In early 1942 the United States was still reeling from the Attack on Pearl Harbor. They'd declared war upon the Empire of Japan, but had thus far fought unsuccessfully in every engagement. The West Coast was wary, and prepared for a seemingly inevitable invasion. Cities from Seattle to San Diego had invasion plans including things from air-raid sirens to blackout procedures. Nerves were drawn taut, and there was no shortage of false alarms.
On the night of 24 February 1942 the Air Raid sirens sounded, and the Coast Guard Anti-aircraft guns were ordered to “green alert,” putting them in readiness to fire. From the time the battle began until it ended in the early hours of the morning, thousands of people had witnessed the search lights around Los Angeles fix on a target hovering above the city, and anti-aircraft rounds detonate in the sky. Reputable news agencies reported the attack, complete with eye-witness accounts. But the Japanese claim that they never attacked, and there was no wreckage to indicate that anyone actually did. These conflicting accounts cast uncertainty on the nature of the unidentified aircraft that caused the Battle of Los Angeles.
The first sightings of the incoming aircraft came from the Coast Guard shortly after 11:00 PM. Because commercial and private aircraft were fairly common, the Civil Defense Service reacted cautiously to the initial sighting. As reports of the incoming plane–or sometimes fleet–continued and progressed nearer to land, artillery posts were put on alert. By the time they started getting reports of an overhead object from people inland, things were put into action, and the Air Raid Wardens were called in to put the city into blackout. Thousands of volunteer Air Raid Wardens began calling the homes of people in their areas, and ordering them to douse the lights; in so doing they incited people to go out and seek the object that was crawling slowly through the sky.
Read Full Article »