The Battle of Los Angeles

In the early morning hours of February 25, 1942, anti-aircraft batteries across Los Angeles opened fire on unidentified objects in the sky. Over 1,400 rounds of ammunition were expended in what became known as the “Battle of Los Angeles.” Despite extensive gunfire, nothing was shot down, and the true nature of the targets remains debated.

The Context

Less than three months after the Pearl Harbor attack, the West Coast was on high alert for Japanese invasion. On February 23, a Japanese submarine had shelled an oil refinery near Santa Barbara. Nerves were stretched to breaking point.

The Alert

At 2:25 AM on February 25, air raid sirens sounded across Los Angeles. Searchlights crisscrossed the sky, and anti-aircraft batteries began firing at reported objects.

For the next several hours, the night sky was illuminated by searchlights and filled with exploding shells. A complete blackout was ordered across the Los Angeles area.

What Was Seen

Witnesses reported:

• Multiple objects in the sky
• A large, slow-moving object caught in searchlights
• Objects that didn’t respond to gunfire
• Red or orange lights
• Various estimates of altitude and speed

A famous photograph in the Los Angeles Times showed searchlights converging on what appears to be an object surrounded by shell bursts.

The Aftermath

The barrage caused:

• 3-5 civilian deaths (from falling shell fragments or heart attacks)
• Numerous injuries
• Property damage from spent anti-aircraft rounds
• A citywide panic

Remarkably, no aircraft were shot down. No wreckage was recovered.

Official Explanations

The government’s explanations evolved:

Navy Secretary Frank Knox: Called it a “false alarm” caused by war jitters—no evidence of hostile aircraft.

Secretary of War Henry Stimson: Claimed 15 commercial aircraft operated by enemy agents had flown over Los Angeles—but provided no evidence.

1983 Air Force Review: Attributed the incident to “war nerves” triggered by meteorological balloons.

Problems with Explanations

Critics note:

• Thousands of trained anti-aircraft personnel engaged
• Objects were tracked for hours
• The large object in searchlights was observed by many
• Balloons don’t explain multiple objects or their behavior
• No aircraft wreckage was ever found

The Famous Photograph

The Los Angeles Times photo of February 26 shows:

• Multiple searchlights converging on a single point
• Shell bursts surrounding the central object
• An apparently solid object in the intersection

Some analysts claim the photo shows a structured craft; others argue it’s an artifact of the exposure or lens flare.

UFO Interpretation

Some researchers suggest the “Battle of Los Angeles” involved genuine UFOs:

• Objects resisted thousands of rounds of gunfire
• Their behavior didn’t match known aircraft
• The military never explained what was actually engaged
• The photograph suggests a solid, structured object

Legacy

The Battle of Los Angeles remains one of the strangest events in American military history. On a night when the entire nation feared invasion:

• Trained military personnel engaged unknown objects for hours
• Thousands of rounds were fired with no confirmed hits
• No conventional explanation fully accounts for the events
• A major American city spent a night in terror

Whether the result of war nerves, misidentified aircraft, weather phenomena, or something genuinely anomalous, the Battle of Los Angeles demonstrates that unexplained aerial events have serious consequences.