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IPTC: Caption
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458 B-29 Superfortresses (out of 509) of the 58th, 73rd, 313th and 314th Bomb Wings, all of XXI Bomber Command, attacked Osaka on June 1, 1945 in a daylight incendiary attack. 2890.7 tons of bombs, mostly M47 incendiaries and M26 antipersonnel, fell on the city. The docks were hit, as well as the manufacturing area along the Yodo River. 3.4 square miles (8.8 square kilometers) were burned out, including the main Allied prisoner of war camp, Chikko, in Nishinomachi District. 3,989 were killed; 10,095 wounded and 218,682 were homeless when 65,183 buildings were destroyed. Smoke from the fires rose to 25,000 feet. So many B-29s overwhelmed the target that the radar-controlled antiaircraft guns could not track individual targets and fired barrages of heavy flak hoping to hit something. Only ten B-29s were lost, but weather caused 27 P-51D fighters to crash, and only 27 of 148 fighters rendezvous with the bombers. 26 pilots were lost.
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IPTC: Copyright Notice
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Caption ©2007 MFA Productions LLC
Image in the Public Domain
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