1,400 Shells, Zero Hits: The Military’s Massive Response Over 1942 Los Angeles By David Freeman - January 30, 2025
The residents of Los Angeles experienced an unprecedented military response to an unidentified aerial threat on February 24-25, 1942. The incident involved over 1,440 rounds of anti-aircraft fire lighting up the night sky, resulting in five civilian deaths and leaving behind a mystery that continues to spark discussions decades later.
The event unfolded against a backdrop of heightened tensions. Just one day before, on February 23, a Japanese submarine had launched an attack on a Santa Barbara oil field, putting the entire West Coast on high alert. Pearl Harbor remained a fresh wound in the American consciousness, having occurred mere months earlier.
The first signs of unusual activity emerged at 7:18 PM on February 24, when air raid sirens activated across Los Angeles County. Thousands of air raid wardens mobilized to their designated posts throughout the region. This initial alert lasted until 10:23 PM, when officials lifted the warning and tensions temporarily eased.
The main event began after midnight. According to official records documented in “The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 1,” radar operators detected an unidentified target 120 miles west of Los Angeles at 2:15 AM. Military commands quickly placed anti-aircraft batteries on Green Alert status, meaning they stood ready to fire.
The Army Air Force made a strategic decision to keep their pursuit planes grounded. Military commanders wanted to assess the scale and direction of any potential attack before committing their limited fighter resources. Radar stations tracked the mysterious target as it approached within miles of the coastline.
At 2:21 AM, the regional controller ordered a blackout across Los Angeles. What followed was a flood of reports about enemy aircraft, even though the original radar contact had seemingly vanished. The situation escalated at 2:43 AM when observers reported aircraft near Long Beach.
Minutes later, a coast artillery colonel reported spotting approximately 25 planes at 12,000 feet over Los Angeles. The situation reached its climax at 3:06 AM when observers spotted a balloon carrying a red flare over Santa Monica. Four anti-aircraft artillery batteries opened fire, triggering what official records describe as an eruption “like a volcano” in the skies above Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Herald Examiner’s coverage painted a dramatic picture. Their “War Extra” edition carried the bold headline “Air Battle Rages Over Los Angeles.” One witness account published in the paper claimed to see 50 planes, with three reportedly shot down over the ocean and another destroyed by a battery near Vermont Avenue.
The Los Angeles Times reported the event with similar intensity, describing “foreign aircraft flying both in large formation and singly” emerging from a “brilliant moonlit western sky.” The newspaper noted this marked the first anti-aircraft fire ever to sound over United States continental soil against a potential enemy invader.
Military response to the incident proved massive. Anti-aircraft gunners expended 1,440 rounds of ammunition during the engagement. Despite this heavy barrage, no wreckage of enemy aircraft was ever recovered. The bombardment lasted approximately three hours, with reports of unidentified objects varying wildly in their descriptions.
Official statements from Washington DC offered conflicting interpretations. Navy Secretary Frank Knox attempted to downplay the incident, stating, “As far as I know the whole raid was a false alarm and could be attributed to jittery nerves.”
However, Secretary of War Henry Stimson presented a different assessment. He confirmed the presence of 15 unidentified aircraft over Los Angeles. Stimson proposed several possibilities: commercial aircraft operated by enemy forces from secret fields in California or Mexico, or light planes launched from Japanese submarines. He suggested their mission might have been to locate anti-aircraft defenses or impact civilian morale.
The chaos resulted in five civilian casualties. Three individuals died in traffic accidents amid the confusion, while two others suffered fatal heart attacks during the excitement. The blackout conditions and general panic contributed to these tragic outcomes.
Post-war investigations revealed interesting details. Japanese military authorities confirmed they had no aircraft operating in the area during the reported incident. This admission added another layer of mystery to the events of that February night.
The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 1 offers a possible explanation for some of the confusion. The report suggests that anti-aircraft shell bursts caught in searchlight beams may have been misidentified as enemy aircraft. This could account for some of the widely varying reports of object numbers and movements.
Witness descriptions during the incident varied dramatically. Reports mentioned anywhere from single objects to “swarms” of aircraft or balloons. The reported altitudes ranged from several thousand feet to over 20,000 feet. Described speeds varied from “very slow” to more than 200 miles per hour. Notably, these mysterious objects dropped no bombs and, despite the intense anti-aircraft fire, suffered no apparent damage.
A fascinating potential explanation emerged years later through veteran Los Angeles newsman Matt Weinstock. He interviewed a former anti-aircraft battery serviceman who provided an unexpected account. According to this source, the incident might have begun as a radar testing exercise gone awry.
The serviceman described how a coastal radar station near Santa Monica, struggling to arrange aircraft for system testing, devised an improvised solution. Personnel purchased nickel balloons, filled them with hydrogen, and attached metal wires before releasing them. The offshore breeze carried these makeshift targets out to sea, successfully appearing on radar screens and confirming the equipment’s functionality.
However, the plan may have backfired when the nightly onshore breeze pushed the balloons back toward coastal cities. The radar systems detected the metal wires, automatically triggering searchlights to illuminate the targets. On radar screens, these returning balloons appeared as aircraft approaching the city, leading to the anti-aircraft response.
The Los Angeles incident left a lasting impact on civil defense procedures and military response protocols. It demonstrated both the state of readiness of American coastal defenses and the challenges of identifying and responding to unknown aerial threats.
The event generated significant documentation through military records, radar data, newspaper coverage, and witness accounts. This wealth of official documentation makes it one of the most well-recorded mass UFO sightings in American history, regardless of the true nature of the objects involved.
The Battle of Los Angeles represents a unique moment in American military history: the first time anti-aircraft guns fired on unidentified objects over a major American city. The incident highlighted the complex challenges facing coastal defense during wartime conditions and the difficulty of accurately identifying aerial phenomena under combat conditions.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article included several unverified quotes and witness testimonies that do not meet Above The Norm News’ journalistic standards. As part of our commitment to accurate reporting, even when covering UFO and paranormal phenomena, we have removed these unsubstantiated elements and revised the article to rely solely on documented historical records, including official military documents, verified newspaper accounts from the Los Angeles Times and Herald Examiner, and confirmed statements from military officials like Secretary Knox and Secretary Stimson. The current version draws heavily from “The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 1” and contemporary news coverage to ensure factual accuracy while maintaining our focus on this compelling incident. We believe the verified facts of the Battle of Los Angeles are extraordinary enough without embellishment.
Sources:
This article draws from extensive research and documentation found in “The Battle of Los Angeles, 1942: The Mystery Air Raid” by Terrenz Sword. The book provides detailed accounts, official records, and witness testimonies of this extraordinary event. For readers interested in exploring this incident further, the book is available on Amazon Here.
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