Los Angeles (118.222W 34.019N) was first settled by Europeans in 1781. At the time, it was described as “a very spacious valley, well grown with cottonwoods and alders, among which ran a beautiful river from north-northwest” – a far cry from the metropolis of today. The area fell into American hands in 1847 as part of the spoils of the Mexican War.
The Santa Fe Railroad reached the city in 1885, connecting it with the population centers of the East. The city grew rapidly, and was already one of the largest in the United States in 1941. Much of this growth was fueled by the local oil fields and by the careful development of the Port of Los Angeles. The city was highly industrialized, with a booming air industry. Bethlehem Steel had a small mill in the southern part of the city, at Vernon. However, Los Angeles County ranked first in the nation in value of farm products until as late as 1949.
The largely artificial port of Los Angeles had extensive facilities, including the San Pedro Naval Shipyard and the nearby Wilmington shipyard, which contracted for ship construction with the Maritime Commission. San Pedro was run by Bethlehem Steel and was originally a repair station, but was upgraded for merchant ship construction and then for naval construction. Wilmington was run by California Shipbuilding Corporation and had eight ways in late 1941. However, the small size of the anchorage and the utter lack of protection from observation to seaward prevented Los Angeles from becoming an important naval base.
Coastal defenses were based at Fort MacArthur and
manned by 3
Coastal Artillery Regiment, with batteries at Fort MacArthur (118.285W
33.718N),
Bolsa Chica, Oxnard, Manhattan Beach, Point Vicente, and White Point.
Climate Information:
Elevation 312'
Temperatures: Jan 65/46, Apr 70/50, Jul 81/60, Oct 76/54, record 109/28
Rainfall: Jan 6/3.1, Apr 4/1.0, Jul 0/0, Oct 2/0.6 == 15.0" per annum
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009-2010 by Kent G. Budge. Index