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Japan Bombs the West Coast – November ‘98 Aviation History Feature

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How significant were these two bombing attacks on Oregon, the only times in history that America has been bombed from the air? For the Japanese, they were clearly a major propaganda victory, one that made banner headlines on the home front and to some extent evened the score for the April 18, 1942, Jimmy Doolittle raid on Tokyo, itself a retaliatory raid in return for the Pearl Harbor attack. From a military standpoint, however, the bombing raids were virtually meaningless, because no serious fires were started or significant collateral damage inflicted. Likewise, although some public apprehension was caused by the attacks, no widespread panic developed on the U.S. West Coast, at least partially due to heavy press censorship. The raids were not repeated, because aircraft-carrying submarines gradually disappeared into the increasing category of obsolete weapons. Only one more Japanese submarine, I-12, operated off the West Coast during the remainder of the war. I-25 was sunk less than a year later by USS Patterson (DD-392) off the New Hebrides Islands on September 3, 1943.

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Warrant Flying Officer Fujita continued reconnaissance flying until 1944, when he returned to Japan to train kamikaze pilots. His crewman, Petty Officer Okuda, was later killed in the South Pacific. After the war, Fujita opened a successful metal products sales business in Japan. Forestry student Johnson later became a U.S. Navy Captain and on January 24, 1974, held a luncheon reunion with Fujita in Tokyo. Executive officer Tatsuo Tsukudo of I-25 retired from the IJN as a vice admiral.

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  1. One Comment to “Japan Bombs the West Coast – November ‘98 Aviation History Feature”

  2. Very interesting account we heard about this activty in Chrstchurch New Zealand and there was the odd amphibian activity by the american navy around our South Island port Lytelton in Canterbury 1942???. New Zealand was not in the war zone as such but we were aware that an enemy aircraft had done some reconnacence around our coastline
    There were home guard outposts at all of our points and headlands during that time and there are photos of gun stations at Lyttleton historical museams Address Lyttleton Museam Gladstone QQY Lyttelton New Zealand. .Maybe of some interest

    Noel Andreassend.

    By Noel Andreassend on Aug 15, 2009 at 5:25 am

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