Japanese WW2 "Fu-Go" Balloon Bombs (2016)(ahf.nuclearmuseum.org)
ahf.nuclearmuseum.org
Japanese WW2 "Fu-Go" Balloon Bombs (2016)
https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/japanese-balloon-bombs-fu-go/
6 comments
In a sad and strange twist of fate, Reverend Archie Mitchell, who survived the Japanese balloon attack that killed his family, later traveled to Vietnam and was captured by the Vietcong. Negotiations for his release fell apart and he was never seen again. He might be presumed among the very few American civilian casualties of the Vietnam War.
A nice read, finished with an abomination:
> When the first balloons arrived in America, they technically became the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile.
I mean, checking what ballistic and missile means, would have helped here.
> When the first balloons arrived in America, they technically became the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile.
I mean, checking what ballistic and missile means, would have helped here.
They certainly were not ballistic.
Whether they could be called missiles is less clear.
The original sense of the word "missile" was "something that can be thrown" (e.g. javelins or arrows).
Balloons cannot really be thrown.
Nevertheless, sometimes "missile" had been used in a wider sense, as "something that can be sent away". In this loose sense the word could have been applied to these balloons.
Whether they could be called missiles is less clear.
The original sense of the word "missile" was "something that can be thrown" (e.g. javelins or arrows).
Balloons cannot really be thrown.
Nevertheless, sometimes "missile" had been used in a wider sense, as "something that can be sent away". In this loose sense the word could have been applied to these balloons.
I learned about these bombs from the PC video game Red Alert 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer:_Red_Alert...
I used to live a block away from a historical marker in the Dundee neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. It marked the site where one of these balloon bombs exploded (in the sky, harmlessly). It's crazy how far they could go.
"They also concluded that the main damage from these bombs came from the incendiaries, which were especially dangerous for the forests of the Pacific Northwest. The winter was the dry season, during which forest fires could turn very destructive and spread easily."
Either the climate has changed drastically since 1944, or this is nonsense. For the past 30 years, winter has been the wet season. It rains almost every day for November through April. On the other hand, it hardly ever rains on July and August, and very little in September.
Either the climate has changed drastically since 1944, or this is nonsense. For the past 30 years, winter has been the wet season. It rains almost every day for November through April. On the other hand, it hardly ever rains on July and August, and very little in September.