July 10, 1943
(11th AF) Eleventh Air Force attacks the Japanese Home Islands for the first time when
8 B-25's bomb Paramushiru and scoring hits on the
southern portion of Shimushu.
July 18, 1943
(11th AF) 6 B-24's bomb shipping targets between Paramushiru and Shimushu.
August 11, 1943
(11th AF) B-24's from Attu Island drop bombs and incendiaries on Shimushu
where the Kataoka naval base and staging area are hit. 40 enemy aircraft
challenge the attackers, which score 4 confirmed kills, 1 probable, and
4 possibles.
September 11, 1943
(11th AF) B-25s and B-24's hit 2 buildings and an AA battery on Shimushu. Of 40 fighters
giving battle, 13 are shot down and 3 more are probables. 2 B-24's force-land
in the USSR, one with mechanical defect, the other after being hit; 1 B-24
is downed by AA fire; losses are 7 B-25's and 2 B-24's in this most disastrous
day for the Eleventh Air Force.
February 5, 1944
(11th AF) B-24s and 16 P-38s join USN after strikes photograph and attack installations
at Paramushiru and Shimushu.
May 19, 1944
(11th AF) A B-24 flies armed reconnaissance over Shimushu.
May 24, 1944
(11th AF) Two bombers fly weather and photo reconnaissance over Shimushu.
May 26, 1944
(11th AF) Two B-24s off on an armed photo mission over Shimushu Island turn back due to
mechanical troubles.
May 29, 1944
(11th AF) At dawn 2 B-25s photograph and bomb Shimushu.
July 1, 1944
(11th AF) Four B-24s radar bomb southern Shimushu.
July 29, 1944
(11th AF) 3 B-24s fly bombing and reconnaissance runs over Shimushu.
August 10, 1944
(11th AF) 4 B-25s on a shipping sweep spot 2 patrol boats 75 miles ESE of Shimushu Island,
Kurile Islands; one is sunk, the other is damaged.
August 12, 1944
(11th AF) 4 B-24s and 2 F-7As over Paramushiru and Shimushu hit targets which
include shipping in Higashi Banjo Strait and buildings and runway on Suribachi;
enemy fighters give battle; the B-24s score 3 kills and 13 probables and
damaged; 6 more B-25s fly an uneventful shipping sweep and take photos over
Shimushiru.
September 11, 1944
(11th AF) 4 B-25s on a shipping search sink a small craft off Shimushu.
September 12, 1944
(11th AF) 6 bombers fly a negative shipping sweep over Shimushu.
September 16, 1944
(11th AF) 3 B-24s bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
October 4, 1944
(11th AF) 4 B-25s bomb a freighter and a barge off Shimushu; 15-17 fighters
intercept and the B-25s score 1 victory.
November 5, 1944
(11th AF) 4 B-25s fly armed reconnaissance over Shimushu Island. 3 more B-24s bomb Katalka
naval base on Shimushu Island, starting fires; 7 fighters intercept and the
B-24s down 1.
December 20, 1944
(11th AF) B-24 fly armed photo mission over Katoaka on Shimushu.
December 29, 1944
(11th AF) A B-24 bombs Katoaka on Shimushu Island.
January 19, 1945
(11th AF) One B-24 flies a radar ferret mission over Shimushu.
January 20, 1945
(11th AF) Four B-24s bomb the Kataoka area on Shimushu.
February 7, 1945
(11th AF) 6 B-24s off to Kataoka on Shimushu abort the mission when all aircraft
accidentally drop bombs prior to the bombing run. Four B-25s weather abort.
February 5, 1945
(11th AF) 5 B-24s bomb Kataoka on Shimushu in the Kurile through solid overcast;
a shipping sweep by B-25s is cancelled due to weather.
February 19, 1945
(11th AF) 6 B-24s fly photo reconnaissance over Shimushu.
March 7, 1945
(11th AF) 8 B-24s after departing on a shipping sweep and a strike on Kataoka on Shimushu.
March 10, 1945
(11th AF) 5 B-24s radar-bomb targets at Kataoka on Shimushu.
March 26, 1945
(11th AF) Four B-24s bomb the Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
March 29, 1945
(11th AF) 6 B-24s bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
March 7, 1945
(11th AF) 8 B-24s after departing on a shipping sweep and a strike on Kataoka, Shimushu.
March 29, 1945
(11th AF) 6 B-24s bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
April 10, 1945
(11th AF & USN) 7 B-24s and USN aircraft napalm-bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
April 16, 1945
(11th AF) 6 B-24s radarbomb the Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
April 27, 1945
(11th AF) On Shimushu Island, 6 B-24s drop fragmentation bombs on the Kataoka naval base.
April 29, 1945
(11th AF) 6 B-24s radar-bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
May 9, 1945
(11th AF) Radar discloses considerable shipping between Paramushiru and Shimushu;
thus, 12 B-24s take off and radar-bomb through overcast; another B-24 flies
a radar- ferreting sortie over Paramushiru and Shimushu.
May 10, 1945
(11th AF) 12 B-24s bomb shipping targets in the Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
May 15, 1945
(11th AF) B-24s bomb the Shimushu
area.
May 18, 1945
(11th AF) 8 B-24s bomb naval, harbor, and airfield targets at Kataoka on Shimushu.
May 19, 1945
(11th AF) Eight B-25s try to bomb Minami Cape radar installation and cannery on the Naka
River on Shimushu Island; only one gets near the targets and bombs and strafes
the area, while intense AA fire and enemy fighters drive off the rest and down
1 B-25; another B-25 is missing and a third reaches Petropavlovsk, USSR.
May 23, 1945
(11th AF) 7 B-24s radar-bomb the Kataoka naval base area on Shimushu while another
flies a radar-ferret mission in the same area.
May 29, 1945
(11th AF) 4 B-25s weather abort a shipping sweep along the E coasts of Paramushiru and
Shimushu.
June 3, 1945
(11th AF) On Shimushu Island, 1 B-24 flying a radar ferret mission
to Kataoka is followed by 8 others, radar- bombing and photographing scattered
targets in the naval base area; 7 B-25s take off for an attack but 4 are turned
back by weather and the others low- level bomb a Masugawa River Cannery.
June 4, 1945
(11th AF) 11 B-24s, however, get through and radar-bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.
June 11, 1945
(11th AF) 8 B-24s on a shipping sweep over the Kurile Islands do not find targets because
of overcast and instead radar-bomb installations in the Kataoka area of Shimushu.
June 16, 1945
(11th AF) Four B-24s bomb and strafe shipping off Suribachi Bay, Paramushiru Island and
a radar site on Minami Cape, Shimushu Island; one of the B-24s crashes into
the water.
June 17, 1945
(11th AF) Four B-25s bomb shipping near Kataoka, Shimushu Island; one ship (KONGO MARU)
is observed exploding, another burns after a strafing run. 4 other B-25s fly
a shipping sweep from Shimushu to
Kurabu Cape, Paramushiru Island; a number of vessels are sighted but cannot
be attacked because of land-based AA.
June 18, 1945
(11th AF) Six B-24s join US Navy aircraft in attacking Kataoka, Shimushu.
June 19, 1945
(11th AF) In a coordinated shipping search, a B-24 flies the theater's longest mission,
a 2,700-mile (4,345 km) roundtrip lasting 15.5 hours and flying as far as Uruppu
Island, Japan; turning N the B-24 bombs a small convoy 25 miles (40 km) SW
of Shimushu Bay, Shimushu Island, Kurile Islands, sinks a vessel, heavily damages
another, and sets 2 more afire.
June 23, 1945
(11th AF) Six more B-24s bomb Kataoka on Shimushu.
July 4, 1945
(11th AF) To celebrate the 4th of July, 8 B-24s radar-bomb the Kataoka naval base on
Shimushu Island with napalm.
July 10, 1945
(11th AF) Four B-24s fly a search down the west coasts of Paramushiru and Shimushu
and then radar-bomb Minami Zaki on Shimushu.
July 11, 1945
(11th AF) Five B-24s radar-bomb Kataoka on Shimushu and four B-25s fly a shipping sweep and
bomb a Otomae Wan fishery, scoring hits among the buildings.
July 26, 1945
(11th AF) Seven B-24s successfully hit the Kataoka Naval Base on Shimushu with incendiaries,
leaving smoke columns 5,000' (1,524 m) high in their wake; there is no airborne
opposition and AA fire is moderate and inaccurate.
August 2, 1945
(11th AF) On Shimushu, 5 B-24s bomb Kataoka Naval Base and 1 radar-bombs Kokutan Zaki
and returns to base (600 miles) on 3 engines.
August 7, 1945
(11th AF) 5 B-24s bomb Kataoka Airfield on Shimushu;
AA fire damages 2 B-24s.
August 12, 1945
(11th AF) Four B-24s make a combined visual and
radar bomb run over Kataoka on Shimushu.
August 18 1945
(USSR) A Soviet force of 8,360 troops supported by naval and air forces made an amphibious landing on Shumshu.
August 21, 1945
(11th AF) Four bombers abort a photo mission to Paramushiru and Shimushu due to weather.
August 23, 1945
(11th AF) Four B-24s fly a photo mission over Paramushiru and Shimushu.
August 17, 1945
(VSS) Soviet Aircraft bomb Shumshu Island.
