Air raids on Japan

Part of Pacific War, World War II

Black and white photo of three multi-engined aircraft flying in formation while dropping a large number of bombs

B-29 Superfortress bombers dropping incendiary bombs on Yokohama during May 1945

Date	18 April 1942 – 15 August 1945
Location	Japanese home islands
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

Units involved

British Pacific Fleet

Republic of China Air Force

General Defense Command

Air General Army

Casualties and losses

5th Air Force: 31 aircraft
7th Air Force: 12 aircraft
VII Fighter Command: 157 aircraft, 91 killed
20th Air Force: 414 aircraft, over 2,600 killed

Estimates vary between 241,000 and 900,000 civilians killed
4,200 aircraft

Allied forces conducted many air raids on Japan during World War II, causing extensive destruction to the country's cities and killing between 241,000 and 900,000 people. During the first years of the Pacific War these attacks were limited to the Doolittle Raid in April 1942 and small-scale raids on military positions in the Kuril Islands from mid-1943. Strategic bombing raids began in June 1944 and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. Allied naval and land-based tactical air units also attacked Japan during 1945.

The United States military air campaign waged against Japan began in earnest in mid-1944 and intensified during the war's last months. While plans for attacks on Japan had been prepared prior to the Pacific War, these could not begin until the long-range B-29 Superfortress bomber was ready for combat. From June 1944 until January 1945, B-29s stationed in India staged through bases in China to make a series of raids on Japan, but this effort proved unsuccessful. The strategic bombing campaign was greatly expanded from November 1944 when bases in the Mariana Islands became available as a result of the Mariana Islands Campaign. These attacks initially attempted to target industrial facilities, but from March 1945 were generally directed against urban areas as much of the manufacturing process was carried out in small workshops and private homes. Aircraft flying from Allied aircraft carriers and the Ryukyu Islands also frequently struck targets in Japan during 1945 in preparation for the planned invasion of Japan scheduled for October 1945. During early August 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were struck and mostly destroyed by atomic bombs.

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Wikipedia