Show LA A. A GUNS FIRE AT MYSTERY RAIDERS iNo Bombs Dropped No Planes Downed J During Juring Night Attack o on California HOLLYWOOD l LOS 0 A N ELES E L E AW ii CULVER CITY J SANTA MONICA s J t. OCEAN PiRK P TV v 11 T t u oJ VENICE oVEN f PARK II 00 0 OIL L FIE FIELDS v JAP r. r SIGNALERS r ARRESTED m d jr ju j- j u t i- i nE nr HERE r OIl o e f ELD a V Vs 4 a 00 O ov Q 0 m COMPTON COMPTON I BEACH r. r a 0 HERMOSA BEAM NORTH BEACH o. o LONG BEACH REDONDO BEACH o o o e O L OLn n o 0 o a u of ELOS OIL L o o oy rf FIOS y f a O o I ti o F K Y lr i KM M o 0 r i O o ro o. o x rt eA RO 5 WILMINGTON T i 1 9 0 y LONG BEACH t a J Jr i SEAL BEACH SCALE OF MILES j TERMINAL NAL ISLAND r-i r r 1 t I LOS ANGELES ANGELES ES HARBOR o 1 2 3 SEARCHLIGHTS TS COMBED THE SKIES SlUES AN AND D ACK ACI ACKS' ACKS WENT WENT INTO ACTION HERE IERE Southern California and e especially the Los An Angeles geles indu industrial trial area got a ta taste te of war conditions conditions conditions condi condi- during luring al alert crt ert and blackout I Army Scoffs at af Report Planes anes t tr g Over Coastal Region jf f Shell Fragments Result in Damages fr frt l p 4 t LOS ANGELES Feb 25 AP Antiaircraft AP-Antiaircraft Antiaircraft guns thundered d. d over the metropolitan area early Wednesday for the first tl times time in the war but hours later what they were shooting ng at remained a military secret An unidentified object moving slowly down the co coast from coast st from Santa Monica w was s variously reported as a balloon and an airplane Some observers ers claimed med to have seen two planes over LongBeach Long LongBeach Beach i Army intelligence although uncommunicative scoffed at t reports of civilian observers that as many as planes were f V over the area No Lombs Dropped No Planes D Downed r rNo Jl R No bombs were dropped and no o planes were shot down downing d dur J J t ing the firing in Los Ang Angeles les the western defense command an announced an announced in San Francisco Wednesday morning Cities in the Los Angeles area are were were blacked out at a a a. a m. m mr V r today on orders from the Fourth interceptor command wh when unidentified aircraft were reported in the area the western defense command said i Although reports are re conflicting and every v ry effort is being I Imade Y made to ascertain the facts it is clear that no bombs bombs were l dropped and no planes were shot down i i There was a considerable amo amount nt of antiaircraft firing firings firings' The clear all-clear signal came at 7 21 a. a m. m Police ran down several reports that pla planes s had b been en S shot r. r I down but reported all alj were false alarms Aircraft factories continued operation behind blackened v windows window while h l ack guns rattled from batteries i t n near JY by iio G. G d. r ire r Shell Fragments Smash Into Home A g garage rage door was was' ripped off in a Los Angeles residential district district and and fragments shattered windows and tore into a bed where a few few moments before Miss Blanche Sedgwick and her hery hert y niece Josie had be been 1 sleeping jt A Santa Monica bomb squad was dispatched to remove an an unexploded antiaircraft shell in a driveway there p Wailing air raid sirens at a. a m m. awakened most of the metropolitan areas area's three million citizens A few minutes later later j I they were treated to a gigantic Fourth of like July-like display as 1 huge searchlights flashed along a mile 10 front to the south converging on on a single spot high in the sky Moments later the antiaircraft guns opened up throwing a sheet of steel skyward r. r Exploding Shells Light Heavens ens Tracer Tracer bullets and exploding shells sheIls lit the he heavens vens J Eight Japanese several described d by police po i e es e's as s aliens were j detained for questioning as widespread inv investigations were we e started started started start start- J ed into reports many of them from official civilian air raid wardens that lights suspected of being possible signals to the en enemy my were seen blinking from vantage points throughout the entire out blacked-out area These reports said flares were sent up singly and in series of three to five Search was instituted fo for burned residue that might come from the suspected s signals but none was found im im- mediately The reports came from such localities as Beverly Hills Baldwin Hills Tarzana Hills Burbank Redondo Beach Hermosa Beach Point Fermin at San Pedro and numerous points in the hills inland from the coast Three Japanese two men and a woman were seized by police at the beach city of Venice on suspicion of signaling with Continued on Oil Pa Pace e Two One Anti Aircraft Guns Roar At Raiders Over LA L. L A. A Continued from room page One flashlights near the pier They were removed to F FBI BI B I headquarters where Richard B. B Hood local chief said At the request of authorities have army array we nothing to say A A. Long Beach police sergeant t E. E Larson 59 was killed ina in ina ina a traffic accident while en route to an air raid post Henry B B. B Ayers year old state guardsman died at the wheel of an ammunition tr truck ck during the blackout Physicians said a heart attack apparently was responsible I It was broad daylight before the clear all sounded at a a. a m. m Late and early workers work work- ers who had been flagged down by air raid laid wardens started moving I ing I Soon traffic was snarled Thousands Thousands Thousands Thou Thou- sands of were an hour or more late to their Jobs The blackout was the first covering covering covering cov cov- ering the metropolitan area since the first week of the war There were isolated instances of failure to comply with blackout blackout blackout black black- out regulations Neon signs were left glowing inside stores Traffic Traffic Traffie fic fie signals continued to flash in 10 income some come areas Radio stations went off the air with the first alert and were not permitted to resume broadcasting until a a. a m. m There was was speculation meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile mean mean- while that the unidentified object might have been a blimp although bUmp although veteran than lighter-than-air experts in Akron Ohio the nations nation's center of such construction said Japan was b believed to have lost interest In such craft following experiments experiments experiments ments soon after World War I. I These sources said inability to obtain obtain obtain ob ob- tain fireproof helium was behind discarding of the plans Reports ports Are Conflicting Observers lent some credence to the blimp theory by pointing out that the object required nearly 30 SO minutes to travel 20 or 25 miles mUes far far slower than an airplane An official source which declined to be quoted directly told the Associated Associated Associated Asso Asso- Press that United States army planes quickly went into ac ac- ac- ac tion Later however r another official official official of of- said no United States craft had taken off because of possible danger from the army's own anti anti- antiaircraft antiaircraft aircraft fire A newspaper man at San Pedro said airplanes passed over the Los Long Angeles-Long Beach harbor area The craft were not identified There were no reports of any attempt to bomb this area from the air although many war-vital war factories shipyards and other defense defense defense de de- de- de industries were on the route the object t followed West W st of Los Angeles All of the action clearly spotlighted spotlighted spot spot- spotlighted lighted for ground observers by 20 or 30 searchlights was just a afew afew few miles west of Los Angeles proper I Observers said the object appeared appeared appeared ap ap- II to be feet or higher I Firing first heard shortly after 3 a. a m. m ceased suddenly at a a. a m m. after the object disappeared south of Signal Hill at the eastedge east eastedge eastedge edge of Long Beach Antiaircraft guns fired steadily for two min ute periods were silent about 45 seconds and continued that routine routine routine rou rou- tine nearly half an hour All of southern California from San Joaquin valley to the Mexican border was blacked out Los Angeles Angeles Angeles An An- geles doused its lights first at 2 25 a a. a m. m San Diego just 17 miles mUes from the border did not re receive receive receive re- re its out lights-out order until a a. a m. m Unofficial sources said army offiCials officials officials of of- at Riverside 40 miles mUes east of Los Angeles ordered the black black- out |