March , 13, 1945
(20th AF) 274 B-29s bomb Osaka (third such fire-raid mission),
after 2400 hours local on the night of 13/14 Mar; because of 8/10
cloud cover,
bombing
is
by
radar;
the
heart of the city, an area of 8.1 square miles (21.0 square km), is
wiped out during 3 hours of bombing from altitudes of 5,000 to 9,600
ft (1,524 to 2,926 m). They drop 1,733 tons of incendiary bombs.
134,744 houses are destroyed, 1,363 houses damaged and Japanese casualties
are 4,665
dead or missing,
8,500 wounded and 501,578 affected. The B-29s claim 1-0-0 Japanese
aircraft; 2 B-29s are lost.
June 1, 1945
(20th AF)
458 B-29s attack Osaka; 148 P-51s of the VII
Fighter Command, enroute to the escort rendezvous with the B-29s,
encounter a severe weather front; flying behind in excessive turbulence,
many
of the fighters collide and 27 are lost; 27 others manage to find
the B-29s and escort them over the target; the B-29s claim 16 Japanese
fighters and the P-51s claim 1-0-0; 10 B-29s are lost. 2,789 tons
of incendiary bombs are dropped and 65,183 houses destroyed. 3,989
are killed or missing. 10,095 wounded and 218,682 affected.
June 7, 1945
(20th AF) Mission 189: 409 B-29s,
escorted by 138 VII Fighter Command P-51s, drop incendiary and high explosive
bombs on Osaka, hitting the east-central section of the city which contains
industrial and transportation targets and the Osaka Army Arsenal (largest in
Japan); despite being forced to bomb by radar because of heavy undercast, the
B-29s burn out over 2 square miles (5.2 square km) of the city, destroying
55,000+
buildings; P-51s claim 2-0-1 Japanese
aircraft; 2 B-29s and 1 P-51 are lost. 2,594 tons of incendiaries are dropped
and 58,165 houses destroyed. 2,832 are dead or missing. 6,682
wounded and 199,105 affected.
June 15, 1945
(20th AF) Mission 203: 444 B-29s fly
an incendiary mission against the Osaka- Amagasaki urban area, ending a month
of concentrated fire raids against large Japanese cities; an additional
1.9
square miles (4.9 square km) of Osaka and 0.59 square miles (1.5 square km)
of Amagasaki are burned out; 25 other B-29s hit alternate targets;
2 B-29s are
lost. 123 P-51s are dispatched as escort but 380 miles (612 km) from Iwo Jima
the fighters are warned by a weather plane of a towering front
over Japan and
they abort the mission; 1 P-51 is lost. The B-29s drop 3,157 tons of incendiaries
destroying 53,112 houses. 544 are killed or missing and 2,385 wounded
with
176,451
affected.
June 26, 1945
(20th AF) Mission 223: 64 B-29s hit
the light metal industry at Osaka and 4 others hit alternate targets.
Mission 224: 109 B-29s attack the
Osaka Arsenal; 3 others hit alternate targets; 1 B-29 is lost. Both missions
are escorted by P-51s. The total of 173 B-29s drop 1,140 tons of incendiaries
destroying 10,423 houses. 744
are killed
or missing,
with 983 wounded and 43,339 affected.
July 10, 1945
(RAN) British Carrier Task Force 37
(Vice Admiral H. B. Rawlings, RN) of four carriers and screen sweeps the Sea to the Osaka area.
July 19, 1945
(20th AF) Mission
276: 27 B-29s lay mines in the Kobe-Osaka area.
(FEAF) P-51s hit numerous targets on sweeps including Osaka.
