American B 29's Attacked Tokyo One Night and Killed More People Than the Atomic Bomb

March 10th, 1945, shortly after midnight. The lead B-29 crossed the Japanese coastline south of Tokyo flying at only 5,000 feet—not the usual 25,000-30,000 feet.
The crew had removed most defensive armament to save weight. Carried only tail guns. Depended on darkness for protection.
The bomb bay held clusters of incendiaries—jellied gasoline bomblets that would scatter and ignite everything they touched.
General Curtis LeMay had made the decision to completely change American bombing tactics. High-altitude precision bombing achieved minimal results. This was an enormous gamble that could end his career.
But Japanese cities—built from wood and paper—could be destroyed through massed incendiary attacks creating firestorms.
Within minutes, 300 B-29s began arriving over Tokyo's Shitamachi district. Densely packed working-class neighborhoods where wooden houses shared walls.
The fires merged with terrifying speed. Wind blowing 30 mph transformed individual fires into a moving wall of flame advancing faster than people could run.
This is the story of how 16 square miles of Tokyo burned in one night. How 100,000 people died—more than Hiroshima. How bridges became death traps when fires reached both ends simultaneously. How parks that should have provided refuge became ovens roasting people from superheated air.
How the Sumida River filled with bodies—people jumping to escape flames, drowning when others landed on them. How temperatures exceeded 1,800°F—hot enough to melt glass. How 267,000 buildings were destroyed.
How B-29 crews saw Tokyo burning from 150 miles away. How LeMay said if America lost, he'd be tried as a war criminal. How this single raid killed more than the atomic bomb but receives far less attention.
Why Operation Meetinghouse was the most destructive air attack in human history.

📚 Based on XXI Bomber Command records, survivor testimonies, and Japanese civil defense documents.For pictures Creative Commons


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