Bombing of Nagaoka in World War II

Nagaoka after the 1945 air raid

The Bombing of Nagaoka in World War II (長岡空襲 Nagaoka kūshū) on the night of August 1, 1945, was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States of America against military and civilian targets and population centers during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing stages of World War II.^[1]

Background

Although the city of Nagaoka lacked major targets of military significance, it was a regional commercial centre and railway junction, and hosted a laboratory of Japan’s Institute of Physical and Chemical Research. The city had a estimated population of 74,508 in July 1945. The fact that Nagaoka was the hometown of Japan's famed Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto does not appear to have been a factor in its selection as the only city within Niigata Prefecture to be targeted for destruction.^[2]

Air raids

At around 10:30 p.m. on August 1, 1945, 125 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers of the 313rd Bombardment Wing dropped approximately 163,000 incendiary bombs totaling 925 tons on Nagaoka over a period of 110 minutes. The resultant firestorm destroyed 80 per cent of the urban area. Air raids also occurred over Toyama, Mito and Hachioki on the same night. The New York Times reported that the four cities in Japan were destroyed, and the number of bombs dropped in a single one night was the largest thus far in history. Of the 1,486 civilians killed in the bombing in Nagaoka, 280 were primary and middle school children^[3]

Legacy

In 2015, on 3:00 pm August 15 (Nagaoka time), a fireworks display was launched to commemorate the bombing. It began with another launching of three shiragiku (White chrysanthemum fireworks) and continued with a colorful show of some 2,000 fireworks.^[2]

See also

• Strategic bombing during World War II

Notes

1. Hoyt. Inferno: The Fire Bombing of Japan, March 9 – August 15, 1945
2. Honolulu and Nagaoka: Two Cities Linked by Wartime Legacies
3. Kondo, Mikio (January 14, 2016). "Stroll through history: The peace statue in Nagaoka, Japan". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 November 2016.

References

• Werrell, Kenneth P (1996). Blankets of Fire. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-665-4.
• Bradley, F. J. (1999). No Strategic Targets Left. Contribution of Major Fire Raids Toward Ending WWII. Turner Publishing. ISBN 1-56311-483-6.
• Carter, Kit C (1975). The Army Air Forces in World War II: Combat Chronology, 1941-1945. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 1-4289-1543-5.
• Crane, Conrad C. (1994). The Cigar that brought the Fire Wind: Curtis LeMay and the Strategic Bombing of Japan. JGSDF-U.S. Army Military History Exchange. ASIN B0006PGEIQ.
• Frank, Richard B. (2001). Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-100146-1.
• Grayling, A. C. (2007). Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan. New York: Walker Publishing Company Inc. ISBN 0-8027-1565-6.
• Hoyt, Edwin P. (2000). Inferno: The Fire Bombing of Japan, March 9 – August 15, 1945. Madison Books. ISBN 1-56833-149-5.
• Shannon, Donald H. (1976). United States air strategy and doctrine as employed in the strategic bombing of Japan. U.S. Air University, Air War College. ASIN B0006WCQ86.
• Wainstock, Dennis (1996). The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-95475-7.

External links

• 67 Japanese Cities Firebombed in World War II