Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought-provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

WW2 category: World War II on US soil  -- See latest WWII news here. See also 'US home front', 'Nazi spies in America', 'U.S. Rangers', 'WWII-era Footages', 'Vintage Warbirds'.

The U.S. West Coast was bombed by aircraft on Dec. 10, 1944     sgvtribune.com :: 2008-09-09
While much of Asia and Europe was in ruins after the aerial bombings of World War II, the U.S. West Coast never saw much damage. Sure, the Japanese sent balloon bombs that started a few fires, and a submarine fired some shells into the oil fields near Santa Barbara and farther up the coast. But there was one U.S. city that was the site of an World War II bombing attack. Sort of. On Dec. 10, 1944 the safety of the American homefront was disrupted when 5 bombs crashed into a Pomona. George P. Hiett was working at his dining room table when he stepped away to talk to his wife. Moments later a "bomb" fell through the roof onto the table.    

The Great Los Angeles Air Raid Mystery - What happened over L.A. in 1942     dailybreeze :: 2008-02-21
What showed up on military radar screens on Feb. 24, 1942, causing a blackout and an 1-hour anti-aircraft barrage? Could it have been enemy aircraft? Was it a weather balloon, or UFO? "What have we learned? Not much," said Steve Nelson, curator of the Fort MacArthur Museum. --- On Feb. 25, radar picked up an unidentified target 120 miles from L.A. and at 2:15 a.m. anti-aircraft gun batteries were alarmed. The number and type of aircraft seen varied from 0 to 220 and from airplanes to balloons to a blimp. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson said that 15 aircrafts had flown over LA. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox said that is was a false alarm.     [Unsolved Mysteries of WWII]

Japanese invasion of Alaska - Red, White, Black & Blue documentary     documentaryfilms.net :: 2007-10-30
"That thing shouldn't be here," Bill Jones says about the Japanese monument on the tundra of Attu, one of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. His voice cracks as he recalls fighting Japanese soldiers in this forgotten World War II wasteland. "It doesn't belong on Attu. It doesn't belong on Engineer Hill." Red, White, Black & Blue documentary by Matt Radecki tells the story of the little-known Japanese invasion of Alaska and the battle to take it back. "The U.S. and Canadian govts didn't want to panic the population, so they kept it a secret. The unintended result is that it's really remained an unknown story," Putnam says.     [WWII Alaska: Aleutian Islands campaign: Attu, Kiska islands]

It was American sailboats against German U-boats in World War II     galvestondailynews :: 2007-10-27
Article no longer available from the original source.
Sending sailboats out to fight U-boats: those early days of U.S. involvement in WWII were desperate times. Rufus 'Bud' Smith commanded 25 U-boat-hunting yachts of the Third Naval District. Similar groups operated elsewhere, perhaps 100 yachts were involved along the U.S coast. In 1942, U-boats found lightly defended hunting grounds off the U.S. coasts. The yachts had been volunteered for military service by their owners, crews were temporary U.S. Coast Guard reservists. The yachts, painted Navy grey with white numbers forward, didn't sink any U-boats. They did serve as deterrents. They could approach U-boats and report their positions by radio.     [America during World War II - United States Home front]

War on American Soil - Paper balloon bombers of World War II     mccookgazette :: 2007-08-14
Even before the war the US was infiltrated by German and Japanese spy networks, but more damage came from German U-boats, which raised havoc with American ships off the East Coast. On the west coast the Japanese attempted to build upon their Pearl Harbor gains with submarine shelling attacks on California targets: One Japanese sub succeeded in assembling a small float plane off the California coast, which dropped incendiary bombs. Then Japan invaded the Aleutian Island of Attu in Alaska in 1942. And From the fall of 1944 to the spring of 1945 9,000 unmanned balloons carrying bombs were launched from Japan to US.     [World War II on US soil]

Documentary: Hitler's War on America - America Bomber     theage :: 2007-07-13
In this German documentary - a must-see for all armchair war buffs - Adolf Hitler's desire to strike at the heart of America is detailed by interviews and an array of archival footage, much of it in colour. As far back as 1937 Hitler was shown a full-scale mock-up of an aircraft that could take the war to the US. Like many Messerschmitt designs, the ME 264 (America Bomber) was way ahead of its time. The dream was big, the logistics a nightmare but Hitler's determination was unbounded. When the bomber became hobbled with problems, he brought in a host of Plan Bs, like the use of seaplane bomber, a mid-air refuelling and the invasion of Iceland to use it as an air base.     [Aircrafts of WWII]

Book on the history of the Horseshoe Curve and Nazi sabotage plot     sevenoakspress.com :: 2007-07-08
"The Horseshoe Curve: Sabotage and Subversion in the Railroad City" by Dennis P. McIlnay tells the story of the 3 inter-connected events in American history: (1) the Nazi plot to destroy the Horseshoe Curve, the Mecca of American railroading. (2) the FBI's search of the homes of 225 Altoonans as alien enemies - suspected Nazi sympathizers - on July 1, 1942 as a result of the Nazi sabotage plot against the Horseshoe Curve. (3) the drama of founding the building the Horseshoe Curve. The Nazi plot to destroy the Horseshoe Curve was a mission that Adolf Hitler himself conceived. Had the Nazis succeeded they could have crippled the American war machine.     [World War II on US soil]

Oregon under attack: In 1942 Japanese submarine fired at Fort Stevens     oregonlive :: 2007-06-21
In 1942 Bill Holman, 7, and his brother Jack, 6, watched the night sky explode in flashes of light, but they didn't know enough to be frightened. It wasn't until their parents came that the boys learned those flashes were 17 rounds being fired at Fort Stevens from a Japanese I-25 submarine. It was the only foreign shelling of a military base on the U.S. mainland during WWII. Parents packed as they waited for the evacuation they feared might come. "This occurred just a little while after Japan had invaded the Aleutian Islands. ...so everyone along here thought it was not out of the realm of possibility that there could be a Japanese invasion."    

The Aleutian Islands - Japanese bombed parts of the western US     gmtoday :: 2007-03-24
Article no longer available from the original source.
"A lot of them killed themselves with hand grenades. They would take it, hold it to their stomachs, prime it, then blow themselves up," said Marlin Kocher - a soldier when he was assigned to the Aleutian Islands. The people who killed themselves were Japanese soldiers, warriors who preferred death to a dishonorable surrender. "Out of the entire Japanese contingent, only 12 were left alive and captured." Little is known about the battles waged on this strategically important chain of islands. "The government didn't want it advertised, but the Japanese bombed parts of the western US from planes based at Attu."    

Japanese balloon bombs and counteract unit - Untold WWII story     lompocrecord :: 2006-11-22
John Edward Salyer fought a secret enemy - one much of the nation knew nothing about until well after World War Two had ended. Japan launched over 9,000 high altitude balloons, each outfitted with a set of anti-personnel and incendiary bombs, to be carried by the jet stream over the North American continent. Salyer became part of the top-secret program to counteract the threat. He was given a new codebook before each flight, with which he could transmit the location of each found balloon - often discovered above 30,000 feet, out of range of the B-24 guns, so he would call in jet fighters.    

World War II veteran heard Japanese sub attack Washington     mansfieldnewsjournal :: 2006-09-05
June 21, 1942, a Japanese submarine surfaced off in the mouth of the Columbia River and fired 8 shells at a coastal battery. A member of a Coastal Artillery unit, Paul Johnston, counted the explosions as each shell landed. He and his fellow battery mates had that submarine in their sights. But they never fired. "We alerted headquarters at Fort Stevens across the river, but the order to fire never came. We had 108-pound, armor-piercing shells but we never got to use them. So the submarine got away." The reason, he soon discovered, was that the unit's commanding officer, a colonel, took too long to get dressed.    

Demonizing Japan as a blood-thirsty, war-hungry nation     ohmynews :: 2006-08-06
A few days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Nakahara family awaited Admiral Nomura. But the admiral sent a telegram: "Sorry, cannot meet you for dinner. Regret unable to eat samma." As reports streamed in on destruction in Pearl Harbor, newsreels began to demonize Japan as a blood-thirsty, war-hungry nation. The FBI intercepted the telegram and deemed the word "samma" to be treasonous. On Dec 7 Seiichi Nakahara was arrested. Family believe that he was tortured: When he arrived home he could no longer talk. His body was emaciated, his sharp mind had declined dramatically. Laying lifelessly he died just days after his release.    

West Coast trenches and fortifications to stop Japanese invasion     sfgate :: 2006-05-20
The Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, produced devastation in Hawaii -- and panic on the West Coast. Anything seemed possible. The attack had come out of the sky without warning. What if Pearl Harbor was only the first target? What if the Japanese navy was off California ready to strike? On the night of Dec. 7, the Army assigned every available soldier at the Presidio of San Francisco to get to work digging slit trenches and field fortifications to stop a Japanese invasion. Trenches were dug on the bluffs above the Golden Gate. Machine guns were sited to cover Baker Beach on the western edge of the city.     [WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites]

Under Attack: World War II Balloon Bombs Dropped on U.S.     kxtv :: 2006-05-09
In one of the best-kept secrets of WWII, bombs were dropped on the mainland U.S., by Japanese hydrogen balloons. The federal government enlisted the help of media in keeping quiet about the shrapnel-filled balloon bombs. According to declassified documents, 9,000 balloons were sent, beginning in late 1944. Most didn't survive the 3-4 day journey but 285 did reach the U.S. At least 22 reached California and 40 dropped in Oregon. Most were found in the Northwest but at least one was recovered as far east as Michigan. After the war, newsreel film taken on the island of Honshu, one of 3 secret launch sites in Japan, described the balloon bomb attack.     [Japanese Balloon Bombs]

Secret Nazi Weather Station in Newfoundland     uboat-net :: 2006-04-20
The U-537 made the only armed German landing on North American soil in WWII. U-537 left Kiel, Germany on September 18, 1943. The boat went on patrol in the western North Atlantic under Kptlt. Peter Schrewe. Its task was to set up an automatic weather station on the coast of Labrador. The station was a secret known only by a handful German seamen and scientists. The story became known in the late 1970s, when an retired engineer found photographs of one weather station and a U-boat that did not fit in with the installations he had previously been able to identify.     [World War II on US soil]

8 Nazi spies in the US during the summer of 1942     phillyburbs :: 2006-04-06
Transported by submarine, eight Nazi spies swept across the United States in the summer of 1942, targeting a series of rail lines, water channels and factories. The nearly successful guerilla attacks of 1942 have become a modern day obsession for Richard Cylinder. The FBI said the grandiose plans nearly succeeded, but a turncoat German agent George John Dasch sold his countrymen in exchange for a reprieve from execution. On the morning of June 17, 1942, Nazi spy Dasch placed a call from his Washington, D.C., hotel room to FBI headquarters, relealing the plot.     [Nazi Spies in America in 1942: Operation Pastorius]

Alaska's Bloodiest Battle - The History Channel     history.com :: 2006-03-04
In 1942 and 1943, the Aleutian Islands in Alaska played host to the only armed conflict fought on American soil since the War of 1812. In an effort to draw resources away from the Battle of Midway, Japanese forces bombed Alaska's Dutch Harbor, setting up a year-long occupation of the islands of Kiska and Attu with 3,000 soldiers. In May of 1943, a force of 11,000 Americans landed on Attu. They were met with the bone-chilling cold of the Alaskan winter and found themselves battling the unforgiving tundra as much as the Japanese themselves. The 3-week battle was one of the bloodiest in all of WWII.     [WWII Alaska: Aleutian Islands campaign: Attu, Kiska islands]

Watching the enemy from the side of an ice-coated mountain     lompocrecord :: 2006-03-01
The Japanese had taken over Attu and 4 other islands and were preparing to capture Dutch Harbor when U.S. troops recaptured the islands. Sgt. Anderson arrived at Attu in Alaska just a few months after its return to US control. Living in a wooden shack cut into the side of an ice-coated mountain, Kenneth Ray Anderson shared the only room with 4 other soldiers. The only window was the observation point for a telescope manned day and night to track Japanese ships. To exit the tiny shack during the winter, the soldiers had to dig through ice and snow almost daily.    

Japanese Bomb the West Coast     about :: 2006-02-14
Most Americans probably believe that continental United States has never been bombed. A floatplane launched from an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine dropped its bombs in September 1942--the first time the continental United States was bombed from the air. The IJN began experimenting with aircraft-carrying submarines in 1925. By the time of Pearl Harbor, 11 of its submarines were equipped to carry, launch, and recover one specially configured floatplane. Most of those early boats were classified as scouting submarines, B1 Type, of the I-15 class.     [Special Forces & Missions of WWII]

Japanese Fugo Bombing Balloons on American Soil     stelzriede :: 2005-05-23
In Nov 1944, the Japanese began launching bomb-carrying balloons, which travelled across the Pacific Ocean to North America. It was hoped that the balloons would start forest fires and cause general panic. The payload consisted of 36 sand-filled paper bags for use as ballast, 4 incendiary bombs and 1 33-pound anti-personnel bomb. Tragic event occurred on May 5, 1945. A woman and 5 children were killed in a remote area near Bly, Oregon, after they found a downed balloon with a bomb still attached, and one of them moved the bomb, causing it to explode. These deaths were the only known fatalities on the US mainland from enemy attack during World War II.     [World War II on US soil]

See also:
'US home front'
'Nazi spies in America'
'U.S. Rangers'
'WWII-era Footages'
'Vintage Warbirds'.

Although the articles linked from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich 1933-1945 and World War II in the News are reviewed and specially selected, they do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, who is not responsible for the content of any external sites. This service is © Joni Nuutinen 2005-2010. All rights reserved.