The Battle of Los Angeles

The events of the night of February 24th, 1942 were quite strange even for Hollywood. Early on the 24th, the Navy released a statement that an attack on Los Angeles by the Japanese was possible. Artillery units were put on high alert as night fell. An unusual number of lights were in the sky that night making for an even more tenuous situation. Things returned to normal until around 2:15. Reports came in of enemy planes flying west of L.A. A red light was spotted and fire upon. Artillery units followed shooting at lights in the night sky. Despite all the fire, no aircraft either fired back or was hit.

The problem? There were no planes or a battle over Los Angeles. The military was still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor and was a bit too quick on the trigger. While UFO enthusiasts will claim the army was shooting at aliens, the truth lies with the first red light. The artillery officers that night commented that what they were firing at seemed to be too slow to be a plane; that's mostly because they were firing at weather balloons. The Japanese released a statement years later saying that, while they did launch planes from submarines near the American coast during the war, it did not take place near Los Angeles or on the night in question.