The Battle of Los Angeles

📸 Photo Gallery

Seven key images from the Battle of Los Angeles — the iconic LA Times searchlight photo, the newspaper front page, the battle map, two primary government documents, and the wartime context photos showing Pearl Harbor and the Japanese submarine that shelled Santa Barbara the day before. Click any photo to view full size.

The Battle of Los Angeles - LA Times Photo (Searchlights Converging)

Searchlights converging during the Battle of Los Angeles, 1942. This is the iconic image showing anti-aircraft searchlights focused on an object in the sky over Los Angeles, with shell bursts visible around it.

📷 Unknown (AP distributed) · February 24-25, 1942 · Public domain (AP photos distributed 1931-1963 without copyright renewal)

Los Angeles Times Front Page - February 26, 1942

Page B of the February 26, 1942, Los Angeles Times, showing the coverage of the so-called Battle of Los Angeles and its aftermath — lots of articles on people finding dud shells, unexploded ordnance, etc.

📷 LA Times · February 26, 1942 · Public domain (PD US not renewed)

🔍 Click to enlarge

Map of the Battle of Los Angeles

Map showing key locations: Red = Los Angeles County; 1 = Ellwood Oil Field (Japanese submarine attack the day before); 2 = 120 miles west of LA where radar detected a flying object; 3 = Long Beach where airplanes were reported; 4 = Santa Monica where a balloon was witnessed.

📷 User:Dbenbenn, User:Onhigan · October 23, 2021 · Public domain (PD-user)

General Marshall's Memorandum to President Roosevelt

A memorandum from General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, to President Roosevelt, regarding the 'Battle of Los Angeles'.

📷 Unknown (US Government document) · February 26, 1942 · Public domain (PD US Government)

Roosevelt-Stimson Memorandum re: Battle of Los Angeles

A memorandum between President Roosevelt and Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War, regarding the so-called 'Battle of Los Angeles'.

📷 Unknown (US Government document) · 1942 · Public domain (PD US Government)

USS Arizona Burning at Pearl Harbor (Context)

The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. The ship is resting on the harbor bottom after the forward magazine exploded.

📷 Unknown · December 7, 1941 · Public domain (PD US Government, NARA)

Japanese Submarine I-17 (Santa Barbara Shelling Context)

Japanese submarine I-17 shortly after launching. This is the submarine that shelled the Ellwood Oil Field near Santa Barbara on February 23, 1942 — the day before the Battle of Los Angeles.

📷 Unknown · July 19, 1939 · Public domain

📖 The Full Story

The night 1,400 anti-aircraft shells were fired at an unidentified object over wartime Los Angeles — and no wreckage was ever found.

Less than three months after Pearl Harbor and one day after a Japanese submarine shelled the Santa Barbara oil field, a massive unidentified object was spotted over Los Angeles. Searchlights converged on it, 1,400+ anti-aircraft shells were fired, and the event was photographed by the LA Times. The military called it a 'false alarm' but the photos show something in the searchlights. Five civilians died from friendly fire. No aircraft wreckage was ever found.

The context made the panic understandable. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 Americans and drawing the United States into World War II. Less than three months later, on the evening of February 23, 1942 — during one of President Roosevelt's fireside chats — the Japanese submarine I-17 surfaced near Santa Barbara and shelled the Ellwood Oil Field. It was the first shelling of the US mainland in WWII. The damage was minimal ($500, no injuries), but the psychological impact was enormous. The entire West Coast believed an invasion was imminent.

The next night, air raid sirens sounded across Los Angeles County at 2:25 AM. A total blackout was ordered. At 3:16 AM, the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade opened fire with .50-caliber machine guns and 12.8-pound anti-aircraft shells. Over the next hour, more than 1,400 rounds were fired at reported aircraft. Searchlights converged on an object in the sky. The LA Times photographed it. Witnesses reported wildly different numbers of objects — from one to several hundred — at altitudes from a few thousand feet to over 20,000 feet, moving at speeds from "very slow" to over 200 mph.

The firing ended sporadically at 4:14 AM. The "all clear" sounded at 7:21 AM. Five civilians were dead — three killed in car crashes during the blackout, two from heart attacks. Several buildings and vehicles were damaged by falling shell fragments. Unexploded ordnance was found by civilians in the following days. Four Japanese aircraft were initially reported shot down. None were found. No bombs were dropped. No wreckage was recovered. The mysterious forces "dropped no bombs and suffered no losses" despite 1,440 rounds directed against them.

Within hours, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox called it a "false alarm" caused by "war nerves." The Army disagreed — General George C. Marshall wrote to President Roosevelt suggesting enemy agents using commercial airplanes in a psychological warfare campaign. Secretary of War Stimson reported the object moved at speeds from "very slow" to "200 mph" — too slow for any aircraft of the era to remain airborne. Representative Leland Ford called for a Congressional investigation, saying "none of the explanations so far offered removed the episode from the category of complete mystification." The Navy and Army gave contradictory statements within 24 hours. Seven decades later, no single explanation has fully accounted for what was seen and photographed over Los Angeles that night.

Sources: Wikipedia: Battle of Los Angeles; LA Times (Feb 25–27, 1942); General Marshall's memorandum to President Roosevelt (Feb 26, 1942); Roosevelt-Stimson memorandum (1942); US Coast Artillery Association report (1949); Office of Air Force History analysis (1983); Japanese American History: An A-to-Z Reference (1993); Smithsonian Magazine; Fort MacArthur Museum.

⏱️ Timeline

From the Pearl Harbor attack that set the stage, through the hour-long bombardment, to seven decades of investigation, official explanations, and the event's enduring legacy in UFO history.

December 7, 1941

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States enters World War II the next day. The West Coast is gripped by paranoia about Japanese invasion.

December 1941 - February 1942

Multiple American merchant ships attacked by Japanese submarines off the West Coast. Blackouts ordered in Juneau, Oakland, and Seattle. 500 Army troops moved into Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank to defend against sabotage or air attacks.

February 23, 1942, 7:00 PM

Japanese submarine I-17 surfaces near Santa Barbara and shells the Ellwood Oil Field in Goleta. Damage is minimal ($500, no injuries) but the psychological impact is enormous — West Coast residents believe a Japanese invasion is imminent. The attack occurs during President Roosevelt's fireside chat.

February 24, 1942

Office of Naval Intelligence issues warning that an attack on mainland California could be expected within the next ten hours. Many flares and blinking lights reported from the vicinity of defense plants. Alert called at 7:18 PM, lifted at 10:23 PM.

February 25, 1942, 2:25 AM

Air raid sirens sound throughout Los Angeles County. Total blackout ordered. Thousands of air raid wardens summoned to positions.

February 25, 1942, 3:16 AM

37th Coast Artillery Brigade begins firing .50-caliber machine guns and 12.8-pound anti-aircraft shells at reported aircraft. Over 1,400 shells fired. 4th Interceptor Command pilots alerted but aircraft remain grounded.

February 25, 1942, 3:06 AM

A balloon carrying a red flare seen over Santa Monica. Four batteries of anti-aircraft artillery open fire. 'The air over Los Angeles erupted like a volcano.' Reports become 'hopelessly at variance' — swarms of planes or balloons, 1 to several hundred, altitudes from a few thousand feet to 20,000+, speeds from 'very slow' to over 200 mph.

February 25, 1942, 4:14 AM

Artillery fire ends sporadically. The mysterious forces dropped no bombs and suffered no losses despite 1,440 rounds directed against them.

February 25, 1942, 7:21 AM

'All clear' sounded and blackout order lifted. Five civilians dead: 3 in car crashes, 2 from heart attacks. Several buildings and vehicles damaged by shell fragments. Four Japanese aircraft erroneously reported shot down — none found.

February 25, 1942

Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox holds press conference, calls it a 'false alarm' due to 'war nerves.' Newspapers suspect a cover-up. The Long Beach Independent writes of 'mysterious reticence' and possible censorship.

February 26, 1942

LA Times publishes iconic searchlight photo and extensive coverage. Army issues statement reflecting Marshall's psychological warfare theory. Rep. Leland Ford calls for Congressional investigation.

February 27, 1942

LA Times reports West Coast legislators 'stirred by conflicting air-raid statements' and assailing Knox over 'false alarm' characterization.

1945

After the war, the Japanese government declares they flew no airplanes over Los Angeles during the entire war, definitively ruling out the Japanese aircraft theory.

1949

US Coast Artillery Association publishes Col. Murphy's report identifying a meteorological balloon as having 'started all the shooting.'

1983

US Office of Air Force History publishes official analysis attributing the event to 'war nerves' triggered by a lost weather balloon, exacerbated by stray flares and shell bursts.

2011

The film 'Battle: Los Angeles' uses the 1942 event as backstory. LA Times writer Larry Harnisch reveals the iconic photo was retouched and criticizes the film's marketing for using faked material.

👁️ Key Witnesses

Nine key figures — from the Secretary of the Navy who called it a "false alarm" to the Secretary of War who reported the object's impossible speed, the Army Chief of Staff who wrote to the President, and the LA Times writer who discovered the photo was retouched.