Evening star., 1942-02-25
California Oil Field
SheIIed by Jap Sub
Shows $500 Damage
Reporters View Area,
Testify to Enemy
Gunners' moecuroey
By the Associated Press.

BY Lne Associated fTeSS.
SANTA BARBARA, Calf, Feb.
25.@Southern Californians, increas-
ingly casual toward the war in re-
cent weeks, were jolted into a
state of alert by the enemy's first
attack on continental United States.
Damage was only $500, but here
and elsewhere along the Pacific
Coast the cries cit can't happen
here" had been drowned out by
whining 5-inch shells, rocketing
from big japanese submarine into
a tidelands oil field.
Qmperial headquarters in To-
kio announced today that a Jap
anese submarine had shelled
military objectives on the Cali
fornia coast Monday night,
achieving highly successful re-
sults.0
There was little hysteria and a
universal compliance with military
and blackout regulations which
brought high praise from authori-
ties. Perhaps a farmer who shoul-
dered his gun and marched into
the sheriff's office personified the
general feeling.
Just let me see SUBJ" he said
"I1l empty my 80 80. and then I'll
throw rocks"
Citizens Wrath Doubled.
Senator Peller, Democrat, of Flor
ida, in Los Angeles for a Washing
tons Birthday dinner address at
the time of the attack, observed
Southern CalifornianS' reaction and
commented:
st have no doubt after witnessing
the calm of West Coast citizens
that Americans will only double
their wrath on the japanese for try
ing to disturb the address by Presi-
dent Roosevelt"
One thing stood out as results of
the shelling Monday night Of ELL
wood Oil field, IL miles north of
here, were surveyed.
The attack definitely was dud.
Engine housings, a few wires,
4x12 planks and flimsy catwalks are
easily replaced. There the damage
ended, with one well of 300 to 400
barrels daily capacity out of pro-
duction for a few hours.
Relentless Hunt for Sub.
The Army and Navy. meanwhile,
carried on relentless search by air
and sea for the intruder, second
underseas raider reported of these
shores since before Christmas There
was no word, however, of progress
of the hunt.
The Army made its survey Of the
Ellwood damage-which Col. John
B Maloney said uncovered some
very interesting things then
granted newspapermen and photog-
raphers free run Of the property.
There will be no restrictions, a
spokesman said. "You may 60 where
you wish, talk with any civilian en-
ploye. Army officers only are not
authorized to comment"
Here Is what correspondents
found:
The catwalk above one well shat
tered for space of about 4 feet by
a high explosive shell which had
tossed shrapnel as far as 300 yards
One of the fragments tore through
the engines gear housing. Corfu
gated metal protecting the engine
from the weather was pockmarked
Inaccurate Shooting.
A section of pier deck about 10
feet long and 2 feet wide ripped
out, evidently by the same shell,
which struck a steel brace on the
deck and riccocheted into the well,
on another pier $50 yards away.
Several power lines snapped by
shell fragments.
A 1O-inch pipeline, draining a
110, 0,000-barrel tank, dented but not
severed by another missile.
A variety of shell holes, in the
cliff and on the palisades, testimony
to inaccuracy of % other shots.