On February 24, 1942, Los Angeles erupted in chaos as anti-aircraft guns unleashed a barrage into the night sky, but a historian says there was nothing up there to hit.
The so-called ‘Battle of Los Angeles’ took place just 11 weeks after the Japanese navy’s devastating attack on Pearl Harbor dragged the US into World War II.
With Americans gripped by fear of a Japanese invasion of the West Coast, Dr Mark Felton, a historian and author, told the Daily Mail five people lost their lives as unexploded munitions rained down on the city during the air raid.
Military commanders initially claimed Japanese bombers had been spotted on their way to attack, and that eventually led to to even more wild speculation that enemy agents or even UFOs were invading Southern California.
However, when the sirens faded and the guns went silent along the coast, no enemy planes were ever found.
The incident was later deemed a false alarm triggered by a stray meteorological balloon mistaken for an enemy aircraft.
Felton called the event a stark example of ‘war nerves,’ with jittery troops and civilians primed for an assault that never came.
Making things even worse, a real attack had just rocked the California coast the day before.
On February 24, 1942, Los Angeles erupted in chaos as anti-aircraft guns opened fire on what the US military thought was an incoming Japanese attack
A Japanese submarine had just shelled an oil field near Santa Barbara, marking the first attack on the American mainland since 1812.
‘The Americans expected some sort of Pearl Harbor-like carrier plane attack on the US West Coast, so tension was very high, exacerbated only the day before by the shelling of the Ellwood Oil Refinery,’ Felton said.
The historian and Youtuber added that anti-aircraft battery units were ready to shoot down any suspicious aircraft approaching the mainland, leading to the tragic miscalculation.
‘The combined number of guns within LA could place 48 flak shells into the sky every minute, creating a perilous curtain of fire for any would-be bombers to penetrate,’ Felton revealed.
On the night of February 24, anti-aircraft guns were on alert across the whole city, and 10,000 air raid wardens stood ready.
A blip on the radar screen was formally identified as an unknown aircraft at 2:07am PT. That’s when the first ‘yellow alert’ was posted. A blue alert then went out which signaled to military and local police that the aircraft was believed to be hostile.
Three minutes later, a red alert was issued. At 2:25am, air raid sirens started wailing across Los Angeles, and thousands of wardens and police officers spilled into the streets.
Searchlights raked across the sky in search of the mystery aircraft, which military gun batteries still hadn’t seen or confirmed was even real.
Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron dedicates an air raid shelter in 1942 (pictured). At 2:25am on February 24, air raid sirens started wailing across the city, and thousands of wardens and police officers spilled into the streets during the false alarm
A city councilman tests an air raid siren in 1942 (Pictured). The so-called ‘Battle of Los Angeles’ took place just 11 weeks after the Japanese navy’s devastating attack on Pearl Harbor
Despite not seeing a Japanese bomber, at 3:16am, all of the anti-aircraft guns suddenly opened fire, launching hundreds of shells that exploded like fireworks above the city.
The guns ceased firing at 3:36am, with search lights still probing the sky again. At 4:05am, the flak guns started firing again.
The chaotic night saw 10 tons of shells blasted into the sky across Los Angeles, as explosions echoed across the city and five citizens died from heart attacks and car accidents tied to the incident.
The guns eventually stopped, but not until 1,440 rounds had been fired into the sky. While many exploded at pre-set altitudes, others fell back to Earth and detonated over homes across the city.
‘Some of the larger three inch shells that had failed to explode in mid air detonated instead when they began impacting all over LA houses and garages were damaged as white hot shards of shrapnel ripped through homes, often narrowly missing terrified residents,’ Felton revealed.
As the sun came up later that morning, Army bomb disposal teams went to work roping off streets from curious bystanders and finding live shells which had buried themselves in roads and gardens.
After the battle, reporters claimed 50 enemy aircraft had bombed the city. American military reports suggested a force of up to 25 to 30 aircraft tried to invade the West Coast.
However, both of these stories would have required a Japanese aircraft carrier to be in the area, which was not the case.
An army demolition squad moved in to take things over after an unexploded anti-aircraft shell fell into the city during the ‘Battle of Los Angeles’
At this point, authorities suggested that the aircraft spotted on radar might have been a civilian plane, piloted by enemy agents.
In the end, authorities had to admit the truth: no Japanese aircraft had attacked Los Angeles.
The skies were empty and the sound and fury of the anti-aircraft batteries were firing at nothing.
On February 26, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, officially declared that the raid had been a ‘false alarm.’
‘The incident is famous as an example of ‘war nerves’ – basically, the troops were on edge, pent-up and ready for anything, and it didn’t take much to trigger such a response,’ Felton said.
‘It is also an example of military incompetence from the high command down to battery commanders, all of whom were expecting a Japanese attack,’ he added.
‘Once the firing started, the impression of an enemy attack was further exacerbated by the imagination of gunners who claimed to see or hear planes in the night sky, stray US flares in the sky and AA [anti-aircraft] shells landing in LA and exploding, looking like falling Japanese bombs.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .