Hidden World War II History in Northern California

There were several attacks on the West Coast during WWII. Hundreds if you count the incendiary balloon bombs that were launched and drifted to forests and fields, mostly in Oregon. Out of thousands of balloons launched only 300 made it to the mainland. Most of these exploded harmlessly, but some caused forest fires and one even killed a family of six people in Oregon.

The Japanese actually launched a Zero-type aircraft from an I-25 submarine and dropped two incendiary bombs about 30 miles away from these buildings. Although it might seem like it was a mistake, the Japanese were targeting the forests with incendiary devices to spark wild fires and take resources away from the war effort. The same sub that launched the plane then sank two tankers, one just off the coast of Crescent City.

These attacks prompted the construction of this anti-aircraft and surveillance base that is still very well hidden just south of the mouth of the Klamath River in North California. Two buildings disguised as farm houses are perched on the cliff's edge on what is now called Coastal Drive, the old Route 1. It seems few people in this area know about the buildings, or even the Coastal scenic drive that runs along the ocean cliff's edge for about 10 miles.

Inside they housed a diesel generator, electronic equipment and two .50 caliber anti aircraft guns. This was part of a larger communications network that served as an early warning system in the event of an invasion.

These is more about this attack and some of the other events that occurred during World War II in Southern Oregon and Northern California here

This is an update to an earlier post

Ocean Front Property

The sign above these buildings read the following:

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War II, the possibility of an enemy attack on the us mainland became very real. At one point, Japanese submarines operated in offshore waters and actually shelled some shipping operations and oil installations off the coast of California and Oregon.

To guard against potential invasion, the US Army built the "farm" buildings you see below. The cinder block structures, complete with shingled roofs, and fake windows and dormers, housed an early warning radar staion.

From the air, the sea and even the road, these buildings appeared to part be a working farm. In fact, they housed a diesel generator, electronic equipment and two 50-caliber machine guns.

As part of a network of observation stations, the soldiers and civilians stationed here reported any suspicious boats and planes to a communications center in San Francisco, ready to dispatch fighter planes if the crafts were identified as hostile.