An Odd Bit of World War II Explodes In Canada

choi

Strategy Page, Oct 22, 2014.
strategypage.com/htmw/htpeace/articles/20141022.aspx

Note:
(a) fire balloon
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon
("風船爆弾 fūsen bakudan, lit. 'balloon bomb'), or Fu-Go (Windship Weapon)")
(i) Japanese English dictionary
(A) fūsen 風船 【ふうせん】 (n): "(See 気球 [pronounced 'kikyū']) balloon"
(B) bakudan 爆弾 【ばくだん】 (n): "bomb"
(ii) The page 風船爆弾 in Japanese Wikipedia says the balloon was made of paper (usually made of mulberry, but could be of hemp etc), pasted/ fashioned together with glue from konjac (コンニャク糊).
(iii) konjac
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konjac
(Amorphophallus konjac; native to warm subtropical to tropical eastern Asia, from Japan and China south to Indonesia; "The food made from the root [bulb: 球茎] of this plant is widely known in English by its Japanese name, konnyaku (yam cake), being cooked and consumed primarily in Japan")
(A) The "konnyaku" is merely transliteration/romanization of Japanese hirakana "こんにゃく."
(B) Section 2 Cultivation and use of this Wikipedia page shows a photo of greyish "konjac gel."
(iv) Try as I may, I can not find in English or Japanese sources, where the “go” came from or what it meant. It was, however, Japanese who coined the term “fu-go” or “Fu-Go.”
(v) The last section of the English Wiki page is External links, whose fifth item is:

J David Rogers, How Geologists Unraveled the Mystery of Japanese Vengeance Balloon Bombs in World War II. Missouri University of Science & Engineering, undated.
web.mst.edu/~rogersda/forensic_geology/Japenese%20vengenance%20bombs%20new.htm

, whose first photo shows you what the whole thing (including balloon) looked like.

(b) Damian Entwistle, Ottawa War Museum Japanese Aerial Balloon Bomb. Flickr, undated. www.flickr.com/photos/damiavos/8001510408/
(i) The photo demonstrates sand bags.
(ii) This museum is
Canadian War Museum
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_War_Museum

(c) temperate rainforest
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate_rainforest

View the map in section 2 Global distribution: Taiwan.

choi

(2) Dene Moore, Military Unit Blows WWII-Era Japanese Balloon Bomb to 'Smithereens.' Canadian Press, Oct 10, 2014
www.thecanadianpress.com/english ... 60&languageid=1
(The bomb was discovered on Wednesday, Oct 8, 2014)

Quote:

(i) “As hydrogen depleted, the balloons would lose altitude so the devices were rigged with barometers and timers to drop sandbags as necessary to keep the balloon aloft.

“It is estimated that at least 1,000 made it over the ocean and as far inland as Michigan and Manitoba.

(ii) “There were no deaths reported in Canada, but an Oregon Sunday school teacher and five teens were killed by one in 1945.

My comment: There is no need to read the rest of the report.