Bombardment of Fort Stevens

Bombardment of Fort Stevens
Part of World War II, Pacific War

American service men inspecting a shell crater after the Japanese attack on Fort Stevens.
Date 21 June 1942
Location Fort Stevens, Oregon, Pacific Ocean
Result Indecisive
Japanese retreat successful
United States counter attack successful
Belligerents
 United States Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
unknown Tagami Meiji
Strength
Land:
2 artillery pieces
1 fort
Air:
1 aircraft		 1 submarine
Casualties and losses
none
1 fort damaged		 none

The Bombardment of Fort Stevens occurred in June 1942, during early months of the Pacific War. An Imperial Japanese submarine fired on the United States military installation, Fort Stevens which was protecting the Oregon side of the Columbia River's Pacific entrance.

Contents

Bombardment

The Japanese submarine I-25—under the command of Tagami Meiji—was on a typical submarine mission: to destroy enemy shipping and engaging the enemy on land—if and when possible—using I-25's 5.5 in (140 mm) deck gun. She carried a Yokosuka E14Y seaplane and a crew of 94 men, including the commander. On 21 June 1942, I-25 was steaming in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, along the North American coast, following allied fishing boats to avoid the several mine fields in the area.

Late that night, Commander Meiji ordered his crew to surface his submarine at the mouth of the Columbia River. In sight was the old Fort Stevens, built during the American Civil War, with two 10 in (250 mm) disappearing guns as her best weapons. Several other defense measures were also available.

Meiji ordered a few members of his crew to take up I-25's deck gun and open fire on the American guns named "Battery Russell". The first shots were not very effective, possibly due to I-25's gunners or because the commander at Fort Stevens ordered his gunners not to fire back and to turn out all of the lights.

This was done in order to deny the Japanese valuable illumination which could be exploited to make a better-aimed shot at the American fortification. Most of the shells hit a nearby baseball field and a swamp, one of them landed near "Battery Russell" and one near a concrete pillbox. One shell hit several large telephone cables, resulting in the most significant damage sustained by the Americans that night. A total of seventeen 5.5 in (140 mm) rounds were fired by the Japanese sailors.

American aircraft—nearby on a training mission—spotted the Japanese sub and called in a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber to attack. The B-17 dropped its ordnance, but I-25 maneuvered and dodged the bombs before slipping beneath the waterline unmolested.

Aftermath

The Japanese submarine got away and no lives were lost during the bombardment and the American counter attack. This event helped fuel the 1942 West Coast invasion scare. The next day on beaches near the fort, rolls of barbed wire were strung from Point Adams southward to hamper invasion. The wrecked Peter Iredale was in the line of fire, which was entwined in the wire and remained that way until the end of the war. The engagement also marks the only time during World War II in which a continental United States military position was attacked by the Axis Powers.

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