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First, the discovery of a large balloon miles off the California coast by the Navy on November 4, 1944. Peace Is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs The downside to such secrecy was that American citizens didn't know what these weapons were. February 3, 2023 at 3:02 p.m. EST A Japanese bomb-carrying paper balloon in North America in 1945. They each carried four incendiaries and one thirty-pound high-explosive bomb. Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. After each question they answered yes. To date, only a few hundred of the devices have been found and most are still unaccounted for. A calibrated timer would release a 11-pound (5.0kg) incendiary bomb at the end of the flight. One of these bombs killed six . Marker Text During World War II the Japanese built some nine thousand hydrogen-filled, paper balloons to carry small bombs to North America, hoping to set fires and inflict casualties. The balloon caused sparks and a fireball that resulted in the power being cut. In 1945, a Japanese Balloon Bomb Killed Six Americans, Five of Them [24], Few American officials believed at first that the balloons could have come directly from Japan. Three hundred sixty-one of the balloons have been found in twenty-six states, Canada and Mexico. 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. When Japanese balloons threatened American skies during World War II The Japanese balloon bomb, in all its terrible splendor. While much of the American public may have forgotten, the families in Bly never would. Japan's balloon bombs remain little known 70 years after the end of World War II for several reasons. Please be respectful of copyright. 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 firebombing of Japanese cities by U.S. B 29 four-engine bombers destroyed two of the three hydrogen plants needed by the project. 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 that would instill panic and divert resources from the war effort. Fu-Go ([], fug [heiki], lit. He can be found online at www.christopherklein.com or on Twitter @historyauthor. In the end, there would be about 300 incidents recorded with various parts recovered, but no more lives lost. In Bly, Oregon, a Sunday school picnic approached the debris of a balloon. In December 1944, a military intelligence project began evaluating the weapon by collecting the various evidence from the balloon sites. The women folded 1,000 paper cranes as a symbol of regret for the lives lost. 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.