air intelligence report - 12 apr 1945

7/29/2019 Air Intelligence Report - 12 Apr 1945

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PMI ISIHT TACTICS

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IIAHIL I. . . .OL I 110.'


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X X I B 0 M B E R e 0 M MAN D

~ l i l T E 1 L i G E N CREPORT

12 Apri l 1945

XXI BOI'COM OPERATIONS

Three A i r c r a f t Plants Bombed Same Night 373rd Attacks Nakajima Plan t 4Kyushu H it on Command's 50th St r ike 5March - - Bad Month fcrr Japs 6Gibson Gir l Leads to Rescue of 20 8

XXI BOMCOM TARGETS

Japs Now Transpor t New Planes on Barges 9Photo Coverage of the Week 12

J AP AIR DEFENSE

Jap Day vs Night Tact ics 13Direc t ion an d Level of Approach of E/A 14


3/8

~" I ~ , 1 1 . S------- .~ ~ Xt'(/#]omCc1II. OPERATIONS

.- . . .. ~r ' . ' . . . ~ t f j ~

I

tu.rDM ear17 &ad 61 l1ropped ...1 n & l l.r an d by ra.dar Oft th e ~ a o b U a _A.1.rc.Jo&.rl. Coapa lq ( T U p t , . . ) . l o bis DII&1" th e TaebU . . . . Alr r t eU. i .a U _ . . t or 10 '70 . Tb U plant. Ucredited wtth t! M uar.tb1.7 or about.a u percent. or t . ~ ec " ' t p l a _produced l a Japu: . Ib e O l m e . ~ b l po f

the plantb u

no tb u a _ u b -

1laM4i

but. i t u bel1 . . . . . 4 to be. S H a b In a tM Azw:I r 1h l a ' OUU'aDd poulb1.7 M at r ~ u rr a t aDdt.he recoa:alssanee tJ'P'U Clare aDd

__ . . Id a .."'Inc aounted 113 a1r

th e alaalon. P - ' " . .. - -73RD KITS T 4 C H I J l ' . A ~ 4

XXI 80abIr c ~ , . scronedJa p ~ a l n on th e nlcbt. or

AprU b, sendlQ& each or t.be. n t . l , oplrat lns _I n . . aaainstt r . n a t a.1rc:ran plant. in Japaft.

tbe.r ba a doge4 r.connala-a tte ll PU s in ce th e at.rlll:el,

r u w u ar e Judaed to b e e u a l _

in aOMca s . ..

9h-ta Ale PLANTS BOMBEDSAME NluHT

I t 1s 1ntended t h a t th ls Weekly re _por t be a source o r il1forlllat'1on to r co:n_ba t cre"s and s t a r r orfic81'S who have ale g

1 t1lllate i n t e r e s t in th e OP81'ations of

th e ;0;:1 BOIlIber COllmland. " ' ! th ln t h o ulilllits 1 t should rece ive th e " l d e s t pos_s l b l e circUlntlon perll l isslble under th eprovls1ons or An ~ 8 0 - 5 .

In order tha t a IlIB.Xi/tlJ1lI ot I n t e l l l _gence ca y be inclUded, th e repor t Isl iven a n O Ve ra ll c lasSi f lca t iof i of Sec_r e t . ihen the nature ot th e mater la lwarrants, ind iv ldua l a r t l c l e s have re _ceiVed a lower secur l ty c laSSi r ica t1on .

The repor t Is So assembled the t th eC

Olll

po

nent sections lIlay be r8lll0ved lHKtCirculated or t l led sep8re te ly. It por_t ions are reproduced, secur i ty regula_tions IIIUst be Observed and th e sourcered i ted .

CorresPOndence regarding th is PUb_l ica t ion ShOUld be address lid to th e Com_

~ n ( H ! . l &General, XXI DOlDber COllr:land,APO 234. c/ o P O s t " ~ s t e r ,San FranCisco,California, Attention: AC O f S. A-2.

~ f I' . , f ; ~ ~JAIIEs n. GARCIAC010l:lel, G.a.c .Ae or a, 04.-2

H: C.G.XXIB.C. Initials(4&D A T I ~6""11 1"" ~


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3l4TH WING

The 314th Wing mounteCl 34 air c r a f t , two or wb.ich d1Cl not bomb.The others bombed omura Airfieldvisual ly th r ough a to ../1 0 cloudt ro m 1 5 ,7 0 0 to 17,500 teet,dropping2eo 550_pound OPs.

The a i r c ra r t at th is WiD! raD il>to 30 enemy a i rc ra t t , bu t recei'fedonly i ne f t ec t t . e oppodtiOD rN _them. They claimed two as Clestroyea,one probable ard two 4Pale4. 80! _2w were lost. . F.Lak f t ! I I118qert o tn tense and Inaccurate to acCur-a t e .

Prel1JliDl1'1 est i_t toD ot tb Ib ca bl D1 a ce ur a0 1 of th lJ W s . 111dieatea tha t i t uceuent. ft.et U l l t . .

h i t b1 thre . concent

",,",t lon.s or about olD' bUrSta eacbo,:ir . . . . r e ob i " " " ' " aDd 1n t h . l , U \o f t;be . t r i n ~ O Ith e taraet . ., .11:8 eOftJ"e4. (8eCJ',t)

The ~ ' i n gencountered 24 fillhteand saw 31 more wh1ch CllCl not a i ~tack . F or ty f iv e attaCY..s were maCleon th e bombers, one of Which susta ined da1llllge.

Continuously pointed rlak heavymeager to m o ~ e r a t eand i n 8 ~ c u r 8 t ;was encountered. There was SOlDebarrage t i r e . Two trawlers openedf i r e on sOllle of th e air.craft , d a Q 8 . ~gina one flYing a t 600 feet anClpossibly causing another to Clttch1n th e vic ini ty. Ten surv1vors oft h i s a1J'crart were picked up by al 1 t e g u e . r ~sub. This was t he onlyplane los t on t he m is si on .

One enellO' ai rcraf t was claimeda8 probably ClestroyeCl anCl four asdamaged.

Al l buildings 1n the plant areaot Target 1870 rece1veCl at leas tone ~ i r e c th it anCl were reporteCl onf i r e , with th e e xc ept io n of onesmoke_covereCl b U i l d 1 ~ . Sixteenb u l l ~ l n g sin a barracks area recei_ved damage and two were gutted. Onehangar type building was 60 percentdestroyed,three others were gutted,o ne h ad minor root dSllI8ge. A d d 1 ~t t ona l damage to other bullCl1ngswas seen in t he s tr 1k e phOtos.

1

The Tach1arai ~ a c h i n eWorks (TeI'-le t 1870) is loca ted in north_ust K)'ushu and i8 a pa r t of tl)efach1arei ArJ:lY Ai r Arsenal. I t isdevoted to production of a i r c r a f tIll(ines aDd sOllie a i r c r a r t assembly.In addition, i t serves as a r epa i runit tor th e Tachiara l Army Ai rHeld, 1Ih1ch i t adjoins .

The c.ura Naval Al r Sta t ion .('rarlet 849) is pa r t or th e v a s t1JInr, A1..rcrert complex {pr04uction.,IUllibly ' o f enginea a i r t r ames ': : i t1ea ti o n and repair e e n t e r . e t e ~I&i 11 prilltarily important as th ebtln t operational l a n ~ a n ~seaplane

1 or the Sasebo a r ea .

73RD WING

I t ~ : .7 ~ r dWing r oun d a o cloud 0'1 ..lilt 'Il'or:;rset, th e r ach i a r a i llach_eratt &1:-' ark! 106 or th e 1115 a l r_

bOIl It.~ O l ' Q tb O l l l b e ~

i t v iaua l l J~ ~ ! * d'1 S83 to 17,500 f . e t . Tbey:::--1'011 b ' 550-pOUM g e a v a ll%l t t , . b l -- 4.&3 t O n i . l i n e

iCl hot bOlllb.

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f j ~ eX X I ) B o ~ e rCotmp8.nd. ( r o u n d e ~O'Jt it s 1 f 1 r ~ tsga ChunM'ed mis_!IOM on t ~ t Cl Y 0 March,,1 th& tllo-w1ng er-t argets fo rStrike Attack No. : : r f ~ r t t c i P a t e dIn by the 73rCl anCl 3l4th \'lings , , ,erethe Techiera1 !!achine Works an d the.OIIUra A1rtield on th e Jap home i sland ot Kyushu.

The las t of 149 a i r c r a f t scheduled for th e at tack were ai rborneby 0 4 l ~hours.

Elghteen addi t lonal a1rcran,t'th e 78 a i rbo rne , bombed the na rea or Tokyo with 520 5SGopagene ra l purpose bombs, by I'dfrom 9,000 to 10,000 tee t . YW:Ia i r c r a f t f aUed to bOlllb.

Thir ty on e enemy aircraft IIIseen over Koizum1 an d 26 over fiIIIlbu.t only on e ToDY and one U D i ~ 't ied plane ventured to attaet. )1a i r c r a t t were l o s t . Flak was bllll!meager to moderate and inae e: " ,Some : ,ocket f l a r e s were reper(Secre t )

a . poor t o u c el h l ltenem;y f '1ghters 1Nlre Ob;ery'::-'a t t a c k s were lIade. Plair ' " tltt'an d heavy, lDeager and 1_ ~No B..29 s were l o s t . ~

3l3TB HITS KOIZ01Q:

Th e [obuml Plant ot tbej 1ma A i r c r a r t COIIlpany (Taraet ~

i s l o ca t ed Jus t SOtltb ot til 0..0:Itolzuml Air f i e ld about 60 . u ~~o t TokTo. I t i s one at thep a l alr.frame-assembly P l a n t s P " ~ h ( .Japanese a i r c r a f t incmstry. It:duces Navy Cotllbnt types ar.d bt lmated t o account r ~ ) "25 ~of t o t a l Ja p combat a1J' c ran . '

The p l a n t was h i t on the 1#1o f 3- 4 AprU by 48 ai rcraf t orIII313th Wlng. They dropped 1,(1'550-pound OPs and 20 2 flares. r.t a r g e t was completely clouCl eOft!llan d r ada r was used . Eomb1ll&llt-Itude: 6,000 to 8,000 teet. Crtrest1.nJated r e s u l t s as good, CIlobserved.

,_......::..

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SUTD f inS SHIZUOK.&.

Forty &1ght ot 49 a l r c r a f t droppe d t he i r bClllbs through a to 2/10clouds visual ly and by r ada r. Al_t i tude t o r bCl llbina was 7,000 to

9.000 t e e t . Tonnage dropped inc luded 705 S50_pound OPs an d 2p 480_pound IBa. ResultJ!l were es t imated

The 314th l , target to r th e nighto t 3- 4 Ap1'll was th e Shlzuoka Alrc r a t t Engine Works. '! 'his p l an t 1 .bel1evecS to be owned by th e Ul tsu_b18hls an d Is one of th e newer o tl esIn th e business . S t i l l In th e pracess or e o n s t r u c t l ~ n .present outpu t would const i tute only a re18_tl vel Jt sm all percentage of t o t a lJa p combat a i rc ra f t enslneJ!l. How_ever, with engines an indicatedc r i t i c a l i tem in Ja p a i r c ra t ' t production and in view or productionp ot el lU a ls o r t h i s modern plant , ltha s been cOnl1dered a ta rge t worthyot ' a t t a ck .

ODe a1rcrat t was lo st to unkncnrncaus. . . About 215 r ighters wereseen and th ree a tt ac ks sustained,Plak was 118cUum to heavy, meager tolIoderate and inaceurate.

:ftt 1Ib.ieh attacked t b l .t a r t drOpr4 1,931 15M_pound oPalase 7D-poun bcencUarles and 6 ~t lares with utlobsal""u4 rasu l t s,""oa 5,700 to 7,200 , t t .

Port,. e l lh t ot tb e "1118" a i rv a r t bCllDbed r.a ..,ak1 IndusQ'lal& I " _ , L _ dropping 1,502 15150_poun4 ape"and :l5!: 7o-pow:1C5 IBa by radar. Twn

h i t w g e tot

opportnnl ty .

rL th e 12 1 a i r c r a f t a1J'borne.11 5 bombed v h u a l l y a n ~by r a ~ a rt h r o ~ hth e haze which wes over th e

ta rgd t . A lt t tude to r bombing was.. P'

: \ \ ~ f i 7 3 ' : it f t t a d u . # ~e p ~. : .. ~ . 5,900 to 7,900 f e e t . 'the1 : ~

MiSSion No. 5l , f lown b ~ th e 73rd 464 550-pound genera l purpOs ...." lng on th e night of 1- 2 April was 11"-a hear tbreaker. S1:x a i r c f a t t t a11 . One o t th e B_29S1 W 8 ~ : l D I 'e ~ to re turn and no new ~ a m a g ewas l o s t t o enemy t i gh t e r S :otf'Irrt o u n ~on th e t a rge t - - th e Nakajima 35 at tacks which th e bOll . . "A1l"crat t Engine Plant a t Tokyo, (Tal'oo c e 1 v e ~ .ene enemy t ighter 07'"g e t ~ 5 7 ) . s t royed, two probably deJ!ltr 11'..

One a i r c r a f t l lrobabl1 ~to f l ak , Which.as of th:-,.r'type . med1Ul1l and'heav1 moderate. (5e ; r e t )

.-.. .

. ;",: . ; : " " t ; ~ '..


5/8

I APR IL.15

The other two mlssiona cl7llplet_ina the l ar c h s er ie s ar e cl.8.ssit1edas Top Secre t and c an no t be report_ed here

The charts which tollow SU:tmar_1z e a l l th e da1ll8ge to aireraftplants aD.d urban areas trom the be_ginning ot our operations to theen d of March.

(ContidentiaI '

~ PIMIAf.lgummahf fU of

blred tarSe'tS and mallY unident i f iedll1dUJt t les The Alcnl Airc ra f ttorkS, E1tokU p la nt , Tar ge t 1729,. . , daaaged 4Uring th e f i r s t Nagoya

attack.In two mission! to Kyu!hU,units

ot till Bomber command bombed Oi t a .taclliar&1 and OmUra a ir f i e lds andtill taehiarai l !ach1ne Works w1tnlcod to exeellent r e su l t s .

I MAIL

( to Target 193) to ~tor tb e month was 113.

fee t .

F i v e miss ions Wel"e 111ft...,a tt ac k s a g ai n st deSignate" 1:"a ry t a rg e t s 1n th e e1Hel! otNagoya, Osaka and Kobe. ~su I t i ng from these sttack! L!sesed a t :31.81 square mUes. .cludecl 1n th i s Is damage to 61

damageo.ustrysqt:are

t p ~Tt:VtrFi J ) ~ S/Uri

lelTe lltr.lke mUsions by th e

X I BOllber COlImIsnd against th e Jap_8MS. hOlll.land during !!arch contributed toward lDak1ng i t an unhap ..P1ID.ooth to r t he N ip s.

Three ot th e attacks"Em!! again s ttha enemy" &1reratt industry, mak..In& a t o t a l ot 18 such missions a tth , end of !larch. The addi t ional

~ , n...., lIq ... n aq _I I .. " " " I ~ r : J

"u t,S40,OOO ... C1t1 . . . . . : 9 "J aU ..lG.U !fa:' SI,892,ooo .... ll'lC.ncl".1 Z _ 1 . . . . : 5 ,9 I q -.t.""

16-11 . . . . . , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 .... ..... . or ~ o n .01 doHP01td: J.4 Iq d~ ~ - 5.000,000 ... . l ' s . ~rr .. 5 '. '4 5 a p t " n

">, 1 49 5 !ot 0 00 T " , , ~I l ~.. ,., ..

4 rill t.651,OOO ... CIt)' . . . . . ' 14 Iq . t 16.11 .. . _.lI07,ooo 2,11 In .. . netl ., . to M 11 : 3, M Iq :01.

"",. . . . or Zo,, " U dutrQ1Id'

1)5,4S8.OOO .... , l..!lO Iq .1 ,W'lYSV l' hl l Da _ .. U rMul t or "U 1 bllne2,OOlI,000 .,,, t " ' , l t or IIp",on,,,,lt1 or Iaot re -~ . , I ... t OIl , U t l o n l , lIo_\1I'l>Ollltrllll

t,ooo,OOO .m. Pun . " I O I t 1Io. . . U


6/8

. i ~ .... " .:... :',''t ' ."\ ,1 .' " ' ' ~

t . . . n OIalra IlD4 Kobe (1:1 t i l . rb l ofOsaka Ba1. (S llbOto&l'apb &bonl

Th . r.awanllbl C ~ . "bI I lOGIbeen Imen. .. Japu ' l tare-Olt . . . , .e r ot I " ~ 'be1lll n th Va. 11eb " AlrCl '& tt CClQUJ I V l n ~a . . , . coaoern.. IlD4 . . - t u - ~luch W .. t l l U l ' ~ 1 D If111DI N lWa l a T i I u4.ur. !bUe ba n a i -ual17 MeG bail t at \b e o1dIl' . . . . .

.9.

Row a Japanese aircraft tactory\u l l t to make seaplanes . . . tI I th etrob1trD. at produCIIl& aDd d l s t r l b u -111lC laad.basfld planes Is . . 11 11r : i ~ a t & dIn XXI B.C C.I.U. SPf.C-

'Prt No. 14 , 23 Marob I N 5 .

~ r ; : :tactQl'J In qu . a t l on i s F.a-thll .) ' 1 A i r e r a n COIIP&Il7'1 r . l a -

to.t. -1 ' Plant a t PUkae ( ! V I . t O!). about b a l t 1r&7 M ..

It ... / ' l U ~ , I " .

S O, on e G Ib so n Girl . . .b le to r th e resC'Je of . .1 00 m 1l es apart . This .piou t c l ea r l r two th lnp:

1 - The Gibson Girl . .to work successful ly. 1bSise n t ou t s igna ls dlU' l tl&'tw o mInutes of each Ilhlll11'

2 - A ll crews must l l l nwhat th e i s lands ot thelook 11ke so they WOl1'\t h e i r pos i t i on near

The f i r s t case ot aliicr81l'S being rescued nt hof h Is corner r e f l e c to r . . .ou t th e other day, WheD allReseue Dumbo pleked l iP 'hI s r ada r screen. and h : 2 :i t . found t he en t i r e a -b et we en A se un el on aDdlands . (Fr'om 3l3th "10&Rescue Bul l e t i n ) (cont1'

@ D 10 Karch, Lt . Col. Sett le ,tarlDflr17 ot the 9th Group. was t ly_hg 8-29 Dabo elU'oute to AgrlganIsland to s ta r t searching to r 44_V7&9 wo reported bimself u "near. ,eunclon Island heading south" 15IIl1nnte. betore he lUteh.d. UponarrlTlns at Agrlgan, C ol . Sett lepicked up an '50s on 500 K os. Hebegan to \1011ow i t on h is radIocompus, A rt er f' lyl ng to r 300lilIas, he callle upon three r a f t s to _

gether With 11 sur,.!.,.ors. a l l ingaod c on di ti on . A ft er arr iving ontbe scene,he requested instructionst'r0lll the ground s ta t ton . He wastold t o s t a t l 4 ~un t l l rel1eved bya Dabo Which was dispatched to thepoalt1011. reported.

Upon 1'8118"10 Col. Bett Ie , th eD1mbo lDllde contact _l th a minc_heepU' and b1 la te afternoon, th eentire erew or esVS27 ot th e 314thWina was sately aboard the shIp.

During ~ ~ e time th is c r ~~8eodlD. ou t cUstress cal ls on th e

Clbson GIrl, th e Cook Inle t , a sea_~ l a n etender, was also homIng onthe sIgnal rrOlll he r POsItIon 100D.Ues to th e SOUthwest. An Alr-5es~ e s c u eDumbo WlS h o m t n ~In a l so .About 1400, th e Cumbo s lgl1 ted t t lneSU1"Thors on th e bea"h a t PaJarosIsland. Naturally both Dumbo anOShlp t ho ug ht these Survlvors were: :ndln

gou t th e dis t ress ca l l . They

t o r e r l ~ g r ethan a 11t t le Surprisedcase nTh OU\tha t Such WflS no t th ethe h ne ~ ~b appened to be alone.~ o r sor 2 5 V 5 2 ~ a r l n g!'rom th e survl_the OOSltion f ~ ~ OmUes nor th . andleld 0 . . . . . Cook I n l e t . On

naaboard these surViVors tbey1'ere rOUnd to be f"r 1'as supposed om 44V159 which

.l.scunclon I , ~ obe to the south orlWay. S_nd, about 60 mIles.:

. ,


7/8

~l W t r : . ,Uhi ia thought to b. on. ot lt aaanltte.ctur.rs.

The C.I.U. repon further de.-ler ibe . tb e Xonan 63 as bavill& awing with n.arly atrai&ht leadirll;edle, tapved tl 'ail1nl . d l ' , andround.d wins t ips , a s inl l . ti n andrudder. aftd as appearlll& to haveth e comentlollSl type landt.llg l e u .I t s lIlSln d1.lll.Mlons ar e li".o &3tollows:Span-6:5." tee t lAqth-4.,f, teet

t a l l , ~ a n - e l . 6teetP o r t h . stud.nt ot Jap aircraft

prodUCtiOD, dev.loplllnts SUch asth e example cited abOft are inter.es t in l Found!l tOI ' speculation. "h1do th e Japll hay. t o r eso rt t o thesemethods" W hat do they IHI.n in terlllSot tota l aircrar t output?

KONAN 63P I I ( J V I 1 1 ' I I ~ j0 ' . 4 " 1 " 6_ C I U XX, BOM COM. _ U ,

\ -----::::

It i s alSO indicated t ha t t b . mathod - is used in t renspor t'!:I completed a i r c r a t t trom tha t

...... lliUUbUhi A 1 r c r a ~rectory onh ' , ,!It side or the Harbor to

~ h e!lAlora Atrt te l d on it s weststd.. Ylrbe th e p ri ce t be Je.ps pa rror thair stri't1n15 a t t e r s impl ic i tyand ,conOlll1 w i l l prove to o e:xpen.

.1ya.n!CIti NEW pLANB

Th' laM_based plaDe with whichtheY _ t thiS problem a t Kawanilhi'aruP' plAnt i s an in teres t ing new.C(IlIl-:l known tentatt .vely lUI tb e Xoo-1 I I . l 1 ~ 'I t i s a twin_engine midd n l type plane resembling th ePranceS. Possibly th e al l"cra t t isIn uperlmental model. perheps th ePiJo!dto, which i s a n i gh t v e rs i on otthe Frances. I t is more ap t to bethe Tental. l i s ted as a twin_engine"anU.bo mber r ighter" , to r Kawan-

The IIl&jor p tt i l l e d land i ~ i ol o ~ JUtil a rge seaplane 1'&. h. 1-.~nau t i ca l c h 8 r a c t : ~ 1 l' l l l l . ~ t Q tITh e land area surr ot tbe ~ 1north 1s .. e l l b U l l ~ i S i ~t \ ~reS1dent ta l_1nduat t t J . lilto , jfording no 1'0011I ta r i S b ~ l i ~po in t t o r land ..b8!84 r e ~f Q ~

th e nearest SUch ph ~nomiya Air t1eld ( t 0 1 ' I ! e 1 ' ~111'41Naruo Airf ie ld) , tow- ~ ~miles t o th e e ast (81 Il e t t ) This t l e l d ' alao \;tl'.:ocean t ron t and Is eQ1l1 'seaplane ramps u n 4 0 u b t e i S l / ~accommodate th e flyill8 bOltsa t th e older Narno plent slls l i g h t l y to th e M at. '

I f th e Kawanlshi Co:tlqth e need to manufacture larl4.naval a i r c r a f t a t the F\llcuins tead of set t ing up anothertory elSewhere, i t couHJ t n ~th e f int"hed planes by tnetra11 to Ni9hinomiya AirUe1d,ever, fo r reasons best kDCIIIl"Japanese mind, (but more probUlllf l ee t ing th e t i gh t posit!"respect to land t r a n s p o r t a t ~they have solved the probJll'merely l oa di ng t he plane, ontoge s a t th e seaplane ramp at !JlIm e p la nt an d transportlng til_r e c t l r along the coastl1lll1l1lrol led ashore a t th e a u :smal l tu gs h au l th e loadedl oa de d b a rg e s back and rortb.

10

. . .. ".". . ~.. ; ~ ~ " " : " " " i ' ~ ~~ "

pLANT FOUR YEARS OLD

The h e e plant was bu l l t no1Il0re than a bo ut f ou r years a go andsOlIe In te l l igence o bs e rv e rs e x p ec ted that i t might have been deSignedto make navy planes other tha n th et l ~ i n gbeets featured a t Naruo.Photographs revealed, however, t ha tth e plant was intended even mores pe c1 ti ca ll y f or t he p ro du ct io n o ftl7ing boat! than th e older factory.

J ~1aM fac tory a t Naruo (Target 90..2516), about five miles eas t o f th eP um e p lA nt .


8/8

I t i s quite possible that because of th e 4&rkneSS t he J ap t1gb"w s cannot b e s ee n until the, areclose ,so t ha t UD1 Jap attaclllor iginat ing t'l'ce high 01'" 1C111'~ 1..t iona ar e reported 81 att&clll ~l l lT. l .

On night miSsions th e .Taps sbow

a p r ef e re n ce f o r l e n l attacks, meking S3 percent of th e 231 attack!on th e five night miSsions fr(XtJ. el eve l a pp ro ac h. T hi rt y one percentcame trom high and 16 percent orth e at tacks came trom belCl'll'.

T h. two cbarts tollOlJ1n s ~ -ue Japane. . approach tactiCS 011our 4a1 and D1sht atss ionl :

on day missions th e Jap attackSar e e qu al ly d is tr ib ut ed bet'IJeenhigh, le vel and law approaches.n t t r t y two percent of th e 6,000 at _tackS on day mi ss ions were from a beve r . 34 percent were rrom leveland 34 percent were f rom belCllf.

3. Haphazard s t : l b l 1 n ~w on ourr ormations.

them to overtake our B_299.

'nie enemy's preference fo r f ' r o n ~alattacks on day missions is prob

Ibl1 due to th e d i ff i cu l ty expe r ienceel by the Ja p in at tempt ing to~ t e . k l lB.29s a t high a l t i t u d e s(et..OOOto 32,000 f ee t ) . Also, th eJll.p ~ e s h.imself a d i r r l c u l t t a rli t Ol:l !lose approeches because orthe bigh rate of closure .

It:kaenemy's preference to r t a i l4u.e to: Otl night miSSions may be

~ . Better Ja p f lBhter per to r at lOtrer a l t i t udes , enabl1ng

' b . i ~~ ~Jap system or vector ing.tall s or ,a th e f ighters onto th e

..29a.

Fprty sight percent 01.' Sap a ttaca on our day missions were madeon the nose, w he re as 90 percent orthe attacks a t night were made a ttile tell .

m" ' i ~ f J : : ; " " 1 J " " " ' " ' '

p'"''''''''" ' \ " : - : " ' ' ' ' ' ~ ' ' ' ; ; ; ; ~ ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 1 i i " - ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

, ~ ~ ~ . . ~ I: ~ ' ; " \ ) " '.' , I,;.;, ..". . .n""",..w " ' ' ' ' ~ z . . , . . . . . . : : . ; ' ' ' ' ~ ; ~ ~ ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ; \ ' ~,rap rtghter attackS aga in s t B_29

d&1 IIU,ton8 usually come, r r O l B ~th enoSe; at night they ar e more ortenap1D!t th e ta11. This conclusionana others .h leh tollOW , a r e based00. a study of: f ive night an d 19 da y.1u10115 f lown by un t t s of th e XXIBomber Coclll81lc5over Honshu !rom 24lloTe1ilber 19o14 to 16 March 1945 .

It~ , . I II'.'1 I\,prll through 7

llISSION DATE AREA I , ; U V ~ A O I ! : QUALl!t

3PR5Vllo ]3 1 Mar I He.mamatsu 6",24",40 Good

511111 131 MarI

Nagoya, Hamamatsu, 6" ,24." .4.0"FaLr- l lu u.Okayame.

5!oQ.12 131 JlAr I 'r(Urnme I Sasebo, 6" ,24" .40" IGoodShlmooosekl

5MU3 I 2 Ap r Tokyo. Vito 6" .24",40" Exeel1ellt

51l1H 1 2 Apr sasebo, KurUlD8, Abortive No photosShlmonosekl

5M1l5 I 2 Apr I " ~ a l z u r u .Osaka, 6" ,24" ,40" Excelll>l.'Okayama

; " . - :......~ . : " . .... ". :.:.:." .j.-1.;

511116 I 3 Apr Canceled I ISm.17 I 3 Apr Shimonoseki. Yat_ 6" ,24- , 4 0 " 1 Poar-8/l0 clal

SUShiro, Kyushu E.

510.111 6 Apr Takasaki 6",24" ,40-1Poor - good

Sm.l9 S Apr Canceled

SMl.20 I 4 Apr Shizuoka, Tokyo 1 0/ 10 c lo ud No photol

!5Ml.21 I 6 Apr RUrume, Shimono_ 6",24",40"Poor _ gaol

seki , TO!mya:1I8,Kure

5f(l.22 I 7 Apr I Shimonoseki, Ky_ t 10/10 ClOUdINo photOSus hU, Kurume

510."" I 7 Apr I 't 'akasakt, Nagano 6" ,24" ,40" Good

5!lP-24 7 Apr Minion aborted No pbotol

6 ~ ! 5 7 Apr PostponedI I ~

5)112. 7 Apr Tokyo 16",24",40" 1,..11'- baJ1

'". .- & 2 i - . . . . . . : ~

air intelligence report - 12 apr 1945

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