Blast from past: China balloon brings back memory of times when US tried to ‘shoot down’ Venus
Fu-Go
If you think the ongoing balloon controversy is new, then you are mistaken! The spy balloonstrategy has been adopted by several countries to snoopon rival nations.Recently, a Chinese balloon was spotted over the skies of the United States. Beijing said that it was a civilian airship used for research purposes, but concerns were raised over the balloon being used to spy on America. The US deployed fighter jets to track the balloon and shoot it down. The authorities are now analysing the debris.
The recent balloon saga reminds us of a lesser-known incident that happened during World War II when US Navy tried to shoot down a "spy balloon" but later realised that they were firing at the planet Venus.
Such incendiary balloons were widely used by Japan during World War II between November 1944 and April 1945. The Japanese Army reportedly launched nearly 10,000 balloons, of which about 300 were found or observed in the US. Some were even seen in Canada and Mexico.
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Historians have stated that the practice of launching balloons was seen as Japan's effort to bring the war to the US. Robert Mikesh, who wrote a monograph about Japan's balloon bomb programme for the Smithsonian Annals of Flight Series, said in a 2020 interview, “It's the only thing that they had that was capable of reaching the United States — and even that was a long shot.”
A recently published report by The Washington Post has listed a few incidents linked to the balloons, one even caused casualties on May 5, 1945.
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In the same report, the Post mentioned the incident in the USS New York (BB-34) observed a silver sphere in the sky and thought that it was a Japanese balloon bomb, but it was actually Venus.
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After the recent balloon incident, the US Naval Institute posted on social media that "when the USS New York was sailing towards Iwo Jima in 1945, the crew spotted a silver sphere flying high overhead that seemed to follow the battleship for hours."
"Concerned that the shiny orb might be a Japanese balloon weapon, the captain ordered it shot down. After the guns failed to score a hit, a navigator realised that they were attacking Venus," the post added.
Since "Chinese Spy Balloon" is trending: In 1945, the crew of USS New York spotted a sphere that they thought might be a Japanese balloon weapon. The captain ordered it shot down but none of the guns could score a hit. Finally, a navigator realized they were attacking Venus. pic.twitter.com/aKwedtrr2G
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