21. The Americans built a German village replica to practice burning it down
In 1943, the US Army contracted to build a replica German residential center at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. German emigres, specialists in architecture and design, were hired to ensure its authenticity. Materials likely to be used in German homes were selected. Paint was selected based on its availability and use in Germany. The homes were fully furnished as would their German counterparts have been. Clothes hung in closets, dishes were in cupboards, drapes furnished windows. Books, newspapers, and magazines were installed on shelves and tables. Children’s rooms were properly decorated, and toys were placed in houses and outdoors around the site.
It was then destroyed with bombs, including incendiaries. The intent of the village was to discover the best way to create a firestorm when bombing the real German residential areas in cities and towns. After it was destroyed, or partially destroyed, the results were studied and both weapons and techniques modified accordingly. The village was rebuilt and destroyed by bombing a number of times over the course of the war. Another village, resembling the residential areas of Japanese cities, was also built for the same purpose. Both B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers were used in the tests conducted at the German village and its Japanese counterpart during the war.
