Japanese bombing of Kolkata in World War II

During the Second World War, in the years 1942-44 during World War II, Japanese fighter planes bombed Calcutta trying to destroy the crucial Howrah Bridge as well as operations at the sea port. India was a major aerial supply route, for an American military mission that came to be known as ‘flying over the Hump’, a term of reference for flying over the Indian Himalayas. Though extremely dangerous (several U.S. planes had crashed on the mission), it was the only way for the allies to send supplies to China in support of its war against Japan, while avoiding Japanese occupied Burma.

The eastern Indian state of Calcutta (now Kolkata), because of its proximity to China and Burma, was as an important hub in execution of the military operations. In fact, the Red Road in Calcutta had even been used an emergency runway for operation Hump. However, by May 1942, after the Japanese had overrun Burma, having defeated the British and Chinese ground troops, they had Calcutta well within their reach. The city was “blacked out” from sunset to sunrise to make it harder for the bombers to accurately hit their targets. Calcutta boasted of a good air defense system which was respected by the Japanese fighter pilots who raided only at night and ensured they flew high. 

On 20 December 1942, bombers of the Japanese Imperial Japanese Air Force bombed the city, damaging its infrastructure. The city was bombed several times over the next few days, the most notably on the night of 24 December. The bombs, all had fallen over a very large area- Chowringhee, Bentinck Street, Mango Lane, Old Court House Street, Dalhousie Square etc. The Central Telegraph Office suffered the maximum damage. The bombing of Calcutta led to an exodus of residents — Howrah and Sealdah Stations being packed with people trying to get out.

In 1943, the Japanese raid on Calcutta’s Kidderpore docks took a heavy toll of property and lives. Hundreds of people were killed and many ships and warehouses were destroyed in this attack.  Japanese bombing of Calcutta continued sporadically until 1944 when Japan deployed its fighter planes elsewhere. World War II ended the next year. In 2013 the Japanese chief of army staff General Eiji Kimizuka and his wife Junko Kimizuka visited Kolkata, travelling down the same Red Road on their way to visit the Victoria Memorial, a landmark structure in the city built at the peak of the British Empire in India.