Nobuo Fujita
Encyclopedia
was a Warrant Flying Officer
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
who flew a floatplane
from the long-range submarine aircraft carrier
, and conducted the only wartime aircraft-dropped bombing on the continental United States of America, which became known as the Lookout Air Raid. Using incendiary bombs
, his mission was to start massive forest fires in the Pacific Northwest
near the city of Brookings, Oregon
with the objective of drawing the U.S. military's resources away from the Pacific Theater
. The strategy was also used in the Japanese fire balloon
campaign.
in 1932 and became a pilot in 1933. Fujita also had a younger brother who was killed in the war.
Fujita was onboard I-25 during the attack on Pearl Harbor
, where the I-25 and three other submarines patrolled a line 193 km (119.9 mi) north of Oahu
. Fujita's plane, a Yokosuka E14Y
"Glen" seaplane, did not function properly, and he was unable to participate in the reconnaissance mission planned before the attack.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor
, I-25 patrolled along the West Coast of the United States
with eight other submarines. They attacked U.S. shipping before returning to their base in Kwajalein Atoll
in the Marshall Islands
. They arrived there on January 11, 1942 to refuel and be refurbished.
harbours of Sydney
, Melbourne
and Hobart
, followed by the New Zealand
harbours of Wellington
and Auckland
. On 17 February 1942, Nobuo Fujita took off in the "Glen" for a reconnaissance flight over Sydney Harbour to examine the city's airbase. By 07:30, he had returned to I-25, disassembled the "Glen" and stowed it in the water-tight hangar.
The next mission was a similar flight over Melbourne, Australia. Fujita took off from Cape Wickham on King Island at the western end of Bass Strait
, about halfway between Victoria
and Tasmania
. The floatplane was launched on 26 February for its flight to Melbourne over Port Phillip Bay.
Fujita's next reconnaissance flight in Australia was over Hobart on 1 March. I-25 then headed for New Zealand, where Fujita flew a reconnaissance flight over Wellington on 8 March. He flew over Auckland on 13 March, followed by Fiji
on 17 March. The submarine returned to its base at Kwajalein on 31 March.
in preparation for the invasion of the Aleutian Islands. On 21 June, I-25 shelled the U. S. base of Fort Stevens
, near Astoria, Oregon
. Fujita was on the deck of I-25 during the attack.
Fujita himself suggested the idea of a submarine-based seaplane to bomb military targets, including ships at sea, and attacks on the U.S. mainland, especially the strategic Panama Canal
. The idea was approved, and the mission was given to I-25. Submarine aircraft carriers such as the giant I-400-class submarine
s would be developed specifically to bomb the Panama Canal.
At 06:00 on 9 September, I-25 surfaced west of the Oregon
/California
border where she launched the Glen, flown by Fujita and Petty Officer
Okuda Shoji
, with a 154 kg (339.5 lb) load of two incendiary bombs. 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 16 km (9.9 mi) due east of Brookings
, which U.S. Forest Service
employees were able to extinguish. Rain the night before had made the forest very damp, and the bombs were rendered essentially ineffective. Fujita's plane had been spotted by two men, Howard Gardner and Bob Larson, at the Mount Emily fire lookout tower
in the Siskiyou National Forest
. Two other lookouts (the Chetco Point Lookout and the Long Ridge Lookout) reported the plane, but could not see it due to heavy fog. The plane was seen and heard by many people, especially when Fujita flew over Brookings in both directions. At about noon that day, Howard Gardner at the Mount Emily Lookout reported seeing smoke. The four U.S. Forest Service employees discovered that the fire was caused by a Japanese bomb. Approximately 27 kg (59.5 lb) of fragments, including the nose of the bomb, were turned over to the United States Army
.
After the bombing, I-25 came under attack by a USAAF
aircraft on patrol, forcing the submarine to dive and hide on the ocean floor off Port Orford
. The American attacks caused only minor damage, and Fujita flew a second bombing sortie three weeks later on 29 September. Fujita used the Cape Blanco Light
as a beacon. After 90 minutes flying east, he dropped his bombs and reported seeing flames, but the bombing remained unnoticed in the U.S.
The submarine torpedoed and sank the SS Camden and SS Larry Doheny, and then sailed for home. On its way to Japan, I-25 sank the Soviet
submarine L-16, which was in transit between Dutch Harbor, Alaska and San Francisco, California
, mistaking it for an American submarine (Japan and the USSR were not at war at the time).
The two attacks on Oregon
in September 1942 were the only World War II aircraft bombings on the continental United States.
pilots. After the war he opened a hardware store in Ibaraki Prefecture
, and later worked at a company making wire.
Fujita was invited 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. Ashamed of his actions during the war, Fujita had intended to use the sword to commit seppuku
if he was given a hostile reception. However the town treated him with respect and affection, although his visit still raised some controversy.
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.
In October 1998, his daughter, Yoriko Asakura, buried some of Fujita's ashes at the bomb site.
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
who flew a floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
from the long-range submarine aircraft carrier
Submarine aircraft carrier
Submarine aircraft carriers are submarines equipped with fixed wing aircraft for observation or attack missions. These submarines saw their most extensive use during World War II, although their operational significance remained rather small...
, and conducted the only wartime aircraft-dropped bombing on the continental United States of America, which became known as the Lookout Air Raid. Using incendiary bombs
Incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
, his mission was to start massive forest fires in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
near the city of Brookings, Oregon
Brookings, Oregon
Brookings is a city in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It was named after John E. Brookings, president of the Brookings Lumber and Box Company, which founded the city in 1908. As of the 2010 census the population was 6,336. The total population of the Brookings area is over 13,000, which...
with the objective of drawing the U.S. military's resources away from the Pacific Theater
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
. The strategy was also used in the Japanese fire balloon
Fire balloon
A , or Fu-Go, was a weapon launched by Japan during World War II. A hydrogen balloon with a load varying from a incendiary to one antipersonnel bomb and four incendiary devices attached, they were designed as a cheap weapon intended to make use of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean and wreak...
campaign.
Early life and military career
Nobuo Fujita joined the Imperial Japanese NavyImperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
in 1932 and became a pilot in 1933. Fujita also had a younger brother who was killed in the war.
Pearl Harbor and U.S. West Coast
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, where the I-25 and three other submarines patrolled a line 193 km (119.9 mi) north of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
. Fujita's plane, a Yokosuka E14Y
Yokosuka E14Y
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6....
"Glen" seaplane, did not function properly, and he was unable to participate in the reconnaissance mission planned before the attack.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, I-25 patrolled along the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
with eight other submarines. They attacked U.S. shipping before returning to their base in Kwajalein Atoll
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
in the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. They arrived there on January 11, 1942 to refuel and be refurbished.
South Pacific
I-25s next mission was to reconnoitre the AustralianAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
harbours of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, followed by the New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
harbours of Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. On 17 February 1942, Nobuo Fujita took off in the "Glen" for a reconnaissance flight over Sydney Harbour to examine the city's airbase. By 07:30, he had returned to I-25, disassembled the "Glen" and stowed it in the water-tight hangar.
The next mission was a similar flight over Melbourne, Australia. Fujita took off from Cape Wickham on King Island at the western end of Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
, about halfway between Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. The floatplane was launched on 26 February for its flight to Melbourne over Port Phillip Bay.
Fujita's next reconnaissance flight in Australia was over Hobart on 1 March. I-25 then headed for New Zealand, where Fujita flew a reconnaissance flight over Wellington on 8 March. He flew over Auckland on 13 March, followed by Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
on 17 March. The submarine returned to its base at Kwajalein on 31 March.
Pacific Northwest
On 28 May, Fujita performed a reconnaissance of Kodiak, AlaskaKodiak, Alaska
Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
in preparation for the invasion of the Aleutian Islands. On 21 June, I-25 shelled the U. S. base of Fort Stevens
Fort Stevens (Oregon)
Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was named for slain Civil War general and former Washington Territory governor, Isaac Stevens. The fort was an active military...
, near Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
. Fujita was on the deck of I-25 during the attack.
Bombing of continental United States
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. The idea was approved, and the mission was given to I-25. Submarine aircraft carriers such as the giant I-400-class submarine
I-400 class submarine
The Imperial Japanese Navy submarines were the largest submarines of World War II and remained the largest ever built until the construction of nuclear ballistic missile submarines in the 1960s. They were submarine aircraft carriers able to carry three Aichi M6A Seiran aircraft underwater to their...
s would be developed specifically to bomb the Panama Canal.
At 06:00 on 9 September, I-25 surfaced west of the Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
/California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
border where she launched the Glen, flown by Fujita and Petty Officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
Okuda Shoji
Okuda Shoji
Petty Officer Shoji Okuda, served as an aerial observer in the Imperial Japanese Navy on a floatplane Yokosuka E14Y that was launched from a long-range submarine aircraft carrier, the I-25....
, with a 154 kg (339.5 lb) load of two incendiary bombs. Fujita dropped two bombs, one on Wheeler Ridge on Mount Emily
Mount Emily
Mount Emily is a mountain in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. It is located in southern Curry County in the extreme southwest corner of the state, near Brookings, approximately from the Pacific Ocean and from the California state line.-Bombing during World War...
in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The location of the other bomb is unknown. The Wheeler Ridge bomb started a small fire 16 km (9.9 mi) due east of Brookings
Brookings, Oregon
Brookings is a city in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It was named after John E. Brookings, president of the Brookings Lumber and Box Company, which founded the city in 1908. As of the 2010 census the population was 6,336. The total population of the Brookings area is over 13,000, which...
, which U.S. Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
employees were able to extinguish. Rain the night before had made the forest very damp, and the bombs were rendered essentially ineffective. Fujita's plane had been spotted by two men, Howard Gardner and Bob Larson, at the Mount Emily fire lookout tower
Fire lookout tower
A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness...
in the Siskiyou National Forest
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
The Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest is a United States National Forest located on both sides of the border between the states of Oregon and California. The formerly separate Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests were administratively combined in 2004...
. Two other lookouts (the Chetco Point Lookout and the Long Ridge Lookout) reported the plane, but could not see it due to heavy fog. The plane was seen and heard by many people, especially when Fujita flew over Brookings in both directions. At about noon that day, Howard Gardner at the Mount Emily Lookout reported seeing smoke. The four U.S. Forest Service employees discovered that the fire was caused by a Japanese bomb. Approximately 27 kg (59.5 lb) of fragments, including the nose of the bomb, were turned over to the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
.
After the bombing, I-25 came under attack by a USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
aircraft on patrol, forcing the submarine to dive and hide on the ocean floor off Port Orford
Port Orford, Oregon
Port Orford is a city in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It is on the southern Oregon Coast, at the northern end of what coastal Oregonians call the Banana Belt, because the weather from Port Orford south is noticeably warmer than the weather north of nearby Cape Blanco...
. The American attacks caused only minor damage, and Fujita flew a second bombing sortie three weeks later on 29 September. Fujita used the Cape Blanco Light
Cape Blanco Light
Cape Blanco Light is a lighthouse located on Cape Blanco, Oregon, United States.-Construction of the light:In a deed recorded in 1867, John D. and Mary West sold the United States a tract of land...
as a beacon. After 90 minutes flying east, he dropped his bombs and reported seeing flames, but the bombing remained unnoticed in the U.S.
The submarine torpedoed and sank the SS Camden and SS Larry Doheny, and then sailed for home. On its way to Japan, I-25 sank the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
submarine L-16, which was in transit between Dutch Harbor, Alaska and San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, mistaking it for an American submarine (Japan and the USSR were not at war at the time).
The two attacks on Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in September 1942 were the only World War II aircraft bombings on the continental United States.
Later life
Fujita continued as an Imperial Japanese Navy pilot, mainly in reconnaissance duties, until 1944, when he was transferred to the training of kamikazeKamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
pilots. After the war he opened a hardware store in Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
, and later worked at a company making wire.
Fujita was invited to Brookings in 1962, after the Japanese government
Politics of Japan
The politics of Japan is conducted in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, where Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government. Japanese politics uses a multi-party system. Executive power exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Diet, with...
was assured he would not be tried as a war criminal
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
. He gave the City of Brookings his family's 400-year-old samurai sword
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
in friendship. Ashamed of his actions during the war, Fujita had intended to use the sword to commit seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
if he was given a hostile reception. However the town treated him with respect and affection, although his visit still raised some controversy.
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
Brookings-Harbor High School
Brookings-Harbor High School is a public high school located in Brookings, Oregon, United States.- Attendance :Brookings-Harbor High School serves the city of Brookings and the surrounding area, including the community of Harbor. The school's attendance as of April 2009 is approximately 661 students...
students to Japan, Fujita received a dedicatory letter from an aide of President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
"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.
Honorary citizenship and death
He was made an honorary citizen of Brookings several days before his death at a hospital in Tsuchiura, Japan 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.