Page 26 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Febrary/March 2020 Edition

26 Project Fugo: Japanese Balloon Bombs

Is there a connection

between the alleged UFO

crash of a UFO in July

1947 and the famed UFO's

over Los Angeles in

February 1942?

THERE IS!

The ‘X’ Chronicles Staff

In November, 1944, the Japanese began
launching unmanned bomb-carrying balloons,
which travelled on prevailing winds across the
Pacific Ocean to North America. It was hoped
that the balloons would start forest fires and
cause general panic among the population.
The balloons measured about 33 feet in
diameter and 70 feet from the top of the balloon
to the payload at the bottom. They were first
made of paraffined paper, and later from latex
and fabricated silk, and contained hydrogen gas.
The payload consisted of 36 sand-filled paper
bags for use as ballast, 4 incendiary bombs and
1 33-pound anti-personnel bomb.
The balloons began their three to five
day journey from Japan at an altitude of about
35,000 feet, usually travelling at speeds between
80 and 120 miles per hour. As gas slowly leaked
from the balloons, they descended in altitude.
When they fell to about 25,000 feet, a
barometric pressure switch would cause one of
the ballast sandbags to be dropped, and the
balloons would rise again to 35,000 feet. This up
and down pattern continued as the balloons
crossed the Pacific Ocean. When the balloons
reached the west coast of North America, they
were supposed to have exhausted their supply of
ballast sandbags and the bombs would then be
by analyzing beach sand from one of the approaching, there would soon be many children
used as ballast, with one bomb being dropped
balloon's ballast sandbags. Tight censorship was exploring in remote areas where unexploded
with each descent to 25,000 feet as they
immediately imposed on further balloon bombs were most likely to be found. So in late
travelled across land. After the final bomb was
sightings, since it was feared that disclosing May, the general public was finally informed
dropped, a fuse would be ignited and the
when and where balloons were being found about the existence of the bombing balloons,
balloons would destroy themselves in bright
would encourage the enemy to launch more although details about individual balloon
orange fireballs.
balloons and perfect their delivery. It was also encounters were still withheld, except for the
It is estimated that about 9,000 of the
thought that the balloons posed little danger to one fatal incident mentioned above.
balloons were launched by Japan between
the public at large, so even though some The period of censorship appeared to
November, 1944 and April, 1945, but it is
government and military officials and have served its purpose, since it was later
believed that less than 1,000 of them actually
newspapermen knew about the bombing learned that the Japanese scaled down and
reached North America, with most of the rest
balloons early on, the general public was not eventually abandoned the balloon launchings,
self-destructing over, or falling into, the sea. Of
told about them until May of 1945, about six considering them ineffective since they had
those that did reach land, some were seen
months after they were first launched. heard of very few balloons reaching U.S.
exploding in the air and others were found on
The public announcement was finally territory.
the ground in remote areas, usually with the
made due to a tragic event that occurred on May Many of the balloons had been made by
bomb loads missing but occasionally with some
5, 1945. A woman and five children, on a church patriotic Japanese school children as a part of
bombs still attached. The balloons reached
picnic, were killed in a remote area near Bly, the war effort. In 1987, several tried to atone.
Alaska, Canada, Mexico and 16 U.S. states,
Oregon, after they discovered a downed balloon They folded 1,000 paper cranes, a Japanese
travelling as far east as Michigan and Texas.
with a bomb still attached, and one of them symbol of healing and peace, and sent them to
Most of the balloons were sighted or found in
moved the bomb, causing it to explode. These the families of the Oregon picnickers. Here is an
British Columbia, Washington state, Oregon,
deaths were the only known fatalities on the U.S excerpt from one of the accompanying letters:
California, and Montana. Several minor forest
mainland from enemy attack during World War "We participated in the building of
fires, in California and Oregon, were possibly
II. At first it was officially reported that the weapons used to kill people without
caused by the balloons, but this was never
deaths were due to an explosion of an 'unknown understanding much beyond the knowledge that
completely verified.
object', but after much debate, it was finally America was our adversary in a war. To think
The first discovery of a balloon in North
decided that the public's need to be informed that the weapons we made took your lives as you
America was made by two woodchoppers, who
about the existence of the bombing balloons were out on a picnic! We were overwhelmed
discovered a balloon on the ground near
outweighed any military advantage that the with deep sorrow." []
Kalispell, Montana in December, 1944. It was
enemy might gain from the disclosure. It was
determined that the balloon originated in Japan
also feared that, with the end of the school year