Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II

During the last weeks of World War II, warships of the United States Navy, the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy bombarded industrial and military facilities in Japan. A major goal of the attacks was to provoke the Japanese military into committing some of its reserve force of aircraft into battle. However, the Japanese did not attempt to attack the Allied bombardment forces, and none of the involved warships suffered any damage.

About Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II in brief

During the last weeks of World War II, warships of the United States Navy, the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy bombarded industrial and military facilities in Japan. A major goal of the attacks was to provoke the Japanese military into committing some of its reserve force of aircraft into battle. However, the Japanese did not attempt to attack the Allied bombardment forces, and none of the involved warships suffered any damage. The Allied naval bombardments disrupted industrial production in the cities targeted, and convinced many Japanese civilians that the war was lost. Up to 1,739 Japanese were killed in the attacks, and about 1,497 were wounded. The only Allied casualties were 32 Allied prisoners of war killed inThe bombardments of Kamaishi. The first Allied bombardment of a Japanese coastal town was conducted on 14 July in conjunction with the air attacks on Hokkaido. The American Air Force claimed to have destroyed 25 Japanese aircraft, and sank 11 warships and 20 merchant ships. The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters had anticipated that the Allies would conduct bombardments and other operations with this goal and decided to not attack naval forces operating off Japan. Instead, the aircraft would remain in reserve until Allied landing operations in the home islands began. The USAAF B-29 Superfortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft also conducted photo reconnaissance flights over much of Japan in search of airfields and facilities which could be attacked by the Third Fleet. The Third Fleet began striking targets in Japan on 10 July under the command of Vice Admiral S.

John McCain. On 14 July, flying from the Task Force 38’s aircraft carriers attacked facilities around Tokyo and northern Honshu. These areas were outside the range of the U.S. Air Force bombers, and had at that point not been attacked in the war. A further eight warships and merchant ships were damaged and sank on the day of July 25, and the Japanese aircraft carrier Task Force Hhuonshu was sunk on the same day. The attacks were carried out by the American, British and New Zealand navies, as well as the British and Australian navies. US Navy battleships and cruisers were used to bombard military facilities and factories, and caused heavy damage to several of the targeted factories, aswell as nearby civilian areas. The final bombardment took place on 9 August, when Kamaishi was attacked again by American, UK and Kiwi warships. By mid-1945, cities and industrial facilities in the Japanese home islands were under sustained attack from United States Army Air Forces B- 29 Superfortresses heavy bombers based in the Mariana Islands. American Navy submarines sailed into Japan’s inshore waters to search for naval mines, and one of the submarines also landed a small raiding party. American and British warships attacked Hamamatsu, and on the night of 3031 several American destroyers shelled Shimizu. The last bombardment of the Japanese coastal cities in mid- 1945 was carried out on 9 July, when US Navy Battleships attacked the city of Shionomisaki.

Related posts:

Operation Ten-Go Battle of the Eastern Solomons Air raids on Japan Surrender of Japan