明治以来、工業都市としての道を歩みはじめた 大阪。
昭和10 年代には、大大阪の呼び名のもと、人口は日本第2 位となる300 万人を越え、賑やかな大都市となった。

また、軍需産業が盛んであった。
大阪は軍都の一面も有していた。
1937 年日中戦争勃発。
1941 年には太平洋戦争へと突入した。
1944 年頃以降、日本の戦況は悪化し、米軍の戦略は日本本土の爆撃へと移った。

人口が多い大阪は1943 年頃には米軍の空襲計画に設定されていた。
米軍の大型爆撃機がマリアナ基地から飛来し、軍需施設を狙った爆撃を行なった。
さらに1945 年3 月以降は、都市部への本格的な無差別攻撃へと転換した。
日本の木造家屋を焼きはらうべく、焼夷区画を設定した米軍の戦略は実に緻密なものであった。
1945 年3 月13 日23 時57 分。
暗闇の中、274 機が大阪港方面より飛来し、都心の住宅密集地を爆撃した。
およそ3 時間半の焼夷弾による攻撃で13 万戸以上の家屋が燃え、大阪の街は火の海となった。
死者・行方不明者はあわせて4,000 名を超えた。
この大空襲に使用された大型爆撃機 Ｂ-29 は長距離戦略爆撃を想定して設計されており、第二次世界大戦末期に登場した。
全長30ｍ、時速500ｋｍを超える機体は空飛ぶ要塞といわれたこれまでの爆撃機Ｂ17 の性能をはるかに上回るものであった。

3 月13、14 日の木造の日本家屋を焼きつくした焼夷弾はＢ-29 1 機につきおよそ1,140 発積まれていた。
合わせておよそ31 万本の焼夷弾が落とされた計算となる。まさに焼夷弾の雨であった。
6 月半ばの大空襲以降は被害を免れた軍需施設を狙った爆弾攻撃の激しさが増していった。

この一般市民をも巻き込んだ空襲は、大小合わせて50 回を超えた。

100 機以上が来襲した大規模な空襲は8 回を数え、都心は荒野と化し、市民を恐怖に陥れた。

終戦が近づく7 月26 日、米軍は原爆投下を成功させる目的で模擬原爆を大阪にも投下。

広島・長崎への原爆投下につながるこの模擬原爆により7 名が死亡、多数が被災した。
終戦前日8 月14 日には森ノ宮の大阪砲兵工廠を狙った大空襲により京橋駅周辺で大きな被害となった。
大阪への空襲は終戦間近まで続き、多くの民間人を含む15,000 人近くの尊い命が奪われた。

Since the Meiji era, Osaka has become an industrial city.
In the Showa era, (the decade between 1935～1944), known as “The Great Osaka”, with a population exceeding 3 million, (the second largest in Japan at that time), Osaka transformed into a lively metropolis.
It also had a thriving munitions industry which made it the military capital.
In 1937 the Sino-Japanese War broke out.
In 1941 Japan plunged in the Pacific War.
After about 1944, the Japanese war worsened, and the strategy of the U.S. forces shifted to bombing the mainland of Japan.

The U.S. forces planned to bomb Osaka in 1943 because it had a large population. Large-sized U.S. Air force Bombers flew from the base in Mariana and bombed military installations in Osaka.
After March,1945, the bombings became a full-scale indiscriminate attack on urban areas.
The strategy by the U.S. forces was very precise and made it easy for them to burn many Japanese wooden houses.
At 23:57 in the darkness of the 13th of March,1945, 274 bombers flew from the port of Osaka and bombed residential areas in the city.

For three and a half hours the bombings burned more than 130,000 houses, turning the city of Osaka into a sea of fire.
The aftermath left 4,000 dead and missing people.
The large B-29 bomber used in these air raids, was designed for long-range strategic bombing and appeared at the end of World War II.
The performance of the B-29 bomber far exceeded that of the B-17 bomber. The B-29 being 30 meters long and able to reach speeds of over 500 kilometers per hour. It was described as a super fortress at that time.
On the 13th and 14th of March, 1945, each B-29 bomber carried approximately 1,140 bombs, which burned down the Japanese wooden houses.
In total, about 310,000 bombs were dropped on the city. It was literally raining bombs.
After the great air raids in mid-June, the intensity of bomb attacks increased on munitions facilities that had previously been spared damage.
There were more than fifty bomb attacks on both a large and small scale, which involved civilians.
There were at least eight great air raids with more than 100 B-29 bombers, turning the city center into a charred desert and terrorizing civilians.
Towards the end of the war, on July 26th, 1945, the U.S. forces dropped the ‘Pumpkin bomb’ on Osaka, with the aim of making atomic bombing successful in the near future.
When the ‘Pumpkin bomb’ dropped, seven people died and many others suffered a great deal of damage.
On the 14th of August, 1945, the day before the end of the war, a great air raid aimed at the Osaka Artillery Arsenal, around Morinomiya, causing extensive damage to the area surrounding Kyobashi Station.
Air raids continued on Osaka almost till the end of the war, with nearly 15,000 invaluable lives lost, which included many civilians.

本指南将以英文提供。

Since the Meiji era, Osaka has become an industrial city.
In the Showa era, (the decade between 1935～1944), known as “The Great Osaka”, with a population exceeding 3 million, (the second largest in Japan at that time), Osaka transformed into a lively metropolis.
It also had a thriving munitions industry which made it the military capital.
In 1937 the Sino-Japanese War broke out.
In 1941 Japan plunged in the Pacific War.
After about 1944, the Japanese war worsened, and the strategy of the U.S. forces shifted to bombing the mainland of Japan.

The U.S. forces planned to bomb Osaka in 1943 because it had a large population. Large-sized U.S. Air force Bombers flew from the base in Mariana and bombed military installations in Osaka.
After March,1945, the bombings became a full-scale indiscriminate attack on urban areas.
The strategy by the U.S. forces was very precise and made it easy for them to burn many Japanese wooden houses.
At 23:57 in the darkness of the 13th of March,1945, 274 bombers flew from the port of Osaka and bombed residential areas in the city.

For three and a half hours the bombings burned more than 130,000 houses, turning the city of Osaka into a sea of fire.
The aftermath left 4,000 dead and missing people.
The large B-29 bomber used in these air raids, was designed for long-range strategic bombing and appeared at the end of World War II.
The performance of the B-29 bomber far exceeded that of the B-17 bomber. The B-29 being 30 meters long and able to reach speeds of over 500 kilometers per hour. It was described as a super fortress at that time.
On the 13th and 14th of March, 1945, each B-29 bomber carried approximately 1,140 bombs, which burned down the Japanese wooden houses.
In total, about 310,000 bombs were dropped on the city. It was literally raining bombs.
After the great air raids in mid-June, the intensity of bomb attacks increased on munitions facilities that had previously been spared damage.
There were more than fifty bomb attacks on both a large and small scale, which involved civilians.
There were at least eight great air raids with more than 100 B-29 bombers, turning the city center into a charred desert and terrorizing civilians.
Towards the end of the war, on July 26th, 1945, the U.S. forces dropped the ‘Pumpkin bomb’ on Osaka, with the aim of making atomic bombing successful in the near future.
When the ‘Pumpkin bomb’ dropped, seven people died and many others suffered a great deal of damage.
On the 14th of August, 1945, the day before the end of the war, a great air raid aimed at the Osaka Artillery Arsenal, around Morinomiya, causing extensive damage to the area surrounding Kyobashi Station.
Air raids continued on Osaka almost till the end of the war, with nearly 15,000 invaluable lives lost, which included many civilians.

이 안내는 영어 문장으로 안내합니다.

Since the Meiji era, Osaka has become an industrial city.
In the Showa era, (the decade between 1935～1944), known as “The Great Osaka”, with a population exceeding 3 million, (the second largest in Japan at that time), Osaka transformed into a lively metropolis.
It also had a thriving munitions industry which made it the military capital.
In 1937 the Sino-Japanese War broke out.
In 1941 Japan plunged in the Pacific War.
After about 1944, the Japanese war worsened, and the strategy of the U.S. forces shifted to bombing the mainland of Japan.

The U.S. forces planned to bomb Osaka in 1943 because it had a large population. Large-sized U.S. Air force Bombers flew from the base in Mariana and bombed military installations in Osaka.
After March,1945, the bombings became a full-scale indiscriminate attack on urban areas.
The strategy by the U.S. forces was very precise and made it easy for them to burn many Japanese wooden houses.
At 23:57 in the darkness of the 13th of March,1945, 274 bombers flew from the port of Osaka and bombed residential areas in the city.

For three and a half hours the bombings burned more than 130,000 houses, turning the city of Osaka into a sea of fire.
The aftermath left 4,000 dead and missing people.
The large B-29 bomber used in these air raids, was designed for long-range strategic bombing and appeared at the end of World War II.
The performance of the B-29 bomber far exceeded that of the B-17 bomber. The B-29 being 30 meters long and able to reach speeds of over 500 kilometers per hour. It was described as a super fortress at that time.
On the 13th and 14th of March, 1945, each B-29 bomber carried approximately 1,140 bombs, which burned down the Japanese wooden houses.
In total, about 310,000 bombs were dropped on the city. It was literally raining bombs.
After the great air raids in mid-June, the intensity of bomb attacks increased on munitions facilities that had previously been spared damage.
There were more than fifty bomb attacks on both a large and small scale, which involved civilians.
There were at least eight great air raids with more than 100 B-29 bombers, turning the city center into a charred desert and terrorizing civilians.
Towards the end of the war, on July 26th, 1945, the U.S. forces dropped the ‘Pumpkin bomb’ on Osaka, with the aim of making atomic bombing successful in the near future.
When the ‘Pumpkin bomb’ dropped, seven people died and many others suffered a great deal of damage.
On the 14th of August, 1945, the day before the end of the war, a great air raid aimed at the Osaka Artillery Arsenal, around Morinomiya, causing extensive damage to the area surrounding Kyobashi Station.
Air raids continued on Osaka almost till the end of the war, with nearly 15,000 invaluable lives lost, which included many civilians.