ENGLISH 101-Blog the Fourth-The Battle of Los Angeles

Not the movie people, although it does take inspiration from this very real "incident" that has come to be considered, over the years, as the first UFO sighting.  In February 1942 tensions were understandably high.  It has only been about two months since the Japanese have bombed pearl harbor and rumors were abound all over the west coast that an attack was imminent.

And with good reason: On Feb 23rd " a Japanese submarine surfaced off the coast near Santa Barbara, California, and over the course of the next thirty minutes lobbed 13 rounds of 5-1/2" shells at an oil installation." (source)  It was the first attack on American soil since the War of 1812, and  President Roosevelt saw fit to warn us of the dangers of "Japanese invaders" on our coasts in a radio address to the nation.

The attack came and went with little fan fare, but what happens next became ingrained in the hearts and minds of people all over the nation, and is now easily one of the greatest mysteries in the 20th century...despite nothing happening.

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist9/aaf2.html
http://www.saturdaynightuforia.com/html/thebattleoflosangeles.html

It was the very next day and all seemed calm, until 6pm.  Numerous reports and rumors came in that another attack was on it's way.  Flares and flashing lights were spotted off the coast, which many believed could be used to signal any Japanese ships to start an attack.  But nothing happened.

Until almost 2 am, when something was picked up on two different radar stations heading toward Los Angeles.  No one knew what this something was, but all air-raid stations were put on green alert, which basically means they were ready to attack if they had to.  At 2:30 radar claimed the object was 3 miles from LA.  A blackout was ordered and all hell broke loose as anti-air cannons opened fire over the sky of the city, and spot lights scanned the sky.  Here is the only known picture of the incident:

Know what's funny about that picture?  NOTHINGS THERE.  The problem with almost everything I wrote above is the so-called (by me, admittedly) something that was tracked by radar.  It vanished from radar almost 15-minutes later.  What happened afterward is what set off all the excitement.  Not long after the something was "spotted" the info center was flooded with reports of enemy planes in the area.  What's worse, guess what started the actual shooting?  A weather balloon.  One, with a red flare, was spotted near Snata monica and thats when the shells started flying.

After that, all bets are off.  Most of the sightings after the shooting started would/could very well be the shells themselves exploding and flying through the air and caught by the searchlights.  With all the excitement, it's not shocking to me that people began to "see" enemy planes all over the place.  The proof is in the aftermath really.  After all the ammo spent, these "swarms" dropped no bombs,  caused no damage, and left no wreckage behind.  Either they were the best pilots ever, or they didn't exist.

The day after, the military came out and said it was a false alarm.  In 1986 it was revealed a lost weather Balloon and a case of "the war time jitters" led to this event.  I'm inclined to believe this, considering the time I'd say "war time jotters" was an understatement.  These people were a ticking time bomb ready to go off.  Of course, at the time and now, people don't believe the "official story".   Mostly because, like all conspiracy theories, it's hard to buy a simple explanation for something so outrageous.  I think it comes from the myth of a hyper competent government.  How could they make such a huge blunder, attack nothing and scare millions of people by mistake?  It must be a conspiracy!

Even the Japanese came out and said it wasn't theirs.  They called the raid a "myth".  I suppose that has lead to people calling this a UFO sighting.  Because it can't be a mistake, something must've been out there, right?

No.
Our Government is just dumb sometimes.