Quote:
|
This air raid made Toyokawa the last place to be targeted using conventional explosive and incendiary bombs in the closing days of World War II.
|
There were certainly more conventional weapon attacks on targets in Japan AFTER both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic attacks. Toyokawa, attacked on 7 August, was not the last, not even on the 7th, and attacks to the Japanese home islands continued until the morning of 15 August:
TUESDAY, 7 AUGUST 1945
- 124 B-29s, escorted by VII Fighter Command fighters, bomb the naval arsenal at Toyokawa. 1 B-29 is lost. After escorting the B-29s on their bombing mission, P-51s attack railroad targets and shipping in and near Magarimatsu, Chofu, Atsugi, and Sagami.
- During the night of 7/8 Aug, 29 B-29s, escorted by FEAF P-47s, drop mines in Shimonoseki Strait, at Miyazu, Maizuru, Tsuruga, Obama and at Najin; 1 other mines an alternate target.
- P-47s cover the Twentieth AF B-29 strike against Kyushu targets; B-24s and A-26s over Kyushu pound Tsuiki Airfield and other B-24s start fires at Omura; B-25s hit bridges and other targets at Matsubase and Kawajiri; other B-25s hit Chiran and Izumi Airfields. fighter-bombers attack and considerably damage communications and transportation facilities throughout Kyushu.
WEDNESDAY, 8 AUGUST 1945
- Shortly before 1200 hours, 221 B-29s drop incendiaries on Yawata destroying 1.22 sq mi (3.16 sq km), 21% of the city; 6 others hit alternate targets; 1 B-29s is shot down by Japanese fighters and 3 are lost to mechanical reasons.
- Late in the afternoon, 60 B-29s bomb an aircraft plant and arsenal complex at Tokyo; 2 others hit alternate targets; 2 B-29s are lost to flak and 1 to mechanical reasons (these are the last B-29s lost in action by the Twentieth AF).
- During the night of 8/9 Aug, 91 B-29s hit Fukiyama with incendiaries destroying 0.88 sq mi (2.28 sq km), 73.3% of the city; 1 hits an alternate target.
- 100 plus fighters from Iwo Jima hit airfields, factory buildings, barracks, and rail installations in the Osaka, Japan area.
- Okinawa-based B-24s, B-25s, A-26s, P-51s, and P-47s carry out numerous strikes against targets on Kyushu Island, Japan; targets include the Usa and Tsuiki Airfields, communications and transport targets all over Kyushu, shipping between Kyushu and Korea.
- Twentieth AF B-29s claim 10 Japanese planes downed.
THURSDAY, 9 AUGUST 1945
- The second atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki
- During the night of 9/10 Aug, 95 B-29s bomb the Nippon Oil Refinery at Amagasaki; 2 others hit alternate targets.
- B-25s over Kyushu Island, bomb airfields at Kanoya, the town of Noma, shipping in Beppu Bay, bridges, factories, and oil storage at Tsurusaki, and shipping, coastal villages, and communications targets in the Tsushima Strait area; A-26s and A-20s hit Kanoya Airfield and the industrial areas of Kushikino, Minato, and Shimahira; B-24s over W Honshu Island bomb the airfield at Iwakuni; 200 plus P-47s and P-51s hit numerous targets on Shikoku and Kyushu Islands, and in the Ryukyu Islands including airfields, barracks, harbor installations,
bridges, shipping, vehicles, and various factories and storage facilities.
- USN carrier-based aircraft from TF 38 carriers pound Japanese shipping and airfields, ranging from northern Honshu and Hokkaido to the coast of Korea, sinking auxiliary submarine chasers Shintohoku Maru and 2 Kongo Maru and 6 Takunan Maru, minesweepers W.1 and W.33, and fleet tanker Juko Maru, and merchant cargo ship No.36 Banshu Maru off Hamada. USN (TF 38) and British carrier aircraft (TF 37) sink escort vessels Amakusa and Inagi off Onagawa.
- TU 34.8.1, battleships and cruisers, shells industrial targets at Kamaishi, Honshu. Two British light cruisers participate in the bombardment as well.
FRIDAY, 10 AUGUST 1945
- During the day, 70 B-29s, escorted by 2 groups of P-51s, bomb the arsenal complex at Tokyo; 3 others hit alternate targets.
- During the night of 10/11 Aug, 31 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait, Nakaumi Lagoon, and waters at Sakai and Yonago.
- 80 B-24s, 118 B-25s, and 220 plus P-47s and P-38s pound the Kumamoto area; 20 plus B-24s bomb the Oita area; 39 P-51s provide cover over both targets; nearly 40 B-25s attack destroyers, cargo ships, and small vessels during a shipping sweep between Kyushu Island and Korea; P-47s bomb Sasebo Harbor; P-51s hit various targets of opportunity on Honshu and Kyushu and B-25s bomb targets of opportunity in the N Ryukyu Islands.
- USN carrier-based planes attack Japanese shipping, airfields and railroads in northern Honshu. Planes from British TF 37 participate as well. TF 38 planes sink submarine chaser Ch 42 and minesweeper W.1 in Yamada Bay; auxiliary minesweeper No.2 Kongo Maru off Onagawa; merchant cargo ship Masayoshi Maru and tanker No.3 Nanki Maru in Sakata harbor; merchant cargo ship No.14 Horai Maru off east coast of Korea; and merchant cargo ship No.5 Nishiki Maru off Hachinohe harbor. TF 37 or TF 38 planes sink auxiliary submarine chaser No.6 Takunan Maru off Onagawa. TF 38 planes damage auxiliary minelayer Koei Maru off Ominato, and merchant cargo ship Toyotama Maru off Sakata.
SATURDAY, 11 AUGUST 1945
- Okinawa-based B-24s, B-25s, A-26s, A-20s, and fighters flying about 530 sorties cause extensive destruction to shipping and shore installations in the Inland Sea, in the Tsushima area, and of communications, transportation, and other targets throughout Kyushu Island.
SUNDAY, 12 AUGUST 1945
- B-25s and A-26s hit Chiran and Kanoya Airfields while other A-26s and A-20s and P-47s hit the towns of Kushikino, Akune, and Miyazaki; more B-25s and fighter-bombers hit shipping and communications targets on Kyushu, the N Ryukyu Islands, and between Japan and Korea; the aircraft claim several small merchant ships sunk and damaged, and numerous bridges, railroads, factories, and other targets of opportunity hit.
MONDAY, 13 AUGUST 1945
- B-24s and B-25s from Okinawa pound shipping in the waters off Korea and Kyushu Island and in the Inland Sea claiming several vessels sunk and damaged; P-47s over Keijo encounter 20
Japanese aircraft and claim at least 16 shot down.
- USN aircraft from fast carrier task force bomb targets in the vicinity of Tokyo.
TUESDAY, 14 AUGUST 1945
- 157 B-29s bomb the naval arsenal at Hikari; 4 others hit alternate targets.
- 145 B-29s bomb the Osaka Army Arsenal and 2 hit alternate targets; 160 plus P-51 escort the B-29s and attack airfields in the Nagoya area; 1 P-51 is lost.
- 108 B-29s bomb the railroad yards at Marifu; 2 others hit alternate targets.
- 132 B-29s bomb the Nippon Oil Company at Tsuchizakiminato.
- 81 B-29s drop incendiaries on the Kumagaya urban area destroying 0.27 sq mi (0.7 sq km), 45% of the city area.
- 86 B-29s drop incendiaries on the Isezaki urban area destroying 0.166 sq mi (0.43 sq km), 17% of the city area.
- 39 B-29s mine the waters at Nanao, Shimonoseki, Miyazu, and Hamada.
These were the last B-29 missions against Japan
- B-25s, P-47s, and P-51s attack shipping in Korea and Kyushu waters, claiming several vessels destroyed and damaged. P-47s over the Osaka-Nagoya, Japan area claim several Japanese aircraft shot down.
WEDNESDAY, 15 AUGUST 1945
- Before receiving the announcement of the end of hostilities, planes from fast carrier task force aid airfields in the vicinity of Tokyo, encountering heavy aerial opposition. Second strike is cancelled while it is en route to objectives; pilots jettison their ordnance and return to their carriers.
Offensive operation cease.
Re: Interesting information on war in the Pacific
