Bombing of Kobe in World War II

On March 17, 1945, 331 American B-29 bombers launched a firebombing attack against the city of Kobe, Japan. Of the city's residents, 8,841 were confirmed to have been killed in the resulting firestorms, which destroyed an area of three square miles and included 21% of Kobe's urban area. At the time, the city covered an area of 14 square miles (36 km²). More than 650,000 people had their homes destroyed, and the homes of another million people were damaged.^{[citation needed]}

After the bombing of Kobe

On June 5 that same year, Kobe was bombed again. Incendiaries dropped from 473 bombers destroyed 4.4 square miles (11 km²) of the city.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to incendiary attacks, Kobe was the target of a B-29 precision attack on industry, three mine-laying operations and one fighter-bomber sweep:

• May 11, 1945: 92 B-29s hit Kawanishi aircraft industry
• June 18, 1945: 25 B-29s laid naval mines in several areas including waters near Kobe
• June 28, 1945: 29 B-29s laid naval mines in three harbors including Kobe
• July 19, 1945: 27 B-29s laid naval mines in several areas including waters near Kobe
• July 30, 1945: Fighters attack airfields, railroads and tactical targets throughout Kobe-Osaka area

See also

Extent of destroyed areas of Kobe as surveyed in 1946

• Pacific War
• Pacific Theater of Operations
• Bombing of Tokyo in World War II
• Grave of the Fireflies (novel), a novel set during the bombing.
  • Grave of the Fireflies, an anime film based on the novel.

Further reading

• Edoin, Hoito (1987). The Night Tokyo Burned. Garden City, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-01072-9. 
• Werrell, Kenneth P (1996). Blankets of Fire. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-665-4.