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| | From: jamestrd (Original Message) | Sent: 7/2/2007 1:12 PM |
An interesting subject of US Tax money at work. While most of the Free world were trying to split the ATOM, the US came up with this....modern tech.. The Bat Bomb!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb
Bat bombs were tiny incendiary bombs attached to bats, that were developed by the United States during World War II with the hope of attacking mainland Japan. Four biological factors gave promise to this plan. First, bats occur in large numbers (four caves in Texas are each occupied by several million bats). Second, bats can carry more than their own weight in flight (females carry their young �?sometimes twins). Third, bats hibernate, and while dormant they do not require food or complicated maintenance. Fourth, bats fly in darkness, then find secretive places (such as flammable buildings) to hide during daylight.
The plan was to release bomb-laden bats at night over Japanese industrial targets. The flying bats would disperse widely, then at dawn they would hide in buildings and shortly thereafter built-in timers would ignite the bombs, causing widespread fires and chaos. The bat bomb idea was conceived by dental surgeon Lytle S. Adams, who submitted it to the White House in January, 1942, where it was subsequently approved by President Roosevelt.[1] Adams was recruited to research and obtain a suitable supply of bats.
Summary More tests were scheduled for the summer of 1944 but the program was canceled by Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King when he heard that it would likely not be combat ready until mid-1945. By that time it was estimated that $2 million had been spent on the project. It is thought that development of the bat bomb was moving too slowly and was beaten out of the race for a quick end to the war by the Atomic Bomb project. "
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James As a corollary to this the Japs launched balloons from their gigantic I class subs which dropped incendiary bomblets onto Californian forests. I believe this caused the US's only mainland wartime casualty by enemy action. |
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| | From: vicbc6 | Sent: 7/2/2007 11:28 PM |
Flashman Acctually the Japanese ballon bombs were released from the home islands.Though maybe using a release from a SS would have made more arrive than did. And the only casualties on the American mainland happened to civilians who investigated a ballon bomb in Oregon |
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Vic I'll recheck that. Those I-class subs carried 3 seaplanes in hangars and I think they were involved. Peter |
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Balloon Bombs: What are they?
Balloon bombs were hot air balloons with one 15 kilogram antipersonnel bomb and two incendiary devices attached. They were launched by Japan during World War II to wreak havoc on American cities, forests and farmlands. They were called the Fu-Go Weapon, supposedly a revenge bomb for the 1942 Doolittle raids on Tokyo. Only partially filled with air to compensate for different altitudes across the Pacific, they looked like giant jellyfish. The incendiary bomb was the biggest concern. During the dry season it could turn forest areas into an uncontrolled holocaust. Where did they hit? Nov. 3, 1944, Japan released the first of more than 9,000 bomb-bearing balloons. It's estimated that nearly 1,000 reached North America. They were found in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan and Iowa, as well as Mexico and Canada. The last one was launched in April 1945. The last one found in North American was in Alaska in 1955 - its payload still lethal after 10 years of erosion. Picked up by a 74th Air Rescue Squadron H-5 helicopter crew from Ladd Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, it was sent to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, for closer inspection. Who did they kill? On May 5, 1945, a balloon bomb killed five children and a woman near Lakeview, Ore., when it exploded as they dragged it from the woods. Taking some local kids on an outing, Reverend Archi Mitchell watched in horror as his wife, Elsie, and the five children, ages 11 to 13, were killed. Those six were the only known victims of the balloon bombs. However, dangers of the balloon bomb still may exist. Hundreds were never found and may still be detonated with the slightest contact. |
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Hello Vic We are both right.. |
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| | From: vicbc6 | Sent: 7/4/2007 10:51 PM |
Flashman nice to be right with you. Just recognized the attacking SS I 25 If I'm right she or 1 of her sisters shelled Estevan Point B.C. in Dec 1941 or January 1942. There were several of the same class in these waters . the I 400's came along and were sunk opff Japan after the war , along with the SS that sunk the USS Indianapolis after she delivered the A bomb & components to Tinian |
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Vic if you look at next post, there's the I 400 I feel complimented you read these. Sorry I wiped the I 25 to get some storage space back. You'll see her with my Blockade runners' post. Cheers Peter |
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