The bodies of civilians in Tokyo, which burned down in the fires, which were caused by US incendiary bombs from B-29 bombers, lay on the broken streets of the city.
After ineffective bombing of Japan in 1944, the US General Curtis Lemay decided to apply a new tactic, which was to carry out massive night bombings of the Japanese cities of napalm incendiary bombs from low altitude. The use of this tactic began in March 1945 and continued until the end of the war. 66 Japanese cities were the victims of this attack method, and were badly damaged.
The first such bombing of Tokyo underwent Feb. 23, 1945 – 174 B-29 bomber destroyed approximately 2.56 square kilometers of the town square.
As a result of bombardment by various sources, killing at least 80 thousand people of the Tokyo.
General Curtis Lemay later stated: “I think if we had lost the war, then I would be tried as a war criminal”.
Photography Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time taken: 10 March 1945
Author: Ishikawa Kouyou