Japanese Submarine Attack on Curry County (WWII) - Page 3
© Rick Francona
May – July 1942:
The first operation on this mission to the west coast was a reconnaissance flight over Kodiak, Alaska on May 27. The intelligence derived from this flight was to support planning for a diversionary attack on Dutch Harbor. The attack was to divert American attention from the upcoming carrier attack against American positions on Midway island. So important was the expected information from the reconnaissance flights that a second I-15 class submarine -- the I-26, sailing with its hangar empty -- was positioned in the area to recover the aircraft should something happen to the I-25.While moving south toward Washington, the submarine attacked the freighter SS Fort Camosun on June 20 with her deck guns; the freighter survived.
Heading further south, on the night of June 21, the submarine fired 17 rounds from its deck gun at Fort Stevens - a coastal defense installation on the north coast of Oregon. The only reported damage was to the baseball backstop. However, the real impact was the alarm to the American public when it was reported that the Japanese Navy had attacked the American mainland.
On July 30, on its return to Japan from this mission, the I-25 is believed to have sunk the U.S. Navy submarine USS Grunion (SS-216) near Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. However, Japanese navy records indicate that the I-25 had returned to Yokosuka by July 27.
August – October 1942:
In the summer of 1942, the Japanese high command developed a plan to attack the dense forest in the Pacific Northwest. The Japanese hoped that a large forest fire would draw American attention to defense of the west coast and cause the U.S. Navy to reposition its Pacific fleet closer to the mainland. The I-25 was ordered to undertake this operation, and was provided with six incendiary bombs for the mission.So began a very successful patrol for the I-25. The submarine departed Yokosuka on August 15, 1942, and arrived off the Port Orford Heads on the Oregon coast by early September in bad weather. By September 9, weather conditions had improved. The I-25 surfaced just before dawn and the Glen seaplane was assembled and readied for the attack. Fujita took off at sunrise and flew northeast toward the easily visible Cape Blanco lighthouse. After flying southeast for about 50 miles, Fujita dropped one of his two incendiary bombs on Mount Emily, releasing the second a few minutes later a several miles east of the first. The bad weather that had delayed his mission
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