Okuda Shoji
Encyclopedia
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
.
Together with pilot Nobuo Fujita
, he participated in a mission using incendiary bombs, known as "The Lookout Air Raid
". The mission was to start massive forest fires in the Pacific Northwest
outside the town of Brookings, Oregon
, on 9 September 1942, with the ultimate objective of tying up U.S. military resources to the defense of the mainland, away from the Pacific Theater
.
Although the mission was a minor incident, it was the first airplane-dropped bombing on the continental United States
.
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...
on a floatplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
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....
that was launched from a 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...
, the I-25
Japanese submarine I-25
was a B1-Type submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served in World War II, took part in the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and carried out the only aerial bombing on the continental United States during wartime; during the so-called Lookout Air Raid; and the Bombardment of Fort Stevens, both...
.
Together with pilot Nobuo Fujita
Nobuo Fujita
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...
, he participated in a mission using incendiary bombs, known as "The Lookout Air Raid
The Lookout Air Raid
The Lookout Air Raids were minor, but historic, World War II events that occurred in the mountains of Oregon, several miles outside Brookings....
". The 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...
outside the town 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...
, on 9 September 1942, with the ultimate objective of tying up U.S. military resources to the defense of the mainland, 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....
.
Although the mission was a minor incident, it was the first airplane-dropped bombing on the continental United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.