23 Dec 1941
United States
United States
- Japanese submarine I-21 attacked the 12,000-ton tanker SS Montebello off San Simeon, California. Hours earlier, Montebello had left Port San Luis, California with a load of gasoline bound for Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I-21 fired two torpedoes at the tanker. One failed to explode but the other hit home and did its job. Montebello’s No. 2 hold was ruptured and her captain, Olof Eckstrom, gave the order to abandon ship. All 38 men aboard made it into lifeboats as Commander Matsumura shelled the stricken ship. During the shelling, according to Captain Eckstrom, the lifeboats came under small arms fire from the submarine, probably rifle fire. Montebello sank about an hour after being torpedoed. All 38 crewmen survived. Later that same day, the 10,000-ton tanker SS Idaho came through the same waters. About 9 miles west of the Montebello attack, I21’s gun crew shelled Idaho with minimal damage before the tanker sailed on. ww2dbase [Japanese Attacks on the Continental United States | Point Piedras Blancas, California | CPC]
Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Please help us spread the word: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Change View
Desktop ViewSearch WW2DB

News
- » Wreck of Teruzuki Found (27 Jul 2025)
- » USS Orlean's Bow Found (22 Jul 2025)
- » The Emperor of Japan Planned to Honor WW2-era Japanese POWs in Mongolia (4 Jul 2025)
- » US State Lawmaker John Winter Caught Using Racial Slur "Jap" and Apologized (11 Jun 2025)
- » US Government Plans to Purge WW2 Information (17 Mar 2025)
- » See all news
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,182 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 45,119 timeline entries
- » 1,248 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 376 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 261 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,409 photos
- » 365 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"Since peace is now beyond hope, we can but fight to the end."Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937