The unsuccessful WWII plot to fight the Japanese with radioactive foxes (2020)

Re:The unsuccessful WWII plot to fight the Japanese with rad... by Supermancho on Saturday April 30, 2022 @09:03PM (#31221075)

The plot to use incendiary bats[1] was covered on major news channels in the 80s, as it became declassified.

> Eventually the Marine Corps took over the program and conducted tests beginning in December 1943. After 30 demonstrations and $2 million spent, the project was canceled. Most people believe it's because the U.S. realized that all resources should be concentrated on the development of a far more powerful weapon: the atomic bomb.

According to airmen who were involved, they were loading up into bombers the hour it was cancelled. The first nuke was dropped a few days later. Unfortunately, it's probably impossible to retrieve that broadcast with the attestations.

[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/old-w...

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49610839

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Re:The unsuccessful WWII plot to fight the Japanese with rad... by philipkglass on Saturday April 30, 2022 @09:19PM (#31221172)

Chemistry professor Louis Fieser of Harvard oversaw the bat bomb as well as some more practical incendiary weapon developments (such as napalm) during World War II. He published a book in 1964 about his wartime research including the bat bomb. You can see the full thing here:

The Scientific Method: A Personal Account of Unusual Projects in War and in Peace

https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/the_scienti...

See in particular chapter 13, "Bat Bombs."

The Wikipedia article is also worth reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb

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