Type: Official Military History
Source: Wesley Frank Craven, James Lea Cate, and William A. Goss; Office of Air Force History; Volume 1
An official historical account of United States Army Air Forces operations during World War II. The volume includes a detailed discussion of the February 25, 1942 Battle of Los Angeles and the anti-aircraft barrage triggered by reports of unidentified aerial targets over Southern California.
The account describes the confusion surrounding the reported targets and the disagreement between Army and Navy assessments of the incident.
The chapter's author, William A. Goss, concluded that meteorological balloons were responsible for the episode.
This source is important for understanding the military response and the official historical interpretation, but it does not constitute independent proof of the identity of every reported target.