"Bat Bombs" were an experimental World War II weapon developed by the United States. The bomb consisted of a bomb-shaped casing with over a thousand compartments, each containing a hibernating Mexican free-tailed bat with a small, timed incendiary bomb attached. Dropped from a bomber at dawn, the casings would deploy a parachute in mid-flight and open to release the bats, which would then disperse and roost in eaves and attics in a 20–40-mile radius. The incendiaries, which were set on timers, would then ignite and start fires in inaccessible places in the largely wood and paper constructions of the Japanese cities that were the weapon's intended target. The United States Navy took control in August 1943, using the codename Project X-Ray.
Errant bats from the experimental Bat Bomb set the Army Air Base in Carlsbad, New Mexico on fire, 1943.
More tests were scheduled for mid-1944 but the program was canceled by Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King when he heard that it would likely not be combat ready until mid-1945. By that time, it was estimated that $2 million (equivalent to $30.1 million today) had been spent on the project.
Errant bats from the experimental Bat Bomb set the Army Air Base in Carlsbad, New Mexico on fire, 1943.
More tests were scheduled for mid-1944 but the program was canceled by Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King when he heard that it would likely not be combat ready until mid-1945. By that time, it was estimated that $2 million (equivalent to $30.1 million today) had been spent on the project.
