Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2009
- Messages
- 9,560
- Reaction score
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73 Years Ago Today: The Deadliest Air Raid in History, Operation Meetinghouse (Tokyo firebombing)
9 Mar 2018
https://theaviationist.com/2018/03/...t-air-raid-in-history-operation-meetinghouse/
I thought the bomblets used were magnesium based sticks from seeing their outline in documentaries showing them being dropped, but I'm confusing ours with the ones the Germans used in England. Ours were fueled and initiated in a strange way - jellied gasoline in cheesecloth socks were ejected from mortars AFTER landing as seen in this video:
[video=youtube;uPteVZyF4U0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPteVZyF4U0[/video]
Then, there was the very clever bat incendiary bomb to be used on Japan. Some bats escaped and set ablaze much of the base where the weapon was being developed. Bats were chosen because they go into hibernation when exposed to cold (high altitude bomb bay temps), can carry three times their own weight, and if released in daylight seek out dark roosts (like attics) to hide. The program was cancelled because it was too late in the war:
[video=youtube;LbPG8jSud14]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbPG8jSud14[/video]
The Almost Perfect World War II Plot To Bomb Japan With Bats
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-almost-perfect-world-war-ii-plot-to-bomb-japan-with-bats
The bomb canister, built to hold over a thousand bats:
The incendiary device on a bat:
Bat Bomb: World War II's Other Secret Weapon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0292718721/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
9 Mar 2018
https://theaviationist.com/2018/03/...t-air-raid-in-history-operation-meetinghouse/
I thought the bomblets used were magnesium based sticks from seeing their outline in documentaries showing them being dropped, but I'm confusing ours with the ones the Germans used in England. Ours were fueled and initiated in a strange way - jellied gasoline in cheesecloth socks were ejected from mortars AFTER landing as seen in this video:
[video=youtube;uPteVZyF4U0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPteVZyF4U0[/video]
Then, there was the very clever bat incendiary bomb to be used on Japan. Some bats escaped and set ablaze much of the base where the weapon was being developed. Bats were chosen because they go into hibernation when exposed to cold (high altitude bomb bay temps), can carry three times their own weight, and if released in daylight seek out dark roosts (like attics) to hide. The program was cancelled because it was too late in the war:
[video=youtube;LbPG8jSud14]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbPG8jSud14[/video]
The Almost Perfect World War II Plot To Bomb Japan With Bats
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-almost-perfect-world-war-ii-plot-to-bomb-japan-with-bats
The bomb canister, built to hold over a thousand bats:
The incendiary device on a bat:
Bat Bomb: World War II's Other Secret Weapon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0292718721/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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