Los Angeles 1942: 1,433 Shells and a Target That Vanished from the Record

Before dawn on 25 February 1942, Los Angeles went dark under an air-raid order. Sirens sounded across the city, searchlights swept the sky, and anti-aircraft guns fired repeatedly at a target nobody could identify. For nearly two hours, more than 1,400 shells crossed above residential districts. No bomb fell, no aircraft was shot down, and no wreckage remained to give the enemy a name.

The event became known as the "Battle of Los Angeles", but that night was nothing like an ordinary air battle. The U.S. Army said strange aircraft had been detected offshore and ordered the defences to engage. The Navy said there had been no aircraft at all, only wartime nerves. Another statement suggested that fifteen commercial planes might have been flown by enemy agents. Years later, Army historical material offered weather balloons and light from the shell bursts as the explanation.