- By Ray Holt -
February 23-24, 1942, might have been called a typical February night in California except for the sudden earsplitting wail of countless air raid sirens tearing asunder the winter peace. Hundreds, and some reports claimed thousands of powerful searchlights shredded the inky sky in frantic sliced search for enemy aircraft. U.S. fighter planes chased through the air seeking to find and destroy the enemy planes before they could breach the shoreline between Santa Monica and Long Beach. Naval ships aided by the recent success in translating enemy code sought submarines hoping to sneak ashore.
Everywhere alert civilian lookouts armed with binoculars manned their stations atop high buildings to assist spotters. Throughout the metropolitan area, residents awakened to the spectacle and double checked to make sure blackout curtain windows were tightly closed to shut out any possible speck of tell-tale light. Chills ran wildly up and down spines as residents realized untold destruction like that experienced in Europe was imminent for the first time. Newspaper presses began producing “EXTRA!!! Read All About It” editions topped by mammoth headlines for early distribution. Radio stations scurried to keep early listeners informed.
For over an hour, the Battle of Los Angeles raged. More than 1,500 artillery shells, by official count, were fired at real or imagined objects in the sky. Fortunately damages and injuries were minimal.
Then all was quiet. The military had called a halt. Had the enemy been found and destroyed or turned back? Had Los Angeles really been attacked? Was it a Hollywood extravaganza gone wrong? The full story of the Battle of Los Angeles may yet to be told. However, just two nights later, enemy submarines shelled an oil tank not far from Ventura