Ep 305: The Battle of Los Angeles

 
 
“None of the explanations so far offered removed the episode from the category of ‘complete mystification.’”
— California State Representative Leland M. Ford, calling for a Congressional investigation
 
 

Description:

On the night of February 25, 1942, less than three months after Pearl Harbor, Los Angeles was gripped by fear as air raid sirens wailed and a total blackout stretched to the Mexican border. Powerful arc lamps lit up the sky, and anti-aircraft guns fired wildly as reports of enemy aircraft flooded in — some claiming planes crashed down across the city, though no wreckage was found. Even military leaders couldn’t agree on what had happened. Some dismissed it as a false alarm, while others insisted non-U.S. aircraft were present. Eyewitnesses, including trained military observers, described seeing strange, slow-moving objects — one even shaped like a butterfly — and estimating anywhere from 1 to 25 of these aircraft. Decades later, declassified documents suggested the military misled the public, with one army chief allegedly reporting to President Roosevelt that the crafts were likely of interplanetary origin. This week, we travel back to 1942 to sift through the conflicting reports from that night and beyond to help theorize the true nature of the so-called "Battle of Los Angeles."

 

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CREDITS:

Episode 305: The Battle of Los Angeles. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound. Music and Sound Design by Allen Carrescia. Tess Pfeifle, Producer and Lead Researcher. Ed Voccola, Technical Producer. Research Support from The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2025 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 
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