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The Japanese submarine I-25

The 1942 aerial attacks near Brookings, Oregon, sometimes referred to as the lookout air raid, was a series of bombings that occurred in the mountains of Oregon during World War II. On September 9, A Japanese B1 type submarine, the I-25, surfaced and launched a Yokosuka E14Y floatplane that dropped two incendiary bombs on Wheeler Ridge with the intent to start a massive forest fire. Unusually early rainfall moistened the forest the night before and the bombs only caused minor damage. The attack marked the first time the continental United States had ever been bombed by enemy aircraft.

A second attempt to ignite the forest was made on September 29. Two more bombs were dropped, but like the first, caused little damage. A third attack was called off due to poor weather and the I-25 began attacking shipping vessels elsewhere. The attacks led to an investigation by the FBI and led to public alarm, but no widespread panic ensued. In Japan, the attacks made headlines and the pilot was declared a hero.

Twenty years later, Fujita was invited back to Brookings and served as Grand Marshall for the local Azalea Festival. At the festival, Fujita presented his family's 400-year old samurai sword to the city as a symbol of regret. Fujita made a number of visits to Brookings until the end of the century, serving as an "informal ambassador of peace and friendship". Fujita died in 1997, the same year Brookings made him an honorary citizen. The site where one of the bombs landed has become a historical monument.

Background

Nobuo Fujita standing alongside his Yokosuka E14Y floatplane

The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) had been experimenting with submarine aircraft carriers since 1925, of which many were B1 type submarines of the I-15 class. The stored aircraft were Yokosuka E14Y floatplanes, nicknamed "Glen" by the Allies, and were used primarily for reconnaissance. One Warrant Officer stationed aboard the I-25, named Nobuo Fujita, contrived an idea to make bombing runs using the floatplanes. The idea impressed his executive officer, who submitted a detailed letter to naval headquarters.

The I-15 returned to Yokosuka on July 11, 1942, after a patrol that included shelling Fort Stevens in Oregon, and Fujita was summoned to Imperial Naval Headquarters. Commander Prince Takamatsu met Fujita and briefed him on a plan to start a forest fire in the Oregon forest. A large wildfire, he was told, might cause the American Navy to reposition its fleet and draw personnel from the Pacific theater and spread panic. The I-15 departed for the Oregon coast on August 15, carrying a Yokosuka E14Y and six 168 lb. incendiary bombs.

The first attack (September 9)

The I-25, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Meiji Tagami, arrived off Port Orford, Oregon on September 7, 1942. Due to bad weather, the bombing was delayed for two days; the floatplane had to be launched during calm weather. During this time, the Oregon coast experienced unusually early rainfall, which made the forests moist.

Before dawn on September 9, 1942, the I-25 launched the floatplane flown by Fujita and Petty Officer Shoji Okuda. The plane carried two incendiary bombs. Fujita oriented himself with the Cape Blanco lighthouse and flew over the forest, dropping the two bombs. A Forest Service employee, named Howard Gardner, was stationed in a lookout tower on Mount Emily when he heard something sounding like a Model A Ford backfiring. He was unable to identify the aircraft and reported it to the Gold Beach Ranger Station at 6:24 a.m. Fujita struggled to find the submarine, but eventually did and landed.

By noon, Gardner could see smoke and flames near Wheeler ridge; he radioed the ranger station again and was advised to proceed to the site. Another lookout, Keith Johnson, was stationed at the Gold Beach station and was sent to join Gardner. Together, the two men discovered a circle of flames encompassing 60 feet with a small crater in the middle. The fire was quickly contained, and over 65 pounds of bomb fragments sporting Japanese markings were recovered.

These remains were delivered to the U.S. Army detachment at Brookings, where Army officers and an FBI agent examined them. Their diagnosis confirmed the attack could have been devastating had it not rained previously. Fortunately, a U.S. ban on weather broadcasting might have prevented the I-25 from holding off the attack. Government officials tried to keep the incident secret, but the effort failed as newspapers and word-of-mouth spread the story. Along the coast, blackouts became mandatory.

During the investigation, the I-25 came under attack by an A-29 Hudson, a Maritime patrol aircraft who spotted the crew while surfaced. Commander Tagami crash-dove the submarine to 230 feet, attempting to escape. The A-29 dropped three 300 lb. depth charges, damaging an antenna and causing a radio room leak. The A-29 dropped seven more charges, but the I-25 escaped without further damage.

The second attack (September 29)

Commander Tagami advised waiting until midnight to attack again, believing America would be expecting another at dawn. At midnight on September 29, the I-25 surfaced 50 miles west of Cape Blanco and launched the floatplane again. Because of the blackout, almost the entire Oregon coast was dark, except for the Cape Blanco lighthouse. Fujita flew towards the lighthouse and then past it. After flying for half an hour over the forest, Fujita released the bombs and turned around, believing they had ignited this time. Again, Fujita struggled to find the submarine, but found it after following an oil leak.

Seven miles east of Port Orford, forest workers were remodeling the Grassy Knob lookout station when they reported an unidentified aircraft, sounding like a Ford Model-T with a rod out. A fire fighting crew was sent out the next day, and after a two-day search, neither a fire or bomb fragments had been found. Rough weather and heavy mist returned to the coast, and Tagami decided to abort a third attack.

Aftermath

A full investigation was launched by the FBI, which resulted in locating several bomb fragments. The story was reported in several newspapers on September 10, 1942.

Lieut. Gen. John L. DeWitt, the area commander announced, "The Western Defense Command is investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery on Sept. 9 of fragments of what appears to have been an incendiary bomb. These fragments were found by personnel of the United States Forestry Service near Mt. Emily nine miles northeast of Brookings, Or. Markings of the bomb fragments indicated that the missile was of Japanese origin."

The floatplane carried had two bombs. Both were dropped, according to the Japanese records, but no trace has yet been found of the second bomb.

Fujita and his observer made a second attack on September 29, again causing only negligible damage.

Postwar aftermath

Nobuo Fujita was invited back to Brookings in 1962, after the Japanese government was assured he would not be tried as a war criminal. He gave the City of Brookings his family's 400-year-old samurai sword in friendship. Impressed by his welcome in the United States, Fujita invited three female students from Brookings to Japan in 1985. During the visit of the Brookings-Harbor High School students to Japan, Fujita received a dedicatory letter from an aide of President Ronald Reagan "with admiration for your kindness and generosity." Fujita returned to Brookings in 1990, 1992, and 1995. In 1992 he planted a tree at the bomb site as a gesture of peace. In 1995, he moved the samurai sword from the Brookings City Hall into the new library's display case. He was made an honorary citizen of Brookings several days before his death on September 30, 1997, at the age of 85. In October 1998, his daughter, Yoriko Asakura, buried some of Fujita's ashes at the bomb site.

See also

• Attacks on United States territory in North America during World War II

References

Bibliography

• Horn, Steve (2005). The second attack on Pearl Harbor: Operation K and other Japanese attempts to bomb America in World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1591143888.

External links

• Los Angeles Times news story of September 15, 1942
• Trail Dedication at Japanese Bombing Site Set - U.S. Forest Service