Strange object falls from the sky in 1945

MOOSE JAW - February 9th 1945 – A strange object was seen in the sky falling to earth. Upon landing, the police were called and shortly afterward the Army arrived to quickly cordon off the crash site. The Prime Minister was informed and given a briefing. The remains were meticulously collected, labeled TOP SECRET and sent by armed guard to a laboratory in Ottawa. 

Photo from the Canadian War Museum, text written by Thom Cholowski, Administrator Historic Saskatchewan

Witnesses were warned not to talk about the event citing National Security and the media strictly censored from reporting on it. The Army pulled out as quickly as it had arrived and not a trace of the object was left behind. Word spread quickly and bewildered locals were left to speculate what happened...Fanciful rumours abounded, some even whispered of ‘crashed Martians’. 

Only it wasn’t a UFO – The truth was Moose Jaw had been bombed by the Empire of Japan.

Between November 1944 and July 1945, the Japanese military released over 9,000 un-manned, non-guided, bomb carrying hydrogen filled balloons (called ‘Fu-Go’ or ‘fire balloon’) against North America. Released from mainland Japan and carried across the Pacific Ocean by prevailing jet stream winds, the balloons carried a mix of ordinance ranging from high explosive anti-personnel bombs to multiple incendiary devices for the purpose of setting fires in forests, fields and cities.

Of the over 9,000 launched, less than 300 were reported to reach North America, causing virtually no damage (save for the unfortunate death of 6 picnickers in Oregon who discovered a landed device in a forest and set it off by poking it with a stick). 

Saskatchewan had 8 officially documented balloon bomb landings, all in 1945 – Stoney Rapids on January 1st, Minton on January 12th (seen below, the restored bomb is currently on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa), Moose Jaw on February 9th, Porcupine Plain on February 12th, Camsell Portage on March 21st, Consul on March 30th, Ituna on March 30th and Kelvington on May 15th.

It is estimated that approximately 1,000 Fu-Go bombs may have landed in North America and are still waiting to be found, their lethal payloads just as dangerous as when launched 80 years ago. Most recently one was discovered in October 2014 near Lumby, B.C. and disposed of by a Canadian Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.