Lookout Air Raids
The Lookout Air Raids were two air raids carried out by the Empire of Japan in the Klamath Mountains of Oregon in September 1942.
On September 9, 1942, a Japanese Yokosuka E14Y Glen floatplane, launched from a Japanese submarine, dropped two incendiary bombs with the intention of starting a forest fire. However, with the efforts of a patrol of fire lookouts and weather conditions not amenable to a fire, the damage done by the attack was minor. The attack was the first time the contiguous United States was bombed by an enemy aircraft. It was also the second time the continental United States was attacked by enemy aircraft during World War II, the first being the bombing of Dutch Harbor three months earlier.
Lookout Air Raids
On Wednesday morning, September 9, 1942, the submarine I-25, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Akiji Tagami, surfaced west of Cape Blanco. The submarine launched a "Glen" Yokosuka E14Y floatplane, flown by Warrant Officer Nobuo Fujita and Petty Officer Okuda Shoji, with a load of two incendiary bombs of each.Howard "Razz" Gardner spotted and reported the incoming "Glen" from his fire lookout tower on Mount Emily in the Siskiyou National Forest.
Although Razz did not see the bombing, he saw the smoke plume and reported the fire to the dispatch office. He was instructed to hike to the fire to see what suppression he could do. Dispatch also sent USFS Fire Lookout Keith V. Johnson from the nearby Bear Wallow Lookout Tower. Fujita dropped two bombs, one on Wheeler Ridge on Mount Emily in Oregon. The location of the other bomb is unknown. The Wheeler Ridge bomb started a small fire due east of Brookings.
The two men proceeded to the location and were able to keep the fire under control. Only a few small scattered fires were started because the bombs were not dropped from the correct height. The men stayed on scene and worked through the night keeping the fires contained. In the morning, a fire crew arrived to help. A recent rain storm had kept the area wet, which helped the fire lookouts contain the blaze.
Aftermath
A full investigation was launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 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 two bombs. Both were dropped, according to the Japanese records, but no trace has yet been found of the second bomb. One of the bombs left a foot-deep crater. Fujita and his observer made a second attack on September 29, again causing only negligible damage.