| Lieutenant Colonel Satoshi Namba (October 1, 1901 – after 1945) of the Bōei Soshireibu (“General Defense Command”), pointing, directs inspection of damage in Hyōgo Ward from the bombing of Kobe by United States Army Air Force (USAAF) North American B-25 Mitchell 40-2267 “TNT” medium twin-engined bomber. “TNT” 40-2267, plane Number 15 to take off from USS Hornet (CV-8), 34th Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Group, was crewed by Pilot Lieutenant Donald G. Smith, Oldham, South Dakota (January 15, 1918 – November 12, 1942); Co-Pilot Lieutenant Griffith P. Williams, Chicago, Illinois (July 10, 1920 – August 14, 1998); Navigator Bombardier Lieutenant Howard A. Sessler, Boston, Massachusetts (August 11, 1917 – February 9, 2001); Flight Surgeon Doctor Lieutenant Thomas R. White, Haiku, Maui, Hawaii (March 29, 1909 – November 29, 1992); and Engineer Gunner Sergeant Edward J. Saylor, Brusett, Montana (March 15, 1920 – January 28, 2015). Lieutenant Smith and his crew were assigned to bomb targets in Kobe, southwest of Tokyo. They successfully dropped their payload on a large aircraft factory as well as around the dock yards, before flying on towards China. According to Doolittle’s report, 4 incendiary bombs were dropped on an industrial area, an aircraft factory, a shipyard, and a train yard in Kobe, and the damage was recorded in the “Kobe City History” as “one casualty, unknown damage to houses.” Smith decided to ditch his B-25 in the waters near a small island near Sangchow, China. All crew members safely exited the aircraft before it sank, and paddled to shore in a life raft. For days the Japanese hunted the area for the American raiders, but the crew evaded them in a Chinese sampan. En route to Chuchow, Smith learned of 1st Lieutenant Ted W. Lawson’s (March 7, 1917 – January 19, 1992) serious injuries and the evaders traveled on to meet up with him, so Lieutenant White could render medical aid. Doctor White had lost his medicine box in the crash, and was unable to save Lieutenant Ted Lawson’s leg, but saved his life. Lieutenant Colonel Nambu was a staff officer at the Bōei Soshireibu as the Deputy Chief of Civil Air Defense from December 27, 1939. In Japan News Number 70 newsreel, he appeared in a segment entitled “Lieutenant Colonel Namba Preaches National Air Defense – The Power of Various Special Bombs – The Essence of National Air Defense.” He addressed soldiers of the Chubu Army about air power and the possibility of Japan being bombed from the air, dismissing the threat. In “Current Air Defense,” published by Dainippon Orenkai Kodansha in November 1941, Colonel Samba wrote that 20 enemy aircraft could drop 4,010-pound (5 kilogram) incendiaries on Tokyo, killing 6,000 people, which sounds like a major disaster, but it was only 1 out of each 1,700 of the city’s population. The actual death toll would be much lower, around a 100, he argued, which Nambu deemed “insignificant.” Nambu, like the military government, lacked compassion for the individual victims and failed to understand the power of the United States Army Air Force. On October 7, 1941, Lieutenant Colonel Namba told the Tokyo public: “As you all well know, air raids will be an inevitable part of future wars. However, if the fires are put out, air raids are not at all frightening. Therefore, in our country, when it comes to air defense, fire prevention is the number 1 priority. The 1st line of fire prevention and extinguishing is, without a doubt, the Home Air Defense Forces. You must firmly grasp the idea that we are protecting our own land, our hometown, or our country with our own hands, and in terms of preparation, you must make the preparations and conduct training that you are confident in. If we proceed in this way, I believe that the air raids that Japan will experience in the future will be nothing short of insignificant.” Selected by the General Headquarters for Air Defense, the Ministry of the Army, the Tokyo Mainichi Newspapers and the Osaka Mainichi Newspapers for general promotion in 1942, the Bōei Soshireibu released the recording “Air Raids are Terrifying” with lyrics by Lieutenant Colonel Nambu and music by Iida Nobuo (1903 – 1991). Nambu wrote: “1. Air raids are terrifying / The sky is protected by an iron camp / Young and old alike, we will now rise up to defend our glorious homeland /Come , come, come, enemy planes. 2. Air raids are terrifying / At your post, at your post / there is a history that shines upon us / Even if we go crazy with the raging bombing, we will fight and win / If this test comes, come, enemy planes, come. 3. Air raids are terrifying / The sky is protected by an iron camp / Young and old alike, we will now rise up to defend our glorious homeland / Come, come, come, enemy planes.” Pilot Lieutenant Donald G. Smith died in a plane crash in England on November 12, 1942. He was buried in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Lieutenant Colonel Nambu was appointed Assistant Instructor of the Chubu Army Anti-Aircraft School on August 8, 1944; Chief of Staff of the 1st Guard Division on November 27, 1944; then several commands in rapid succession before he returned to the 1st Guards on April 6, 1945. Nambu was appointed to the Tokyo Bay Fortress Headquarters as Chief of Staff of the Tokyo Bay Army Corps. He was stood down on September 1, 1945. With propaganda like Nambu’s, the military government encouraged neighborhoods to fight firestorms on their own, isolated, without formal training, modern firefighting equipment, or techniques. On the night of March 9-10, 1945, 14 square miles of Tokyo was burned by incendiary bombs dropped from United States Army Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers. Over a 100,000 Japanese died. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1673.jpg |
| Image Size | 877.16 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 4032 x 3024 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 18, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Kobe |
| State or Province | Hyōgo |
| Country | Japan |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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