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B-29 Superfortress bombers dropping incendiary bombs on Yokohama in May 1945

Air raids on Japan by the Allies in World War II caused extensive destruction and casualties; the most commonly cited estimates are 333,000 killed and 473,000 wounded. During the first years of the Pacific War, these attacks were limited to the Doolittle Raid in April 1942 and small-scale raids on military positions in the Kuril Islands starting in mid-1943. Strategic bombing raids began in June 1944 and were greatly expanded in November. The raids initially attempted to target industrial facilities, but from March 1945 onwards were generally directed against urban areas. Aircraft flying from aircraft carriers and the Ryukyu Islands also frequently struck targets in Japan during 1945 in preparation for an Allied invasion planned for October. In early August, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were struck and mostly destroyed by atomic bombs. Japan's military and civil defenses were not capable of protecting the country, and the Allied forces generally suffered few losses. The bombing campaign was one of the main factors in the Japanese government's decision to surrender in mid-August 1945. Nevertheless, there has been a long-running debate over the attacks on Japanese cities, and the decision to use atomic weapons has been particularly controversial. (Full article...)

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In the news

Nicholas Winton (pictured), dubbed the "British Schindler" for saving more than 600 mostly Jewish children from the Nazis, dies at the age of 106.
More than 140 people are killed when a Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashes into a residential area of Medan, Indonesia.
SpaceX CRS-7, an unmanned resupply mission to the International Space Station, fails when the Falcon 9 launch vehicle disintegrates shortly after liftoff.
A dust explosion at a theme park in New Taipei City, Taiwan, kills 2 people and injures nearly 500 others.
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of recognizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
At least 40 people are killed in attacks on two hotels in Sousse, Tunisia.

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On this day...

July 2: Feast day of Martinian and Processus (Roman Catholic Church)

626 – During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Prince Li Shimin led his forces to assassinate his rival brothers, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and Prince Li Yuanji, in a bloody palace coup for the imperial throne of the Tang dynasty.
1816 – The French frigate Méduse ran aground off the coast of today's Mauritania, with the survivors escaping on a makeshift raft, which was depicted in Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa.
1937 – Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (pictured) and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight.
1962 – The first Walmart store, now the largest retailer in the world, opened in Rogers, Arkansas, US.
1997 – The Thai baht rapidly lost half of its value, marking the beginning of the Asian financial crisis.

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Today's featured picture

NGC 6752 is a globular cluster of intermediate density in the constellation Pavo. First identified in 1826 by James Dunlop, the cluster lies around 13,000 light years distant. It is visible to the naked eye in good viewing conditions.

Photograph: NASA/STScI

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