-
B-29第三度轟炸 Third B-29 Raid Against Formosa
Posted on April 14th, 2012 No comments
Source： NARA via Fold3.com部署到四川新津A-1基地的美國陸軍航空隊第40轟炸大隊，在1944年10月14日執行完對台灣的第一次轟炸任務後，並沒有立即返回印度，但也沒有參與10月16日的對台轟炸行動。他們奉命在17日執行對台南飛行場的大規模轟炸任務，高雄港則是這次任務的次要目標。
The 40th Bombardment Group on TDY to A-1 in Hsinching, China, did not participate in the October 16, 1944, raid against Taiwan as the Group was exclusively ordered to carry out a maximum effort strike against the airfield and repair depot at Einansho (now Tainan) Airdrome. The secondary target was shipping and harbor installations in Takao (now Kaohsiung).第40轟炸大隊一共有32架B-29轟炸機準備參加這次任務，不過其中兩架無法順利起飛，所以總共有30架B-29升空。成功起飛的飛機之中，包括以下照片中這架紀念波音公司B-29試飛員Eddie Allen的B-29（序號42-24579）。
Thirty-two B-29 heavy bombers of the 40th Group were to undertake this mission. But two aircraft had to abort during take-off. In the end, a total of thirty B-29 were airborne, including the one in the following photo, 42-24579 “Eddie Allen” (named after the B-29 test pilot at Boeing, who was killed in the second B-29).
Source： NARA via Fold3.com總共有10架B-29在此次任務中轟炸了台南飛行場，投下了174枚通用炸彈和50枚燒夷彈。另外13架B-29改炸次要目標，在高雄港上空投下281枚通用炸彈和121枚燒夷彈。目前我仍未找到這次任務轟炸台南飛行場的照片，只有以下兩張轟炸高雄港的照片：
Of the 30 B-29 airborne, only ten bombed the primary target Einansho Airdrome, dropping a total of 174 general-purpose bombs and 50 incendiary bombs. Another 13 B-29 attacked the secondary target Takao Harbor and dropped 281 GP bombs and 121 incendiary bombs. I have not found any photo showing the raid against Einansho Airdrome during this mission. Only the next two photos showing bombs bursting in Takao Harbor were found:
Source： NARA via Fold3.com
Source： NARA via Fold3.com
Source： Google Earth30架成功起飛的B-29中，一架無法飛到台灣，因此改炸廈門的目標。另外有6架因為機械故障被迫中止任務，其中4架順利飛返A-1，一架改降A-3，但另一架不幸墜毀。而在參與轟炸的24架B-29之中，22架安全返回A-1，一架改降柳州，另一架轉降遂川。One B-29 bombed a tertiary target in Amoy, China. The rest of six aircraft were forced to abort due to mechanical problems. Four of the six returned safely to A-1, one to A-3, and one crashed southwest of A-1. Of the 24 B-29 bombing assigned targets, 22 returned to A-1, one landed at Luichow, China, and the other at Suichwan, China.
Source： NARA via Fold3.com
Source： NARA via Fold3.com1 responses to “B-29第三度轟炸 Third B-29 Raid Against Formosa”
-
There are 4 additional photos in the US National Archives, dated 16 October 1944, but presumably from the same raid. They are at https://ww2db.com/photo.php?list=sp&sp=series&image_id=21138
My interest in the topic comes from:
1. A friend now in the US who remembers the raid from a time when he was 4 years old, and
2. My father, who was a “toxic gas handler” in India. He had been trained to load chemical bombs onto B-29s, and my recent research shows that cyanogen chloride bombs had been positioned at Shamshernager Air Base in India. From there they could have been flown “Over the Hump” to the forward B-29 bases in China. This raid, of course, did not include chemical bombs, but they were available. There is an article coming in Military History magazine.
Leave a reply
-
Frederick J Thomas October 15th, 2021 at 22:00