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Steel
production in Japan
was centered at the Imperial Iron and Steel Works in
Kamaishi (141.885E
39.272N) on the east coast of northern Honshu. Iron mines in the vicinity produced about 1.9 million
tons of somewhat poor iron ore per year. The population of the town was approximately 40,000 persons in 1945.
On 14 July 1945 the factories were bombarded by a surface force of three battleships, two cruisers, and nine destroyers under Admiral Shafroth.
This was the first major surface bombardment of
the Japanese coast during the war. Some 802 16" (406mm), 728 8"
(203mm), and 825 5" (127mm) shells were expended over a period of two
hours. Production at the factories, already operating at half capacity
due to a shortage of raw materials, was brought almost completely to a
halt. The factories were bombarded again on 9 August 1945, just as the
war was winding down.
References
CINCPAC A16-3/FF12 (1945-12-10; accessed 2011-12-16)
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