Finally, on the auspicious day of November 3, 1944, chosen for being the birthday of former Emperor Meiji, the first of the balloons were launched. Sherman Shoemaker, Edward Engen, Jay Gifford, Joan Patzke, and Dick Patzke, all between 11 to 14 years old, were killed, along with Rev. This discovery greenlighted the mass production of 10,000 balloons in preparation for the winter winds of 1944 and 1945. Early U.S. theories speculated that they were launched from German prisoner of war camps or from Japanese-American internment centers. Two days after the initial launch, a navy patrol off the coast of California spotted some tattered cloth in the sea. Not only were the minister and his wife, Elsie, expecting their first child, but he had also accepted a new post as pastor of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in the sleepy logging town of Bly, Oregon. According to the two men interviewed, the Army had stopped the balloon program because of a lack of resources. Yet overall, the military concluded that the attacks were scattered and aimless. Fu-Go Balloon Bombs were experimental weapons launched by the Japanese late in 1944, destined to explore on American soil. Elsie, the unborn baby and the five children were killed almost instantly by the blast. They confirmed that even if the war had continued on for another year, the balloons would not have been used in the upcoming winter winds. Fu-Go ([], fug [heiki], lit. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. Special thanks to Annie Patzke, Leda and Wayne Hunter, and Ilana Sol. Hitching a ride on a jet stream, these weapons from Japan could float soundlessly across the Pacific Ocean to their marks in. Sol recalls working on these interviews and just thinking my God, this one death caused so much pain, what if it was everyone and everything? The balloons sailed nearly 10,000 km eastward across the Pacific . [8] According to U.S. interviews with Japanese officials after the war, the balloon bomb campaign was undertaken "almost exclusively for home propaganda purposes", with the Army having little expectation of effectiveness. In addition, the balloons could only be launched during certain wind conditions. The balloons weren't designed to navigate themselves and that's part of the wonder of this Japans offensive. He can be found online at www.christopherklein.com or on Twitter @historyauthor. Few balloons reached their targets, and the jet stream winds were only powerful enough in wintertime when snowy and damp conditions in North American forests precluded the ignition of large fires. The tsu site featured its own hydrogen plant, while the second and third battalions used hydrogen gas manufactured at factories near Tokyo. They emphasized that the balloons did not represent serious threats, but should be reported. In a snow-covered, heavily forested area southwest of the Montana town, two woodchoppers found a balloon with Japanese markings on it. "[30] The Imperial Army only ever learned of the balloon at Kalispell, from an article in the Chinese newspaper Ta Kung Pao on December 18, 1944. Using 40-foot-long ropes attached to the balloons, the military mounted incendiary devices and 30-pound high-explosive bombs rigged to drop over North America and spark massive forest fires. Another balloon bomb struck a power line in Washington state, cutting off electricity to the Hanford Engineer Works, where the U.S. was conducting its own secret project, manufacturing plutonium for use in nuclear bombs. Still largely unknown, these armaments were a byproduct of an atmospheric experiment by the Axis power. While the balloons failed to be an effective weapon, they were a product of wartime scientific innovation. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Peace Is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought. Mitchell would go on to marry the Betty Patzke, the elder sibling out of ten children in Dick and Joan Patzkes family (they lost another brother fighting in the war), and fulfill the dream he and Elsye once shared of going overseas as missionaries. hide caption. To this day, historians believe not all balloons have been recovered. On Nov. 3, 1944, the first of more than 9,000 bomb-bearing balloons were released. Word of the Bly, Oregon, deathsand the strange mechanism that had killed them was overshadowed by the dizzying pace of the finale in the European theater. The weapon was a huge balloon made of four layers of impermeable mulberry paper. On the morning of May 5, 1945, she decided she felt decent enough to join her husband, Rev. Flashes of light, the sound of explosion, the discovery of mysterious fragmentsall amounted to little concrete information to go on. The investigators learned that the Japanese had planned to make 20,000 balloons, but had fallen short of that mark. When inflated with hydrogen, the balloons grew to 33 feet in diameter. Japanese fire balloon reinflated at Moffett Field, California, after it had been shot down by a Navy aircraft January 10, 1945. (Tribune News Service) In late 1944, the Japanese military began launching 9,000 unmanned bomb-carrying balloons across the Pacific to bombard the West Coast. In addition, it is included in the Nebraska State Historical Society series list. "They put some C-4 on either side of this thing," Proce said, "and they blew it to smithereens. The Beatrice Daily Sun reported that the pilotless weapons had landed in seven different Nebraska towns, including Omaha. The balloons, or "envelopes", designed by the Japanese army were made of lightweight paper fashioned from the bark of trees. The officials determined that the balloon was of Japanese origin, but how it had gotten to Montana and where it came from was a mystery.". (U.S. Army Air Corps) Borne out of desperationand perhaps a touch of ingeniousnessthe Imperial Japanese Army in November 1944 began unleashing an estimated 9,300 "fire balloons" across the Pacific Ocean. For Rev. The propaganda largely aimed to play up the success of the Fu-Go operation, and warned the US that the balloons were merely a prelude to something big.. [36], In late March, the United Press (UP) wrote a detailed story on the balloons intended for its distributors across the country. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? So presumably, we may never know the extent of the damage. Three hundred sixty-one of the balloons have been found in twenty-six states, Canada and Mexico. The first was launched November 3, 1944. Department of Geological Sciences & Engineering. In the end, there would be about 300 incidents recorded with various parts recovered, but no more lives lost. When does spring start? Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. By then, the balloons would be expected to reach the mainland; an estimated 1,000 out of 9,000 launched made the journey. "Distribution of the balloon bombs was quite large," says Nason. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. Elsye Mitchell almost didnt go on the picnic that sunny day in Bly, Oregon. [17] The bombs carried most commonly were: A balloon launch organization of three battalions was formed. Dottie McGinnis, sister of Dick and Joan Patzke, later recalled to her daughter in a family memory book the shock of coming home to cars gathered in the driveway, and the devastating news that two of her siblings and friends from the community were gone. Follow me @NPRHistoryDept; lead me by writing to lweeks@npr.org. According to a Dec. 14, 1944, newspaper article in the Thermopolis Independent Record, three men and a woman at the Ben Goe Coal mine west of Thermopolis saw a parachute lit up by flares. A large explosion occurred; the four boys (Edward Engen, 13; Jay Gifford, 13; Dick Patzke, 14; and Sherman Shoemaker, 11) were killed instantly, while Joan Patzke (13) and Elsie died shortly afterwards. [34] On April 22, officers investigated the nationally-syndicated comic strip Tim Tyler's Luck, which depicted a Japanese balloon being recovered by the crew of an American submarine. The reverend would later describe that tragic moment to local newspapers: Ihurriedly called a warning to them, but it was too late. The automatic altitude control device allowed the balloon to travel at 30,000 feet during the 3-to-4-day trip to the United States. [24] Through Firefly, the military used the United States Forest Service as a proxy, unifying fire suppression communications among federal and state agencies and modernizing the Forest Service through the influx of military personnel, equipment, and tactics. After lumbering up a one-lane gravel road, Mitchell parked his sedan and began to unload picnic baskets and fishing rods as Elsie, five months pregnant, and the children explored a knoll sloping down to a nearby creek. The Japanese harnessed air currents to create the first intercontinental weaponsballoons. The effects of that moment would reverberate throughout the Mitchell family, shifting the trajectory of their lives in unexpected ways. They discovered that a balloon could hypothetically travel on average 60 hours on this jet stream and successfully reach America. The Fourth Air Force, Western Defense Command, and Ninth Service Command organized the "Firefly Project" with a number of Stinson L-5 Sentinel and Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft and 2,700 troops, including 200 paratroopers of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, who were stationed at critical points for use in firefighting missions. Just then there was a big explosion. I got out there and I start tromping all over that thing and got all the gas out of it. [25] Many of the recovered balloons also had a high percentage of unexploded plugs, caused by failure of their batteries or fuses. As more sightings occurred, the U.S. government, with the cooperation of the media, adopted a policy of censorship and silencing, to reduce the chances of panic among American residents and to deny the Japanese any information about the success of the launches.Discouraged by the apparent failure of their efforts (in the absence of any reference in the . February 3, 2023 at 3:02 p.m. EST A Japanese bomb-carrying paper balloon in North America in 1945. [40] As predicted by Imperial Army officials, the winter and spring launch dates had limited the chances of the incendiary bombs starting forest fires due to the high levels of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest; forests were generally snow-covered or too damp to catch fire easily. [25] In the "Lightning Project", health and agricultural officers, veterinarians, and 4-H clubs were instructed to report any strange new diseases of crops or livestock caused by potential biological warfare. Left: A Japanese balloon bomb reportedly discovered and photographed by the U.S. Navy in Japan.Large indoor spaces such as sumo halls, sound stages, theaters, and aircraft hangers were required for balloon assembly. For Reverend Archie Mitchell, the spring of 1945 was a season of change. [1], The balloon bomb concept was developed by the Imperial Japanese Army's Number Nine Research Laboratory (also known as the Noborito Laboratory), founded in 1927. They also confirmed that there was no plan for biological or chemical warfare with the balloons. The American government, however, continued to maintain silence until May 5, 1945. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Feb. 21, 2023 4:50 AM PT In late 1944, the Japanese military began launching 9,000 unmanned bomb-carrying balloon across the Pacific to bombard the West Coast. The . Location. The only casualties they caused were the deaths of five innocent children and a pregnant woman, the first and only fatalities in the continental United States due to enemy action in World War II. When Col. Sigmund Poole, head of the U.S. Geological Survey military geology unit at the time, was given sand from one of the balloon's ballast bags, he is alleged to have asked, "Where'd the damn sand come from?". In addition, B-29s had bombed the Showa Denkochemical plant, which heavily limited Japans hydrogen resources. They were developed in strict secrecy by the Japanese military as its naval fleet suffered a crushing blow in 1944 and could no longer strike the United States. Not according to biology or history. They sent a bus up with all of this specially trained personnel, gloves, full contamination suits, masks. These animals can sniff it out. The silence was successful, as the Japanese only heard about one balloon incident in America, through the Chinese newspaperTakungpao. Mitchell and the families of the children lost, the unique circumstances of their devastating loss would be shared by none and known by few. In subsequent weeks, the strip's storyline saw the protagonists fight monster vines that sprang from seeds the balloon was carrying, created by an evil Japanese horticulturalist. During the day, heat from the sun increased pressure, risking the balloon rising above the air currents or bursting. Reports of fallen balloons began to trickle in to local law enforcement with enough frequency that it was clear something unprecedented in the war had emerged that demanded explanation. Sightings of the airborne bombs began cropping up throughout the western U.S. in late 1944. While Archie parked their car, Elsye and the children stumbled upon a strange-looking object in the forest and shouted back to him. First, the discovery of a large balloon miles off the California coast by the Navy on November 4, 1944. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. Prompted by the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942, the Japanese developed the balloon . Bats and agaves make tequila possibleand theyre both at risk, This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome. Backup devices restored power to the site, but it took three days for its nuclear reactors to be brought to full capacity; the plutonium produced in the reactors was later used in Fat Man, the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in August 1945.[42]. Please be respectful of copyright. Balloon bombs launched from Japan were intended for the United Statesmany hit their mark. [Courtesy: National . Japans latest weapon, the balloon bombs were intended to cause damage and spread panic in the continental United States. [19] The Army estimated that 10 percent of the balloons would survive the journey across the Pacific Ocean. These skeletons may have the answer, Scientists are making advancements in birth controlfor men, Blood cleaning? [24] In all, about 20 of the balloons were shot down by aircraft. A Japanese Fu-Go balloon found near Bigelow, Kansas, on February 23, 1945. National and state agencies were placed on heightened alert, and forest rangers were asked to report sightings or finds. [45] The surrounding Mitchell Recreation Area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The bomb that exploded . Around 300 of them landed in the United States. Despite the launches being top secret, once released, balloons were not hidden to those in the neighboring areas. Citing the need to prevent panic and avoid giving the enemy location information that could allow them to hone their targeting, the U.S. military censored reports about the Japanese balloon bombs. Lieutenant Commander Kiyoshi Tanaka headed an group that developed a 30-foot (9.1m) rubberized silk balloon, designated the B-Type (in contrast to the Army's A-Type). But it shut down the plant cold, and it took us about three days to get it back up to full power again.. total war effort mindset preached by the Japanese Empire, an interview with Stephane Groueff in 1965, Fu-Go: The Curious History of Japan's Balloon Bomb Attack on America, Japans World War II Balloon Bomb Attacks on North America. Reportedly, these were the only documented casualties of the plot. Each measured 33 feet in diameter, was inflated with 19,000 cubic feet of hydrogen, and . A canister from the balloon's incendiary bomb was found by a man. Furthermore, the Army had little evidence that the balloons were reaching North America, let alone causing damage. His team of geologists knew it wasn't a type of sand found in North America or Hawaii. During the Second World War the Japanese conceived . In 1987, a group of Japanese women who were involved in Fu-Go production as schoolgirls delivered 1,000 paper cranes to the families of the victims as a symbol of peace and forgiveness, and cherry trees were planted around the monument on the fiftieth anniversary of the incident in 1995. [24], Few American officials believed at first that the balloons could have come directly from Japan. A month later, on December 6, 1944, witnesses reported an explosion and flame near Thermopolis, Wyoming. Toronto Star Archives/Toronto Star via Getty Images. While much of the American public may have forgotten, the families in Bly never would. I had been walking around on that stuff and they had not told me! [11] The original proposal called for night launches from submarines located 600 miles (970km) off of the U.S. coast, a distance the balloons could cover in 10 hours. The carriage was attached and the guide ropes were disconnected. Between then and April 1945, experts estimate about 1,000 of them reached North America; 284 are documented as sighted or found, many as fragments (see map). A one-hour activating fuse for the altimeters was ignited at launch, allowing the balloon time to ascend above these two thresholds. Japanese balloon bomb kills 6 in Oregon. The new year once started in Marchhere's why, Jimmy Carter on the greatest challenges of the 21st century, This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean, How cosmic rays helped find a tunnel in Egypt's Great Pyramid, Who first rode horses? Or Joan dead? Military officials began to piece together that a strange new weapon, with markings indicating it had been manufactured in Japan, had reached American shores. As a result, a single one achieved its goal. Matthias recalled that although the Hanford plant did lose about two days of production, we were all tickled to death this happened because it proved the back-up system worked. The second battalion of 700 men in three squadrons operated six launch stations at Ichinomiya, Chiba; and the third battalion of 600 men in two squadrons operated six launch stations at Nakoso, Fukushima. Japan halted the operation in April 1945. In December 1944, a military intelligence project began evaluating the weapon by collecting the various evidence from the balloon sites. [c][27] Experiments conducted on recovered balloons to determine their radar reflectivity also had little success. In February 17, 1945, the Japanese used the Domei News Agency to broadcast directly to America in English and claimed that 500 or 10,000 casualties (the news accounts differ) had been inflicted and fires caused, all from their fire balloons. Free shipping for many products! It was made of 600 pieces of paper. Missouri University of Science & Technology. All rights reserved. All Rights Reserved. [4], After the Doolittle Raid in April 1942, in which American planes bombed the Japanese mainland, the Imperial General Headquarters directed Noborito to develop a retaliatory bombing capability against the U.S.[5] In summer 1942, Noborito investigated several proposals, including long-range bombers that could make one-way sorties from Japan to cities on the U.S. West Coast, and small bomb-laden seaplanes that could be launched from submarines. The balloons were carried by high-altitude and high-speed currents over the Pacific Ocean, now known as the jet stream, and used a sophisticated ballast system to control altitude. Fu-Go ([], fug [heiki], lit. How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? In 1944, the Japanese military tried to instill panic in the U.S. by launching thousands of bombs carried across the Pacific by means of hydrogen-filled balloons. hide caption. The balloon bombs, however, presaged the future of warfare. On September 19, two Americans spoke with Lieutenant Colonel Terato Kunitake and a Major Inouye. [9], By March 1943, Kusaba's team developed a 20-foot (6.1m) design capable of flying at 25,000 feet (7,600m) for more than 30 hours. The balloons, each carrying an anti-personnel bomb and two incendary bombs, took about seventy hours to cross the Pacific Ocean. [28] Statistical analysis of valve serial numbers suggested that tens of thousands of balloons had been produced. [38] In total, about 9,300 balloons were launched in the campaign (approximately 700 in November 1944, 1,200 in December, 2,000 in January 1945, 2,500 in February, 2,500 in March, and 400 in April), of which about 300 were found or observed in North America.