"The submarine force’s commanding officer, Vice Admiral Shimizu, passes on
instructions for the submarines to shell targets along the coast on Christmas
Eve. This decision comes from the Imperial High Command. The operation is
postponed until the 27th, then finally cancelled outright. A key reason in the
cancellation of the shelling is the fear of American reprisals if civilian
areas such as Los Angeles or San Francisco are attacked.

As I-17 cuts through the sea unseen from the shore, Nishino makes his decision
and calls down into the sub’s steel hull.

“General Quarters! Action stations, guns!�

The disciplined crew quickly take up their positions. They will carry out a
bombardment of the U.S. mainland, the first such attack since the War of 1812.

Why Commander Nishino chooses to attack is not known with any certainty.
Perhaps I-17’s other officers coaxed him into the decision, or he wants to
goad a fight with any nearby American warships. One rumor which circulated
after the war is that an incident of some sort took place when his tanker was
loading at Ellwood. Angered by this incident, he now has a chance to take his
revenge.

Ultimately, however, Nishino’s reason is of little concern. What is of real
concern, however, is the fact that Nishino and the I-17 are about to cause
quite a commotion in Southern California.

“It started about 7:15…�

Inside Wheeler’s Inn, dinner is being served to the patrons by the owner,
Laurence Wheeler, and his staff. Franklin Roosevelt’s characteristic New
England brogue is echoing from a radio set. During the broadcast, he claims:

"…the broad oceans that have been heralded in the past as our protection from
attack have become endless battlefields on which we are constantly being
challenged by our enemies".

As if to underline this statement in the most vivid manner possible, Nishino
orders his gun crew to open fire.

The first shells land in one of the refineries. The workmen on site are no
doubt baffled momentarily. Maybe an underground gas pocket has caught fire and
exploded violently to the surface. Perhaps a fifth-column saboteur dynamited
something in the refinery. Several seconds later, another explosion rocks the
area. They wonder what is happening.

Then someone spots the submarine out to sea. A witness, refinery workman G.O.
Brown, later describes it as “so big that I thought it might be a destroyer
or a cruiser.� Brown and the others race to inform the local authorities.

A shell sails over Wheeler’s Inn, and Laurence Wheeler telephones the
Sheriff’s office. They tell Wheeler planes will be there in “ten
minutes�, but no planes arrive.

I-17 escapes undamaged. Around the same time, I-17 is observed by Reverend
Arthur Basham of Pomona, California. Reverend Basham was visiting Montecito,
about sixteen miles east of Ellwood. He later told the Santa Barbara
Sheriff’s office that the submarine was:

“…heading south toward Los Angeles and flashing lights as if it were
attempting to signal with the shore.�

Reports of lights flashing out to sea in the Santa Barbara-Ventura area are
also reported. The Santa Barbara area is blacked out after the attack (the
all-clear signal was given at 12:12 am.)

I-17’s attack lasted somewhere around twenty minutes. Nishino’s crew fired
between twelve and twenty-five 5.5� AP (armor-piercing) shells, causing
little actual harm apart from a direct hit on an oil derrick and slight damage
to a catwalk and a portion of the Ellwood Pier.

The attack, first reported by the Associated Press Wire Service, sent a chill
up the country’s spine. The next day’s Late City Edition of The New York
Times carried the headline: SUBMARINE SHELLS CALIFORNIA OIL PLANT. The attack
also exacerbated animosity towards the Japanese-American population of
California, already at a critical point because of the attacks on Pearl Harbor.


The Silent Hunters

The bombardment of Ellwood was an unintended climax to the Japanese Navy’s
submarine warfare campaign off the U.S. West Coast. Although Japanese submarine
doctrine emphasized that submarines were intended to sink capital ships in
order to weaken an enemy’s potential battle line, their captains would
usually attack merchant shipping if the opportunity arose."

In article , (JAXAshby) wrote:

"The submarine force’s commanding officer, Vice Admiral Shimizu, passes on
instructions for the submarines to shell targets along the coast on Christmas
Eve. This decision comes from the Imperial High Command. The operation is
postponed until the 27th, then finally cancelled outright. A key reason in the
cancellation of the shelling is the fear of American reprisals if civilian
areas such as Los Angeles or San Francisco are attacked.


The story that I always have heard and that seems to be pretty much accepted
is that the Japanese Commander was humiliated before the war broke out
and was seeking retribution.

http://www.school-for-champions.com/...y/sbattack.htm