The Day Japan Bombed Oregon
http://acmp.com/blog/the-day-japan-bombed-oregon.html
September 9, 1942, the I-25 class Japanese submarine was cruising in an
easterly direction raising its periscope occasionally as it neared the
United States Coastline. Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor less than a year
ago and the Captain of the attack submarine knew that Americans were watching
their coast line for ships and aircraft that might attack our country.
Dawn was approaching; the first rays of the sun were flickering off the
periscopes lens. Their mission; attack the west coast with incendiary bombs
in hopes of starting a devastating forest fire. If this test run were successful,
Japan had hopes of using their huge submarine fleet to attack the eastern
end of the Panama Canal to slow down shipping from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. The Japanese Navy had a large number of I-400 submarines under
construction. Each capable of carrying three aircraft. Pilot Chief Warrant
Officer Nobuo Fujita and his crewman Petty Officer Shoji Okuda were making
last minute checks of their charts making sure they matched those of the
submarine’s navigator.
The only plane ever to drop a bomb on the United States
during WWII was this submarine based Glen.
September 9, 1942: Nebraska forestry student Keith V. Johnson was on
duty atop a forest fire lookout tower between Gold’s Beach and Brookings
Oregon. Keith had memorized the silhouettes of Japanese long distance bombers
and those of our own aircraft. He felt confident that he could spot and
identify, friend or foe, almost immediately. It was cold on the coast this
September morning , and quiet. The residents of the area were still in
bed or preparing to head for work. Lumber was a large part of the industry
in Brookings, just a few miles north of the California Oregon state lines.
The aircraft carried two incendiary 168 pound bombs
and a crew of two.
Aboard the submarine the Captain’s voice boomed over the PA system,
“Prepare to surface, aircrew report to your stations, wait for the open
hatch signal” During training runs several subs were lost when hangar door
were opened too soon and sea water rushed into the hangars and sank the
boat with all hands lost. You could hear the change of sound as the bow
of the I-25 broke from the depths, nosed over for its run on the surface.
A loud bell signaled the “All Clear.” The crew assigned to the single engine
Yokosuki E14Ys float equipped observation and light attack aircraft sprang
into action. They rolled the plane out its hangar built next to the conning
tower. The wings and tail were unfolded, and several 176 pound incendiary
bombs were attached to the hard points under the wings. This was a small
two passenger float plane with a nine cylinder 340 hp radial engine. It
was full daylight when the Captain ordered the aircraft to be placed on
the catapult. Warrant Officer Fujita started the engine, let it warm up,
checked the magnetos and oil pressure. There was a slight breeze blowing
and the seas were calm. A perfect day to attack the United States of America.
When the gauges were in the green the pilot signalked and the catapult
launched the aircraft. After a short climb to altitude the pilot turned
on a heading for the Oregon coast.
The “Glen” was launched via catapult from a I-25 class
Japanese submarine.
Johnson was sweeping the horizon but could see nothing, he went back
to his duties as a forestry agent which was searching for any signs of
a forest fire. The morning moved on. Every few minutes he would scan low,
medium and high but nothing caught his eye. The small Japanese float plane
had climbed to several thousand feet of altitude for better visibility
and to get above the coastal fog. The pilot had calculated land fall in
a few minutes and right on schedule he could see the breakers flashing
white as they hit the Oregon shores.
Johnson was about to put his binoculars down when something flashed
in the sun just above the fog bank. It was unusual because in the past
all air traffic had been flying up and down the coast, not aiming into
the coast.
The pilot of the aircraft checked his course and alerted his observer
to be on the lookout for a fire tower which was on the edge of the wooded
area where they were supposed to drop their bombs. These airplanes carried
very little fuel and all flights were in and out without any loitering.
The plane reached the shore line and the pilot made a course correction
20 degrees to the north. The huge trees were easy to spot and certainly
easy to hit with the bombs. The fog was very wispy by this time.
Warrant Officer Fujita is shown with his Yokosuka
E14Y (Glen) float plane prior to his flight.
Johnson watched in awe as the small floatplane with a red meat ball
on the wings flew overhead, the plane was not a bomber and there was no
way that it could have flown across the Pacific, Johnson could not understand
what was happening. He locked onto the plane and followed it as it headed
inland.
The pilot activated the release locks so that when he could pickled
the bombs they would release. His instructions were simple, fly at 500
feet, drop the bombs into the trees and circle once to see if they had
started any fires and then head back to the submarine.
Johnson could see the two bombs under the wing of the plane and knew
that they would be dropped. He grabbed his communications radio and called
the Forest Fire Headquarters informing them of what he was watching unfold.
The bombs tumbled from the small seaplane and impacted the forests,
the pilot circled once and spotted fire around the impact point. He executed
an 180 degree turn and headed back to the submarine. There was no air activity,
the skies were clear. The small float plane lined up with the surfaced
submarine and landed gently on the ocean, then taxied to the sub. A long
boom swung out from the stern. His crewman caught the cable and hooked
it into the pickup attached to the roll over cage between the cockpits.
The plane was swung onto the deck, The plane’s crew folded the wings and
tail, pushed it into its hangar and secured the water tight doors. The
I-25 submerged and headed back to Japan.
This event ,which caused no damage, marked the only time during World
War II that an enemy plane had dropped bombs on the United States mainland.
What the Japanese didn’t count on was coastal fog, mist and heavy doses
of rain made the forests so wet they simply would not catch fire.
This Memorial Plaque is located in Brookings, Oregon
at the site of the 1942 bombing
Fifty years later the Japanese pilot, who survived the war, would return
to Oregon to help dedicate a historical plaque at the exact spot where
his two bombs had impacted. The elderly pilot then donated his ceremonial
sword as a gesture of peace and closure of the bombing of Oregon in 1942.
The
REAL story behind the first Kilroy
