Bombing of Kuala Lumpur (1945)
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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 ...
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 F ...
heavy bombers made two air raids on railway facilities in Japanese-occupied
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
during February and March 1945. The first of these attacks took place on 18 February, and involved 48 or 49 B-29s based in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
. The second raid was made on 10 March by either 24 or 26 aircraft. These attacks inflicted extensive damage on the Central Railroad Repair Shops (present day KL Sentral). No American aircraft were lost in either operation.


Background

Japanese forces captured Kuala Lumpur on 11 January 1942 during the Malayan Campaign. On 28 January that year,
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 ...
(USAAF) Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers operating from Palembang in the Dutch East Indies bombed Japanese-held airfields near the city. Kuala Lumpur later became a key railroad center for
Japanese-occupied Malaya The then British colony of Malaya was gradually occupied by the Japanese between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 16 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. The ...
. In early 1944, the USAAF commenced the first deployment of its new
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 F ...
heavy bombers. As part of
Operation Matterhorn Operation Matterhorn was a military operation of the United States Army Air Forces in World War II for the strategic bombing of Japanese forces by B-29 Superfortresses based in India and China. Targets included Japan itself, and Japanese bases ...
,
XX Bomber Command The XX Bomber Command was a United States Army Air Forces bomber formation. Its last assignment was with Twentieth Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 16 July 1945. History The idea of basing Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in ...
was based in India, and given the primary role of attacking targets in western Japan via airfields in central China. In addition, the Command was directed to also strike targets in
Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
and East Asia. XX Bomber Command made its first deep penetration raid into South-East Asia on the night of 9/10 August 1944, when 56 B-29s made an unsuccessful attack against oil targets near Palembang during Operation Boomerang. Attacks were also made against Singapore on 5 November and 11 January 1945. On 15 January 1945, XX Bomber Command was directed to stop flying missions via China, and instead make "limited operations" against targets in Japanese-occupied areas of South East Asia from its bases in India. This was an interim use for the command, ahead of it being redeployed to the
Marianas 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, betw ...
in April where it would join the main strategic bombing effort against Japan.


Attacks

The B-29s made a successful attack against Japanese naval facilities at Singapore on 1 February. Preparations commenced immediately afterwards for another raid against Singapore, which was scheduled for 6 February. However, on 3 February the
South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir A ...
(SEAC) directed XX Bomber Command to not make further attacks on naval facilities in Singapore or Penang as it was hoped to capture them intact later in the war. SEAC's commander Louis, Lord Mountbatten specified that several targets in the Kuala Lumpur area would instead be XX Bomber Command's primary target. Industrial facilities in and around Singapore and Saigon were identified as the secondary targets. XX Bomber Command's first raid against Kuala Lumpur was made on 19 February. The target of this operation was the Central Railroad Repair Shops. Either 48 or 49 B-29s from the 444th and
468th Bombardment Group The 468th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. The unit served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater and China Burma India Theater of World War II as part of Twentieth Air Force. The 468th B ...
s arrived over the city. The force descended to an altitude below to get below clouds. The attack was successful, with 67 percent of buildings at the workshop being destroyed, along with railway tracks and rolling stock. Four other B-29s bombed alternate targets. All of the B-29s returned to base. As a result of this raid, many buildings in Kuala Lumpur did not display Japanese flags during a public holiday called to honour the Japanese forces in March due to fears that doing so would make them a target for any further Allied attacks. The 468th Bombardment Group made a second attack on the Central Railroad Repair Shops on 10 March. Either 24 or 26 B-29s made the attack. As no anti-aircraft guns fired on the bombers and few Japanese fighter aircraft were encountered, the B-29s descended to . The bombing was highly accurate, and destroyed a roundhouse, several other buildings and other railroad equipment. The nearby
Selangor Museum Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan ...
was also severely damaged. Three other B-29s attacked Khao Huakhang and one attempted to bomb a ship near Port Swettenham. The American force did not suffer any losses.


Aftermath

XX Bomber Command completed its last mission, an attack on Singapore, on 30 March. Its combat units subsequently moved to the Marianas Islands. Not all of the bombs dropped during the attacks on Kuala Lumpur exploded, and British Army Royal Engineers units needed to clear unexploded ordnance from the Kuala Lumpur railway yards following the war. A wartime bomb exploded outside
Kuala Lumpur railway station ( Jawi) zh, 吉隆坡 ta, கோலாலம்பூர் , address = Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50621 Kuala Lumpur , borough = , country = Malaysia , coordinates = , grid_name ...
in April 1949, leaving a -wide crater.


References


Citations


Works consulted

* * * * * * {{coord missing, Malaysia 1945 in British Malaya Military history of Malaya during World War II
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
History of Kuala Lumpur