WWII-Vintage Bomb Explodes On Japanese Airport

News Discussion
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A U.S. Army Air Forces bomb finally inflicted its damage on the airport it was dropped on almost 80 years ago. Miyazaki Airport, which served as a launch base for Japanese World War II “kamikaze” attacks, was damaged when what is believed to be a 500-pound bomb exploded yesterday (October 2). No one was injured nor was there any damage to aircraft when the long-buried bomb went off under a taxiway. Eighty-seven flights were canceled.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/japan-reports-more-than-2300-wwii-bombs-were-found-and-disposed-of-last-year
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All you can have is a Launch Base for kamikaze operations.

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Actually, that wasn’t true. A Kamikaze pilot could return if a suitable target was not available. There was one pilot that returned 9 times. After that 9th landing, they shot him! No joke!

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Was the bomb made by Boeing?

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80 years later and it works perfectly, that was back when made in America meant something. (Except that it didn’t work when needed).

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Is it just me, or is anyone else surprised that they’re still finding thousands of unexploded bombs every year?

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Yeah, Kirk, that was my response as well. They don’t say what kinds of ordnance have been uncovered, though. There were many thousand incendiary bombs dropped on Tokio and other industrial cities, so I could see them being common.

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You have to wonder how hard he was looking for a suitable target. :wink:

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It was on strike . . .

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