"Operation Meertighouse"


On March 9, 1945, a total of 334 US B-29 bombers, which had previously been assembled from all fronts, took off from the newly established base on the recently recaptured Mariana Islands in the Pacific for "Operation Meetinghouse". .:





Their destination is the Japanese capital of Tokyo....:





The US Chief of Staff, General George Marshall...



... had initially advocated using the proven "Flying Fortress" type B-17, which was available in large numbers.

But USAAF chief General Curtis LeMay...



... was keen to use the new B-29, which was equipped with a pressurized cabin and was significantly larger, could fly much higher than the B-17 - and was therefore practically invulnerable to Japanese anti-aircraft fighters.



In addition, each B-29 could carry more than twice the bomb load of a B-17!



LeMay had prevailed against Marshall - and the bomber formation appeared in several waves in the night from May 9th to May 10th, 1945 over the Japanese capital...:



In less than two hours, the US-Americans unload 1,667 tons of bombs over Tokyo...





... mainly newly developed napalm bombs, whose devastating phosphorus fire is practically impossible to extinguish, and which have proven to be better suited to the light construction of Japanese houses than conventional high-explosive bombs...:





The US-Americans had previously clarified exactly where the most flammable buildings were in Tokyo - and concentrated their attack on these areas...:



When the bombers finally turn around and head for their home bases (Marianas, Saipan and Tinian), Tokyo is all but gone!








The US planes leave behind a veritable mountain of dead - over 100,000 Japanese, mostly civilians, perish in the inferno!





"Operation Meetinghouse" is the - by far! - most horrible conventional air attack of all times and in terms of casualties can only be compared with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima (140,000 dead) and Nagasaki (74,000 dead).