Operation Starvation
Encyclopedia
Operation Starvation was an American naval mining
operation conducted in World War II
by the Army Air Force
, in which vital water routes and ports of Japan
were mined by air in order to disrupt enemy shipping.
Chester Nimitz
who wanted his naval operations augmented by an extensive mining of Japan itself conducted by the air force. While General
Henry H. Arnold
felt this was strictly a naval priority, he assigned General Curtis LeMay
to carry it out.
LeMay assigned one group
of about 160 aircraft of the 313th Bombardment Wing to the task, with orders to plant 2,000 mines in April 1945.
The mining runs were made by individual B-29 Superfortress
es at night at moderately low altitudes. Radar
provided mine release information. The 313th Bombardment Wing received preliminary training in aerial mining theory while their B-29 aircraft received bomb-bay modification to carry mines. Individual aircrew were then given four to eight training flights involving five radar approaches on each flight and dummy mine drops on the last flight.
Beginning on March 27, 1945, 1,000 parachute
-retarded influence mines with magnetic and acoustic
exploders were initially dropped, followed up with many more, including models with water pressure displacement exploders, as well. This mining proved the most efficient means of destroying Japanese shipping during World War II
. In terms of damage per unit of cost, it surpassed strategic bombing and the United States submarine campaign.
Eventually most of the major ports and straits of Japan were repeatedly mined, severely disrupting Japanese logistics
and troop movements for the remainder of the war with 35 of 47 essential convoy routes having to be abandoned.
For instance, shipping through Kobe
declined by 85%, from 320,000 tons in March to only 44,000 tons in July.
Operation Starvation sank more ship tonnage in the last six months of the war than the efforts of all other sources combined. The Twentieth Air Force
flew 1,529 sorties and laid 12,135 mines in twenty-six fields on forty-six separate missions. Mining demanded only 5.7% of the XXI Bomber Command's total sorties, and only fifteen B-29s were lost in the effort. In return, mines sank or damaged 670 ships totaling more than 1,250,000 tons.
that it would have been more efficient to combine the United States's effective anti-shipping submarine effort with land- and carrier-based air power to strike harder against merchant shipping and begin a more extensive aerial mining campaign earlier in the war. This would have starved Japan, forcing an earlier end to the war.
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...
operation conducted in World War II
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...
by the Army Air Force
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....
, in which vital water routes and ports of 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...
were mined by air in order to disrupt enemy shipping.
Operation
The mission was initiated at the insistence of AdmiralAdmiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
who wanted his naval operations augmented by an extensive mining of Japan itself conducted by the air force. While General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Henry H. Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
felt this was strictly a naval priority, he assigned General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
to carry it out.
LeMay assigned one group
Group (air force unit)
A group is a military aviation unit, a component of military organization and a military formation. Usage of the terms group and wing differ from one country to another, as well as different branches of a defence force, in some cases...
of about 160 aircraft of the 313th Bombardment Wing to the task, with orders to plant 2,000 mines in April 1945.
The mining runs were made by individual B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
es at night at moderately low altitudes. Radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
provided mine release information. The 313th Bombardment Wing received preliminary training in aerial mining theory while their B-29 aircraft received bomb-bay modification to carry mines. Individual aircrew were then given four to eight training flights involving five radar approaches on each flight and dummy mine drops on the last flight.
Beginning on March 27, 1945, 1,000 parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
-retarded influence mines with magnetic and acoustic
Acoustic torpedo
An acoustic torpedo is a torpedo that aims itself by listening for characteristic sounds of its target or by searching for it using sonar. Acoustic torpedoes are usually designed for medium-range use, and often fired from a submarine....
exploders were initially dropped, followed up with many more, including models with water pressure displacement exploders, as well. This mining proved the most efficient means of destroying Japanese shipping during World War II
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...
. In terms of damage per unit of cost, it surpassed strategic bombing and the United States submarine campaign.
Eventually most of the major ports and straits of Japan were repeatedly mined, severely disrupting Japanese logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
and troop movements for the remainder of the war with 35 of 47 essential convoy routes having to be abandoned.
For instance, shipping through Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
declined by 85%, from 320,000 tons in March to only 44,000 tons in July.
Operation Starvation sank more ship tonnage in the last six months of the war than the efforts of all other sources combined. The Twentieth Air Force
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
flew 1,529 sorties and laid 12,135 mines in twenty-six fields on forty-six separate missions. Mining demanded only 5.7% of the XXI Bomber Command's total sorties, and only fifteen B-29s were lost in the effort. In return, mines sank or damaged 670 ships totaling more than 1,250,000 tons.
Aftermath
After the war, the commander of Japan's minesweeping operations noted that he thought this mining campaign could have directly led to the defeat of Japan on its own had it begun earlier. Similar conclusions were reached by American analysts who reported in July 1946 in the United States Strategic Bombing SurveyStrategic bombing survey (Pacific War)
The "Strategic bombing survey " was a United States Army Air Forces report on the impact of strategic bombing in World War II in the Pacific Campaign.A separate report was made for the atomic attacks.- External links :* *...
that it would have been more efficient to combine the United States's effective anti-shipping submarine effort with land- and carrier-based air power to strike harder against merchant shipping and begin a more extensive aerial mining campaign earlier in the war. This would have starved Japan, forcing an earlier end to the war.
External links
- Mines Away!, by Major John S. Chilstrom, USAF, 1992 (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - Operation Starvation, by Captain Gerald A. Mason, USN, 2002