Allied bombing 1942-1945

[GWR]

There are obviously far more detailed reports available on individual bombing raids, but this Pattaya mail article by Duncan Stearn perhaps gives us a better overall picture:-

http://www.pattayamail.com/513/columns.shtml#hd6

You may need to scroll roughly halfway down the page with the above link. For some reason, Pattaya Mail's #ed links rarely seem to work properly.

A Slice of Thai History: The air war over Thailand, 1941-1945

Part Two, The Allies attack Thailand, 1942-1945

by Duncan Stearn

On 26 December 1942 bombers of the United States’ Tenth Air Force, based in India, launched the first major strike by Allied air power against the Thai homeland, hitting the Hualumphong railway station, the port at Klong Toey, an arsenal and a power plant in Bangkok. It was the first real indication to the Thai government that they might have joined the wrong side. However, it was to be almost four months before a second bombing raid was feasible.

On 19 January 1943 a flight of U.S. B-24 bombers carried out a photo reconnaissance of the railway construction at Kanchanaburi.

Four B-24’s bombed the Bangsue arsenal in Bangkok on 21 April, but this was the last action against the capital for nearly eight months. The next occasion Bangkok heard the drone of Allied bombers was 19 December when the dock area was bombed at night. Four days later American bombers attacked Hualumphong.

The Americans were back on 10 January 1944 with attacks against Don Muang airfield and laying mines in the estuary of the Chao Phrya River. On 18 January a brace of American fighters struck troop concentrations, ammunition dumps and workshops in Songkhla while B-24 bombers attacked Don Muang airfield and its attendant railroad station.

Attacks by B-24’s were launched against targets in Bangkok on 9 and 10 February while on 15 March possibly the longest raid of the entire Second World War by fighter aircraft was conducted by P-51’s against the Thai capital. The task was to strike at what the Japanese thought were relatively secure areas for the remnants of their own fighters.

The raid, by two squadrons flying out of Cox’s Bazaar in India, hit Don Muang and covered a round-trip distance of 2,400 kilometres. General Levi Chase, the man who planned and led the attack, was awarded the Silver Star for this mission.

In April, the American’s switched their attack to Nakhon Sawan, 14 bombers striking the Japanese headquarters on the night of the 4th and five bombers returning for a second strike a week later.

Attacks were also made against road and railway bridges between Bangkok and Chiang Mai as well as all along the almost completed Burma-Siam railway.

In September 1942 the American air arm had developed a new and powerful bomber, the B-29, or ‘Superfortress’, and before it was employed against the Japanese home islands, the Americans decided to test it out against Bangkok.

Accordingly, on 5 June 1944 a total of 77 B-29 bombers (some sources claim 98, another 114, planes) attacked the Thai capital. The raid began at around 11 a.m. with the bombers aiming to destroy the Memorial Bridge and a major power plant. They missed and instead knocked down tram lines and destroyed a Japanese military hospital as well as the headquarters of the Japanese secret police. No civilian buildings were damaged, a fact that aroused admiration among the Thai authorities. It was only in 1947 that the Thais discovered the American bombers had been aiming at the Memorial Bridge, almost two and-a-half kilometres away. Following the raid, schools and universities were closed in Bangkok and children moved out of the city for their safety.

A night raid on 6 September against Non Pladuk, a railhead for the Burma-Siam railway line, failed badly when the bombs fell short and exploded in a POW camp, killing over 90 Allied prisoners and injuring more than 300. It had been, and remained, Japanese policy to house their POW’s as close to the rail lines as possible while refusing to allow a blue cross to be erected signalling the presence of Allied prisoners. This policy resulted in numerous ‘friendly fire’ casualties.

Early in 1945, U.S. bombers attacked railway sidings and warehouses in Chumphon and in March two assaults were launched against a key rail bridge at Surat Thani. In the latter two attacks, the B-24 bombers were airborne for more than 17-hours, considered to be a record at that time for heavy bombers.

That same month, Allied bombers launched an all-out effort to wreck the Burma-Siam railway and managed to destroy no less than nine bridges. Among the bridges knocked out were the two spanning the Kwae River. British bombers damaged the steel bridge while an American bomber destroyed the wooden span that was around 100 metres further downriver.

On 14 April 1945 a second B-29 raid was launched on Bangkok and succeeded in destroying two key power plants, plunging the city into darkness, cutting off water supplies and stopping the trams. This was the last major attack conducted against targets in Thailand prior to the Japanese surrender in August.

[GWR]

Actually, I forgot to look at Stearn's part 1 first. As I said before, you may need to scroll about halfway down the page to the article, as the #ed links don't work very well here:-

http://www.pattayamail.com/512/columns.shtml#hd6

A Slice of Thai History: The air war over Thailand, 1941-1945

Part one: Japan moves into Thailand, December 1941

by Duncan Stearn

The battle for control of Thai air space during the Second World War basically falls into three sections. The first is the Japanese invasion of Thailand on 8 December 1941 and the brief Thai resistance. The second is Japan’s move to take control and upgrade vital airfields within Thailand, as well as building new aerodromes, for use in the invasion of Burma. The third is the Allied counter-offensive and aerial bombardment of strategic targets within Thailand.

The Japanese attack on 8 December 1941 saw the Thai air force go into action at two specific points. The first was Prachuap Kiri Khan where three Thai planes were shot down by the Japanese. Three Thai planes also flew out of Don Muang airfield in Bangkok to intercept a force of nine Japanese bombers and 11 fighters that had crossed the eastern border in support of a ground invasion. All three Thai fighters were shot down in an unequal battle.

A few hours later, the Thai government surrendered to Japan and permitted the Japanese to quickly move its air force into the country in strength.

This meant that the Japanese could support those air wings already harassing the British in Malaya and launch attacks into Burma. On 9 December, a Japanese air group was moved into central Thailand and tasked with attacking Mergui, Tavoy and Moulmein in Burma. At that time they were unable to reach Rangoon.

Japanese engineers began construction of an airfield in northern Thailand for use in the invasion of Burma. They also began developing Lopburi as a fighter base and took over the telephone line from Bangkok as well as the local radio station.

On 17 December, Japanese reconnaissance planes operating from Thailand noted that Allied air strength inside Burma had been increased and they decided to build up their air forces and then launch a series of attacks designed to weaken the British air defences.

Over the course of the next five days, approximately 35 aircraft were dispatched to Bangkok.

With orders to begin attacks almost straight away, the Japanese air commander in Thailand, General Hiroda, ordered the construction at airfields in Bangkok, Lopburi, and Raheng (just outside Tak) to be hurried.

The signing of an alliance with Japan on 21 December led to Japan providing military hardware to Thailand over the next couple of years. This included 24 fighters, nine bombers, a number of training aircraft and some planes confiscated from the Vichy French.

The first major strike into Burma came on 23 December when between 68 and 72 Japanese planes struck the Mingaladon airfield in Rangoon. They were opposed by 20 Royal Air Force fighters and 16 modern P-40’s operated by the American Volunteer Group (AVG), known as the Flying Tigers, on loan from China’s Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek.

A full-scale battle developed in which the Japanese lost six bombers and 10 fighters. One bomber crash landed on its return to Bangkok. The British lost six planes and the Americans four and the raid set fire to the Rangoon docks, causing much of the Indian labour force to melt away, thus reducing work on the defences.

A second major attack was launched against Rangoon on 25 December after Japanese reconnaissance had determined that the British air force had not retreated. Japanese planes were brought across from Phnom Penh to Bangkok and, with a group from Raheng and Lopburi, the attack force numbered around 155 planes.

The Japanese were under the impression, following the first Rangoon raid, that the British air defences consisted of the much-vaunted Spitfire as well as Tomahawks and Buffaloes. In reality, the British had no Spitfires and their fighters were outnumbered by the Japanese. Nevertheless, the British succeeded in shooting down at least three bombers and caused the Japanese to break formation, thereby limiting the effectiveness of the bombing mission. A fourth Japanese bomber was lost on the return journey while a fifth crash-landed at Don Muang. Two Japanese fighters were also shot down by the Allied pilots.

The day after the second raid against Rangoon, the Japanese bombers were moved from Don Muang to Sungai Pattani to prepare for the impending Japanese assault against Singapore.

Three AVG fighters became the first to hit a target in Thailand when they strafed the Raheng airfield on 3 January 1942. One of the American pilots also managed to shoot down two Japanese fighters.