During the closing years of World War II, both Japan and the
United States came up with unusual ways to get bombs to enemy
sites. The United States developed a plan to use bats to carry
bombs to Tokyo buildings, and the Japanese actually implemented
a balloon bomb offensive on mainland USA. In 1944 and 1945, over
a 5 month period, Japan launched over 9000 balloons carrying
anti-personnel and incendiary bombs. These balloon bombs (called
Fugos) were ingeniously designed to rise into the fast traveling
jet-stream, and thus cross the Pacific Ocean in 3 days or so.
Using a system of ballasts and blow plugs, the balloons would
ideally drop their bombs on North America at random points and
create panic and chaos. In reality, only around 300 of these
bombs were ever sighted in America, and the only fatalities were
5 children and their Sunday school teacher, who died after
dragging one of the bombs from the woods near Lakeview, Oregon.
One balloon did land on a power line near Cold Creek,
Washington, coincidentally i