4/7/2023 0 Comments Movies like the raidRadars picked up an unidentified target 120 miles west of Los Angeles. But early in the morning of the 25th renewed activity began. An alert called at 1918 was lifted at 2223, and the tension temporarily relaxed. That evening a large number of flares and blinking lights were reported from the vicinity of defense plants. On the 24th, a warning issued by naval intelligence indicated that an attack could be expected within the next ten hours. "The Battle of Los Angeles" During the night of 24/25 February 1942, unidentified objects caused a succession of alerts in southern California. In 1983, the Office of Air Force History concluded that an analysis of the evidence points to meteorological balloons as the cause of the initial alarm: this was either a practice raid, or a raid to throw a scare into 2,000,000 people, or a mistaken identity raid, or a raid to lay a political foundation to take away Southern California's war industries." Representative Leland Ford of Santa Monica called for a Congressional investigation, saying, ".none of the explanations so far offered removed the episode from the category of 'complete mystification'. Others speculated that the incident was either staged or exaggerated to give coastal defense industries an excuse to move further inland. Theories included a secret base in northern Mexico as well as Japanese submarines stationed offshore with the capability of carrying planes. An editorial in the Long Beach Independent wrote, "There is a mysterious reticence about the whole affair and it appears that some form of censorship is trying to halt discussion on the matter." Speculation was rampant as to invading airplanes and their bases. Some contemporary press outlets suspected a cover up. Marshall's belief that the incident might have been caused by commercial airplanes used as a psychological warfare campaign to generate panic. Knox's comments were followed by statements from the Army the next day that reflected General George C. Within hours of the end of the air raid, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox held a press conference, saying the entire incident was a false alarm due to anxiety and "war nerves". Pacific coast, and earned some mass media coverage throughout the nation. The incident was front-page news along the U.S. In addition to several buildings damaged by friendly fire, three civilians were killed by the anti-aircraft fire, and another three died of heart attacks attributed to the stress of the hour-long bombardment. The "all clear" was sounded and the blackout order lifted at 7:21 a.m. The artillery fire continued sporadically until 4:14 a.m. Pilots of the 4th Interceptor Command were alerted but their aircraft remained grounded. the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade began firing 12.8-pound anti-aircraft shells into the air at reported aircraft over 1,400 shells would eventually be fired. A total blackout was ordered and thousands of air raid wardens were summoned to their positions. This event inspired the film Battle: Los Angeles.Īir raid sirens sounded throughout Los Angeles County on the night of 24–25 February 1942. Office of Air Force History attributed the event to a case of "war nerves" likely triggered by a lost weather balloon and exacerbated by stray flares and shell bursts from adjoining batteries. When documenting the incident in 1983, the U.S. A small number of modern-day UFOlogists have suggested the targets were extraterrestrial spacecraft. Initially, the target of the aerial barrage was thought to be an attacking force from Japan, but speaking at a press conference shortly afterward, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox called the incident a "false alarm." Newspapers of the time published a number of sensational reports and speculations of a cover-up. The incident occurred less than three months after the United States entered World War II as a result of the Japanese Imperial Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor, and one day after the Bombardment of Ellwood on February 23. The Battle of Los Angeles (also referred to as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid) is the name given by contemporary sources to the rumored enemy attack and subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which took place from late February 24 to early Februover Los Angeles, California. You may be looking for the fictional Battle of Los Angeles seen in the film.Ī image captured during the event in 1942 that was later used as a promotional image for the film. This article is about the real-world UFO sighting in 1942.
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