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THE BOMBING OF JAPAN 253

The Allies had long realized that the aerial bombardment of Japan

would be an essential element in bringing the Japanese Empire to

its knees. Early in the Pacific War, the US had launched a mostly

unsuccessful air raid on Japan from an aircraft carrier—the Doolittle

Raid of April 18, 1942—but had not targeted the country since.

In early 1944, the US deployed the advanced B-29 Superfortress

in the Pacific theater. The aircraft was capable of carrying 10 tons

(9 metric tons) of bombs over long distances and was used from

June 1944 until the end of the war in the sustained bombing of the

Japanese home islands. The campaign began poorly; raids from

China proved problematic, and precision bombing did little to

disrupt Japanese industry. However, as the campaign progressed

and the USAF changed tactics, carpet-bombing Japan’s cities with

napalm and incendiary bombs, the results were dramatic. By August,

a third of Japan’s buildings and more than 600 factories had been

destroyed, tens of thousands of its citizens had been killed, millions

were homeless, and Japanese morale was decimated.

THE BOMBING

OF JAPAN

In June 1944, the Allies began the aerial bombardment

of Japan. Aimed initially at shutting down Japanese

industrial production for its war machine and cutting

off the country’s supplies, the campaign turned into

a devastating assault on Japan’s cities.

THE TOKYO FIRESTORM

On the night of March 9–10, 1945,

the USAF unleashed Operation

Meetinghouse on Tokyo. In a

devastating raid, 279 B-29s

dropped 1,665 tons (1,510 metric

tons) of bombs on the capital city.

These napalm or gasoline and

white phosphorus incendiary

bombs ignited on impact, setting

fire to huge swathes of the city,

including the densely populated

dock districts. A quarter of

Tokyo’s buildings were destroyed,

leaving one million people

homeless, and at least 80,000

people were killed.

Tokyo ablaze

“This fire left nothing but twisted, tumbled-

down rubble in its path.”

GENERAL CURTIS LEMAY ON THE BOMBING OF TOKYO

Jul 14, 1945 Task

Force 38 bombs and

substantially damages

the iron works at

Kamaishi, bringing

production to a halt.

Jul 15, 1945 Bombers

target the Japan Steel

Company in Muroran,

and inflict considerable

damage.

MAINLAND ATTACKS

In March 1945, the raids on Japan

from China and the Mariana Islands

gave way to a sustained bombing

campaign that destroyed morale in

the country by August.

TIMELINE

KEY

JUN 1944 JAN 1945 JUN JAN 1946

Japanese home islands

2

3

4

5

6

1

Japanese occupied territory in April 1945

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From Task Force 38
From Marianas
From Marianas
From Iwo Jima
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K O R
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A
Fujisawa
Numazu
Hiratsuka
Kanazawa
Okayama Nagoya
Himeji
Fukuyama
Nobeoka
Oita
Uwajima
Kochi
Matsuyama
Imabari
Kure
Aki
Tokushima
Takamatsu
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
Sasebo
Kyoto Hachioji Tokyo
Yokkaichi
Kobe
Akashi
Osaka
Sakai
Matsue Tottori
Sakata
Utsunomiya
Hitachinaka
Mito
Choshi
Kawasaki
Kawaguchi
Yokohama
Niigata
Nagaoka
Chiba
Maebashi
Isesaki
Kofu
Kumagaya
Takaoka
Toyama
Fukui
Tsuruga
Shizuoka
Hamamatsu
Shimizu
Toyohashi
Okazaki
Uji-Yamada
Kuwana
Tsu
Wakayama
Gifu
Ogaki Ichinomiya
Kagoshima
Yahata
Kita-Kyushu
Fukuoka
Shimonoseki
Ulsan
Pusan
Koje-do
Yeosu
Goheung
Ube
Moji
Kumamoto
Omuta
Saga
Muroran
Aomori
Hakodate
Hachinohe
Kamaishi
Otaru
J
A
P
A
N
SUPPORT FROM THE NAVY
MARCH 14–AUGUST 15, 1945
From March 1945, the bombing campaign against
the Japanese home islands was supported by the
US Navy’s Task Force 58 (renamed Task Force 38
in May 1945). Aircraft from the Task Force’s
carriers could reach beyond the range of the B-29s
to northern Honshu and Hokkaido and attack
Japanese shipping carrying fuel between Hokkaido
and northern Honshu.
4
Task Force 58
air attacks
Task Force 38
air attacks
Areas of industrial
concentration
Major coastal
bombardment
OPERATION STARVATION
MARCH 27–APRIL 30, 1945
In addition to its bombing of Japan’s infrastructure,
the USAF also played its part in blockading the
country, dropping thousands of mines into ports
and navigable waters around Japan. Forced to
abandon all but 12 of its 47 convoy routes, and
with 670 ships sunk or damaged, Japan was
starved of supplies of fuel, materials, and food.
5
Areas mined
by US aircraft
Major Japanese merchant
shipping routes
RAIDS FROM IWO JIMA AND OKINAWA
APRIL 7–AUGUST 15, 1945
The capture of Iwo Jima in March and Okinawa
by May 1945 gave the Americans new bases from
which to attack Japan. From April to August,
missions from Iwo Jima destroyed or damaged
more than 1,000 Japanese aircraft. Raids from
Okinawa on cities and communications and
industrial targets in southern Japan began in May.
6
Attacks from
Iwo Jima
Allied air attacks
from Okinawa
US_252-253_The_bombing_of_Japan.indd 253 20/03/19 3:56 PM