On the last night before the end of the war, from around 10pm on August 14th to the early dawn hours of August 15th, Tsuchizaki endured a heavy air raid that lasted approximately four hours. This is often referred to as “the last air raid in Japan.”
The target of the attack was the Nippon Oil Corporation Akita Refinery, which was the largest provider of oil in Japan at that time. However, in addition to the refinery, the neighboring houses suffered a tremendous amount of damage as well.
During the raid, approximately 132 B-29 bombers departed from Guam and delivered 12,047 bombs, which is equal to 953.9 tons. The number of victims whose names were confirmed totaled 50 soldiers and 91 citizens; however, it is estimated that there were over 250 fatalities when unconfirmed or missing persons were included. In addition to the damage to the oil refinery, a total of 104 houses are said to have been burned down and/or fully or partially destroyed.
