The First Intercontinental Weapon System
And how it killed more people than ICBMs
When people think of intercontinental weapons systems, they immediately think about missiles. Intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, have been a specter hanging over humanity’s heads for decades. An ICBM reaches the edge of space and can deliver a nuclear payload anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes. Despite the fearsome power of the ICBM, they were not the first intercontinental weapon system. That distinction goes to something much simpler that was deployed decades before reliable missiles took the world by storm.
The Fu-Go Balloon
In 1944, it became clear to most military observers that the United States was eventually going to win its war against Japan. Japan lost control of the Mariana Islands in the summer of 1944, leaving them more vulnerable than ever to deep incursions by the United States Navy into Japanese home waters. The loss of the important Mariana Islands constituted an existential crisis for Japan. With airbases on islands like Guam, Tinian, Saipan and Rota, the United States could easily strike anywhere in Japan with long range bombers. This was…
