THE Battle of Los Angeles is one of the earliest alleged UFO sightings that fueled conspiracy theories among Americans. Eye-witnesses claim they saw a mystery object flying in the sky in February 1942 – just weeks after the Japanese air force attacked Pearl Harbor.
Officials received a warning that mainland Los Angeles could be under siege by Japanese forces over a 10 hour period in 1942. Officers fired rounds of artillery from .50 caliber machine guns into the sky in anticipation that enemy planes would land. There were no planes but the incident fueled conspiracies about a potential UFO sighting as some reportedly saw a "mysterious" flying object, according to History.
Army officials tried to say that commercial aircraft "sent by Japan" passed over the LA skyline but the Office of Air Force History debunked the theory in 1983 - adding a weather balloon was launched to help with the winds. Believers say photos of the bright lights reportedly "prove" the phenomenon was an extraterrestrial craft. Meanwhile, expert and historian Kathryn Dorsch said she wouldn't describe the incident as a "UFO sighting" or "critical to the history of the UFO debate".
She told The Sun: “I also wouldn't talk about it in the same terms as I would later sightings. The post-1947 UFO is a very particular kind of thing that depends on a confluence of post-WWII anxieties, geopolitical tensions, and social concerns.” In an article for Foreign Policy, Dorsch argues that the “modern UFO” can be traced back to 1947 following the alleged sightings by Kenneth Arnold in the Cascade Mountains near Washington State. She said the world wars had led to “unprecedented” developments and “major breakthroughs” in the likes of manned and unmanned aerial technologies.
'DEBUNKED'
Dorsch wrote: “The appearance of a strange and potentially deadly object in the skies was a resonant idea in the wake of the V2 rocket attacks on London and the unleashing of the atomic bomb.” She referred to the collapse of the US relationship with the Soviet Union as Americans saw a “new alien challenger”. 1947 also saw the creation of the Air Forces as an independent branch of the military. The term "foo fighters" was often used by pilots during World War II to describe potential UFOs and mysterious sightings.
Pilots reported such objects would stalk their aircraft and would glow red or orange. They would then make a wild turn before disappearing. The battle of LA came at a time when rumors of potential Japanese attacks were rife as a day before the alleged sighting, southern California was placed under a blackout. And, a Japanese submarine launched shells at a refinery in Ellwood – around 100miles from downtown LA, according to History. Troops were pictured on the top of buildings with anti-aircraft guns as they searched the Los Angeles skyline with lights.
Officers opened fire but nothing was in the sky. Residents in LA could just see smoke and falling pieces of shrapnel as there was no enemy aircraft in sight. John G Murphy, of the Coastal Artillery Corps, wrote: “Imagination could have easily disclosed many shapes in the sky in the midst of that weird symphony of noise and color." Some troops alleged they saw planes, claiming one crash-landed in Hollywood.
Charles Patrick, a coastal artilleryman, said: “I could barely see the planes but they were up there all right. I could see six planes and shells were bursting around them.” Even though no bombs were dropped by the Japanese, five people were killed as 1,400 rounds of shells landed in the city. Three were killed in car accidents caused by the blackout while two people died of heart attacks, according to the LA Times.
'FALSE ALARM'
The Secretary of War at the time Henry Stimson admitted that no enemy planes had flown over Los Angeles. At the time, it was believed that 15 commercial planes reportedly sent by “enemy agents” had crossed the city. And, Japanese officials claimed that it had never floated military aircraft over the city during World War II. The “Battle of Los Angeles” predates some of the most famous “sightings” ever recorded.
One of the first UFO sightings was in Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947 that took place during a supposed crash of a US Army Air Force balloon. Theories believe that the crash was a flying saucer yet others allege the government covered it up, according to History. Roswell is now home to a UFO museum and a flying saucer-inspired McDonald's. The area even has alien-themed streetlights. In 1961, Betty and Barney Hill claimed they came into contact with extraterrestrial life.
