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BOMBING OF TOKYO

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Introduction

In the March 9

, 1945, the USA Airforce conducted firebombing raid on the capital of

Japan, Tokyo. It was during the final stages of World War II. The raid on Tokyo is seen as one of

the most destructive actions of a war in human history. The precise number of individuals who lost

their lives is not known and the number is estimated to be between 80,000 to over 100,000 with 1

Million people left homeless

. The US declared war against Japan on December 8

, 1941 after the

Japanese surprisingly attacked the Pearl Harbor in the previous day. The Japanese intended to

destroy significant Americans' fleet units hence they could interrupt with the plans of the Japanese

to conquer the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. The war continued for over 3 years with both

countries using new strategies and weapons

. The US had an advantage due to the arrival of B-29

Superfortress bombers. These kinds of bombers gave the Americans a range to easily bridge into

cities in Japan both from China and the Pacific Islands. The attack was meant to disorient Japanese

Air Defenses by destroying their industrial bases for the manufacture of their Air Force equipment.

The attack led to a big firestorm which destroyed almost 16 square miles of the city which had a

large population during that time

General Curtis LeMay was responsible for reigniting the air strikes on Tokyo. He was

urged to adopt an inflammatory bombing attack on the city instead of the precision bombing policy.

Andrews, Stefan. "Operation Meetinghouse: The 1945 firebombing of Tokyo was the single

deadliest air raid in history." 1 (July 2017), 4.

Ibid, 2

Mancini, JoAnne, and Keith Bresnahan, eds. Architecture and Armed Conflict: The Politics of

Destruction. Routledge, 2014.

It is what led to the massive deaths that occurred in Tokyo. The huge attack accelerated a quick

victory to the US army but the Japanese suffered several brutalities, industrial damages, and

destruction of their homes

. This research paper will expound on the strategy of the US air force

against Japan, who and why decide it, and the operations and the results. It is quite surprising how

the US air force decided to take part in such massive bombings in Tokyo. The paper discusses how

this massive attack was planned, executed and finally brought quick victory to the US.

Literature Review

The strategy of the US air force against Japan

The main aim of the US was to strike industrial and military bases of the Japanese defense.

This was not the first air attack in Tokyo as it had been done before in the famed "Doolittle Raid".

Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle had used 16 medium sized aircraft to bomb Tokyo

on April 18, 1842. The "Doolittle" raid made fewer efforts in hampering Japan's defenses. On the

other hand, it acted as a morale booster to the American army. Americans had suffered a

devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. The US did this attack to show Japan that they were not

immune to attacks

“If Japan decides to fight us we’ll fight them back with all our strength,” General George

C. Marshall gave this information to the media presenters on November 15, 1941. Marshall told

the news reporters this statement three weeks before the brutal attack on Pearl Harbor. “We will

Ibid, 7

Grant, R. G. "Bombing of Tokyo-World War II." Encyclopedia Britannica 1 (March 2018), 8.

Accessed June 3, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/event/Bombing-of-Tokyo.

dispatch Flying Fortress to set on fire Japan’s paper cities. Civilians shall receive no mercy as it

will be an out and out attack.” The General Continued. After 3 years of continuous massive global

war, General George C. Marshall prediction came to pass, this did really occur on the night of 9

and 10

March 1945. On these fateful nights, the US air force burnt down a huge area of the Japan

capital, Tokyo and the aftermath of the raid was devastating

According to Long (2011), the firebombing raid on Tokyo was the first inflammatory

attack against Japan cities. Other cities like Osaka, Kobe and Nagoya were also on the target list

with the latter getting bombed twice in a single week. At the end of the Great War between US

and Japan, more than 60 cities in Japan had been firebombed

. The arrival of B-29 bombers spear-

headed US attack on the mainland Japan. The bombers gave the US the ability to reach Japanese

cities from their Chinese and Pacific Island bases. The strategy of the US was to use high altitude

attacks in daylight. However, the strategy failed due to mechanical errors, strong Japanese defenses

and the strong winds at the time of the attack. Major General Curtis LeMay was given the duty to

re-ignite the air strikes. He was advised by his boss General “Hap” Arnold to take into

consideration the approach of inconsiderate bombing against Japanese bombings and do away with

the precise bombing policy. The General decided to attack Tokyo at night and in a low altitude.

He also did away with the armor in the bombers to accommodate more bomb load

Bernstein, Barton J. "Gen. Marshall and the Atomic Bombing of Japanese Cities." Arms Control

Today 45, no. 9 (2015): 32.

Fanning, Rory. "The Firebombing of Tokyo." Jacobin-War and Imperialism History (Japan),

September 3, 2015, 7.

Reichhardt, Tony. "The Deadliest Air Raid in History-The firebombing of Tokyo on March 9,

1945 marked the beginning of the end for Imperial Japan." Air and Space Journal 1 (March 2015),

The RAF Bomber Command developed the strategy that was used by General Curtis

LeMay. He first sent an aircraft to mark the target region. This was followed by a fleet of 334 B-

29 bombers from the Mariana Islands. 279 of the bombers dropped 1665 tons of inflammatory.

Dry wind conditions at the area during the time of attack led to an occurrence of huge firestorms

According to Fedman and Karacas (2012), the B-29 bombers were scheduled to fly over

Tokyo in the densely populated areas at a low altitude of about 7000 feet instead of the usual

30,000 feet

. The bombers were also to attack the city at the same time in a single direction rather

than using a formation. The raid was also planned to be at night to reduce the resistance from a

strong Japanese defense. The army engineers had also foreseen Tokyo’s most flammable areas

with most of the Japanese buildings being wooded. This was capable of creating a huge firestorm

Propagators and reasons of the US air force strategy against Japan

In 1942, Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle had bombed Tokyo in the famous

Doolittle Raid. The raid did little in crippling Japanese defenses. In 1944, the US decided to

conduct a bombing campaign against Japan using B-29 bombers. They had adopted the same

operations that they used in Europe. They initiated high altitude attacks in daylight to destroy

Japanese and military air bases. This did not go according to plan due to strong Japanese defenses,

Ibid, 4

Fedman, David, and Cary Karacas. "A cartographic fade to black: mapping the destruction of

urban Japan during World War II." Journal of Historical Geography 38, no. 3 (2012): 306-328.

Ibid, 9

mechanical errors and strong jet stream winds. The bombing was therefore ineffective and led to

crippling losses

Seaton (2015), states that in January 1945, Major General Curtis LeMay was tasked with

re-igniting US air force attacks against Japan

. He was advised by his boss General “Hap” Arnold

to do away with the precise bombing policy and adopt an inflammatory bombing against Japan

city, Tokyo. The advice is what made General LeMay adopt a new strategy on the attacks against

Tokyo

LeMay decided to attack Tokyo at night. He did this so as to reduce the resistance from the

Japan air defenses as they were formidable. LeMay wanted to lose a minimal number of soldiers

while at the same time conducting a massive attack against Tokyo. Night attacks would also catch

the Japan air defenses unawares

. According to Grant (2015), this new strategy was also adopted

since it enabled easy marking of Tokyo’s target areas

. It was achieved by General LeMay as he

sent a pathfinder aircraft to mark the target areas with napalm bombs. The bombers could,

therefore, initiate the attacks accurately. The B-29 bombers were also stripped off unnecessary

Seaton, Philip A. "There was a raid in Sapporo, too: unearthing the history of air raids in

Hokkaido." In Local History and War Memories in Hokkaido, pp. 113-134. Routledge, 2015.

Ibid, 14

Ibid, 10

Rahman, Ishaq. "Norms and Values in Japanese Democracy Assistance towards Southeast

Asia Countries, 2008–2013." (2017).

armor to accommodate a large bomb load. It was to ensure a devastating attack on Tokyo was

achieved which would cripple their defenses and destroy their industrial areas

The air force through General LeMay decided to conduct the strikes at a low altitude of

7000 feet rather than 30,000 feet. It was to enhance the accuracy of the target areas and give the

bombers a clear visual on Tokyo. The army engineers also prepared a map of Tokyo's flammable

sections and observed the design of Japanese buildings which were most wooden. This had made

General LeMay decide on the inflammatory bombing approach. It resulted in the huge number of

deaths which is documented to be over 80,000 to 100,000

Overall, the US air force launched an air campaign against Japan cities to prove to Japanese

that they were not insusceptible to attacks. Americans had suffered a devastating attack on the

Pearl Harbor. The US had also made a successful air strike in the city of Dresden, the capital of

German state of Saxony. The US had dropped about 3900 tons of explosive bombs and the

resulting firestorm destroyed about 1600 acres of the city hence they could deploy the same tactics

to the Japanese. These attacks acted as a morale booster and brought the war home to the Japanese.

The air campaign was to disorient Japan’s industrial base and military defenses

Operations and results

After General Curtis LeMay took command of the air campaign against Japan, he thought

of devising a new plan. He first decided to use inflammatory bombs at higher altitudes but this

proved to be ineffective due to the formidable Japanese air defenses. He, therefore, decided to

Ibid, 16

Ibid, 18

Ibid, 13

launch a low altitude inflammatory attack. The main aim was to prove the susceptibility of Japan

to enemy attacks and to have them surrender just like Germany

On his literature, Perez (2013) argues that on March 9th, 1945, General LeMay sent a

pathfinder aircraft to mark the targeted areas in Tokyo. Later on at night, a total of 334 B-29

bombers left the Mariana Islands to Japans capital, Tokyo. The fleet of bombers flew at a low

altitude of between 7000 feet then progress and bomb the city in a single line instead of a

formation. 279 of the B-29 bombers dropped 1665 tons of inflammatory bombs which included

half a million cylinders containing napalm and white phosphorous. Initially, the bombers had been

offloaded of some unnecessary materials and armor hence they could carry a lot of bombing

loads

The US air force first eliminated the Tokyo's fire defenses in the first two hours of the

attack after successfully unloading their inflammatory bombs. It was carried out strategically in an

X pattern that was majorly concentrated in Tokyo's densely populated areas next to the Tokyo's

waterfront. The B-29 bombers then targeted the huge flaming X pattern which had been formed.

The continuous dropping of bombs led to the ignition of individual fires. The individual fires

would after a short while joined together to form a huge blaze of fire which could not be easily put

out. The fire was further worsened by the winds which spread it over a large area. The firestorm

destroyed a huge part of Tokyo

Perez, Louis G., ed. Japan at war: an encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2013.

Ibid, 4

Selden. Bombs Bursting in Air: State and Citizen Responses to the US Firebombing and Atomic

Bombing of Japan: Springer Link, 2013.

The inflammatory bombs had massive effects on Tokyo. Almost 16 square miles of the

densely populated city was affected by the firestorm. Over 100,000 people living in Tokyo also

lost their lives in the inferno. They were either burnt to death or had evacuated to safer places

where they suffocated to death. Burnt bodies were scattered all over the targeted areas while other

rivers were filled with corpses. Only a total of 282 of the B-29 bombers made it successfully to

the target areas. 27 of the B-29 failed to make it out of the raid. The bombers were either destroyed

by Japanese air defenses or had been swallowed up by the blazing fire

According to Selden (2013), the attack was a testimony of the great suffering of the

Japanese civilians during the World War II. The attack continued to torment servicers of the great

fire. There were a large number of people who were left homeless. This was about 1 Million

residents of Tokyo city. The attack produced a large of orphans who struggled to deal with the

aftermath of the war. Some Tokyo residents suffered from disabilities and post-traumatic stress

disorder. Some services also filed suits against the Japanese government. They argued that if Japan

could not have started the war against the US then such fatal attacks could have been avoided.

Japan's Supreme Court later dismissed these cases on the basis that each and every one should

accept the effects of war equally

On his literature Hirano (2013), argues that the US decided to initiate this attack so as to

prove the susceptibility of the Japan borders to enemy attack. The US had made Germany surrender

and therefore they wanted to do the same to the Japanese. Japan later surrendered a few days after

Snow, Nancy. Information war: American propaganda, free speech and opinion control since

9-11. Seven Stories Press, 2011.

Ibid, 12

the atomic bombing on Nagasaki on the 15

of August 1945. This was a victory for the Americans

as they got the ever resistant Japan to give up on the war and surrender. They also revenged on the

shocking and devastating Pearl Harbor attack that had been carried out by the Japanese

After the victory of the US. General Curtis LeMay gave out the following speech: “Japan

would be set up like a factory. There would be families that would be in their homes everywhere

in the country which would be making small products. It will be like an assembling factory of

homefolks.the Suzuki family would be manufacturing the bolt of size 64. The Harunobo would then

be making nuts of the size 63, 64 or 65 or other gaskets in these category. All these products will

be manufactured in places next to each other. Mr. Kitagawa using his cart would then go around

collecting the parts and arranging them in proper sequence.”

“I think if by any chance I lost the war, I would have been considered and convicted as a

war perpetrator… Every soldier is always concerned with the positive side of his job. All war is

bad and if you let that get into you then you are not a good fighter.”

In his speech, Curtis LeMay defense the morality of the firebombing campaign that was

launched against the Japanese. He does not regret his actions that led to the death of a huge number

of Japanese civilians and soldiers. Initially, the US air force had a law that restricted bombing of

innocent civilians. General Curtis LeMay in his strategy to attack Tokyo did away with this law

Hirano, Kyoko. "Depiction of the atomic bombings in Japanese cinema during the US occupation

period." Hiroshima Cinema: Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the Nuclear Image in Japanese Film

(2013): 103-19.

and he launched an attack that led to the death of many innocent civilians who were not part of the

war. The civilians were also affected as their homes and places of work were destroyed. Over 1

Million Japanese were displaced

Research Methodology

The project objective was to look into the strategies that the US air force used against the

Japanese. It also involves developing historic context on who were the propagators of the strategy

and why it was used. The methodology also involves identifying and evaluating the end results,

aftermath and the effects of the Tokyo bombing

The project majorly focused on the strategies that the US had in place to attack Tokyo in

1945 rather than the previous bombing attacks. The operation which occurred on 9

March 1945

was code-named as “Operation Meetinghouse” and it involved a firebombing raid by the US on

the capital of Japan, Tokyo. The attack is often cited as one of the most deadly acts of war in the

history of human civilization. The attack was more destructive than those that occurred in Dresden,

Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. It led to the death of more than 80,000. A huge area of the Japan capital,

Tokyo was also destroyed. Residential areas and industrials areas were not spared. These led to

the displacements of over 1 Million Japanese and Japan losing its ability to manufacture more

weapons to retaliate against the US

Ibid, 6

Kothari, Chakravanti Rajagopalachari. Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New

Age International, 2004.

Bloom, Richard W., and Nancy Kimberly Dess. Evolutionary Psychology and Violence: A

Primer for Policymakers and Public Policy Advocates. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2003.

The research project involved four phases that formed the last recommendations. The

development research phases were built upon each other. The first phase focused on the

development of literature review of sources related to the strategies of the Tokyo bombing attack.

It also focused on those who came up with the strategy, why the strategy was used and the

devastating end results of the firebombing raid

The second phase of the research project involved survey and evaluation methodology.

This involved the development of a clearly outlined historic context about the Tokyo bombing

attack. It also focused on a draft methodology which aimed at issues such as identifying,

evaluating, registering and documenting on all issues that related to the Tokyo firebombing attack

by the US air force. The phase involved a detailed theoretical analysis of all issues that were

associated with the bombing in both Japan and the US

The third phase involved a model context. It included coming up with a myriad historic

context that entailed everything that was related to the Tokyo bombing in 1945. A detailed national

historic context was created to show the effects of the Tokyo firebombing raid to the whole global.

Coming up with a model regional context was also necessary. It included the strategy that was

used during the firebombing raid in Tokyo. It also outlined those who were involved in the raid,

propagators of the raid such as General Curtis LeMay and Major General “Hap” Arnold. Regional

model context would also significantly show the effects of the firebombing raid on both US and

Japan

Ibid, 13

Ibid, 15

Ibid, 8

The US used B-29 aircraft to carry out the raid. Out of the 334 B-29 bombers, only 282

managed to successfully reach the target area and execute their mission. The rest of the B-29

bombers were destroyed by the Japanese defense air force. The Japanese suffered an inevitable

brutality. Although the exact number of the Japanese who died in the attack is not known, an

estimate of over 80,000 was assumed to have lost their lives. 1Milion others were displaced from

their houses as the inferno burnt down their residence. The US finally won the war while the

Japanese lost and eventually surrendered

. The final phase of the research project addressed

several issues. It majorly focused on Tokyo firebombing related issues. Application of the test

results and assembling the literature review of the Tokyo bombing attack was included in the final

report

The initial phases of the project focused on the evaluation of the context of the Tokyo

firebombing attack by the US. Extensive research was carried out to support the context of the

“Operation Meetinghouse.” It involved pointing out of relevant themes related to the attack on the

Japan capital, Tokyo. The themes involved the strategy that the US used against Tokyo, the

propagators of the strategy and the end results of the firebombing raid

In the research project, there was extensive use of secondary sources. It was further

supplemented with a review of initially formed historic contexts. Multiple Property Documents

and National Register Nominations were also used to conduct the research project. Other research

projects and materials were also used.

Barton, Bernstein. Gen. Marshall and the Atomic Bombing of Japanese. Vol. 45. Proquest

Document review, 2015.

Ibid, 15

Ibid, 18

Based on the involved research project of the Tokyo bombing attack and the identified

themes of the raid. A model context outline was created to give guidance on the research. It helped

on the development of national historic context and regional context of the US and Japan. The

context compiled information about several resources that shared a specific theme about the Tokyo

firebombing attack that occurred on March 9

and 10

in the year 1945. The model context also

provided a framework that assisted in understanding economic and social effects of the themes of

the research project. It also provided information about governmental and political influences on

the resources of the research project

A detailed study of a documented survey of the Tokyo firebombing attack was also used

to carry out the research. Although the conditions for a proper survey documentation quality is

different from state to state, the research project on Tokyo bombing focused on appropriate and

required levels of survey documentation. The documentation addressed specifically the themes of

"Operation Meetinghouse", and the themes' definite eligibility evaluation. To come up with an

appropriate research project, a review of relevant National Register Bulletins and National Register

Nominations was a necessity. Several previously completed survey reports that related to the

Tokyo firebombing attack were also used. These sources assisted in the identification of a

successful and efficient evaluation approaches

Conclusion

Selden, Mark. "Bombs Bursting in Air: State and citizen responses to the US firebombing and

Atomic bombing of Japan." In Natural Disaster and Reconstruction in Asian Economies, pp. 79-

109. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2013.

Ibid, 20

Conclusively, on March 9

, 1945, USA Airforce staged a fire attack against Japan's city,

Tokyo. The attack executed by General Curtis LeMay, was a payback to the Pearl Harbor attack.

It was to show Japan that despite their formidable defenses at the time, they were still susceptible

to attacks from the enemy. The main aim of USA was to destroy Japan's industrial and military

base. General LeMay instead of the precise bombing policy was advised to use inflammatory

bombs. He also developed different tactics which were the opposite of the ones that had been used

and led to futility. His tactics led to one of the most brutal attacks on the history of Japan with a

massive 100,000 people losing their lives and another 1 million people left homeless

It was quite difficult to apprehend why USA decided to employ so much brutality on the

innocent lives in Japan. USA wanted to get Japan to surrender like what they did to the Nazis of

Germany. Japan, on the other hand, refused to heed an unconditional surrender to America despite

the efforts made by their allies. The operation was carried out successfully with minimum damages

to the US air force as they lost around 34 bombers. The USA later achieved what they wanted and

that was to get Japan to surrender to them. This was achieved after the bombing of Hiroshima and

Nagasaki later in August

General Curtis LeMay later defended the US decision to go for an inflammatory bombing

approach which led to the loss of innocent lives and had damaging effects to the city of Tokyo.in

his speech he pronounced that “I think if by any chance I lost the war, I would have been

considered and convicted as a war perpetrator… Every soldier is always concerned with the

Ibid, 21

Hirano. Depiction of the atomic bombings in Japanese cinema during the US occupation period:

Hibakusha Cinema, 2013.

positive side of his job. All war is bad and if you let that get into you then you are not a good

fighter.”

Bibliography

Andrews, Stefan. "Operation Meetinghouse: The 1945 firebombing of Tokyo was the single

deadliest air raid in history." 1 (July 2017), 4.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/07/28/operation-meetinghouse-the-1945-

firebombing-of-tokyo-was-the-single-deadliest-air-raid-in-history/.

Bernstein, Barton J. "Gen. Marshall and the Atomic Bombing of Japanese Cities." Arms Control

Today 45, no. 9 (2015): 32.

Bloom, Richard W., and Nancy Kimberly Dess. Evolutionary Psychology and Violence: A

Primer for Policymakers and Public Policy Advocates. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2003.

Fanning, Rory. "The Firebombing of Tokyo." Jacobin-War and Imperialism History (Japan),

September 3, 2015, 7.

Fedman, David, and Cary Karacas. "A cartographic fade to black: mapping the destruction of

urban Japan during World War II." Journal of Historical Geography 38, no. 3 (2012):

306-328.

Grant, R. G. "Bombing of Tokyo-World War II." Encyclopedia Britannica 1 (March 2018), 8.

Accessed June 3, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/event/Bombing-of-Tokyo.

Hirano, Kyoko. "Depiction of the atomic bombings in Japanese cinema during the US

occupation period." Hiroshima Cinema: Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the Nuclear Image in

Japanese Film(2013): 103-19.

Kothari, Chakravanti Rajagopalachari. Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New

Age International, 2004.

Mancini, JoAnne, and Keith Bresnahan, eds. Architecture and Armed Conflict: The Politics of

Destruction. Routledge, 2014.

Perez, Louis G., ed. Japan at war: an encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2013.

Rahman, Ishaq. "Norms and Values in Japanese Democracy Assistance towards Southeast Asia

Countries, 2008–2013." (2017).

Reichhardt, Tony. "The Deadliest Air Raid in History-The firebombing of Tokyo on March 9,

1945 marked the beginning of the end for Imperial Japan." Air and Space Journal 1

(March 2015), 5. https://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/deadliest-air-raid-history.

Seaton, Philip A. "There was a raid in Sapporo, too: unearthing the history of air raids in

Hokkaido." In Local History and War Memories in Hokkaido, pp. 113-134. Routledge,

2015.

Selden, Mark. "Bombs Bursting in Air: State and citizen responses to the US firebombing and

Atomic bombing of Japan." In Natural Disaster and Reconstruction in Asian Economies,

pp. 79-109. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2013.

Snow, Nancy. Information war: American propaganda, free speech and opinion control since 9-

11. Seven Stories Press, 2011.

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