Allied naval bombardments of Japan during World War II
Encyclopedia
During the last weeks of World War II
, warships of the United States Navy
, Britain's Royal Navy
and the Royal New Zealand Navy
bombarded several cities and industrial facilities in Japan
. These bombardments caused heavy damage to several of the factories targeted, as well as nearby civilian areas. None of the Allied ships involved in these attacks were damaged.
the U.S. Navy's fast battleship
s were mainly used to escort the groups of aircraft carrier
s which formed the United States Pacific Fleet's
main striking force. They were occasionally used to bombard Japanese positions near the shore, however, and fought a small number of actions with Japanese 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 Superfortress heavy bombers based in the Mariana Islands
. Attacks by Allied submarines
, aircraft and surface ships had also cut most of the country's trade routes and U.S. Navy aircraft carrier task groups had raided locations in the home islands on several occasions during 1945. Shortages of fuel had confined most of the Imperial Japanese Navy's
(IJN's) surviving ships to port and forced the Imperial Japanese Air Force and IJN to hold its air units in reserve against the expected Allied invasion
. Prior to the war, the Japanese military had assessed that coastal artillery
was no longer suited to the country's circumstances. As a result, only a small number of strategic ports were protected by artillery capable of engaging enemy warships, and most of these guns were of relatively small calibers.
in the Philippines under the command of Admiral William Halsey
to attack the Japanese Home Islands. Halsey's plans included the use of battleship
s and cruiser
s to bombard military facilities and factories, and in preparation for these attacks U.S. Navy submarine
s sailed into inshore waters to search for naval mine
s. United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF) B-29 Superfortress and B-24 Liberators also conducted photo reconnaissance flights over much of Japan in search of airfields and facilities which could be attacked by the Third Fleet.
The 3rd Fleet's main component, Task Force 38
(TF 38) which was commanded by Vice Admiral John S. McCain
, began striking targets in Japan on 10 July. On this day aircraft flying from the Task Force's aircraft carrier
s attacked facilities around Tokyo
. Following this Task Force 38 sailed north, and began raids on Hokkaido
and northern Honshu
on 14 July. These areas were outside the range of USAAF B-29 Superfortress bombers, and had not been attacked to that point in the war. The U.S. Navy (USN) aircraft met little opposition, and sank eleven warships and 20 merchant ships as well as destroying 25 aircraft. A further eight warships and 21 merchant ships were damaged.
The first Allied bombardment of a Japanese coastal town took place on 14 July in conjunction with the air attacks on Hokkaido and northern Honshu. A bombardment group commanded by Rear Admiral John F. Shafroth designated Task Unit 34.8.1 (TU 34.8.1) was detached from TF 38 to attack the iron works at Kamaishi
in northern Honshu. At the time the city had a population of 40,000 and the iron works was among the largest in Japan. However, due to shortages of coking coal
and other raw materials the iron works was running at less than half its capacity. TU 34.8.1 comprised the battleships , and as well as the heavy cruiser
s and and nine destroyer
s. Allied prisoners of war had been assigned to work at the Nippon Steel Company, and were housed in two camps in Kamaishi.
The bombardment group opened fire on the ironworks at 12:10 from a range of 29000 yd (26,517.6 m). The ships subsequently moved closer to the city, but did not cross the 100-fathom
line as no minesweeper
s were available to sweep for naval mine
s. The bombardment lasted for over two hours, during which time the force made six passes across the mouth of Kamaishi's harbor and fired 802 16 in (406.4 mm) shells, 728 8 in (203.2 mm) shells and 825 5 in (127 mm) shells. While most of the shells landed within the grounds of the ironworks, the concussion from their explosions caused kitchen fires to break out across the city. The resulting smoke prevented USN aircraft from being able to support or spot for the warships, which continued to fire accurately on predetermined targets. No Japanese aircraft or coastal guns responded to this bombardment. Following the attack Allied aircraft photographed the ironworks, but photo interpreters under-estimated the extent to which they had been damaged. This was one of the first times that photographic intelligence had been used to determine the extent of damage from a naval bombardment, and the interpretors placed too much weight on the fact that none of the ironwork's buildings had been destroyed. The Allies learned after the war that the ironworks had been extensively damaged and forced to cease production for several weeks. This resulted in a loss of four weeks of pig iron
production and two and a half months of coke production. Five Allied POWs were also killed in the bombardment.
on the south-east coast of Hokkaido. TU 34.8.2 comprised the battleships , and , light cruiser
s and as well as eight destroyers and was commanded by Rear Admiral Oscar C. Badger
. Admiral Halsey accompanied this force onboard Missouri. The targets of this attack were the Japan Steel Company's facility and the Wanishi Iron Works. That night, a force of four cruisers and six destroyers also sailed near the east coast of Honshu to attack Japanese shipping but did not locate any targets.
TU 34.8.2's bombardment began at dawn on 15 July. The three battleships fired 860 16 in (406.4 mm) shells from a range of 28000–32000 yd (25,603.2–29,260.8 m) from the city. Aerial observation and spotting of damage was made difficult by hazy conditions, and only 170 shells landed within the grounds of the two plants. Nevertheless, this caused considerable damage, and resulted in the loss of two and half months of coke production and slightly less pig iron production. Damage to buildings across the city was also extensive. As with the bombardment of Kamaishi, the interpretors of post-attack photographs under-estimated the scale of the damage. TU 34.8.2 was highly vulnerable to air attack throughout the more than six hour period it was visible from the shore, and Admiral Halsey later wrote that these were the longest hours of his life. The failure of the Japanese to attack the ships convinced Halsey that they were preserving aircraft for to be used against an Allied invasion of Japan
. On 15 July, aircraft flying from TF 38's aircraft carriers struck again at Hokkaido and northern Honshu and devastated the fleet of ships which carried coal between the two islands.
, which was designated Task Force 37 (TF 37). On the morning of 17 July, the British and U.S. carriers attacked targets to the north of Tokyo. Later that day, TU 34.8.2 and the British battleship and her two escorting destroyers detached from the carrier force to bombard targets around the city of Hitachi
, which is located about 80 mi (128.7 km) northeast of Tokyo. This force was commanded by Rear Admiral Badger and comprised the battleships Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, , and HMS King George V, light cruisers Atlanta and Dayton and eight U.S. and two British destroyers. King George V and her two escorts sailed astern of the U.S. force but operated independently. Halsey again accompanied this force on board Missouri.
The bombardment of the Hitachi area took place on the night of 17/18 July. Rain and fog made locating the targets difficult and prevented artillery spotting aircraft from flying, but light air protection was provided for the bombardment force by carrier aircraft. The Allied warships opened fire at 23:10, and aimed at their targets using radar and LORAN
. The attackers targeted nine industrial facilities and King George V was assigned similar targets to those engaged by the American battleships. By the time the bombardment ceased at about 01:10, the American battleships had fired 1,238 16 in (406.4 mm) shells, and the British battleship 267 14 in (355.6 mm) shells. The two light cruisers also fired 292 6 in (152.4 mm) shells at radar and electronics installations south of Hitachi. All firing was conducted at a range of 23000–35000 yd (21,031.2–32,004 m).
Damage to the Hitachi area from the Allied bombardment was limited. Only three of the nine targets were hit, and overall damage to the city's industrial area was "slight". The attack inflicted considerable damage on the city's urban area and essential services, however. This damage was greatly increased by a B-29 raid on Hitachi on the night of 18/19 July which destroyed or damaged 79% of the city's urban area. The official history
of the U.S. Navy states that "individual Japanese" considered the naval bombardment to be more terrifying than the air attack.
the Japanese battleship in Yokosuka Naval Base
. That night, Cruiser Division 17 (CruDiv 17), which comprised the light cruisers , , and and six destroyers under the command of Rear Admiral J. Cary Jones, fired 240 6 in (152.4 mm) shells at a radar station on Cape Nojima in a five-minute period but did not score any hits.
After completing their strikes on Tokyo, TFs 37 and 38 conducted an at-sea replenishment from 21-23 July before attacking Kure and the Inland Sea
from the 24th to the 28th of the month. On the night of 24/25 July, CruDiv 17 patrolled the Kii Channel
and bombarded the naval seaplane
base at Kushimoto
, a landing field near Cape Shionomisaki and a radio station. This attack lasted for only four minutes and caused little damage.
The British and American ships engaged their targets independently. King George V opened fire at the Japan Musical Instrument Company's Plant No. 2, which was being used to manufacture aircraft propeller
s, at 23:19 from a range of 20075 yd (18,356.6 m). The battleship fired 265 14 in (355.6 mm) rounds at the plant in 27 minutes and was able to make use of artillery spotting aircraft as visibility was good. Little damage was caused to the facility, however. Massachusetts fired at Plant No. 1 but also scored only a small number of hits. Despite the limited physical damage, the shelling caused increased labor absenteeism and disruption to vital services which caused the factory to cease production. The American ships also shelled the Imperial Government Railway Hamamatsu Locomotive works and three other industrial facilities. Of these targets, the locomotive works ceased operations for about three months due to damage, but two of the other facilities had almost ceased production before the attack and the third was not damaged. Two bridges on the important Tōkaidō Main Line
were also fired upon but not hit, though damage to rail infrastructure in Hamamatsu closed the line for 66 hours. During the bombardment Undine twice opened fire on small groups of ships, though these were probably fishing boats. No Japanese aircraft or shore batteries responded to the Allied attack. The bombardment of Hamamatsu was the last time a British battleship fired its guns in anger.
. While the aluminium plant was hit, this was of little importance as it had almost ceased production due to a shortage of raw materials. No damage was caused to the rail yard.
During the last days of July and into early August, the Allied fleet sailed away from the Japanese coast to avoid a typhoon and allow the ships to replenish their stocks of fuel and ammunition. Following this the fleet sailed north, and on both 9 and 10 August the carrier aircraft attacked a large concentration of Japanese aircraft on airfields in northern Honshu. The carrier pilots claimed to have destroyed 720 Japanese aircraft in this operation.
As part of these operations off northern Japan, Kamaishi was bombarded again on 9 August in the mistaken belief that the iron works had not been badly damaged. TU 34.8.1 conducted this attack, and comprised the ships which had bombarded the city in July with the addition of the heavy cruisers and , British light cruiser , Royal New Zealand Navy
light cruiser HMNZS Gambia and destroyers , and .
The Allied force opened fire on the iron works and docks at Kamaishi at 12:54 and the bombardment lasted for almost two hours from an average range of 14000 yd (12,801.6 m). During this time, the ships made four passes outside of Kamaishi harbor and fired 803 16 inches (406.4 mm) shells, 1,383 8 inches (203.2 mm) shells and 733 6 inches (152.4 mm) shells. During this period, several Japanese aircraft approached the Allied ships and two were shot down by Allied naval fighters. This attack caused more damage than the July bombardment and large quantities of pig iron were destroyed. The sounds of this bombardment were broadcast live on radio in the U.S. via a radio relay onboard Iowa. One of the POW camps in Kamaishi was destroyed by the Allied attack, resulting in the deaths of 27 Allied prisoners.
A further bombardment by King George V, three light cruisers and escorting destroyers was planned to be conducted against an unspecified Japanese target on 13 August. This attack was cancelled, however, due to the battleship developing mechanical problems and the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
. The Allied fleet did not conduct any further bombardments as Japan surrendered on 15 August.
s which were used by Allied naval aircraft, however. While this supported Vice Admiral McCain's view that the aircraft assigned to protect the bombardment forces could have caused more damage than the ships themselves, the United States Strategic Bombing Survey's
(USSBS) assessment concluded that the use of naval bombardments was appropriate as there was little risk to the ships involved.
The bombardments also had an important impact on morale. Several of the industrial facilities which were attacked but suffered little damage nevertheless incurred a significant loss in production due to absenteeism and reduced productivity. This was not the case for all facilities which were attacked, however, and the morale among workers in two of the factories which were bombardment was reported to have increased. Japanese civilians who experienced both air and naval bombardment found the naval attacks to be more terrifying due to their unpredictability and longer duration. The appearance of Allied warships just off the coast also convinced many Japanese that the war had been lost. In 1949, the Japanese Economic Stabalization Agency calculated that the Allied naval bombardments and other forms of attack other than bombing had caused 3,282 casualties, representing 0.5% of all casualties inflicted by the Allies in the Japanese home islands. The casualties attributed to naval bombardments and other causes included 1,739 fatalities, 46 persons who were still classified as missing and 1,497 people who were wounded.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, warships of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, Britain's Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and the Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
bombarded several cities and industrial facilities in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. These bombardments caused heavy damage to several of the factories targeted, as well as nearby civilian areas. None of the Allied ships involved in these attacks were damaged.
Background
During the Pacific WarPacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
the U.S. Navy's fast battleship
Fast battleship
Historically, a fast battleship was a battleship which emphasized speed without - in concept - undo compromise of either armor or armament. The term is especially appropriate when applied to a design which was not only faster than the preceding battleship class, but faster than subsequent classes...
s were mainly used to escort the groups of aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s which formed the United States Pacific Fleet's
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
main striking force. They were occasionally used to bombard Japanese positions near the shore, however, and fought a small number of actions with Japanese warships.
By mid-1945 cities and industrial facilities in the Japanese home islands were under sustained attack
Air raids on Japan
During World War II the Allied forces conducted many air raids on Japan which caused extensive destruction to the country's cities and killed over 300,000 people. These attacks began with the Doolittle Raid in mid-April 1942, but did not resume until June 1944 when United States Army Air Forces ...
from United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers based in the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
. Attacks by Allied submarines
Allied submarines in the Pacific War
Allied submarines were used extensively during the Pacific War and were a key contributor to the defeat of the Empire of Japan. During the war, submarines of the United States Navy were responsible for 55% of Japan's merchant marine losses; other Allied navies added to the toll. The war against...
, aircraft and surface ships had also cut most of the country's trade routes and U.S. Navy aircraft carrier task groups had raided locations in the home islands on several occasions during 1945. Shortages of fuel had confined most of the Imperial Japanese Navy's
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
(IJN's) surviving ships to port and forced the Imperial Japanese Air Force and IJN to hold its air units in reserve against the expected Allied invasion
Operation Downfall
Operation Downfall was the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The operation had two parts: Operation...
. Prior to the war, the Japanese military had assessed that coastal artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
was no longer suited to the country's circumstances. As a result, only a small number of strategic ports were protected by artillery capable of engaging enemy warships, and most of these guns were of relatively small calibers.
First attack on Kamaishi
On 1 July 1945, the U.S 3rd Fleet sortied from Leyte GulfLeyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
in the Philippines under the command of Admiral William Halsey
William Halsey, Jr.
Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey, Jr., United States Navy, , was a U.S. Naval officer. He commanded the South Pacific Area during the early stages of the Pacific War against Japan...
to attack the Japanese Home Islands. Halsey's plans included the use of battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s and cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s to bombard military facilities and factories, and in preparation for these attacks U.S. Navy submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s sailed into inshore waters to search for naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s. United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF) B-29 Superfortress and B-24 Liberators also conducted photo reconnaissance flights over much of Japan in search of airfields and facilities which could be attacked by the Third Fleet.
The 3rd Fleet's main component, Task Force 38
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
(TF 38) which was commanded by Vice Admiral John S. McCain
John S. McCain, Sr.
John Sidney "Slew" McCain Sr. was a U.S. Navy admiral. He held several command assignments during the Pacific campaign of World War II....
, began striking targets in Japan on 10 July. On this day aircraft flying from the Task Force's aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s attacked facilities around Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Following this Task Force 38 sailed north, and began raids on Hokkaido
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
and northern Honshu
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
on 14 July. These areas were outside the range of USAAF B-29 Superfortress bombers, and had not been attacked to that point in the war. The U.S. Navy (USN) aircraft met little opposition, and sank eleven warships and 20 merchant ships as well as destroying 25 aircraft. A further eight warships and 21 merchant ships were damaged.
The first Allied bombardment of a Japanese coastal town took place on 14 July in conjunction with the air attacks on Hokkaido and northern Honshu. A bombardment group commanded by Rear Admiral John F. Shafroth designated Task Unit 34.8.1 (TU 34.8.1) was detached from TF 38 to attack the iron works at Kamaishi
Kamaishi, Iwate
is a small, historic city located on the Sanriku rias coast of Iwate, Japan. As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 41,022 and a density of 92.9 persons per km². The total area is 441.42 km². It is famous in modern times for its steel production and most recently for its promotion...
in northern Honshu. At the time the city had a population of 40,000 and the iron works was among the largest in Japan. However, due to shortages of coking coal
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
and other raw materials the iron works was running at less than half its capacity. TU 34.8.1 comprised the battleships , and as well as the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s and and nine destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s. Allied prisoners of war had been assigned to work at the Nippon Steel Company, and were housed in two camps in Kamaishi.
The bombardment group opened fire on the ironworks at 12:10 from a range of 29000 yd (26,517.6 m). The ships subsequently moved closer to the city, but did not cross the 100-fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
line as no minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
s were available to sweep for naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s. The bombardment lasted for over two hours, during which time the force made six passes across the mouth of Kamaishi's harbor and fired 802 16 in (406.4 mm) shells, 728 8 in (203.2 mm) shells and 825 5 in (127 mm) shells. While most of the shells landed within the grounds of the ironworks, the concussion from their explosions caused kitchen fires to break out across the city. The resulting smoke prevented USN aircraft from being able to support or spot for the warships, which continued to fire accurately on predetermined targets. No Japanese aircraft or coastal guns responded to this bombardment. Following the attack Allied aircraft photographed the ironworks, but photo interpreters under-estimated the extent to which they had been damaged. This was one of the first times that photographic intelligence had been used to determine the extent of damage from a naval bombardment, and the interpretors placed too much weight on the fact that none of the ironwork's buildings had been destroyed. The Allies learned after the war that the ironworks had been extensively damaged and forced to cease production for several weeks. This resulted in a loss of four weeks of pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
production and two and a half months of coke production. Five Allied POWs were also killed in the bombardment.
Muroran
On the night of 14/15 July, another bombardment unit — TU 34.8.2 — was detached from TF 38 to attack the town of MuroranMuroran, Hokkaido
is a city and port located in Iburi, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 96,724 and a density of 1,210 people per km². The total area is 80.65 km².- History :...
on the south-east coast of Hokkaido. TU 34.8.2 comprised the battleships , and , light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s and as well as eight destroyers and was commanded by Rear Admiral Oscar C. Badger
Oscar C. Badger II
Oscar Charles Badger II was an admiral of the United States Navy who served in both World Wars, and, as a junior officer, received the Medal of Honor.-Early history:...
. Admiral Halsey accompanied this force onboard Missouri. The targets of this attack were the Japan Steel Company's facility and the Wanishi Iron Works. That night, a force of four cruisers and six destroyers also sailed near the east coast of Honshu to attack Japanese shipping but did not locate any targets.
TU 34.8.2's bombardment began at dawn on 15 July. The three battleships fired 860 16 in (406.4 mm) shells from a range of 28000–32000 yd (25,603.2–29,260.8 m) from the city. Aerial observation and spotting of damage was made difficult by hazy conditions, and only 170 shells landed within the grounds of the two plants. Nevertheless, this caused considerable damage, and resulted in the loss of two and half months of coke production and slightly less pig iron production. Damage to buildings across the city was also extensive. As with the bombardment of Kamaishi, the interpretors of post-attack photographs under-estimated the scale of the damage. TU 34.8.2 was highly vulnerable to air attack throughout the more than six hour period it was visible from the shore, and Admiral Halsey later wrote that these were the longest hours of his life. The failure of the Japanese to attack the ships convinced Halsey that they were preserving aircraft for to be used against an Allied invasion of Japan
Operation Downfall
Operation Downfall was the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The operation had two parts: Operation...
. On 15 July, aircraft flying from TF 38's aircraft carriers struck again at Hokkaido and northern Honshu and devastated the fleet of ships which carried coal between the two islands.
Hitachi
The attacks on Hokkaido and northern Honshu ended on 15 July, and TF 38 sailed away from the Japanese coast to refuel and rendezvous with the main body of the British Pacific FleetBritish Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...
, which was designated Task Force 37 (TF 37). On the morning of 17 July, the British and U.S. carriers attacked targets to the north of Tokyo. Later that day, TU 34.8.2 and the British battleship and her two escorting destroyers detached from the carrier force to bombard targets around the city of Hitachi
Hitachi, Ibaraki
is a city located on the Pacific Ocean in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Its name could be directly translated as "sunrise", but probably more appropriately adapted to "prosperous wealth" .-Demographics:...
, which is located about 80 mi (128.7 km) northeast of Tokyo. This force was commanded by Rear Admiral Badger and comprised the battleships Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, , and HMS King George V, light cruisers Atlanta and Dayton and eight U.S. and two British destroyers. King George V and her two escorts sailed astern of the U.S. force but operated independently. Halsey again accompanied this force on board Missouri.
The bombardment of the Hitachi area took place on the night of 17/18 July. Rain and fog made locating the targets difficult and prevented artillery spotting aircraft from flying, but light air protection was provided for the bombardment force by carrier aircraft. The Allied warships opened fire at 23:10, and aimed at their targets using radar and LORAN
LORAN
LORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters in multiple deployment to determine the location and speed of the receiver....
. The attackers targeted nine industrial facilities and King George V was assigned similar targets to those engaged by the American battleships. By the time the bombardment ceased at about 01:10, the American battleships had fired 1,238 16 in (406.4 mm) shells, and the British battleship 267 14 in (355.6 mm) shells. The two light cruisers also fired 292 6 in (152.4 mm) shells at radar and electronics installations south of Hitachi. All firing was conducted at a range of 23000–35000 yd (21,031.2–32,004 m).
Damage to the Hitachi area from the Allied bombardment was limited. Only three of the nine targets were hit, and overall damage to the city's industrial area was "slight". The attack inflicted considerable damage on the city's urban area and essential services, however. This damage was greatly increased by a B-29 raid on Hitachi on the night of 18/19 July which destroyed or damaged 79% of the city's urban area. The official history
Official history
An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised, or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced at a government's behest....
of the U.S. Navy states that "individual Japanese" considered the naval bombardment to be more terrifying than the air attack.
Nojima Saki and Shionomisaki
On 18 July, TFs 37 and 38 conducted further air strikes in the Tokyo area, with the U.S. Navy's main effort being an attempt to sinkAttack on Yokosuka
The attack on Yokosuka was an air raid conducted by the United States Navy on 18 July 1945 during the Pacific War. The Japanese battleship Nagato was the raid's main target, though anti-aircraft positions and other warships at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal were also attacked. Other U.S. Navy and...
the Japanese battleship in Yokosuka Naval Base
Yokosuka Naval District
was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula.-History:...
. That night, Cruiser Division 17 (CruDiv 17), which comprised the light cruisers , , and and six destroyers under the command of Rear Admiral J. Cary Jones, fired 240 6 in (152.4 mm) shells at a radar station on Cape Nojima in a five-minute period but did not score any hits.
After completing their strikes on Tokyo, TFs 37 and 38 conducted an at-sea replenishment from 21-23 July before attacking Kure and the Inland Sea
Bombing of Kure (July 1945)
The bombing of Kure and surrounding areas by United States and British naval aircraft in late July 1945 led to the sinking of most of the surviving large warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy . The United States Third Fleet's attacks on Kure Naval Arsenal and nearby ports on 24, 25, and 28 July...
from the 24th to the 28th of the month. On the night of 24/25 July, CruDiv 17 patrolled the Kii Channel
Kii Channel
The is a strait separating the Japanese Home Islands of Honshū and Shikoku. This channel connects the Inland Sea with the Pacific Ocean....
and bombarded the naval seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
base at Kushimoto
Kushimoto, Wakayama
-Demographics:The population of Kushimoto is 20,618, consisting of 9,561 men and 11,057 women. There are a total of 9,397 families.-Junior high schools:*Kushimoto Junior High School*Kushimoto-Nishi Junior High School*Nishi-Mukai Junior High School...
, a landing field near Cape Shionomisaki and a radio station. This attack lasted for only four minutes and caused little damage.
Hamamatsu
On 29 July, a group of warships was detached from the main body of the Allied fleet to bombard the city of Hamamatsu. This force comprised the same ships which had attacked Kamaishi on 14 July with the addition of HMS King George V and the destroyers , and ; the four British ships were designated Task Unit 37.1.2 (TU 37.1.2). The city had previously suffered extensive damage from air attacks.The British and American ships engaged their targets independently. King George V opened fire at the Japan Musical Instrument Company's Plant No. 2, which was being used to manufacture aircraft propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s, at 23:19 from a range of 20075 yd (18,356.6 m). The battleship fired 265 14 in (355.6 mm) rounds at the plant in 27 minutes and was able to make use of artillery spotting aircraft as visibility was good. Little damage was caused to the facility, however. Massachusetts fired at Plant No. 1 but also scored only a small number of hits. Despite the limited physical damage, the shelling caused increased labor absenteeism and disruption to vital services which caused the factory to cease production. The American ships also shelled the Imperial Government Railway Hamamatsu Locomotive works and three other industrial facilities. Of these targets, the locomotive works ceased operations for about three months due to damage, but two of the other facilities had almost ceased production before the attack and the third was not damaged. Two bridges on the important Tōkaidō Main Line
Tokaido Main Line
The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities...
were also fired upon but not hit, though damage to rail infrastructure in Hamamatsu closed the line for 66 hours. During the bombardment Undine twice opened fire on small groups of ships, though these were probably fishing boats. No Japanese aircraft or shore batteries responded to the Allied attack. The bombardment of Hamamatsu was the last time a British battleship fired its guns in anger.
Shimizu
The next bombardment of Japan took place on the night of 30/31 July. On that night Destroyer Squadron 25 (DesRon 25), which was commanded by Captain J.W. Ludewig aboard , swept Suruga Gulf looking for Japanese shipping to attack. No Japanese ships were located, however, and in the early hours of 31 July the squadron sailed deep into the gulf and fired 1,100 rounds of 5 in (127 mm) shells in seven minutes at a railway yard and aluminium plant in the town of ShimizuShimizu-ku, Shizuoka
is one of three wards of the city of Shizuoka, in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, located in the eastern part of the city.-Geography:Shimizu is located on the coast of Suruga Bay of the Pacific Ocean and covers a wide area from a coastal plain to the hills...
. While the aluminium plant was hit, this was of little importance as it had almost ceased production due to a shortage of raw materials. No damage was caused to the rail yard.
Second attack on Kamaishi
As part of these operations off northern Japan, Kamaishi was bombarded again on 9 August in the mistaken belief that the iron works had not been badly damaged. TU 34.8.1 conducted this attack, and comprised the ships which had bombarded the city in July with the addition of the heavy cruisers and , British light cruiser , Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
light cruiser HMNZS Gambia and destroyers , and .
The Allied force opened fire on the iron works and docks at Kamaishi at 12:54 and the bombardment lasted for almost two hours from an average range of 14000 yd (12,801.6 m). During this time, the ships made four passes outside of Kamaishi harbor and fired 803 16 inches (406.4 mm) shells, 1,383 8 inches (203.2 mm) shells and 733 6 inches (152.4 mm) shells. During this period, several Japanese aircraft approached the Allied ships and two were shot down by Allied naval fighters. This attack caused more damage than the July bombardment and large quantities of pig iron were destroyed. The sounds of this bombardment were broadcast live on radio in the U.S. via a radio relay onboard Iowa. One of the POW camps in Kamaishi was destroyed by the Allied attack, resulting in the deaths of 27 Allied prisoners.
A further bombardment by King George V, three light cruisers and escorting destroyers was planned to be conducted against an unspecified Japanese target on 13 August. This attack was cancelled, however, due to the battleship developing mechanical problems and the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
. The Allied fleet did not conduct any further bombardments as Japan surrendered on 15 August.
Results
The Allied naval bombardments were successful in disrupting the Japanese steel industry. While several of the factories attacked were operating at reduced capacity, the important Kamasishi and Wanishi Iron Works suffered heavy damage when they were bombarded in July and August. During both these attacks, the Allied gunnery was accurate and focused on the factories' coke batteries, which were critical to continued production. Post-war assessments found that the damage caused to industrial buildings by even 16 in (406.4 mm) naval shells was less than that which could be inflicted by the 2000 lb (907.2 kg) and 1000 lb (453.6 kg) general-purpose bombGeneral-purpose bomb
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect.-Characteristics:...
s which were used by Allied naval aircraft, however. While this supported Vice Admiral McCain's view that the aircraft assigned to protect the bombardment forces could have caused more damage than the ships themselves, the United States Strategic Bombing Survey's
Strategic bombing survey
The United States Strategic Bombing Survey was a board tasked with examination and analysis of the United States' involvement in the World War II. Its primary purpose was to determine the effectiveness of Allied, and more specifically American, strategic bombing campaigns in Europe and in Asia...
(USSBS) assessment concluded that the use of naval bombardments was appropriate as there was little risk to the ships involved.
The bombardments also had an important impact on morale. Several of the industrial facilities which were attacked but suffered little damage nevertheless incurred a significant loss in production due to absenteeism and reduced productivity. This was not the case for all facilities which were attacked, however, and the morale among workers in two of the factories which were bombardment was reported to have increased. Japanese civilians who experienced both air and naval bombardment found the naval attacks to be more terrifying due to their unpredictability and longer duration. The appearance of Allied warships just off the coast also convinced many Japanese that the war had been lost. In 1949, the Japanese Economic Stabalization Agency calculated that the Allied naval bombardments and other forms of attack other than bombing had caused 3,282 casualties, representing 0.5% of all casualties inflicted by the Allies in the Japanese home islands. The casualties attributed to naval bombardments and other causes included 1,739 fatalities, 46 persons who were still classified as missing and 1,497 people who were wounded.