult to say unequivocally whether the decision to bomb Tokyo was correct.
Memory of the bombing
In the capital of Japan, there is a memorial complex built precisely so that future generations will remember that terriblenight. Every year, photography exhibitions are held here, showing photographs that depict piles of charred bodies that destroyed Tokyo neighborhoods.
So, in 2005, in honor of the 60th anniversary, a ceremony was held here in memory of those killed that night. 2,000 people were specially invited here, who saw that terrible air raid with their own eyes. Also present was the grandson of Emperor Hirohito, Prince Akishino.
Conclusion
Certainly, the bombing of Tokyo is one of the most terrible events that occurred during the confrontation between the US and Japan. This event should be a lesson to posterity, reminding how terrible a vice of humanity is war.
