Red Rain, WWII's Best Kept Secret

[noahspurrier]

@bettygoodbody The balloons you saw were probably "barrage balloons". They were passive defenses against enemy aircraft.

The British also developed a weapon similar to the Japanese fire balloons that were used against Germany. They were a bit more effective, but they didn't have to travel as far, so they were much simpler. These carried both incendiary bombs and conductive snare lines used to short out electrical power lines.

[thepixieful]

thanks for that footage, that is some origami.....also there is some old OSS footage at yt also. enjoy. and books by Jim Marrs and John Loftus are new for WWII history readers.

[vulcan1429]

Can someone name the paratrooper squadron assigned to the US to put these fires out?

[TimWendelBooks]

Betty: Not sure about the silver balloons you mention. The Japanese fire balloons were made of paper, 3- and 4-ply because that's what left on mainland Japan late in the war. They were even able to put together basic batteries to run the balloon's basic mechanics from what they could find.

Tim W.

[bettygoodbody]

how interesting. never heard of it before. they had to know a lot about wind currents and how those moved, of course they flew planes, and knew something, but to predict where the thing will end up three days later, more or less predict, that is. what about foo fighters , what was that, and what were the silver balloons i see in some allies pictures? in the sky at the seashore. big metallic silver balloons?

[ThePalmetadon]

I heard they(US goverment) said it was a Canadian project just to not create panic,on that documentary they also claimed that just one 16 year old, were killed by it.

[scottl20az]

would they have been more succesful if they had carried poison gas instead of incendiaries?

Would be interested in what Tim thinks

[candr]

@scottl20az Probably not gas, couldn't carry that much. However possible bacti or nuclear material (not for a bomb but for contamination like the Germans once considered), but still not enough to to do much damage. Therefore the devices to start forest fires. It also would be very hard to zero in on a populated city, forest were much easier since they covered larger area.

[Mineav]

Not really a huge secret. And the Japanese ended the program because it was a massive failure. In order for those 'bomber-balloons' to have any impact at all--even the slightest--they needed to send hundreds of thousands of them, and that just wasn't feasible.

[TimWendelBooks]

Six American died from a fire balloon explosion near Bly, Oregon, on May 5, 1945. A plaque marks the spot of "the only place on the American continent where death resulted from enemy action during World War II." TW

[russfromdodge]

I seem to recall hearing years ago about one of these balloons actually killing people in British Columbia Canada.Do you have any info on that?

[candr]

@russfromdodge Only those 6 folk in Oregon state were killed, however a RCAF fighter plane was the first to actually shoot one down over British Columbia. Some had gone as far as Texas (and of course Alaska)

[russfromdodge]

@candr Thank you for the info.My father had told me about these balloons years ago and I was a little foggy on the facts.

[mw2gamer86]

really cool glad you put it up :)

[mikeakaspike]

and that explains why the government doesn't like to talk about roswell

[obeyance]

@mikeakaspike Roswell AKA Area 51, is no longer the center for "experimental aircraft". They moved it up to Utah somewhere, i dunno where but i think you could google it and find out. Just saying. But, by now... people would be "hohum *yawn*" about aliens anyway. A lot of people think they exist, some think they come to earth, fewer think they live among us. But the point is, a lot believe they exit and would not be shocked as they would have been in the 40s and 50s.

[Hollyberry129]

Mr Wendel,

Your presentation today at my school (Paul VI) was quite interesting. I look forward to reading your book which I picked up from the library. WWII fiction has always interested me as has writing in general. Thank you for giving such an intriguing talk.

[notesone12]

try talking to a vet the things you learn i heard about this back in 78 and the fo fighters

[RedEmpireGuy]

woahz

[Bkingmeaty]

Wow, they kept it such a secret most of America still doesn't know about them. A great example of all the things the government hides from us.

[tysonbangham]

balloons are good

[Longhor99]

Tim, a fascinating story. I shall seek out Your Book. Paul Dickson alerted me to your You-Tube presentation. I agree with Paul that this is the book promotion wave of the future. Write On,

Joe Goulden

Washington, DC

[joestraw12]

Was there a destructive element attached to the balloons? If so did any reach a target of significance?

[TimWendelBooks]

The balloons were armed with small incendiary bombs to start forest fires throughout the Western States. A major target of significance was the Hanford, Wash., reactor. One fire balloon started a brushfire near the reactor, which was pivotal in the Manhattan Project.