Governor-General's Office after bombing. (Photo from FB page @oldtwcolor)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A Taiwanese Facebook group on May 21 released a stunning colorized photo of the aftermath of a WWII allied bombing raid that was carried out almost exactly 73 years ago on what was then known as the Governor-General's Office, but is now known as the Presidential Office.
On Monday, the Facebook group oldtwcolor (臺灣古寫真上色) posted a colorized image which was based on a black and white photo of the effects of an allied bombing raid carried out on the Governor-General's Office. The raid, known as the Taihoku Air Raid, took place on May 31, 1945 and was part of the largest allied air raid on Japanese-occupied Taipei (then known as Taihoku) during WWII. Ling Tsung-kuei (凌宗魁) assisted in the color interpretation of the image.
The raid consisted of 117 Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers from the U.S. Fifth Air Force and lasted from 10 a.m. until around 1 p.m. During the air raid, American bombers dropped approximately 3,800 bombs on military units and government facilities, and despite efforts to avoid civilian casualties, some civilian facilities were mistakenly struck.
Over 3,000 died as a result of the massive bombing raid, more than all the casualties from the previous raids in Taiwan combined. Tens of thousands were also displaced or became homeless. Despite being camouflaged, the Governor-General's Office suffered a direct hit, was rendered inoperable and was not repaired until Nationalist forces came to Taiwan after the end of WWII.
Original black and white photo of Governor-General's Office. (Image by FB group @oldtwcolor)
Colorized version of photo so Governor-General's Office. (Image by FB group @oldtwcolor)
