bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Japan > Japan Overpowered  > Japan Under Attack, updated by RAC 9 Sep 1920.   This webpage is currently incomplete.
This webpage covers the War with Japan in the Japanese Home Islands.

​The four major home islands, from south to north, are Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaido.

The seven largest cities, in order of size, are Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe. Hiroshima is the 11th largest city.

Not shown on the map is Nagasaki, a city whose name is known to many, on the west coast of Kyushu.
The Japanese Home Islands
The Japanese Home Islands
Air and Sea Attacks on the Japanese Home Islands
April 1942 - The Doolittle Raid

The Doolittle Raid was an attack from the USS Hornet of sixteen B-25 medium bombers led by Jimmy Doolittle against targets in Tokyo and other major Japanese cities. Most bombers then flew on to China, where the crews bailed out. The Doolittle Raid did little damage. However, it was a morale booster and propaganda victory for the United States. On the plus side, it may have encouraged Japan to keep more of its military resources in the Home Islands, rather than in the field. On the negative side, it led to the Japanese murders of thousands of Chinese civilians in areas that had aided Doolittle crew members after they landed. The Japanese Home Islands were not attacked from the air again until June 1944. 
B-25s on USS Hornet, Apr '42
B-25s on USS Hornet, Apr '42
The Underseas War
June 1944 - January 1945 - B-29 Raids from the CBI Theater

The development of the B-29 very heavy bomber was a major WW II project in the United States. The B-29 was designed for use in the vast distances found in the War with Japan.

The B-29 first saw combat in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater in June 1944, flying from bases in India against targets in the CBI Theater as well as targets in the Japanese Home Islands. For Home Island targets, B-29s first flew over the mountain ranges known as the Hump to advanced bases in China. 

B-29 raids of Japan from bases in India were never on a large scale. They were not cost effective and ceased in January 1945. 
B-29 Air Bases in the CBI Theater
CBI Theater Air Bases Used by B-29 Bombers
October 1944 - August 1945 - B-29 Raids from the Mariana Islands
1945 - Carrier-Based Raids
1945 - Bomber Raids from Okinawa
1945 - Naval Bombardment
The Atomic Bombs
First Atomic Bomb - Hiroshima
First Bomb - Hiroshima - 6 August 1945
Second Atomic Bomb - Nagasaki
Second Bomb - Nagasaki - 9 August 1945
Russia Enters the War with Japan
The Planned Invasion of the Japanese Home Islands
By the summer of 1945, the Japanese island empire had crumbled and the once-powerful Imperial Japanese Navy barely existed. Large portions of major Japanese cities already lay in ruins. The large island of Okinawa 400 miles south of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu was now available for use in Operation Downfall, the final Allied campaign of the war with Japan. The first invasion, Operation Olympic, was planned for November 1.

Japan still had a large army in China and thousands of planes in the home islands suitable for use as kamikazes. The increasing casualty count among Americans as the war approached Japan led many to predict the pending invasions would produce a blood bath among bogh Americans and Japanese. A million young American men born around 1927 viewed their future with apprehension as they, rather than existing veterans, would provide most of the cannon fodder. 

Fortunately, the use of nuclear weapons, the Russian entry into the war, and the flexible position of Emperor Hirohito brought an end to the war without an invasion of the Home Islands.
​
The Planned Invasion of Japan
The Planned Invasion of Japan
The Japanese Surrender
Sources for the Japan Under Attack webpage:
  • The webpage header image Tokyo after Firebombing shows the aftermath of the March 1945 B-29 incendiary bombing raids over an area of Tokyo. It is courtesy of http://carynschulenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Devastation-of-Tokyo-2.jpg.
  • The photo B-25s on Hornet, April 1942 is courtesy of the Museum of the Air Force.
  • The Japanese Home Islands map is courtesy of en.wikipedia.com.
  • The map captioned CBI Theater Air Bases Used by B-29 Bombers is courtesy of semanticscholar.org.
  • The First Bomb - Hiroshima - 6 August 1945 photo is courtesy of upi.com.
  • The Second Bomb - Nagasaki - 9 August 1945 photo is courtesy of truthout.org.
  • the diagram The Planned Invasion of Japan is courtesy of kilroywashere.org.

Pottawattamie County, Iowa Area WW II Dead -  Japan Under Attack10-01 - Japan Under Attack (nine dead, updated 3 Sep 2020)
  • Deaths due to US Pacific attacks on the Japanese Home Islands.
  • The CBI-China webpage has B-29 deaths from 1944 raids from China on Japan.
  • Includes deaths from the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, which had delivered parts of Little Boy, the Hiroshima atomic bomb, to Tinian.
  • Includes deaths while training for the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands.
† Davenport, William Thomas Jr., SN 17-122-771, USAAF, Pott. Co.
crew #P-46, 62nd Bomb. Sqdn., 39th Bomb. Gp., 20th AF, Guam; B-29 #44-69889 The Slic Chic right gunner; KIA 29 May 1945, 120 miles NE of Tori-Shima, S of Tokyo; plane hit by flak over Yokohama and ditched, four lost, eight saved; BNR.
† Garner, William Frederick, SN O-240615, US Naval Aviation, Pott. Co.
Fighter Sqdn. VBF-83 on USS Essex (CV-9); F4U Corsair pilot; KIA 18 Mar 1945, off Tomitake Airfield, Kyushu, Japan; shot down; BNR.
† Hansen, Elvin Emsley, SN O-739093, USAAF, Harrison Co. & Los Angeles Co., CA
869th Bomb. Sqdn., 497th Bomb. Gp based on Saipan; B-29 Superfortress #42-24595 Pacific Union bombardier; KIA 14 Jan 1945 NW of Saipan on a mission to Nagoya, Japan, plane exploded and ditched, eight died, four survived; BNR.
† Messerschmidt, William George Jr., SN 316-95-00, US Navy, Shelby & Harrison Cos.
submarine USS Pompano (SS-181); KIA ~ Sep 1943 Pacific Ocean; Pompano failed to return to Midway Is. from patrol off Japan; BNR.
† Pedersen, Roy Marion Jr., SN O-2071822, USAAF, Pott. Co.
866 Bomb. Sqdn, 494 Bomb. Gp., 7th AF based on Okinawa; B-24J #44-40680 navigator; KIA 28 Jul ’45 over Kure Harbor, Kyushu, Japan; plane shot down by flak bombing battleship Haruna; seven POW crew died 6 Aug 1945 from the Hiroshima atomic bomb; two crew survived; BNR.
† Rhoten, Roy Edward, SN 958-10-13, US Navy, Harrison Co.
cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35); d. 30 Jul 1945 in the Philippine Sea en route from Guam to Leyte; Indianapolis sunk by Japanese submarine I-58, 879 died; BNR.
† Sander, Merle Edward, SN O-418945, US Navy, Harrison Co.
Torpedo Sqdn. VT-34 on USS Monterey (CVL-26); Grumman/General Motors TBM Avenger pilot; DNB 9 May 1945 near the Ryukyu Is., Japan, glide bombing exercise preparing for raids on Japan; BNR.
† Welty, Robert L., SN O-407132, US Naval Aviation, Douglas Co., NE
VF-12 Sqdn., CVG-12 Gp.; carrier USS Randolph (CV-15); F6F-5 #77880 pilot; KIA 14 May 1945 over Kyushu, Japan; BNR.
† Widows, Harry James Jr., SN O-771857, USAAF, Mills Co.
873rd Bomb. Sqdn., 498th Bomb. Gp.; B-29 Superfortress #42-65295 co-pilot; KIA 29 Apr 1945 Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyushu, Japan; on a mission to bomb Kyushu airfields, plane was hit and exploded.