1 00:00:02,417 --> 00:00:05,375 - Tonight, a terrifying event 2 00:00:05,375 --> 00:00:07,542 in the skies over Los Angeles. 3 00:00:07,542 --> 00:00:10,208 - Los Angeles is one of the most critically important 4 00:00:10,208 --> 00:00:12,917 war defense cities in the entire country. 5 00:00:12,917 --> 00:00:14,375 - All hell is breaking loose. 6 00:00:14,375 --> 00:00:16,708 There are reports of a Japanese aircraft 7 00:00:16,708 --> 00:00:18,375 shot down in Hollywood. 8 00:00:18,375 --> 00:00:22,208 - No lights anywhere, no street lights, 9 00:00:22,208 --> 00:00:25,042 no lights in buildings, no house lights. 10 00:00:25,042 --> 00:00:28,667 Complete and utter darkness, it's as if LA 11 00:00:28,667 --> 00:00:30,667 has just been wiped off the map. 12 00:00:30,667 --> 00:00:33,208 - This is absolute pandemonium. 13 00:00:34,208 --> 00:00:36,375 The only lights are the search lights 14 00:00:36,375 --> 00:00:39,917 and the anti-aircraft guns firing. 15 00:00:39,917 --> 00:00:41,417 - When the smoke clears, 16 00:00:41,417 --> 00:00:44,208 the incident becomes known as the Battle of LA 17 00:00:44,208 --> 00:00:47,708 and is veiled in secrecy and lies. 18 00:00:47,708 --> 00:00:50,125 - The army says that there was something in the sky. 19 00:00:50,125 --> 00:00:51,958 The Navy then says 20 00:00:51,958 --> 00:00:54,042 there was actually nothing in the sky at all. 21 00:00:54,042 --> 00:00:55,250 (canon firing) 22 00:00:55,250 --> 00:00:57,667 - Angelenos are committed to the fact 23 00:00:57,667 --> 00:00:59,292 that they have seen something. 24 00:00:59,292 --> 00:01:01,750 Is the government actually covering something up? 25 00:01:03,083 --> 00:01:05,208 - Now, we explore the top theories surrounding 26 00:01:05,208 --> 00:01:07,083 this mysterious occurrence. 27 00:01:07,083 --> 00:01:09,833 - In the middle of a blackout, in pitch dark, 28 00:01:09,833 --> 00:01:12,542 it's a lot harder to separate facts from fiction. 29 00:01:12,542 --> 00:01:13,958 (guns firing) 30 00:01:13,958 --> 00:01:18,500 - What really triggered the so-called Battle of Los Angeles? 31 00:01:18,500 --> 00:01:20,583 (dramatic music) 32 00:01:33,042 --> 00:01:37,542 - [Laurence] February 24th, 1942, Los Angeles, California. 33 00:01:38,458 --> 00:01:40,000 It's less than three months 34 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,042 since the Japanese Imperial Fleet 35 00:01:42,042 --> 00:01:44,000 launched a surprise attack 36 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,042 on American forces at Pearl Harbor, 37 00:01:46,042 --> 00:01:47,542 (bombs exploding) 38 00:01:47,542 --> 00:01:49,208 killing 2,400 39 00:01:49,208 --> 00:01:51,792 and bringing the United States fully into World War II. 40 00:01:53,542 --> 00:01:54,875 On the home front, 41 00:01:54,875 --> 00:01:57,208 the possibility of another attack on American soil 42 00:01:57,208 --> 00:01:58,542 is now very real, 43 00:01:59,875 --> 00:02:03,500 especially in the nation's biggest coastal cities. 44 00:02:05,042 --> 00:02:06,292 - There's widespread fear 45 00:02:06,292 --> 00:02:08,875 that Japan will attack the US mainland next, 46 00:02:08,875 --> 00:02:11,042 and the US military has vowed 47 00:02:11,042 --> 00:02:13,500 never to be caught off guard again. 48 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:15,875 - Not only does Los Angeles lead American cities 49 00:02:15,875 --> 00:02:17,542 when it comes to aircraft production 50 00:02:17,542 --> 00:02:20,917 with Douglas, Lockheed and North American Aviation, 51 00:02:20,917 --> 00:02:22,500 but in San Pedro Bay, 52 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:25,125 it also houses a huge naval armada. 53 00:02:25,125 --> 00:02:27,875 With a vulnerable location on the Pacific Ocean, 54 00:02:27,875 --> 00:02:30,167 plus major metropolitan area 55 00:02:30,167 --> 00:02:32,375 and a population of over 1 million, 56 00:02:32,375 --> 00:02:35,875 city makes for a great target and they know it. 57 00:02:35,875 --> 00:02:37,500 So to bolster its defenses, 58 00:02:37,500 --> 00:02:39,875 anti-aircraft guns have been placed all around the city, 59 00:02:39,875 --> 00:02:41,083 bunkers have been built 60 00:02:41,083 --> 00:02:43,000 and air raid protocols have been drilled 61 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:44,875 into the population. 62 00:02:44,875 --> 00:02:46,500 - After Pearl Harbor, 63 00:02:46,500 --> 00:02:49,500 the United States has been practicing blackout drills 64 00:02:49,500 --> 00:02:53,333 in every coastal city out of fear of an aerial attack. 65 00:02:53,333 --> 00:02:54,875 - [Laurence] The purpose of these blackouts 66 00:02:54,875 --> 00:02:59,083 is so that enemy planes can't see the lights of the city. 67 00:02:59,083 --> 00:03:01,292 - The enemy might send 100s of bombers 68 00:03:01,292 --> 00:03:03,375 to fly towards American cities 69 00:03:03,375 --> 00:03:06,042 and drop bombs almost indiscriminately 70 00:03:06,042 --> 00:03:07,792 across any urban zone. 71 00:03:07,792 --> 00:03:12,708 At night, it's very hard to engage in aerial navigation. 72 00:03:12,708 --> 00:03:15,208 However, the lights of a city could make it very obvious 73 00:03:15,208 --> 00:03:17,000 if you were near your target. 74 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,875 - By now, Los Angeles has been through so many blackouts, 75 00:03:19,875 --> 00:03:24,042 the LA Times has nicknamed it the City of Shadows. 76 00:03:24,042 --> 00:03:25,833 - [Laurence] The city's ordeal begins 77 00:03:25,833 --> 00:03:27,417 with a typical blackout drill, 78 00:03:27,417 --> 00:03:30,917 on the night of February 24th, 1942. 79 00:03:32,792 --> 00:03:34,708 - No lights anywhere, 80 00:03:36,042 --> 00:03:38,042 not a cigarette is allowed to be lit on the street 81 00:03:38,042 --> 00:03:39,208 for fear of giving away 82 00:03:39,208 --> 00:03:41,000 any type of location to a potential enemy. 83 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,958 Even all the radio stations in LA go completely silent. 84 00:03:44,958 --> 00:03:48,500 - [Laurence] At 10:23 PM, the blackout is lifted 85 00:03:48,500 --> 00:03:53,083 and Angelenos go to bed thinking it was just another drill. 86 00:03:53,083 --> 00:03:55,333 But at 2:21 in the morning, 87 00:03:55,333 --> 00:03:58,625 LA residents wake to the scream of air raid sirens, 88 00:03:58,625 --> 00:03:59,708 (sirens wailing) 89 00:03:59,708 --> 00:04:02,792 and the city is again thrust into darkness. 90 00:04:03,917 --> 00:04:06,625 - Search lights start sweeping over the skies 91 00:04:07,583 --> 00:04:09,375 and you have all of these people starting 92 00:04:09,375 --> 00:04:11,167 to run out of their homes trying to see 93 00:04:11,167 --> 00:04:12,875 what it is that they're looking at. 94 00:04:12,875 --> 00:04:15,042 - [Laurence] It's becoming increasingly clear. 95 00:04:15,042 --> 00:04:16,875 Whatever's happening in Los Angeles 96 00:04:16,875 --> 00:04:19,750 isn't just another drill. 97 00:04:19,750 --> 00:04:22,708 At 3:06 AM, the search lights converge 98 00:04:22,708 --> 00:04:27,708 on a target over Culver City and Los Angeles erupts. 99 00:04:27,708 --> 00:04:29,542 (guns firing) 100 00:04:29,542 --> 00:04:31,750 - The 37th Coast artillery brigade starts firing 101 00:04:31,750 --> 00:04:34,792 12 pounder guns that lob three inch shells 102 00:04:34,792 --> 00:04:36,000 up into the atmosphere. 103 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:37,583 The sound is enormous. 104 00:04:37,583 --> 00:04:40,292 (guns firing) A lot of the people mistake it 105 00:04:40,292 --> 00:04:42,375 for the impact of bombs striking the earth 106 00:04:42,375 --> 00:04:44,042 from enemy attack. 107 00:04:44,042 --> 00:04:45,375 - You can only imagine what this sky 108 00:04:45,375 --> 00:04:46,792 had to have looked like that night. 109 00:04:46,792 --> 00:04:49,167 You've got these orange tracer lights in the air, 110 00:04:49,167 --> 00:04:50,875 bursts in the sky. (bomb exploding) 111 00:04:50,875 --> 00:04:53,208 No one had ever seen anything like this in the United States. 112 00:04:53,208 --> 00:04:54,833 To a lot of people in Los Angeles, 113 00:04:54,833 --> 00:04:57,542 it seems like it's the end of the world, like it's Doomsday. 114 00:04:59,250 --> 00:05:01,750 - [Laurence] Phone calls flood the city's information lines 115 00:05:01,750 --> 00:05:05,417 with wildly differing accounts of sightings in the sky. 116 00:05:06,583 --> 00:05:08,958 - Eyewitness reports start pouring in 117 00:05:08,958 --> 00:05:10,417 to military authorities. 118 00:05:10,417 --> 00:05:14,083 We have reports of 100s of enemy aircraft flying overhead. 119 00:05:14,083 --> 00:05:16,083 We have reports of aircraft crashing 120 00:05:16,083 --> 00:05:17,750 throughout the Los Angeles area, 121 00:05:17,750 --> 00:05:19,958 presumably shot down by air defenses. 122 00:05:21,542 --> 00:05:24,208 - The only lights you've got are the search lights 123 00:05:24,208 --> 00:05:27,667 and the anti-aircraft guns firing, 124 00:05:27,667 --> 00:05:32,208 which just add to the sense that they are in a war zone. 125 00:05:32,208 --> 00:05:34,292 - The anti-aircraft artillery lobs 126 00:05:34,292 --> 00:05:37,667 almost nine tons of ordinance into the skies. 127 00:05:37,667 --> 00:05:40,292 100s of buildings and vehicles are damaged 128 00:05:40,292 --> 00:05:43,500 by the fragments of the falling shells coming back to earth. 129 00:05:44,625 --> 00:05:47,208 - This is absolute pandemonium. 130 00:05:47,208 --> 00:05:50,292 A lot of people are just trying to get the hell out of there. 131 00:05:50,292 --> 00:05:53,542 They're piling into cars and driving. 132 00:05:53,542 --> 00:05:56,875 There's gridlock, five people are killed. 133 00:05:56,875 --> 00:06:00,500 Three fatalities as a result of traffic accidents 134 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:02,000 in the chaos, 135 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,125 and two people die of stress induced heart attacks, 136 00:06:05,125 --> 00:06:06,917 and it's pitch black. 137 00:06:06,917 --> 00:06:10,458 - But nothing's been shot down, no bombs have been dropped. 138 00:06:10,458 --> 00:06:13,000 What's the story? What actually happened? 139 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,333 (guns firing) 140 00:06:15,333 --> 00:06:19,000 - [Laurence] Military command orders a ceasefire at 4:14 AM. 141 00:06:20,375 --> 00:06:24,333 They officially lift the blackout at 7:25 AM. 142 00:06:26,833 --> 00:06:30,042 Daylight brings more questions than answers, 143 00:06:30,042 --> 00:06:34,500 as local newspapers print a flurry of conflicting reports. 144 00:06:35,458 --> 00:06:38,417 - The most iconic image from this event 145 00:06:38,417 --> 00:06:40,875 is a photograph that appears in the newspaper 146 00:06:40,875 --> 00:06:44,042 with eight spotlights shining up into the sky 147 00:06:44,042 --> 00:06:46,875 on this object that's floating in the middle. 148 00:06:46,875 --> 00:06:48,667 You can't really make out what the object is, 149 00:06:48,667 --> 00:06:51,375 because it's brightened up by all the spotlights. 150 00:06:52,875 --> 00:06:55,292 - [Laurence] But not even the military can agree 151 00:06:55,292 --> 00:06:58,542 on what, if anything, was there. 152 00:06:58,542 --> 00:07:00,792 - The Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, 153 00:07:00,792 --> 00:07:03,667 came out immediately after the Battle of Los Angeles 154 00:07:03,667 --> 00:07:05,625 and announced that the air defense guns 155 00:07:05,625 --> 00:07:07,167 had been firing at nothing. 156 00:07:08,167 --> 00:07:11,792 He says this is a result of rising panic, of jittery nerves, 157 00:07:11,792 --> 00:07:14,542 that those manning the coastal defense batteries 158 00:07:14,542 --> 00:07:16,833 were also scared. 159 00:07:16,833 --> 00:07:19,750 - But then Henry Stimson, the Secretary of War, 160 00:07:19,750 --> 00:07:22,583 gives a press conference and he says, 161 00:07:22,583 --> 00:07:25,708 "No, there were planes present 162 00:07:25,708 --> 00:07:28,542 and they weren't United States aircraft." 163 00:07:28,542 --> 00:07:30,792 (dramatic music) 164 00:07:33,292 --> 00:07:35,333 - [Laurence] Less than 48 hours before 165 00:07:35,333 --> 00:07:37,583 the Battle of Los Angeles, area residents 166 00:07:37,583 --> 00:07:40,042 feel their vulnerability for the first time. 167 00:07:41,708 --> 00:07:43,292 - As President Roosevelt 168 00:07:43,292 --> 00:07:46,167 is about to deliver his fireside chat, 169 00:07:46,167 --> 00:07:49,375 a giant Japanese submarine rises out of the sea 170 00:07:49,375 --> 00:07:52,458 about 10 miles northwest of Santa Barbara 171 00:07:52,458 --> 00:07:55,708 and takes aim at the Elwood oil fields. 172 00:07:55,708 --> 00:07:57,708 - The submarine took shots at the piers 173 00:07:57,708 --> 00:08:00,833 and it shot at the fuel storage on top of the bluff. 174 00:08:00,833 --> 00:08:02,750 It miraculously managed to miss 175 00:08:02,750 --> 00:08:04,667 just about everything it shot at. 176 00:08:04,667 --> 00:08:07,875 - But Santa Barbara's only 90 miles north of Los Angeles. 177 00:08:07,875 --> 00:08:10,333 If they're going to attack Santa Barbara, 178 00:08:10,333 --> 00:08:11,708 couldn't Los Angeles be next? 179 00:08:11,708 --> 00:08:15,042 So there's this really heightened sense of fear 180 00:08:15,042 --> 00:08:16,125 of what's coming. 181 00:08:17,083 --> 00:08:20,708 - [Laurence] Around 7:00 PM on February 24th, 182 00:08:20,708 --> 00:08:23,792 Naval intelligence instructs coastal defenses 183 00:08:23,792 --> 00:08:28,208 to prepare for an attack within the next 10 hours. 184 00:08:28,208 --> 00:08:30,500 - The entirety of Southern California is under 185 00:08:30,500 --> 00:08:32,042 this blackout and general alert. 186 00:08:32,042 --> 00:08:34,542 There's the concern that Japanese submarines 187 00:08:34,542 --> 00:08:36,625 might still be out there looking for trouble. 188 00:08:36,625 --> 00:08:38,375 - But nothing really happens, 189 00:08:38,375 --> 00:08:40,625 so that alert is canceled around 10:30. 190 00:08:40,625 --> 00:08:41,708 People are going to bed, 191 00:08:41,708 --> 00:08:43,833 they think everything might be okay. 192 00:08:43,833 --> 00:08:46,167 - Just when it looks like nothing is gonna happen, 193 00:08:46,167 --> 00:08:50,708 right before 2:00 AM, a radar station near Santa Monica 194 00:08:50,708 --> 00:08:53,917 picks up what appears to be a formation of aircraft. 195 00:08:53,917 --> 00:08:56,000 - Two more radar installations report 196 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,375 that they too have detected something 197 00:08:58,375 --> 00:09:00,875 moving towards the American coastline. 198 00:09:00,875 --> 00:09:04,042 - [Laurence] At 2:15 AM, the military issues 199 00:09:04,042 --> 00:09:05,708 its highest level alert, 200 00:09:05,708 --> 00:09:08,125 ordering the 37th coastal artillery 201 00:09:08,125 --> 00:09:12,333 to engage enemy targets as soon as they appear. 202 00:09:12,333 --> 00:09:14,375 - There are anti-aircraft batteries distributed 203 00:09:14,375 --> 00:09:15,750 all over the city 204 00:09:15,750 --> 00:09:18,667 and there's a concern that Japanese aircraft 205 00:09:18,667 --> 00:09:20,625 are soon to attack Los Angeles. 206 00:09:20,625 --> 00:09:23,875 (air raid siren wailing) - [Laurence] At 2:27 AM, 207 00:09:23,875 --> 00:09:26,667 the target is tracked to within three miles 208 00:09:26,667 --> 00:09:30,042 of the Los Angeles area and then disappears. 209 00:09:31,083 --> 00:09:33,708 At the same time information centers 210 00:09:33,708 --> 00:09:37,458 are flooded with reports of enemy planes overhead. 211 00:09:37,458 --> 00:09:39,667 - The reports of seeing these planes, 212 00:09:39,667 --> 00:09:41,542 they're not just coming from people on the street 213 00:09:41,542 --> 00:09:42,708 who are panicking, 214 00:09:42,708 --> 00:09:44,542 these are trained military personnel. 215 00:09:44,542 --> 00:09:45,792 There's an artillery colonel 216 00:09:45,792 --> 00:09:48,417 that sees 25 airplanes in formation. 217 00:09:48,417 --> 00:09:49,625 There's another report that 218 00:09:49,625 --> 00:09:51,792 there's 12 airplanes in formation. 219 00:09:51,792 --> 00:09:55,333 Someone else reports that they see a single aircraft. 220 00:09:55,333 --> 00:09:57,500 So there's total confusion here 221 00:09:57,500 --> 00:09:58,917 about what people are seeing. 222 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,750 - [Laurence] But military witnesses are certain 223 00:10:01,750 --> 00:10:04,583 they've spotted aircraft overhead, 224 00:10:04,583 --> 00:10:06,583 and the top brass believes them. 225 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,750 - It's not just the Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, 226 00:10:11,750 --> 00:10:14,125 who's saying the aircraft were real. 227 00:10:14,125 --> 00:10:18,208 It's George Marshall, FDR's Army chief of staff, 228 00:10:18,208 --> 00:10:21,917 and he writes a memo to FDR and he says, 229 00:10:21,917 --> 00:10:24,875 "Yeah, there were aircraft present." 230 00:10:25,875 --> 00:10:30,208 - But whatever the Coast Defense Brigade is firing towards 231 00:10:30,208 --> 00:10:31,667 is not shooting back. 232 00:10:31,667 --> 00:10:34,917 - And there are so many unanswered questions 233 00:10:34,917 --> 00:10:37,542 about these planes, like, where would they have launched from? 234 00:10:37,542 --> 00:10:39,542 There's no Japanese aircraft carriers 235 00:10:39,542 --> 00:10:41,917 within range of Los Angeles. 236 00:10:41,917 --> 00:10:46,583 - There are rumors of downed Japanese aircraft, 237 00:10:46,583 --> 00:10:49,917 but that turns out to be just rumors. 238 00:10:49,917 --> 00:10:52,708 There are rumors that bombs were dropped, 239 00:10:52,708 --> 00:10:55,458 but again, no bombs were dropped, 240 00:10:55,458 --> 00:10:58,000 so there's a little bit of a mystery. 241 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,458 - [Laurence] In his memo, Marshal posits 242 00:11:00,458 --> 00:11:03,792 a possible explanation for the lack of enemy fire. 243 00:11:03,792 --> 00:11:06,125 (dramatic music) 244 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,875 - Marshall's memo states that access pilots 245 00:11:10,875 --> 00:11:14,542 could have flown commercial aircraft over Los Angeles, 246 00:11:14,542 --> 00:11:16,375 not as a bombing mission, 247 00:11:16,375 --> 00:11:18,958 but as a surveillance tool 248 00:11:18,958 --> 00:11:21,708 to spot enemy aircraft positions 249 00:11:21,708 --> 00:11:23,833 and also spread fear and panic. 250 00:11:23,833 --> 00:11:25,667 - [Laurence] But if the enemy had access 251 00:11:25,667 --> 00:11:27,292 to commercial planes, 252 00:11:27,292 --> 00:11:29,625 where were they keeping them? 253 00:11:29,625 --> 00:11:32,208 - There's speculation from Secretary Stimson 254 00:11:32,208 --> 00:11:35,583 and General Marshall that the axis may have established 255 00:11:35,583 --> 00:11:37,500 a secret base in Mexico, 256 00:11:37,500 --> 00:11:41,250 and used it to launch aircraft to fly over Los Angeles. 257 00:11:41,250 --> 00:11:44,125 - That sounds like crazy person talk, 258 00:11:44,125 --> 00:11:46,375 but there's actually something to it. 259 00:11:46,375 --> 00:11:49,708 And the reason why is that during the First World War, 260 00:11:49,708 --> 00:11:52,292 the German government made some advances, 261 00:11:52,292 --> 00:11:54,417 attempting to recruit the Mexican government 262 00:11:54,417 --> 00:11:57,875 to join World War I on the side of the central powers 263 00:11:57,875 --> 00:12:00,417 against the allies that included the United States, 264 00:12:00,417 --> 00:12:04,000 and there was an awareness that Mexican commercial airliners 265 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,750 were operating aircraft that had been made in Germany, 266 00:12:06,750 --> 00:12:08,750 that could be easily converted from 267 00:12:08,750 --> 00:12:10,708 civilian commercial transport 268 00:12:10,708 --> 00:12:13,208 into aircraft that were capable of carrying bombs 269 00:12:13,208 --> 00:12:14,458 or paratroopers. 270 00:12:14,458 --> 00:12:15,833 - American authorities devote 271 00:12:15,833 --> 00:12:18,042 an enormous amount of resources searching 272 00:12:18,042 --> 00:12:21,542 for secret access bases both in northern Mexico 273 00:12:21,542 --> 00:12:23,417 and throughout Southern California. 274 00:12:23,417 --> 00:12:27,208 However, there's no evidence that there's a secret base. 275 00:12:27,208 --> 00:12:29,542 The American public wants answers 276 00:12:29,542 --> 00:12:32,375 and Secretary Stimson is not going to supply them. 277 00:12:32,375 --> 00:12:36,917 - Stimson just says, "Well, we don't have definitive answers 278 00:12:36,917 --> 00:12:41,375 to this, but maybe it's better to be too alert 279 00:12:41,375 --> 00:12:46,750 than not alert enough." 280 00:12:46,750 --> 00:12:48,083 - [Laurence] For days after 281 00:12:48,083 --> 00:12:50,125 the so-called Battle of Los Angeles, 282 00:12:50,125 --> 00:12:53,458 residents still struggle to make sense of what happened. 283 00:12:54,792 --> 00:12:56,125 - So whatever happened that night 284 00:12:56,125 --> 00:12:58,542 turns out to be a solitary event 285 00:12:58,542 --> 00:13:00,542 and there are much bigger concerns 286 00:13:00,542 --> 00:13:02,875 happening in Europe and the Pacific. 287 00:13:02,875 --> 00:13:04,917 - [Laurence] As World War II rages on, 288 00:13:04,917 --> 00:13:09,125 the mysterious air raid fades in importance. 289 00:13:09,125 --> 00:13:13,208 But after the wars end, the US Coastal Artillery Association 290 00:13:13,208 --> 00:13:18,000 shows renewed interest in the mysterious 1942 event. 291 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:19,958 - The Coastal Artillery Association 292 00:13:19,958 --> 00:13:22,292 is essentially a veterans organization 293 00:13:22,292 --> 00:13:24,542 made up of units that were responsible 294 00:13:24,542 --> 00:13:28,042 for coastal and harbor defenses in the United States. 295 00:13:28,042 --> 00:13:30,167 - So they start reviewing the Battle of LA, 296 00:13:30,167 --> 00:13:32,708 documenting it for posterity, 297 00:13:32,708 --> 00:13:34,042 and what they discover 298 00:13:34,042 --> 00:13:36,542 puts a whole new spin on the event. 299 00:13:36,542 --> 00:13:40,958 - It turns out that at 1:00 AM, so just really two hours before 300 00:13:40,958 --> 00:13:43,583 the Battle of Los Angeles commences, 301 00:13:43,583 --> 00:13:48,167 two weather balloons were launched in the Hollywood area 302 00:13:48,167 --> 00:13:51,042 and it becomes clear that they may not be the only ones 303 00:13:51,042 --> 00:13:52,625 to have been launched that night. 304 00:13:52,625 --> 00:13:54,917 (dramatic music) 305 00:13:58,125 --> 00:14:01,208 - [Laurence] Weather balloons are critical to the war effort, 306 00:14:01,208 --> 00:14:05,208 both on the battlefield, and on the home front. 307 00:14:05,208 --> 00:14:08,542 - Coastal artillery units constantly release balloons 308 00:14:08,542 --> 00:14:10,375 to collect meteorological data, 309 00:14:10,375 --> 00:14:13,875 things like airspeed, and precipitation, 310 00:14:13,875 --> 00:14:15,333 and atmospheric conditions. 311 00:14:15,333 --> 00:14:18,625 This actually helps the guns on the ground be more accurate. 312 00:14:18,625 --> 00:14:20,167 - If there is enemy aircraft coming, 313 00:14:20,167 --> 00:14:23,458 it is imperative that they get these balloons up in the air 314 00:14:23,458 --> 00:14:25,042 as soon as possible. 315 00:14:25,042 --> 00:14:28,583 In order to track the balloons, they added a small candle 316 00:14:28,583 --> 00:14:30,875 that they put in a glass jar underneath the balloon, 317 00:14:30,875 --> 00:14:34,000 because the balloon has a kind of a silvery skin, 318 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,167 that light is able to reflect as far as 25,000 feet. 319 00:14:39,458 --> 00:14:42,083 - At about 3:00 AM, 320 00:14:42,083 --> 00:14:45,708 about 40 minutes after the first sirens go off, 321 00:14:45,708 --> 00:14:48,750 the 203rd Coastal Artillery Unit 322 00:14:48,750 --> 00:14:52,125 launches two further weather balloons. 323 00:14:52,125 --> 00:14:54,417 One's launched from Westwood 324 00:14:54,417 --> 00:14:58,875 and the other one from Battery D in Santa Monica. 325 00:15:00,042 --> 00:15:01,958 - [Laurence] The lieutenant in charge 326 00:15:01,958 --> 00:15:04,333 of Battery D's meteorological operations 327 00:15:04,333 --> 00:15:07,000 notifies his commander of the balloon's departure. 328 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,250 The timing couldn't be worse. 329 00:15:12,042 --> 00:15:14,875 - Guners are scouring the sky, looking for enemy aircraft 330 00:15:14,875 --> 00:15:17,375 and almost immediately, Battery D notices 331 00:15:17,375 --> 00:15:19,542 that their balloons are coming under fire. 332 00:15:19,542 --> 00:15:20,833 (guns booming) 333 00:15:20,833 --> 00:15:24,542 - There is no controlling system such that 334 00:15:24,542 --> 00:15:26,625 when one unit releases balloons 335 00:15:26,625 --> 00:15:28,125 into the sky over Los Angeles, 336 00:15:28,125 --> 00:15:30,750 other units would know where those balloons are 337 00:15:30,750 --> 00:15:32,375 or when they were released. 338 00:15:32,375 --> 00:15:35,417 So while one unit is releasing balloons to collect data 339 00:15:35,417 --> 00:15:37,125 for its own accuracy, 340 00:15:37,125 --> 00:15:39,750 another unit might be mistaking those balloons 341 00:15:39,750 --> 00:15:41,042 for enemy targets. 342 00:15:43,083 --> 00:15:45,958 - Colonel Ray Watson is commanding 343 00:15:45,958 --> 00:15:49,958 Battery D of the 203rd and he basically says, 344 00:15:49,958 --> 00:15:52,042 "Don't fire, these are our balloons. 345 00:15:52,042 --> 00:15:54,167 Don't fire, don't shoot." 346 00:15:54,167 --> 00:15:57,375 So even though Colonel Watson is warning people, 347 00:15:57,375 --> 00:16:00,708 the order comes back from high command, "No, shoot." 348 00:16:00,708 --> 00:16:02,667 (guns firing) 349 00:16:02,667 --> 00:16:05,375 - The 203rd Coast Artillery probably triggered 350 00:16:05,375 --> 00:16:08,875 this entire incident by releasing weather balloons, 351 00:16:08,875 --> 00:16:10,333 but interestingly, this is a battery 352 00:16:10,333 --> 00:16:12,375 that did not fire that night, 353 00:16:12,375 --> 00:16:15,208 because the the battalion commander decided 354 00:16:15,208 --> 00:16:17,292 that there was nothing in the sky. 355 00:16:17,292 --> 00:16:21,000 - Colonel Ray Watson is relieved of his duty immediately 356 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,917 and the story about the balloons 357 00:16:22,917 --> 00:16:25,542 in Battery D that night remains hidden 358 00:16:25,542 --> 00:16:27,583 for a number of years. 359 00:16:28,542 --> 00:16:31,292 - [Laurence] Nevertheless, questions remain, 360 00:16:31,292 --> 00:16:35,208 particularly about the earlier radar sightings. 361 00:16:35,208 --> 00:16:38,875 Is it possible that something far simpler is to blame? 362 00:16:38,875 --> 00:16:40,333 - In the years since, 363 00:16:40,333 --> 00:16:43,042 we have learned that the military's weather balloons 364 00:16:43,042 --> 00:16:45,458 weren't the only things floating in the sky that night. 365 00:16:45,458 --> 00:16:47,500 (dramatic music) 366 00:16:48,542 --> 00:16:50,417 (guns firing) 367 00:16:50,417 --> 00:16:53,625 - In the 1960s, two full decades after the events 368 00:16:53,625 --> 00:16:55,125 of the Battle of Los Angeles, 369 00:16:55,125 --> 00:16:57,750 a former air defense artillery crewman claimed 370 00:16:57,750 --> 00:16:59,125 that his unit was desperate 371 00:16:59,125 --> 00:17:01,375 to test their own radar capabilities, 372 00:17:01,375 --> 00:17:04,042 and because there were no aircraft available 373 00:17:04,042 --> 00:17:06,000 for that very type of test, 374 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,042 they obtained some children's balloons, 375 00:17:08,042 --> 00:17:10,167 loaded them full of hydrogen for buoyancy, 376 00:17:10,167 --> 00:17:13,208 suspended some foil streamers underneath them 377 00:17:13,208 --> 00:17:17,042 to create a radar return, and released them into the sky. 378 00:17:17,042 --> 00:17:19,292 - And lo and behold, it worked. 379 00:17:19,292 --> 00:17:21,625 They were able to see these balloons on the radar. 380 00:17:21,625 --> 00:17:24,875 - [Laurence] But as the night wears on, the winds change 381 00:17:24,875 --> 00:17:27,083 and an onshore breeze starts pushing 382 00:17:27,083 --> 00:17:29,917 the balloons back towards the city. 383 00:17:29,917 --> 00:17:32,208 - Prevailing winds make it almost impossible 384 00:17:32,208 --> 00:17:34,625 to conceive of radar picking up 385 00:17:34,625 --> 00:17:37,458 some of these children's balloons with foil beneath them 386 00:17:37,458 --> 00:17:40,458 100 miles west of the city, out at sea. 387 00:17:40,458 --> 00:17:45,208 However, if a radar were to pick up that kind of a return, 388 00:17:45,208 --> 00:17:48,042 if the balloon popped, the return would disappear 389 00:17:48,042 --> 00:17:50,042 from the screen almost immediately. 390 00:17:50,042 --> 00:17:51,833 - Maybe a combination of radar balloons 391 00:17:51,833 --> 00:17:54,083 and weather balloons tricked the city of Los Angeles 392 00:17:54,083 --> 00:17:56,208 into believing that they were under attack. 393 00:17:56,208 --> 00:17:57,917 So this information might fill in 394 00:17:57,917 --> 00:18:00,333 some puzzle pieces from 1942, 395 00:18:00,333 --> 00:18:05,292 but people still find it odd that 1,400 rounds shot 396 00:18:05,292 --> 00:18:08,500 into the air couldn't bring down a single balloon. 397 00:18:12,708 --> 00:18:15,292 - [Laurence] Eyewitnesses recall seeing an object floating 398 00:18:15,292 --> 00:18:20,375 in the dark skies over Los Angeles on February 25th, 1942. 399 00:18:20,375 --> 00:18:23,250 Something moving ominously slow, 400 00:18:23,250 --> 00:18:25,583 practically hovering overhead. 401 00:18:27,708 --> 00:18:29,125 Many historians believe 402 00:18:29,125 --> 00:18:30,625 they could have been weather balloons 403 00:18:30,625 --> 00:18:33,917 or toy balloons used for radar testing, 404 00:18:33,917 --> 00:18:35,500 but even if true, 405 00:18:35,500 --> 00:18:38,083 it leaves more than a few unanswered questions. 406 00:18:40,667 --> 00:18:42,583 - One of the biggest problems with this theory 407 00:18:42,583 --> 00:18:45,292 is in relation to the size of the balloons. 408 00:18:45,292 --> 00:18:48,500 Kids' balloons are not exactly airplane size 409 00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:51,375 and military weather balloons back in the day 410 00:18:51,375 --> 00:18:53,917 were around four feet in diameter, 411 00:18:53,917 --> 00:18:56,958 but there is another kind of balloon 412 00:18:56,958 --> 00:18:58,708 that could explain what witnesses claim 413 00:18:58,708 --> 00:19:00,208 to have seen overhead. 414 00:19:00,208 --> 00:19:02,875 - The Japanese were absolutely desperate to find ways 415 00:19:02,875 --> 00:19:04,958 to attack the United States. 416 00:19:04,958 --> 00:19:07,458 There was no possibility of bringing their aircraft carriers 417 00:19:07,458 --> 00:19:10,042 within range of land-based air power, 418 00:19:10,042 --> 00:19:12,667 so they start looking at other mechanisms. 419 00:19:12,667 --> 00:19:15,458 - [Laurence] In 1933, almost 10 years 420 00:19:15,458 --> 00:19:18,375 before that terrifying air raid signal went off, 421 00:19:18,375 --> 00:19:20,500 a Japanese general begins 422 00:19:20,500 --> 00:19:24,625 a new weapons program called The Fu-Go. 423 00:19:24,625 --> 00:19:27,250 - The Japanese will ultimately launch 424 00:19:27,250 --> 00:19:29,875 a major offensive operation against the United States 425 00:19:29,875 --> 00:19:32,042 using intercontinental weapons, 426 00:19:32,042 --> 00:19:34,167 in the form of a series of balloons. 427 00:19:34,167 --> 00:19:36,417 (dramatic music) 428 00:19:37,958 --> 00:19:40,333 - [Laurence] They discover that high altitude air currents 429 00:19:40,333 --> 00:19:43,042 can deliver a balloon across the Pacific 430 00:19:43,042 --> 00:19:45,875 in as little as 30 hours. 431 00:19:45,875 --> 00:19:47,917 - These are 33 foot wide balloons 432 00:19:47,917 --> 00:19:49,667 made of laminated paper. 433 00:19:49,667 --> 00:19:53,042 They're capable of holding a massive amount 434 00:19:53,042 --> 00:19:54,583 of hydrogen inside of them 435 00:19:54,583 --> 00:19:58,208 and lofting high explosive and incendiary bombs. 436 00:19:58,208 --> 00:20:00,792 When released from the Japanese home islands 437 00:20:00,792 --> 00:20:03,625 and put into what we now know as the jet stream, 438 00:20:03,625 --> 00:20:06,875 they can effectively blow over the North American continent. 439 00:20:06,875 --> 00:20:09,542 - What the Japanese were hoping to accomplish 440 00:20:09,542 --> 00:20:12,333 was that they would hit the Pacific Northwest 441 00:20:12,333 --> 00:20:16,208 at a time when it's being swept by intense winds, 442 00:20:16,208 --> 00:20:17,542 when everything's dry, 443 00:20:17,542 --> 00:20:20,125 and that they will then rain down balloons 444 00:20:20,125 --> 00:20:21,708 that will start forest fires. 445 00:20:21,708 --> 00:20:24,250 And the thought was that if we can suddenly give them 446 00:20:24,250 --> 00:20:26,458 this epidemic of forest fires, 447 00:20:26,458 --> 00:20:29,958 we will use our resources trying to put those fires out, 448 00:20:29,958 --> 00:20:32,958 rather than trying to attack the Japanese home islands. 449 00:20:33,958 --> 00:20:36,042 - These things are a little bit more sophisticated 450 00:20:36,042 --> 00:20:37,542 than people realize. 451 00:20:37,542 --> 00:20:39,875 There's a mechanism once the balloons 452 00:20:39,875 --> 00:20:41,292 get into the jet stream 453 00:20:41,292 --> 00:20:44,292 to make sure that it maintains height. 454 00:20:44,292 --> 00:20:45,875 If it gets too low, 455 00:20:45,875 --> 00:20:50,375 it drops a sandbag and then that keeps the height up 456 00:20:50,375 --> 00:20:52,333 until it gets over the land. 457 00:20:52,333 --> 00:20:54,542 - And they don't need to be particularly well aimed 458 00:20:54,542 --> 00:20:57,833 as long as they hit a rural area with dry tinder. 459 00:20:57,833 --> 00:21:00,667 The prevailing wind patterns of the jet stream 460 00:21:00,667 --> 00:21:04,708 in February of 1942 would have essentially blown balloons 461 00:21:04,708 --> 00:21:09,125 from the Japanese home islands directly towards Los Angeles. 462 00:21:09,125 --> 00:21:10,875 - The Fu-Go balloon could explain 463 00:21:10,875 --> 00:21:12,542 the sudden blips on the radar, 464 00:21:12,542 --> 00:21:14,292 the scattered reports of a zeppelin, 465 00:21:14,292 --> 00:21:16,917 and the oddly slow speed at which it left the city. 466 00:21:17,917 --> 00:21:19,583 - [Laurence] But Japanese documents discovered 467 00:21:19,583 --> 00:21:21,792 after the war revealed that the Fu-Go 468 00:21:21,792 --> 00:21:25,458 was mass produced starting in 1944, 469 00:21:25,458 --> 00:21:29,583 2 years after the Battle of Los Angeles incident. 470 00:21:29,583 --> 00:21:33,708 - But could this have been a test run of an early prototype? 471 00:21:33,708 --> 00:21:34,875 Perhaps. 472 00:21:34,875 --> 00:21:36,542 - [Laurence] The documents also revealed 473 00:21:36,542 --> 00:21:38,500 that many of these floating bombs 474 00:21:38,500 --> 00:21:41,375 successfully made it to North America. 475 00:21:42,708 --> 00:21:46,208 - From November of '44 until March of 1945, 476 00:21:46,208 --> 00:21:48,958 they launched over 9,000 Fu-Go balloons. 477 00:21:48,958 --> 00:21:52,417 At least 300 of them actually reach the mainland 478 00:21:52,417 --> 00:21:54,458 of the United States and Canada. 479 00:21:54,458 --> 00:21:56,375 - Most of the payloads fizzle out, 480 00:21:56,375 --> 00:22:00,917 but one actually got through and knocked out the power 481 00:22:00,917 --> 00:22:05,583 to the very facility that was producing the plutonium 482 00:22:05,583 --> 00:22:07,708 that would be used in the atomic bomb 483 00:22:07,708 --> 00:22:09,458 that was later dropped on Nagasaki. 484 00:22:09,458 --> 00:22:11,833 (explosion booming) 485 00:22:12,875 --> 00:22:15,625 - [Laurence] And just four months before the war's end, 486 00:22:15,625 --> 00:22:18,917 one of them reveals its full destructive potential. 487 00:22:20,208 --> 00:22:23,583 May 5th, 1945, Bly, Oregon. 488 00:22:25,375 --> 00:22:28,042 Reverend Archie Mitchell and his pregnant wife Elsie 489 00:22:28,042 --> 00:22:31,500 take five of their Sunday school students on a picnic 490 00:22:31,500 --> 00:22:32,958 in the nearby mountains. 491 00:22:34,083 --> 00:22:35,417 - When one of the kids, 492 00:22:35,417 --> 00:22:38,333 a 13-year-old girl, find some fabric sprawled out 493 00:22:38,333 --> 00:22:41,375 on the forest floor, she calls over Elsie 494 00:22:41,375 --> 00:22:43,500 and the other kids to come investigate. 495 00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:46,333 Elsie calls to her husband back at the car, 496 00:22:46,333 --> 00:22:49,833 "Look what we found, it's some kind of balloon." 497 00:22:49,833 --> 00:22:51,500 - The balloon gondola had experienced 498 00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:53,708 a failure of its triggering system, 499 00:22:53,708 --> 00:22:56,417 the system that would've dropped the incendiary charge 500 00:22:56,417 --> 00:22:57,750 and dropped the bomb. 501 00:22:57,750 --> 00:23:00,417 Instead, the entire gondola comes down 502 00:23:00,417 --> 00:23:03,708 with the incendiary device and the bomb still intact. 503 00:23:03,708 --> 00:23:07,125 - Just as the reverend tells his wife not to touch it, 504 00:23:07,125 --> 00:23:08,833 boom, there's a huge explosion. 505 00:23:08,833 --> 00:23:10,000 (explosion booming) 506 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,167 The reverend goes running to give aid to Elsie 507 00:23:12,167 --> 00:23:14,917 and the five kids, but there's nothing he can do. 508 00:23:14,917 --> 00:23:17,042 They've all been killed instantly. 509 00:23:17,042 --> 00:23:19,958 Some people are convinced that a balloon like this 510 00:23:19,958 --> 00:23:22,708 is actually what drifted into LA's airspace 511 00:23:22,708 --> 00:23:26,625 and started the so-called Battle of LA. 512 00:23:26,625 --> 00:23:29,875 - [Laurence] Even so, questions remain. 513 00:23:29,875 --> 00:23:32,625 - So as hard as it is to believe that the United States military 514 00:23:32,625 --> 00:23:34,833 could not shoot down a weather balloon, 515 00:23:34,833 --> 00:23:36,875 it's harder still to even fathom that 516 00:23:36,875 --> 00:23:39,542 they couldn't shoot down this larger object 517 00:23:39,542 --> 00:23:41,417 with an explosive payload. 518 00:23:41,417 --> 00:23:43,375 - Whatever that iconic photo is showing 519 00:23:43,375 --> 00:23:45,208 in the Los Angeles Times, 520 00:23:45,208 --> 00:23:46,583 whether it's something like a balloon 521 00:23:46,583 --> 00:23:48,458 or a more traditional aircraft, 522 00:23:48,458 --> 00:23:50,542 you'd think that artillery fire 523 00:23:50,542 --> 00:23:52,417 would've at least taken it down, 524 00:23:52,417 --> 00:23:54,542 or at the very least, sent it reeling. 525 00:23:56,792 --> 00:23:59,083 would've at least takeneruptedn, 526 00:23:59,083 --> 00:24:00,458 over Los Angeles, 527 00:24:00,458 --> 00:24:04,750 the so-called Battle of LA remains an enigma. 528 00:24:04,750 --> 00:24:06,917 No one from the military, or the government 529 00:24:06,917 --> 00:24:11,125 can say for certain what entered the city's airspace that night, 530 00:24:11,125 --> 00:24:14,750 nor will they explain why the city's anti-aircraft batteries 531 00:24:14,750 --> 00:24:17,708 failed to take anything down. 532 00:24:17,708 --> 00:24:20,042 In the absence of any definitive answers, 533 00:24:20,042 --> 00:24:21,708 a new theory takes hold, 534 00:24:21,708 --> 00:24:24,458 one that confounds experts to this day. 535 00:24:25,417 --> 00:24:27,542 - As interested sleuths start to comb through 536 00:24:27,542 --> 00:24:30,417 all the documentation and witness statements, 537 00:24:30,417 --> 00:24:33,000 they begin to think that the official story 538 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,667 has swept a lot of the eerie details under the rug. 539 00:24:36,667 --> 00:24:39,625 - In particular, people fixate on the iconic photo 540 00:24:39,625 --> 00:24:42,042 of search lights that are all shining 541 00:24:42,042 --> 00:24:44,958 on some unidentifiable object in the sky. 542 00:24:44,958 --> 00:24:47,917 - It's disc shape, but it's appearing to glow as well. 543 00:24:47,917 --> 00:24:50,792 Now you can say, well, it would, wouldn't it? 544 00:24:50,792 --> 00:24:52,875 I mean, it's illuminated by search lights. 545 00:24:52,875 --> 00:24:55,042 But again, they picked up something. 546 00:24:55,042 --> 00:24:58,458 There's gotta be something there for this thing to be glowing. 547 00:24:59,750 --> 00:25:01,292 - [Laurence] In 1950, 548 00:25:01,292 --> 00:25:04,667 a former Marine Corps aviator named Donald Keyhoe 549 00:25:04,667 --> 00:25:06,583 makes an interesting connection. 550 00:25:07,833 --> 00:25:11,750 - Keyhoe suggests that the unexplained aerial phenomenon 551 00:25:11,750 --> 00:25:13,708 was extraterrestrial in nature, 552 00:25:13,708 --> 00:25:17,083 not the government's explanation of Japanese planes or balloons. 553 00:25:17,083 --> 00:25:18,958 - With all due respect to the Air Force, 554 00:25:18,958 --> 00:25:21,042 I believe that some of them will prove to be 555 00:25:21,042 --> 00:25:22,875 of interplanetary origin. 556 00:25:22,875 --> 00:25:25,000 (dramatic music) 557 00:25:26,375 --> 00:25:30,083 In 1942, the concept of a flying saucer 558 00:25:30,083 --> 00:25:32,875 isn't really part of the American lexicon at all. 559 00:25:32,875 --> 00:25:35,792 However, investigators looking back 560 00:25:35,792 --> 00:25:37,667 on the battle of Los Angeles, 561 00:25:37,667 --> 00:25:41,583 essentially backdate that idea into the story surrounding 562 00:25:41,583 --> 00:25:43,875 what might have happened that night. 563 00:25:43,875 --> 00:25:45,542 - Some of the eyewitness statements 564 00:25:45,542 --> 00:25:48,458 help fuel this theory that this is a UFO, 565 00:25:48,458 --> 00:25:50,750 because of this strange ability 566 00:25:50,750 --> 00:25:53,167 to be very slow on the radar 567 00:25:53,167 --> 00:25:54,667 and then suddenly it speeds up, 568 00:25:54,667 --> 00:25:56,292 that it's maybe hovering, 569 00:25:56,292 --> 00:25:58,125 then suddenly it's moving very fast, 570 00:25:58,125 --> 00:25:59,375 that it's at a low altitude 571 00:25:59,375 --> 00:26:01,292 and then it's at a high altitude. 572 00:26:01,292 --> 00:26:03,667 All of these help fuel this idea 573 00:26:03,667 --> 00:26:06,750 that maybe this is some kind of unknown aircraft 574 00:26:06,750 --> 00:26:09,458 from another planet that's coming down to Earth. 575 00:26:09,458 --> 00:26:10,708 - There're going to be questions 576 00:26:10,708 --> 00:26:12,833 from the highest ranks of leadership, 577 00:26:12,833 --> 00:26:15,583 and command in the military and civilian government, 578 00:26:15,583 --> 00:26:17,000 and reports about this incident 579 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,458 go all the way to the Secretary of War. 580 00:26:19,458 --> 00:26:22,208 They go all the way to US Army chief of staff, George Marshall, 581 00:26:22,208 --> 00:26:25,792 and they have to report to the president what happened in LA. 582 00:26:25,792 --> 00:26:27,708 - [Laurence] Proponents of the UFO theory 583 00:26:27,708 --> 00:26:31,042 point to a series of unauthenticated memos. 584 00:26:32,208 --> 00:26:34,875 - There are a number of documents floating around, 585 00:26:34,875 --> 00:26:37,292 purporting to be from George Marshall 586 00:26:37,292 --> 00:26:40,333 to FDR talking about the recovery of two craft. 587 00:26:41,708 --> 00:26:44,042 One of these was apparently recovered 588 00:26:44,042 --> 00:26:48,542 off the coast between Los Angeles and Catalina Island, 589 00:26:48,542 --> 00:26:52,042 the other in the San Bernardino mountains. 590 00:26:52,042 --> 00:26:54,000 - Marshall also goes on to allegedly explained 591 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,000 to FDR in these memos that the objects that were recovered 592 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,000 didn't resemble any conventional aircraft 593 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,375 and he presumes that whatever these objects were, 594 00:27:03,375 --> 00:27:05,792 were of an interplanetary origin. 595 00:27:06,792 --> 00:27:08,583 - [Laurence] The eyewitness reports that come in 596 00:27:08,583 --> 00:27:10,000 the night of the air raid 597 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,333 include many descriptions of unusual aircraft. 598 00:27:14,333 --> 00:27:19,125 The US will encounter even more unidentified flying objects 599 00:27:19,125 --> 00:27:21,042 as the war continues. 600 00:27:21,042 --> 00:27:22,917 - Towards the end of World War II, 601 00:27:22,917 --> 00:27:25,083 allied pilots begin to describe being followed 602 00:27:25,083 --> 00:27:28,000 by very strange lights over the skies in Europe 603 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,792 and they nicknamed them, "foo fighters". 604 00:27:30,792 --> 00:27:33,042 - Whatever these objects were, 605 00:27:33,042 --> 00:27:35,375 it was said that they would usually shine 606 00:27:35,375 --> 00:27:36,875 in red, yellow, and green. 607 00:27:36,875 --> 00:27:38,917 They would fly alongside the allied aircraft 608 00:27:38,917 --> 00:27:40,833 at speeds up to 200 miles an hour. 609 00:27:40,833 --> 00:27:42,083 Sometimes there would be one, 610 00:27:42,083 --> 00:27:44,875 sometimes there could be several of them. 611 00:27:44,875 --> 00:27:48,250 - [Laurence] Some ufologists speculate that FDR himself 612 00:27:48,250 --> 00:27:51,250 was a believer in extraterrestrial life. 613 00:27:52,208 --> 00:27:54,708 - Allegedly, this unauthenticated memo 614 00:27:54,708 --> 00:27:57,417 written by FDR in February of 1944 615 00:27:57,417 --> 00:27:59,042 is sent to a special committee 616 00:27:59,042 --> 00:28:01,708 on non-terrestrial science and technology. 617 00:28:01,708 --> 00:28:03,208 Supposedly in this memo, 618 00:28:03,208 --> 00:28:06,542 FDR is slowly coming to grips with the idea 619 00:28:06,542 --> 00:28:08,958 that the planet Earth is not the only one 620 00:28:08,958 --> 00:28:11,042 that's able to house intelligent life. 621 00:28:11,042 --> 00:28:13,042 He says that, "We will take advantage of these wonders 622 00:28:13,042 --> 00:28:15,542 that have come to us after we've won the war." 623 00:28:15,542 --> 00:28:16,750 (guns firing) 624 00:28:16,750 --> 00:28:18,250 - There are many people who believe 625 00:28:18,250 --> 00:28:19,750 the Battle of Los Angeles 626 00:28:19,750 --> 00:28:23,750 was really Earth's first big encounter 627 00:28:23,750 --> 00:28:25,792 with extraterrestrials, 628 00:28:25,792 --> 00:28:27,708 and of course, there's an equally large number of people 629 00:28:27,708 --> 00:28:30,542 who think that's complete nonsense. 630 00:28:30,542 --> 00:28:32,000 - [Laurence] Under particular scrutiny 631 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,167 are the unauthorized documents between Roosevelt and Marshall. 632 00:28:36,083 --> 00:28:38,875 Experts question their credibility. 633 00:28:38,875 --> 00:28:41,042 - There is a lot of controversy about this. 634 00:28:41,042 --> 00:28:44,042 There are many, many documents circulating 635 00:28:44,042 --> 00:28:48,583 in the UFO community that are frankly bogus. 636 00:28:48,583 --> 00:28:51,125 There are big question marks over this. 637 00:28:51,125 --> 00:28:53,042 - [Laurence] In addition, analysis 638 00:28:53,042 --> 00:28:56,542 of the infamous LA Times photograph from 1942 639 00:28:56,542 --> 00:28:59,042 raises even more questions. 640 00:29:00,208 --> 00:29:01,958 - Retouching of photographs was something 641 00:29:01,958 --> 00:29:06,750 that occurred commonplace in the 1930s and 1940s. 642 00:29:06,750 --> 00:29:08,083 - Newspapers at the time, 643 00:29:08,083 --> 00:29:10,375 it was very common for them to create 644 00:29:10,375 --> 00:29:13,208 a more of a contrast with the black and the white. 645 00:29:13,208 --> 00:29:14,917 When they look at the negative of this photo 646 00:29:14,917 --> 00:29:16,542 versus what's published, 647 00:29:16,542 --> 00:29:19,375 they discovered that this photo has been touched up quite a bit. 648 00:29:19,375 --> 00:29:21,792 - There are details that are in the foreground 649 00:29:21,792 --> 00:29:23,208 toward the bottom of the photograph, 650 00:29:23,208 --> 00:29:25,042 where they can see they brought out the mountain ranges 651 00:29:25,042 --> 00:29:26,958 that are seen in the background. 652 00:29:26,958 --> 00:29:31,042 They also blow out some of the overexposed components of it. 653 00:29:31,042 --> 00:29:34,042 - The skyline has been darkened, 654 00:29:34,042 --> 00:29:37,417 the searchlight beams have been enhanced, 655 00:29:37,417 --> 00:29:40,375 and what's actually lens flare 656 00:29:40,375 --> 00:29:44,208 has been altered to make it look as if it's explosions. 657 00:29:44,208 --> 00:29:46,042 - The photograph makes people think 658 00:29:46,042 --> 00:29:48,208 that there was something in the sky. 659 00:29:48,208 --> 00:29:49,833 But what if there actually wasn't something 660 00:29:49,833 --> 00:29:54,917 in the sky that night? 661 00:29:54,917 --> 00:29:56,958 - [Laurence] Whatever terror the people of Los Angeles 662 00:29:56,958 --> 00:30:00,458 endure on February 25th, 1942, 663 00:30:00,458 --> 00:30:04,708 is soon matched by frustration and anger. 664 00:30:04,708 --> 00:30:06,250 - There are so many questions 665 00:30:06,250 --> 00:30:09,292 about what happens on this night in Los Angeles 666 00:30:09,292 --> 00:30:11,542 and the government doesn't seem to be very forthcoming 667 00:30:11,542 --> 00:30:13,375 with any real information. 668 00:30:13,375 --> 00:30:15,375 - One thing the public still can't understand 669 00:30:15,375 --> 00:30:17,917 is why there wasn't a single American aircraft 670 00:30:17,917 --> 00:30:19,375 in the sky that night. 671 00:30:19,375 --> 00:30:22,167 - It is understandable to not wanna try to fly a plane 672 00:30:22,167 --> 00:30:25,167 over a densely populated city when shells are raining down, 673 00:30:25,167 --> 00:30:26,875 but what a lot of people still have trouble 674 00:30:26,875 --> 00:30:28,292 coming to grips with, 675 00:30:28,292 --> 00:30:31,083 is that when the blip showed up on the radar, 676 00:30:31,083 --> 00:30:34,000 why wasn't one military plane sent up 677 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:35,875 to intercept the object, 678 00:30:35,875 --> 00:30:38,333 or at least just to check out what it was? 679 00:30:38,333 --> 00:30:41,875 - The fact that aircraft weren't scrambled 680 00:30:41,875 --> 00:30:44,958 in response to this radar return, 681 00:30:44,958 --> 00:30:47,542 suggests to some people that they knew 682 00:30:47,542 --> 00:30:49,167 there was nothing there, 683 00:30:49,167 --> 00:30:53,958 that the whole thing was some sort of deception operation 684 00:30:53,958 --> 00:30:55,625 organized by the government. 685 00:30:55,625 --> 00:30:58,000 (dramatic music) 686 00:30:59,875 --> 00:31:02,375 Representative Leland Ford demands 687 00:31:02,375 --> 00:31:05,708 a congressional investigation into this. 688 00:31:05,708 --> 00:31:07,917 - He wants answers because he feels that 689 00:31:07,917 --> 00:31:09,708 the government hasn't been very forthcoming about 690 00:31:09,708 --> 00:31:11,500 what really happened. 691 00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:13,417 - Leland Ford is concerned 692 00:31:13,417 --> 00:31:15,792 that there might be a reason for this deception. 693 00:31:15,792 --> 00:31:20,250 He thinks it's possible that the government might be laying 694 00:31:20,250 --> 00:31:26,125 the ground for moving some of the defense infrastructure 695 00:31:26,125 --> 00:31:30,167 and industry away from Los Angeles. 696 00:31:30,167 --> 00:31:33,292 If you wanted to persuade people to move, 697 00:31:33,292 --> 00:31:37,667 having some sort of dummy raid might just scare them 698 00:31:37,667 --> 00:31:39,500 into saying, "Okay then, we'll move." 699 00:31:40,958 --> 00:31:42,583 - [Laurence] Since the beginning of the war, 700 00:31:42,583 --> 00:31:46,000 there has been discussion of moving LA's oil, ship building, 701 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,583 and aviation industries inland, 702 00:31:48,583 --> 00:31:52,208 to protect them against possible Japanese attack. 703 00:31:52,208 --> 00:31:55,917 - Some people at senior level in the government 704 00:31:55,917 --> 00:31:59,625 do think it's prudent to move these industries 705 00:31:59,625 --> 00:32:01,625 and Leland Ford is concerned. 706 00:32:01,625 --> 00:32:05,667 His view is, "Look, these industries are essential 707 00:32:05,667 --> 00:32:08,542 to the economy of California. 708 00:32:08,542 --> 00:32:10,125 We don't want to move them. 709 00:32:10,125 --> 00:32:12,375 If they're at risk, we protect them." 710 00:32:12,375 --> 00:32:14,542 - The greatest thing to happen to the economy 711 00:32:14,542 --> 00:32:17,083 after the Great Depression is World War II. 712 00:32:17,083 --> 00:32:19,167 Suddenly, everyone is back to work 713 00:32:19,167 --> 00:32:22,333 and manufacturing's at an all time high, 714 00:32:22,333 --> 00:32:26,333 so no one wants to see the sudden booming economy 715 00:32:26,333 --> 00:32:28,958 of the war industries leave Southern California. 716 00:32:29,917 --> 00:32:31,542 - Before the shelling begins, 717 00:32:31,542 --> 00:32:34,083 there are reports of these flashing lights 718 00:32:34,083 --> 00:32:35,500 and these flares that are showing up 719 00:32:35,500 --> 00:32:37,708 near these defense plants around the city, 720 00:32:37,708 --> 00:32:39,250 and during the shelling, 721 00:32:39,250 --> 00:32:41,458 there are reports of these objects in the air 722 00:32:41,458 --> 00:32:43,625 that are following a route that would've taken them over 723 00:32:43,625 --> 00:32:46,958 the highly sensitive areas of Douglas, Lockheed, 724 00:32:46,958 --> 00:32:48,583 and North American Aviation. 725 00:32:49,583 --> 00:32:51,875 - [Laurence] News coverage immediately after the air raid 726 00:32:51,875 --> 00:32:55,417 suggests that whatever phantoms were in the sky that night, 727 00:32:55,417 --> 00:33:00,167 they seem to show an interest in defense industry targets. 728 00:33:00,167 --> 00:33:02,417 - Some people start to question whether or not 729 00:33:02,417 --> 00:33:06,292 the attack was staged or at least maybe exaggerated. 730 00:33:07,208 --> 00:33:09,542 - [Laurence] But some historians suspect 731 00:33:09,542 --> 00:33:11,875 there may be an even more sinister reason 732 00:33:11,875 --> 00:33:14,708 to orchestrate a giant false flag operation 733 00:33:14,708 --> 00:33:17,458 throughout Los Angeles. 734 00:33:17,458 --> 00:33:19,542 - At the beginning of the Second World War. 735 00:33:19,542 --> 00:33:23,042 There was really, no real concern about the loyalty 736 00:33:23,042 --> 00:33:25,458 of Japanese-Americans. 737 00:33:25,458 --> 00:33:28,708 - After Pearl Harbor, as time goes on 738 00:33:28,708 --> 00:33:31,708 into January and February, 739 00:33:31,708 --> 00:33:34,375 there is continued war propaganda coming out. 740 00:33:34,375 --> 00:33:37,292 There's more dehumanization of the Japanese people. 741 00:33:37,292 --> 00:33:40,417 - Even though the Commander of Western Defense command, 742 00:33:40,417 --> 00:33:44,208 Major General John Dewitt, reported that there were no acts 743 00:33:44,208 --> 00:33:47,875 of Japanese-Americans sabotaging American industry 744 00:33:47,875 --> 00:33:50,042 or other aspects of the war effort, 745 00:33:50,042 --> 00:33:52,875 he still also recommended that Japanese citizens 746 00:33:52,875 --> 00:33:54,625 be moved away from the West Coast 747 00:33:54,625 --> 00:33:56,625 and its vital defense plans. 748 00:33:56,625 --> 00:33:59,542 - The initial hope is that they will very quickly 749 00:33:59,542 --> 00:34:03,083 evacuate themselves to these internment camps. 750 00:34:03,083 --> 00:34:05,625 - It didn't take long for the president to realize, 751 00:34:05,625 --> 00:34:07,208 well, that's not gonna work, 752 00:34:07,208 --> 00:34:08,250 'cause who's gonna wanna do that? 753 00:34:08,250 --> 00:34:10,250 Nobody, absolutely nobody. 754 00:34:11,333 --> 00:34:13,708 - [Laurence] On February 19th, 1942, 755 00:34:13,708 --> 00:34:18,500 President Roosevelt issues executive order 9066. 756 00:34:19,542 --> 00:34:23,292 - Executive order 9066 authorizes the removal 757 00:34:23,292 --> 00:34:25,292 of anyone that could be considered 758 00:34:25,292 --> 00:34:27,208 a danger to the war effort. 759 00:34:27,208 --> 00:34:28,708 It's vague language, 760 00:34:28,708 --> 00:34:32,208 but it is clearly pointing to Japanese people, 761 00:34:32,208 --> 00:34:35,375 particularly Japanese people who live on the West Coast. 762 00:34:35,375 --> 00:34:38,667 - To Roosevelt, in early 1942, 763 00:34:38,667 --> 00:34:43,042 just 80 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, 764 00:34:43,042 --> 00:34:46,208 the world looked very scary and intimidating, 765 00:34:46,208 --> 00:34:49,417 and unfortunately, he made this decision 766 00:34:49,417 --> 00:34:53,333 to deprive American citizens of their rights. 767 00:34:53,333 --> 00:34:57,375 - The Battle of Los Angeles came out really only five days 768 00:34:57,375 --> 00:35:01,208 after FDR signed the infamous executive order 769 00:35:01,208 --> 00:35:05,208 to do with the internment of Japanese people 770 00:35:05,208 --> 00:35:06,958 in the United States 771 00:35:06,958 --> 00:35:09,042 and this was controversial. 772 00:35:09,042 --> 00:35:13,958 It arguably went against his political instincts, 773 00:35:13,958 --> 00:35:16,042 but on the other hand, 774 00:35:16,042 --> 00:35:18,542 there was a feeling that this was necessary, 775 00:35:18,542 --> 00:35:22,542 and therefore did something get staged 776 00:35:22,542 --> 00:35:25,250 that would really make everyone go along with this, 777 00:35:25,250 --> 00:35:28,333 and say, "Yeah, we get why this is needed"? 778 00:35:28,333 --> 00:35:32,417 Was it all part of hyping up the Japanese threat, 779 00:35:32,417 --> 00:35:35,375 not just the threat from invasion, 780 00:35:35,375 --> 00:35:37,208 but the threat from within? 781 00:35:38,833 --> 00:35:40,375 - After the smoke clears, 782 00:35:40,375 --> 00:35:43,500 after the blackout order has been lifted, 783 00:35:43,500 --> 00:35:46,708 there's no evidence that there's actually been an attack, 784 00:35:46,708 --> 00:35:49,917 yet the military arrests 20 Japanese-Americans 785 00:35:49,917 --> 00:35:51,667 for colluding with the enemy. 786 00:35:51,667 --> 00:35:53,208 - This makes no sense, 787 00:35:53,208 --> 00:35:57,292 because how could they collude with planes, 788 00:35:57,292 --> 00:35:59,708 when at least part of the official narrative, 789 00:35:59,708 --> 00:36:01,042 is there were no planes? 790 00:36:01,042 --> 00:36:04,708 And the suspicion is that this is perhaps 791 00:36:04,708 --> 00:36:09,167 something aimed at driving forward and accelerating 792 00:36:09,167 --> 00:36:11,792 the pace of the internment program. 793 00:36:16,542 --> 00:36:18,542 - [Laurence] When Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, 794 00:36:18,542 --> 00:36:21,875 first dismisses the so-called Battle of Los Angeles 795 00:36:21,875 --> 00:36:26,417 as a false alarm, many citizens are outraged. 796 00:36:26,417 --> 00:36:29,208 But as time passes, even Angelenos 797 00:36:29,208 --> 00:36:31,333 begin to question what they saw. 798 00:36:32,375 --> 00:36:35,250 - One of the big questions about this Battle of Los Angeles 799 00:36:35,250 --> 00:36:38,458 is why are there so many different conflicting stories? 800 00:36:38,458 --> 00:36:43,000 People report a wide variety of things 801 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,375 and I think that's really an indication of the type of panic 802 00:36:46,375 --> 00:36:50,083 and utter fear that is driving people in this moment. 803 00:36:50,083 --> 00:36:51,542 - For every person that comes forward 804 00:36:51,542 --> 00:36:53,542 and says that they did see something in the night sky, 805 00:36:53,542 --> 00:36:57,208 whether it was a plane or a floating object, 806 00:36:57,208 --> 00:36:58,625 other people come forward, 807 00:36:58,625 --> 00:37:00,708 like Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ernie Pyle, 808 00:37:00,708 --> 00:37:03,375 and says, "They saw nothing that night 809 00:37:03,375 --> 00:37:05,500 except for flashing lights, 810 00:37:05,500 --> 00:37:08,833 tracer fire, smoke in the sky." 811 00:37:08,833 --> 00:37:10,542 Some military historians claim 812 00:37:10,542 --> 00:37:12,792 that the combination of things that happened that night 813 00:37:12,792 --> 00:37:15,667 led people to see things that actually weren't there. 814 00:37:15,667 --> 00:37:17,708 (dramatic music) 815 00:37:20,667 --> 00:37:23,458 - All of the elements leading up to mass hysteria 816 00:37:23,458 --> 00:37:27,750 are in place in Los Angeles in February of 1942. 817 00:37:27,750 --> 00:37:30,667 You have the attack on the oil fields north of the city. 818 00:37:30,667 --> 00:37:34,083 You have the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack. 819 00:37:34,083 --> 00:37:36,667 You have war preparedness movements 820 00:37:36,667 --> 00:37:40,292 and the assignment of civil air defense wardens. 821 00:37:40,292 --> 00:37:43,500 All of these elements combine to make people afraid, 822 00:37:43,500 --> 00:37:46,750 to make people nervous, to make people jumping at shadows. 823 00:37:48,167 --> 00:37:50,917 - We already knew how easily excitable 824 00:37:50,917 --> 00:37:54,583 the American population was from an event from 1938. 825 00:37:55,583 --> 00:37:57,250 - [Orson] I'm speaking from the roof 826 00:37:57,250 --> 00:38:00,417 of broadcasting building, New York City. 827 00:38:00,417 --> 00:38:03,042 The bells you hear are ringing 828 00:38:03,042 --> 00:38:07,667 to warn the people to evacuate the city as Martians approach. 829 00:38:08,625 --> 00:38:13,333 - Orson Welles and his radio broadcast dramatization 830 00:38:13,333 --> 00:38:15,208 of the War of the Worlds, 831 00:38:15,208 --> 00:38:18,542 it was done in a false documentary style 832 00:38:18,542 --> 00:38:20,917 as if it was actually happening. 833 00:38:21,917 --> 00:38:24,375 - A shockingly large number of people thought 834 00:38:24,375 --> 00:38:26,958 they were listening to an actual broadcast, 835 00:38:26,958 --> 00:38:31,208 announcing the arrival of extraterrestrial aliens 836 00:38:31,208 --> 00:38:33,917 who were making war with the planet Earth. 837 00:38:35,208 --> 00:38:38,208 - The American public, although it likes to think of itself 838 00:38:38,208 --> 00:38:40,292 as very sophisticated and intelligent, 839 00:38:40,292 --> 00:38:43,750 is not immune to the effects of mass hysteria. 840 00:38:43,750 --> 00:38:45,958 They flooded telephone switchboards 841 00:38:45,958 --> 00:38:47,708 for their local police forces 842 00:38:47,708 --> 00:38:50,625 and their local media demanding assistance 843 00:38:50,625 --> 00:38:53,542 and demanding answers about what was happening 844 00:38:53,542 --> 00:38:56,708 in the alien invasion of the United States. 845 00:38:56,708 --> 00:38:59,042 - [Laurence] Less than 2.5 years later, 846 00:38:59,042 --> 00:39:02,708 in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor with the country on edge, 847 00:39:02,708 --> 00:39:05,000 it's not just the American public 848 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,167 who fall prey to their own fears. 849 00:39:08,167 --> 00:39:12,542 - In the period after Pearl Harbor, scared American aviators 850 00:39:12,542 --> 00:39:15,833 and naval personnel constantly file reports 851 00:39:15,833 --> 00:39:18,083 that are alleging that Japanese warships 852 00:39:18,083 --> 00:39:20,667 are off the western coast of the United States. 853 00:39:20,667 --> 00:39:23,000 There are reports of aircraft carriers, battleships, 854 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,542 massive flotillas of the Imperial Japanese Navy. 855 00:39:26,542 --> 00:39:29,083 Typically, they turn out to be cargo craft, 856 00:39:29,083 --> 00:39:30,792 elements of the US Navy, 857 00:39:30,792 --> 00:39:33,042 or even in a couple of instances, 858 00:39:33,042 --> 00:39:35,000 floating debris like logs. 859 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:36,708 (radar whirring) 860 00:39:36,708 --> 00:39:37,958 - [Laurence] And the radar systems 861 00:39:37,958 --> 00:39:40,000 that sparked the Battle of Los Angeles 862 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,167 are far less reliable than most people realize. 863 00:39:44,167 --> 00:39:46,958 - A lot of the technology that we take for granted today 864 00:39:46,958 --> 00:39:49,833 in regards to air defense was in its infancy 865 00:39:49,833 --> 00:39:51,625 at the beginning of World War II. 866 00:39:51,625 --> 00:39:55,625 - Radar's a new technology here, so it's not foolproof. 867 00:39:55,625 --> 00:39:58,375 There's mistakes, there's inconsistencies with radar. 868 00:39:58,375 --> 00:40:00,292 A bird could show up on the radar 869 00:40:00,292 --> 00:40:02,292 and you might think it's a plane. 870 00:40:02,292 --> 00:40:03,750 - Maybe that's why the object 871 00:40:03,750 --> 00:40:05,708 just suddenly disappeared off of radar screens 872 00:40:05,708 --> 00:40:07,958 a few miles from downtown LA. 873 00:40:08,958 --> 00:40:10,833 Because there was nothing ever there. 874 00:40:10,833 --> 00:40:12,208 (dramatic music) 875 00:40:12,208 --> 00:40:15,708 - Sometimes what you perceive outweighs your own experience 876 00:40:15,708 --> 00:40:18,167 and it causes you to draw conclusions 877 00:40:18,167 --> 00:40:19,833 that don't really fit the facts. 878 00:40:19,833 --> 00:40:22,083 In the case of the Battle of Los Angeles, 879 00:40:22,083 --> 00:40:25,583 people who had no wartime experience see flashing lights, 880 00:40:25,583 --> 00:40:28,583 they see explosions, and they want to assume 881 00:40:28,583 --> 00:40:31,167 that there's a purpose behind them. 882 00:40:31,167 --> 00:40:33,167 - When we're in a moment of war, 883 00:40:33,167 --> 00:40:34,833 when we're in a moment of fear 884 00:40:34,833 --> 00:40:37,333 where the world feels upside down 885 00:40:37,333 --> 00:40:39,875 and the unknown is happening, 886 00:40:39,875 --> 00:40:42,042 people's minds play tricks on them. 887 00:40:42,042 --> 00:40:44,542 (dramatic music) 888 00:40:44,542 --> 00:40:47,833 - On February 25th, 1942, 889 00:40:47,833 --> 00:40:52,250 the helplessness and fear Angelenos felt was very real, 890 00:40:52,250 --> 00:40:54,792 even if an imminent invasion was not. 891 00:40:55,792 --> 00:40:58,042 We may never know what triggered the barrage, 892 00:40:58,042 --> 00:41:02,000 be it a phantom aircraft or a case of nerves. 893 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,875 Either way, The Battle of LA remains 894 00:41:04,875 --> 00:41:09,375 one of World War II's enduring unsolved mysteries. 895 00:41:09,375 --> 00:41:10,958 I'm Laurence Fishburne, 896 00:41:10,958 --> 00:41:14,333 thank you for watching History's Greatest Mysteries. 897 00:41:14,333 --> 00:41:16,583 (dramatic music)