- Joined
- May 20, 2002
- Messages
- 133
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=241288
U.S. considered using bats to bomb Tokyo, files show
William Hollingworth
Wednesday, December 4, 2002 at 09:29 JST
LONDON — U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt was so frustrated with the U.S. military's early inability to bomb the Japanese mainland in World War II that he looked into using bats to do the job, according to newly unclassified diaries of a senior British intelligence officer.
The U.S. government, which was hampered by distance in its attempt to bomb Japan in the early stages of the war, reportedly examined a scheme to release bats strapped with explosives close to Japan in order to cause damage to Tokyo.
The scheme was detailed in the World War II diaries of Guy Liddell, head of counter-espionage in the British domestic intelligence service MI5. The diaries were released last week.
According to Liddell, Roosevelt suggested that the Office of Strategic Service (OSS), the forerunner of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, look into acquiring large quantities of bats from Mexico and strapping small incendiaries to their feet and wings. The creatures would be released close to Tokyo so that they could cause as much damage as possible.
The diaries did not say how the scheme would operate in practice.
Liddell said although officials were not quite sure whether Roosevelt's suggestion was tongue in cheek, they explored the plan and consulted experts on the most suitable type of bats for the job.
The plan apparently never got off the drawing board but officials and Roosevelt did mull it over on a number of occasions following the initial suggestion, according to Liddell's diaries.
In one of his diary entries for December 1943, which has been seen by Kyodo News, Liddell recounts a conversation he had with a London-based OSS official, who had been asked by the head of the OSS, Bill Donovan, to examine the bats scheme.
Liddell wrote, "The suggestion put forward by the president was that OSS should collect large quantities of bats known to exist in certain caves in Mexico. These bats should be put into crates and shipped to Seattle. They were to be taken from there to some point within flying distance of Tokyo where they would be put on board aeroplanes. Attached to the feet and wings of the bats were to be small incendiaries. The bats were to be released from the aeroplanes near Tokyo, the idea being that they would fly down the chimneys and that Tokyo would go up in flames."
John Crossland, a World War II historian who has examined the Liddell diaries, said the plan to use bats was probably "tongue in cheek," but it reflected the frustration among U.S. military planners.
"Americans were not in bombing range of Japan's home islands and that's why I could imagine such a scheme being suggested," Crossland said.
He added that it was only after the U.S. military captured Saipan in 1943 and built a runway on the island that it could unleash B-29 bombers on Japan.
"There were all sorts of crazy plans considered during the war. They were so frustrated and chewing over various ideas. Maybe they had had one Screwdriver (cocktail) too many when considering this," Crossland said. (Kyodo News)
(This is my first time starting a thread...Please ignore any mistakes made)
U.S. considered using bats to bomb Tokyo, files show
William Hollingworth
Wednesday, December 4, 2002 at 09:29 JST
LONDON — U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt was so frustrated with the U.S. military's early inability to bomb the Japanese mainland in World War II that he looked into using bats to do the job, according to newly unclassified diaries of a senior British intelligence officer.
The U.S. government, which was hampered by distance in its attempt to bomb Japan in the early stages of the war, reportedly examined a scheme to release bats strapped with explosives close to Japan in order to cause damage to Tokyo.
The scheme was detailed in the World War II diaries of Guy Liddell, head of counter-espionage in the British domestic intelligence service MI5. The diaries were released last week.
According to Liddell, Roosevelt suggested that the Office of Strategic Service (OSS), the forerunner of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, look into acquiring large quantities of bats from Mexico and strapping small incendiaries to their feet and wings. The creatures would be released close to Tokyo so that they could cause as much damage as possible.
The diaries did not say how the scheme would operate in practice.
Liddell said although officials were not quite sure whether Roosevelt's suggestion was tongue in cheek, they explored the plan and consulted experts on the most suitable type of bats for the job.
The plan apparently never got off the drawing board but officials and Roosevelt did mull it over on a number of occasions following the initial suggestion, according to Liddell's diaries.
In one of his diary entries for December 1943, which has been seen by Kyodo News, Liddell recounts a conversation he had with a London-based OSS official, who had been asked by the head of the OSS, Bill Donovan, to examine the bats scheme.
Liddell wrote, "The suggestion put forward by the president was that OSS should collect large quantities of bats known to exist in certain caves in Mexico. These bats should be put into crates and shipped to Seattle. They were to be taken from there to some point within flying distance of Tokyo where they would be put on board aeroplanes. Attached to the feet and wings of the bats were to be small incendiaries. The bats were to be released from the aeroplanes near Tokyo, the idea being that they would fly down the chimneys and that Tokyo would go up in flames."
John Crossland, a World War II historian who has examined the Liddell diaries, said the plan to use bats was probably "tongue in cheek," but it reflected the frustration among U.S. military planners.
"Americans were not in bombing range of Japan's home islands and that's why I could imagine such a scheme being suggested," Crossland said.
He added that it was only after the U.S. military captured Saipan in 1943 and built a runway on the island that it could unleash B-29 bombers on Japan.
"There were all sorts of crazy plans considered during the war. They were so frustrated and chewing over various ideas. Maybe they had had one Screwdriver (cocktail) too many when considering this," Crossland said. (Kyodo News)
(This is my first time starting a thread...Please ignore any mistakes made)