Are
Japanese Balloon Bombs or "FUGOs" Responsible for US UFO Flaps of 1940's? 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. Internationally Syndicated Radio
Talk Show Host, Rob McConnell Says THERE IS! FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog
(Press Release) - Oct 03, 2009 - Hamilton, Ontario: 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 used as
ballast, with one bomb being dropped with each descent to 25,000 feet as they
travelled across land. After the final bomb was dropped, a fuse would be ignited
and the balloons would destroy themselves in bright orange fireballs. It
is estimated that about 9,000 of the balloons were launched by Japan between November,
1944 and April, 1945, but it is believed that less than 1,000 of them actually
reached North America, with most of the rest self-destructing over, or falling
into, the sea. Of those that did reach land, some were seen exploding in the air
and others were found on the ground in remote areas, usually with the bomb loads
missing but occasionally with some bombs still attached. The balloons reached
Alaska, Canada, Mexico and 16 U.S. states, travelling as far east as Michigan
and Texas. Most of the balloons were sighted or found in British Columbia, Washington
state, Oregon, California, and Montana. Several minor forest fires, in California
and Oregon, were possibly caused by the balloons, but this was never completely
verified. The first discovery of a balloon in North
America was made by two woodchoppers, who discovered a balloon on the ground near
Kalispell, Montana in December, 1944. It was determined that the balloon originated
in Japan by analyzing beach sand from one of the balloon's ballast sandbags. Tight
censorship was immediately imposed on further balloon sightings, since it was
feared that disclosing when and where balloons were being found would encourage
the enemy to launch more balloons and perfect their delivery. It was also thought
that the balloons posed little danger to the public at large, so even though some
government and military officials and newspapermen knew about the bombing balloons
early on, the general public was not told about them until May of 1945, about
six months after they were first launched. The public
announcement was finally made due to a tragic event that occurred on May 5, 1945.
A woman and five children, on a church picnic, were killed in a remote area near
Bly, Oregon, after they discovered a downed balloon with a bomb still attached,
and one of them moved the bomb, causing it to explode. These deaths were the only
known fatalities on the U.S mainland from enemy attack during World War II. At
first it was officially reported that the deaths were due to an explosion of an
'unknown object', but after much debate, it was finally decided that the public's
need to be informed about the existence of the bombing balloons outweighed any
military advantage that the enemy might gain from the disclosure. It was also
feared that, with the end of the school year approaching, there would soon be
many children exploring in remote areas where unexploded bombs were most likely
to be found. So in late May, the general public was finally informed about the
existence of the bombing balloons, although details about individual balloon encounters
were still withheld, except for the one fatal incident mentioned above. The
period of censorship appeared to have served its purpose, since it was later learned
that the Japanese scaled down and eventually abandoned the balloon launchings,
considering them ineffective since they had heard of very few balloons reaching
U.S. territory. Many of the balloons had been made
by patriotic Japanese school children as a part of the war effort. In 1987, several
tried to atone. They folded 1,000 paper cranes, a Japanese symbol of healing and
peace, and sent them to the families of the Oregon picnickers. Here is an excerpt
from one of the accompanying letters: "We participated
in the building of weapons used to kill people without understanding much beyond
the knowledge that America was our adversary in a war. To think that the weapons
we made took your lives as you were out on a picnic! We were overwhelmed with
deep sorrow." RELATED
NEWS ARTICLES:
SEE JAPANESE BALLOON BOMB VIDEO - CLICK HERE Listen
living tonight, Friday, October 3rd starting at 10 pm Eastern / 7 pm Pacific on
The 'X' Zone Radio Show hosted by Canadian veteran broadcaster Rob McConnell.
If your local radio station does not yet carry The
'X' Zone, watch and listen at www.xzonetv.com - the preshow starts at 8:30 pm
Eastern / 5:30 pm Pacific. To have your local radio
station or satellite distributor carry The 'X' Zone, please contact xzone@quickclic.net. Contact
Information for Rob McConnell: Toll
Free - 1-800-610-7035 or (905) 575-5916 Email:
xzone@quickclic.net
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