The 6th Bomb Group

This was a night incendiary mission involving 29 planes from the 6th Bomb Group:

Yokkaichi was next on the list of secondary industrial cities scheduled for the same incendiary raids which had virtually eliminated large cities such as Tokyo as B-29 targets.  The city of Yokkaichi, lying twenty miles southwest of Nagoya, was attacked on the night of 17-18 June with twenty-nine planes bombing individually and dropping a total of 231 tons of incendiaries.  Enemy opposition was negligible with no fighter attacks and anti-aircraft fire from automatic weapons only.  Photographs later showed 59 per cent of the city's built-up area burned out by 313th Wing raiders.

[Pirate's Log, p. 47]

20th AF Mission 209

Date: 17 June 1945
Target: Yokkaichi Urban Area (90.20)
Participating Units: 313th BW
Number A/C Airborne: 94
% A/C Bombing Primary: 92.56% (89 aircraft)
Type of Bombs and Fuzes: AN-M17A1 and E-46, 500-lb. clusters set to open at 5,000' above target and AN-M47A2 100-lb. incendiary bombs, instantaneous nose.
Tons of Bombs Dropped: 567.3 tons on Primary
Time Over Primary: 0246K - 0405K
Altitude of Attack: 7,000 - 7,800
Weather Over Target: 6/10 - 7/10
Total A/C Lost: 0
Resumé of Mission: Main urban area of city destroyed. Damage totaled 1.23 square miles or 59 percent of the built-up portion of the city (excluding industrial area). Nine E/A sighted made 1 attack. Flak was heavy, medium, and light caliber, meager and inaccurate at target. Twelve S/L observed. Five B-29's were non-effective. Average bomb load: 13,217 lbs. Average fuel reserve: 1,128 gallons.