The Museum of Flight's video: Fireball in the Night: The Bombing of Japan - The Museum of Flight

A virtual public program with Edward E. Gordon, presented for the Museum of flight on August 6th, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Japan during WWII. On April 18, 1942, Lieutenant-Colonel James H. Doolittle led a clandestine bombing raid of sixteen B-24 Mitchell bombers that flew from U.S. aircraft carrier Hornet to Tokyo, a distance of more than 650 miles. The damage inflicted was small, but it foreshadowed the mighty air raids to come. Before a successful air campaign could even begin, the Allies needed to obtain airfields from which bombing raids on the Japanese home could be launched. After the U.S. conquest of the Mariana Islands, airfields were constructed on Saipan and Tinian on which B-29s were based. From these and other island airbases, the newly designed B-29s, which could fly up to 3,500 miles with a maximum load of 4 tons of bombs, could begin a massive air campaign against Japan. Edward E. Gordon presents on the bombing of Japan and the dropping of the atom bomb that chronicled the events that made U.S. airpower a decisive factor in the fall of Japan in 1945. He will cover the B-29s huge capacities and many problems; Japan’s air defense weaknesses; why the fire-bombing of Japan’s cities was so effective; how General Curtis LeMay changed U.S. air strategy; the U.S. invasion plan “Operation Olympic"; development of the atomic bomb; how the decision was made to drop the bomb; and the atom bomb, the Emperor, and the Japanese surrender. The story of the end of the Pacific war is a unique mixture of military strategy, modern science, and ancient traditions. In the end, Japan’s leaders had two choices – defeat or face the possibility of total annihilation. Never in the history of warfare would air power play such an important role in the outcome of a war. Content Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this video are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions held by the Museum of Flight. The Museum of Flight oversees and hosts guest presentations but should not be held accountable for the information or content that may be found therein. Fair Use & Copyright Disclaimer This video contains materials presented by guest speakers at the Museum of Flight. Presenters have signed agreements indicating they own the copyright or have permissions for the use of this content, and grant the Museum of Flight permission to disseminate this video for educational use. Included within this video may be copyrighted material(s), the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by its owner. The Museum of Flight is making such material available as part of our efforts to advance understanding of matters significant to aviation and aerospace education. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this video is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.