National Diet Library Newsletter
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Records of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey
held by the Modern Japanese Political History
Materials Room
by Kosaku Oshima
Modern Japanese Political Documents Division
Reference and Special Collections Department
This is a translation of the article of in the Library Journal (Toshokan zasshi)
Vol. 99, No. 7 (July 2005).
1.
Background of the Records of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey
The United States Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS) was organized in November 1944 to study the effects of the bombing, to establish a basis for evaluating the importance and potential of air power as an instrument of military strategy, and to plan the future development of the armed forces. The survey was originally conducted in Europe; the Pacific survey was added after the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945 by the order of President Harry S. Truman. Headed by Chairman Franklin D'Olier, president of an insurance company, the USSBS summoned over 1,000 military, official and private sector experts. The survey in Japan was conducted from September to December 1945 and a vast quantity of reports was submitted up to the following July. These materials and the final reports of the survey were collectively called the Records of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey. 2.
Contents of the Pacific Survey
(1) Materials directly related to the bombing operations Based in the Mariana Islands and Chengdu, China, the 20th & 21st Bomber Commands consisting of B-29 planes conducted strategic bombing against the Japanese home islands. The reports of several tens of pages written after the completion of the missions appear in order of mission number. Each report consists of the tactical details including information on targets, attack route, mission planning, actual situation of attacks, effect and execution of mission, and an Annex including mission operations, weather, communications, intelligence, consolidated statistical summary, and field orders. Images from the Tactical Mission Reports
The mission summary or mission resume that summarizes the tactical mission reports mentioned above in one page, damage assessment reports and target information sheets that describe damage to targets in Japan from aerial attacks, and related materials such as photographs taken before and after aerial attacks are included. Reports are filed by target objective areas. Aircraft action reports prepared by aircraft squadrons of the Navy and Marine Corps units and action reports by units of aircraft carriers or each aircraft carrier are included. Aircraft action reports, a large share of these materials, were made when each mission was concluded and range from a few to several tens of pages comprising numbers of participating aircraft, bombs and torpedoes carried, enemy aircraft destroyed, damage, attack on enemy ships or ground objectives, photographs, and charts. These reports were made by land-based Navy and Marine Corps squadrons. The format is almost the same as the aircraft action reports mentioned above. These materials provide detailed information of bombing missions against the Japanese home islands by B-29 bombers and other aircraft. (2) Regional information materials used for selecting target objective areas
These materials are divided by objective area* or objective area number (JTG Objective Area Numbers) and consist of outline of industry, information of objective area, and photographs. * For example, Japan is indicated by number 90 and divided into 39 areas from 90: 1 (Karafuto =Sakhalin) to 90: 39 (Tsushima), arranged in numerical order with other areas such as China (83) and Korea (84). (3) Materials acquired in the course of preparing the final reports Includes materials such as reports of the Japanese Imperial Government, reports of the US Army and Navy on the organization and equipment of the Japanese Army, the Civil Affairs Handbooks published by the War Department, the Army Service Forces, and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Various materials are included as follows: publications (Japanese maps etc.), Japanese reports and instructions relating to air defense and fire protection, interrogations and interviews of Japanese citizens, and bomb plots and damage reports. (4) Final Reports of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey The final reports were submitted using the above-mentioned materials. The Pacific Survey consists of 108 reports including general analysis, the effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, field reports covering air-raid protection and allied subjects, analysis of aircraft industry and other industries, effects of air attack, interrogations of Japanese officials, and analysis of naval bombardment. 3. How to use the USSBS materials in the Modern Japanese Political History Materials Room The NDL acquired the final reports of the European and Pacific Survey in FY1979 and the other materials in the Pacific Survey in 1992 in 788 microfilms from the holder of the original materials (Record Group 243), the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). These microfilms can be viewed in the Modern Japanese Political History Materials Room. The final reports were republished in book form as "The United States Strategic Bombing Survey" (call no: GB531-A70) and are available on open shelves in the Room. The Air Staff College of the Japan Air Self Defense Force and others translated major parts of the final reports into Japanese. <How
to search>
<Procedures>
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