The Japanese Bombardment of Targets Near Santa Barbara, California
In the small towns and communities near Santa Barbara, California, a little remembered WW2 event is commemorated to this day: a Japanese bombardment of coastal targets in the opening months of WW2. It was carried out by one of seven Japanese submarines sent to cruise America’s West Coast after the attack on Pearl Harbor. By late December of 1941, they departed to resupply and replenish before some of them returned.
One of the returning submarines was the I-17, captained by a Commander Kozo Nishino. Around 7 PM on the evening of February 23rd, 1942, the I-17 surfaced near the Ellwood Oilfield, and Japanese sailors scurried to ready its 5.5 inch deck gun for action. A few minutes later, the region’s quiet was shattered when Commander Nishino ordered the gun to open fire, lighting up the night skies with a bombardment that lasted about 20 minutes.
The Japanese were familiar with the Ellwood oil field and its facilities, as Japanese ships had frequently made use of its facilities during peacetime. Yet, the bombardment of Ellwood, during which the I-17’s guns fired about 16 shells, was haphazard. Commander Nishino’s men took aim at fuel tanks and oil storage facilities, but missed, and the only damage inflicted was the destruction of a pump house and a derrick, plus the chipping of a pier and catwalk.
Most oilfield workers had already clocked out of work and left for the day when the I-1-17 surfaced, and there was only a skeletal crew present during the bombardment. Nobody was killed or injured, and the damage was minimal. Although the event was trifling, it nonetheless produced great consequences, as the psychological impact of the bombardment exceeded the most optimistic of Japanese expectations. Panic gripped the West Coast, which was swept by a baseless invasion scare. That, coupled with a mounting paranoia, finally culminated in the decision to intern Japanese-Americans during the war.
