Bat Bomb: World War II's Other Secret Weapon“Inside information on a wondrously droll, highly classified yarn from WWII . . . A well-told, stranger-than-fiction tale that could make a terrific movie.” —Kirkus Reviews The plan: attach small incendiary bombs to millions of bats and release them over Japan’s major cities. As the bats went to roost, a million fires would flare up in remote crannies of the wood and paper buildings common throughout Japan. When their cities were reduced to ashes, the Japanese would surely capitulate . . . Told here by the youngest member of the team, this is the story of the bat bomb project, or Project X-Ray, as it was officially known. In scenes worthy of a Capra or Hawks comedy, Jack Couffer recounts the unorthodox experiments carried out in the secrecy of Bandera, Texas, Carlsbad, New Mexico, and El Centro, California, in 1942-1943 by “Doc” Adams’ private army. This oddball cast of characters included an eccentric inventor, a distinguished Harvard scientist, a biologist with a chip on his shoulder, a movie star, a Texas guano collector, a crusty Marine Corps colonel, a Maine lobster fisherman, an ex-mobster, and a tiger. The bat bomb researchers risked life and limb to explore uncharted bat caves and “recruit” thousands of bats to serve their country, certain that they could end the war with Japan. And they might have—in their first airborne test, the bat bombers burned an entire brand-new military airfield to the ground. For everyone who relishes true tales of action and adventure, Bat Bomb is a must-read. Bat enthusiasts will also discover the beginnings of the scientific study of bats. |
Contents
1 | |
10 | |
THE ARMY AIR FORCES WILL COOPERATE | 20 |
FLAMETHROWER | 27 |
NO QUESTIONS WILL BE TOLERATED | 35 |
THEY CAN FLY | 45 |
CHEMICAL WARFARE CONCLUDES | 52 |
THE BATSHIT MAN | 77 |
CARLSBAD | 113 |
BANDERA | 126 |
PROJECT XRAY | 144 |
THE OTHER WAR | 160 |
THE HIBERNATION EQUATION | 169 |
THE FISTFIGHT | 179 |
DUGWAY | 202 |
ITS A BIT STICKY IN EL CENTRO | 217 |
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Adams Plan Adams's Armed Army Air Forces Bandera bat bomb bat caves bat unit Benish Bloeker Bobby Herold Bracken Cave called capsule Captain Carlsbad carry cavern ceiling Centro Chemical Warfare Service chemist Colonel Rhoads Constantine cowboy crawled damned dark Doc Adams Doc's dropped Dugway Eddie Herold experience eyes feet felt Fieser fire Flamethrower flashlight Fletch free-tailed bats grabbed Griffin guano hand head heard hibernation Holt Hulls hung idea ignited incendiary bombs jeep Kabrich knew ladder letter light looked Louis Fieser Marine Corps memo ment Mexican free-tailed bat military million Navy NDRC never Ney Cave night officer Old Grand-dad Osaka Bay OST Cafe Patsy plane Project X-Ray pulled rabies Rhoads's rope Rugh seemed sergeant sure tests Texas thought tiger Tim Holt tion took Top Sarge U.S. Navy von Bloeker wanted Washington wings wire Wiswell young