The was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States against military and civilian targets and population centers during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing states of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Background

Although the city of Hiratsuka was not a major population center, it had two major targets of military significance: the and , a

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

group military aircraft production factory, both located to the north of the city center. The

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...

railway connecting

Tokyo 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 ...

with

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

also ran through the city, which was designated as one of the primary landing beaches in the projected invasion of the Japanese home islands by

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

ground forces.

Air raids

Despite its obvious military significance, Hiratsuka was not bombed until the very late stages of World War II. The first major air raid occurred on the night of July 16, 1945. During this attack, 138

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 of the USAAF

20th Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interc ...

, 314th Bombardment Wing dropped a total of 1163 tons incendiary bombs on the city, destroying most of the city center. However, only 5% of the capacity of the Imperial Japanese Navy Ammunition Arsenal was affected, and only 10% of the capacity of the Nissan aircraft factory, as the bombing was concentrated on Hiratsuka's civilian population center, rather than the military industries located on the outskirts of town. The estimated civilian casualties were 228 people killed. 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 o ...

reported that 44.8 percent of the city had been totally destroyed.Wainstock. ''The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb''. p. 9. Following the July 16 air raid, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

launched another attack with 16

SB2C Helldiver The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few surv ...

s and 24 F4U Corsairs launched from the USS ''Wasp'', USS ''Shangri La'' and USS ''Yorktown'' on July 30, 1945. This attack was directed specifically at the production facilities of Nissan aircraft. Eighteen 500 lb bombs were dropped on Buildings 2, 6 and 7 of the plant, killing 25 workers, mostly schoolchildren who had been conscripted as labor. This raid was followed on August 13 by another attack involving 61 aircraft launched from USS ''Hancock'', USS ''Belleau Wood'', USS ''Bennington'', USS ''Lexington'' and USS ''San Jacinto''. The primary target was again the Nissan aircraft production facilities, by this time virtually abandoned due to lack of materials and damage in the previous air raid.

Notes

References

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External links

Pacific War Chronology

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiratsuka 1945 in Japan Firebombings in Japan Hiratsuka Hiratsuka, Kanagawa History of Kanagawa Prefecture Japan in World War II Japan–United States military relations Hiratsuka Hiratsuka World War II strategic bombing of Japan

Background

Air raids

See also

Notes

References

External links