10 Mar 1945

United States
  • A Japanese Fu-Go balloon came down across electrical lines in Toppenish, Washington causing a power outage. Although not widely known for another ten years, the outage shut down the reactor at the Hanford, Washington facility of the Manhattan Project. Back-up systems quickly restored power but it would take another three days for the reactors to reach full capacity again. A burned balloon envelope, shroud lines, and ballast dropping equipment were recovered from the downed balloon. At almost the same time, another complete Fu-Go balloon bomb grounded near Cold Creek, Washington, very near the Hanford site. ww2dbase [Operation Trinity and Manhattan Project | Japanese Attacks on the Continental United States | Fu-Go | Toppenish, Washington | DS]
Photo(s) dated 10 Mar 1945
Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb draped across power lines in Toppenish, Washington, United States, 10 Mar 1945. This balloon caused a power outage that briefly affected the Hanford nuclear reactors 40 miles away.

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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