Danger from the Sky: Japanese Balloon Bombs during World War II In an attempt to avenge the 1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo, Japan launched 9,000 balloons carrying bombs, radio equipment, and incendiaries toward the United States. During the course of the war, only ten percent of the balloons actually made it across the Pacific, resulting in the death of six people. Join VWM Education Director Jim Triesler as he discusses the balloon bombs, WWII censorship, and a story that takes an unusual twist to the mountains of North Vietnam in the 1960s.