VETERANS DAY TRIVIA---actor Tim Holt is best known for co-starring with Humphrey Bogart in John Huston's classic THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. During World War II, Holt was a bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress in which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart when he was wounded over Tokyo on the last day of the war.
Before his combat tour, Holt was a member of a top secret program, later named Project X-Ray, which was suggested by oral surgeon Dr. Lytle Adams and was personally approved by President Franklin Roosevelt. Project X-Ray would have bombers drop bombs carrying bats with tiny napalm explosives glued to them. The bats would enter Japanese homes and buildings, which were mostly of wooden and paper construction, and the napalm would detonate to devastate Japanese cities.
Tim Holt co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in John Huston's classic THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.
During World War II, Holt was a bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress in which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart when he was wounded over Tokyo on the last day of the war.
Before his combat tour, Holt was the bombardier in a top secret program which was later named Project X-Ray. The photo below shows a test bat with the napalm bomb glued to its body and the bat-carrying bomb itself. Each five foot-long bomb would carry 1,040 bats.
A report on the bat bombs said they would be far superior to standard incendiary bombs that were being dropped on Japanese cities, "It was concluded that X-Ray is an effective weapon. Expressed in another way, the regular bombs would give probably 167 to 400 fires per bomb load where X-Ray would give 3,625 to 4,748 fires." However, Project X-Ray was cancelled because it was felt the atomic bomb would be more effective in achieving mass destruction compared to the bat bombs.
Several Project X-Ray bat bombs accidentally set Carlsbad Army Air Field Auxiliary Air Base, New Mexico on fire.
Ironically, in one of Holt's last movies, he played a military officer battling deadly creatures instead of helping them in THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD.
Before his combat tour, Holt was a member of a top secret program, later named Project X-Ray, which was suggested by oral surgeon Dr. Lytle Adams and was personally approved by President Franklin Roosevelt. Project X-Ray would have bombers drop bombs carrying bats with tiny napalm explosives glued to them. The bats would enter Japanese homes and buildings, which were mostly of wooden and paper construction, and the napalm would detonate to devastate Japanese cities.
Tim Holt co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in John Huston's classic THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.
During World War II, Holt was a bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress in which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart when he was wounded over Tokyo on the last day of the war.
Before his combat tour, Holt was the bombardier in a top secret program which was later named Project X-Ray. The photo below shows a test bat with the napalm bomb glued to its body and the bat-carrying bomb itself. Each five foot-long bomb would carry 1,040 bats.
A report on the bat bombs said they would be far superior to standard incendiary bombs that were being dropped on Japanese cities, "It was concluded that X-Ray is an effective weapon. Expressed in another way, the regular bombs would give probably 167 to 400 fires per bomb load where X-Ray would give 3,625 to 4,748 fires." However, Project X-Ray was cancelled because it was felt the atomic bomb would be more effective in achieving mass destruction compared to the bat bombs.
Several Project X-Ray bat bombs accidentally set Carlsbad Army Air Field Auxiliary Air Base, New Mexico on fire.
Ironically, in one of Holt's last movies, he played a military officer battling deadly creatures instead of helping them in THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD.