National Library News July 1998 Vol. 30, no. 7-8

Savoir Faire: Bombs from Balloons

by Sandra Bell,
Research and Information Services

"Floating Vengeance: Japanese Balloon Attacks on North America during the Second World War" was the theme of the Savoir Faire seminar given on March 17. The speaker was Michael Unsworth, Canadian studies librarian, Michigan State University Libraries. Mr. Unsworth, who has published works on the impact of these balloon attacks on some American states, is conducting research into the arrival of Japanese balloon bombs in Canada during the Second World War. The topic was of great interest to local researchers involved in military history.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, American bombing raids on Tokyo and other cities in Japan provoked a unique response from the Japanese army: the development of unmanned bomb-carrying balloons, produced under the auspices of a project named FUGO. These bombs were made with a special type of paper and potato paste, and produced by small cottage enterprises. It is reported that many of the workers were unaware of the balloons' intended purposes, which were to start forest fires, divert resources from the war effort and create panic in those being attacked.

Between November 1944 and April 1945, some 10 000 balloons were constructed. About 9 300 were launched by a new army unit, the Special Balloon Regiment, whose activity ceased with the destruction of Japan's hydrogen-producing facilities. The target of these balloon attacks was the Pacific Northwest of North America, and the majority of landings were in Orgeon, Washington state, California and Alaska. Of the total number of balloons launched, a disproportionately small number -- about 300 -- reached North America. Among the reasons for the poor success rates of the balloon bombs were the use of a weak antifreeze solution that did not prevent their batteries from freezing, and the difficulties of setting ablaze the cold, damp forests of North America.

At the time, the Japanese balloon offensive was not revealed to the North American population. The press cooperated with government and published little about the threat. This suppression of information was intended to prevent the enemy from learning about the success or failure of these balloon attacks, and to prevent public panic. However, when an Oregon minister's wife and five children were killed by a balloon bomb, limited information about the danger was disseminated.

Impact on Canada

Fewer than 100 balloon bombs landed on Canada during the Second World War. The second-largest number of balloon bombs dropped on North American targets fell within British Columbia (the largest number fell in Oregon). A balloon released several bombs over Minton, Saskatchewan in 1945, but there was no loss of life. Bombs also fell in Alberta, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. While the anticipated dangers of forest fires and germ warfare were not realized, much preparation had to be done federally, provincially and interprovincially. The Directorate of Military Operations and Planning at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa was responsible for coordinating activities in Canada among the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), provincial police, forest rangers, trappers, bomb disposal squads, the army, navy, and research experts. Work was hampered because FUGO weapons did not appear on radar. Careful investigations of bomb incidents, coordinated in Ottawa, were undertaken by Bomb Investigation Squads based in Winnipeg (Manitoba), Regina (Saskatchewan), Edmonton and Calgary (Alberta), and, in British Columbia, Vancouver, Esquimalt, Prince Rupert and Prince George. As in the United States, there was a complete media blackout. All reports of incidents were suppressed. When a trapper in Mari Lake, Saskatchewan removed a piece of a bomb envelope and notified others before the area could be sealed off, the local press cooperated by not publishing information about the incident. The balloon attacks also promoted Canada-U.S. cooperation, particularly in the exchange of technical information.

Conclusion

According to most sources, the balloon offensive did not succeed. No forest fires were set, and no epidemics of disease broke out. FUGO documents were released in the U.S.A. at the end of the war, but partly due to the low casualties, the topic was overshadowed by more prominent wartime episodes. Most primary sources on the balloon attacks remained security-classified until the early 1980s, but information on FUGO technology was used for U.S. military balloon activities in the Cold War. It is believed that FUGO bombs may still exist undetected in many parts of North America.