The was part of the

strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...

campaign waged by the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

against military and civilian targets and population centers during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing stages of World War II, and included two separate air raids in 1945. The second, and larger, air raid of July 6, 1945 is also referred to as the “

Tanabata , also known as the Star Festival ( 星祭り, ''Hoshimatsuri''), is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair r ...

Air Raid”, as it occurred on the night of a traditional festival.

Background

The city of Chiba is a seaport and population center on the eastern fringe of the

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In terms of military significance, it is a prefectural capital and a major regional transportation hub. Its major military targets included a large steel mill operated by

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Chūō, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo, Japan. I ...

and an aircraft plant operated by Hitachi Aircraft Company. The city had suffered minor damage on April 18, 1942 when it was bombed by one of the

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

bombers of the

Doolittle Raid The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Jap ...

; however, it was bypassed during the Great Tokyo Air Raid of March 10, 1945.

Air raids

Air Raid of June 10, 1945

On the morning of June 10, 1945, 100

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

bombers attacked the Hitachi Aircraft plant in southern Chiba. This plant produced primarily training aircraft for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

, and aircraft engines, and was also involved in research and design work. The bombers arrived over target at 0745, bombing by radar through cloud cover. The resultant bombing killed 324 civilians in central and southern Chiba, many of whom were children at the Chiba Prefectural Women's High School, which was totally destroyed by the attack.

Air Raid of July 6, 1945

On the night of July 6, 1945, 129

from the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

58th Bombardment Wing departed from

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 es ...

. Five aircraft were forced back, but the remaining 124 aircraft arrived over Chiba at 0139 hours and commenced a

firebombing Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs. In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary d ...

attack with 889 tons of E-46 incendiary cluster bombs and T4E4 fragmentation

cluster bomb A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehic ...

s on the central part of the city from an altitude of , lasting until 0305 hours. The E46 incendiary bombs were set to open at , releasing incendiary devices on the largely wooden city. The resultant

firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been use ...

destroyed 43.5% of the city. The estimated civilian casualties in the July 6 raid was 1,204 killed. The B-29 bombers returned to the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, bet ...

without damage or loss, although 14 aircraft were forced to divert to

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

due to mechanical problems. A year after the war, the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific War) The United States Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS) was a written report created by a board of experts assembled to produce an impartial assessment of the effects of the Anglo-American strategic bombing of Nazi Germany during the European theatre ...

reported that 43.5 percent of the city had been totally destroyed by both raids combined.Wainstock. ''The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb''. Page 9

References

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Notes

External links

Pacific War ChronologyChiba City site with photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiba Bombing of Chiba Chiba Japan in World War II Chiba Chiba World War II strategic bombing of Japan 1945 in Japan Firebombings in Japan