Het gevolg van al deze voorbereidingen was dat op 18 april volslagen onverwachts zestien Mitchells (meer had men niet van het vliegdek van het betrokken vliegkampschip kunnen laten starten) boven Tokio verschenen en er hun bommen afwierpen. 'The extent to which the japanese were surprised by this attack from the air was', zo noteerde enige tijd later de Nederlandse tolk van de Nederlandse legatie te Tokio die van het uitbreken van de oorlog af geïnterneerd was in het legatiecomplex,
Duitsland
Gilbert-eilanden
Italië
King, E. J.
Marshall-eilanden
Pacific Fleet (VS)
Sowjet-Unie
Tokio (vroeger Edo)
Tsjiang Kai-sjek
United States Army
'clearly to be seen in the small circles of our closed and guarded Legation. For our 'protectors' and for the japanese house servants it was a real shock. In vain they tried to hide it behind their expressionless faces, but their nervous iualleing' to and fro between the guard room and the houses and their whole reaction betrayed them. The Police Inspectors were so confused that they allowed the Netherlands members of the staff the opportunity of observing the events from the roof of the Minister's house, and even joined them there. Only after we had seen fires break out in three places. . and had been able to see that the anti-aircraft fire was slight and late, while no opposition was given byjapanese aircraft, were we requested to go below 'for our safety' ... The air-raid alarm was not sounded for about a quarter of an hour after we had heard the first explosion . . . . I got the impression that the psychological results of the attack u/ere out of all proportion to the damage done. Shortly after this happened, the newspapers gave an emphatic warning against the spreading of rumours, which would be severely punished.' 1