Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Japanese Balloon Battle

Posted by michael on from the kaboom! dept.

mw2040 writes "Slate reports on a little-known method used by the Japanese during WWII - hydrogen-filled paper balloons with deadly payloads floated without a guidance-system across the Pacific. Both amazing low-tech warfare and a cautionary tale about censorship during wartime. More links (even one for our neighbors to the North) (shamelessly stolen from the article)."

2 of 567 comments (clear)

  1. The need for censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The news was squelched in America in order to make then Japanese enemy believe that their efforts had completely failed. Similarly, in Great Britain during the buzz bomb attacks, news reports often gave false information as to where the bombs had landed so that the enemy would mis-adjust their targeting when they re-calibrated based on the false reports.

    Nothing wrong with censorship during a war for survival. First order of the day is always to survive.

  2. Speaking of censorship.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One thing you will not find in Japanese schoolbooks is an historical account of the massacre at Nanking. In 1937, the Japanese attacked China and killed thousands of innocents in Nanking. Today, it's as if it never happened. In fact, I have never learned of this myself until very recently.

    This kind of censorship is what we need to be aware of today. Historical records must not be skewed so that they may not tell all sides of the story - always make sure you know where your sources are coming from. This is one of the many reasons why history repeats itself.