| abstract | - The city of Hamamatsu was a target for air raids by the USAAF on several occasions during the Pacific War. Hamamatsu, in addition to being a major transportation hub on the Tōkaidō Main Line railway connecting Tokyo with Osaka also had several targets of military significance. It was the location of armaments factories, including Shōwa Yakuhin, Nakajima Aircraft Company, and Suzuki Motors. It was also the location of the Hamamatsu Flight School of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and a major military air field. Hamamatsu was also situated on the main flight route from Saipan to either Nagoya or Tokyo and was thus often assigned as a secondary target. In 1945, Hamamatsu city had an estimated population of 166,346 people. A year after the war, the United States Army Air Forces's Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific War) reported that 60.3 percent of the city had been totally destroyed. In addition to strategic bombing, Hamamatsu was also subject to tactical air raids launched by United States Navy carrier-based aircraft, and was bombarded by United States and Royal Navy vessels on July 29, 1945.
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