Editing Bat bomb (section)

==Conception==
The bat bomb was conceived by Lytle S. Adams (1881–1970<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16396208/ | pmid=16396208 | year=2005 | last1=Christen | first1=A. G. | last2=Christen | first2=J. A. | title=Lytle S. Adams, DDS (1883-1970): Nonstop Airmail Pick-up inventor | journal=Journal of the History of Dentistry | volume=53 | issue=3 | pages=89–93 }}</ref>), a dental surgeon from [[Irwin, Pennsylvania]],<ref name="Duffin">{{cite journal| url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/bat-bombs-wwiis-project-x-ray/| title='Bat Bombs': WWII's Project X-Ray| website=Warfare History Network| date=24 October 2018| access-date=14 June 2019| first=Allan T.| last=Duffin| archive-date=17 June 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617212525/http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/bat-bombs-wwiis-project-x-ray/| url-status=dead}}</ref> who was an acquaintance of First Lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]].<ref name="theatlantic.com">{{cite news | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/old-weird-tech-the-bat-bombs-of-world-war-ii/237267/ | title=Old, Weird Tech: The Bat Bombs of World War II | work=The Atlantic | date=14 April 2011 | access-date=31 January 2014 | author=Madrigal, Alexis C.}}</ref> The inspiration for Adams' suggestion was a trip he took to [[Carlsbad Caverns National Park]], which is home to many bats. Adams wrote about his idea of incendiary bats in a letter to the [[White House]] in January 1942&mdash;little more than a month after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref name="Couffer"/>{{rp|6}} Adams was intrigued by the strength of bats and knew that they roosted before dawn. He also knew that most of the buildings in Tokyo were constructed of wood instead of concrete. He believed that if time-release incendiaries could be attached to bats, some kind of container holding them could be dropped over the city after dark and the bats would simply roost and burn Tokyo to the ground.<ref>Bills, E. R. ''Texas Obscurities: Stories of the Peculiar, Exceptional and Nefarious'', Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013. </ref> The plan was subsequently approved by [[Franklin Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]]<ref Name=AFA>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080531082803/http://www.afa.org/magazine/1990/1090bat.html The Bat Bombers] C. V. Glines, ''Air Force Magazine: Journal of the Airforce Association'', October 1990, Vol. 73, No. 10. Retrieved 1 October 2006.</ref> on the advice of [[Donald Griffin]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Drumm|first=Patrick|author2=Christopher Ovre|title=A batman to the rescue|journal=Monitor on Psychology|date=April 2011|volume=42|issue=4|page=24|url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/04/batman.aspx|access-date=31 October 2013}}</ref>
In his letter, Adams stated that the bat was the "lowest form of animal life", and that, until now, "reasons for its creation have remained unexplained".<ref name="Couffer"/>{{rp|6}} He went on to espouse that bats were created "by God to await this hour to play their part in the scheme of free human existence, and to frustrate any attempt of those who dare desecrate our way of life."<ref name="Couffer">{{cite book| title=Bat Bomb: World War II's Other Secret Weapon| first=Jack| last=Couffer| publisher=University of Texas Press| year=1992| isbn=0292707908| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/batbombworldwari00couf}}</ref>{{rp|6}}
Of Adams, Roosevelt remarked, "This man is not a nut. It sounds like a perfectly wild idea but is worth looking into."<ref name="Duffin"/><ref name="theatlantic.com"/>