A captured Japanese midget submarine paraded around the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during a USC v. UCLA football game, Los Angeles, December 12, 1942

A captured Japanese midget submarine paraded around the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during a USC v. UCLA football game, Los Angeles, December 12, 1942On December 12, 1942, the football teams for Los Angeles’s two major colleges—USC and UCLA—faced off for a game at the Coliseum, south of downtown. Before the game, a captured Japanese midget submarine was paraded around the grounds to what looks like was a packed stadium. It was just after the 1st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, so I would imagine that emotions ran high in the crowds of Angelenos we can see here.

As noted on Twitter: “The submarine was captured intact at Pearl Harbor and used as a fundraising prop for war bond drives. In the 1960s the submarine was installed at the Key West Lighthouse for display. It was moved to a museum in Texas in the 1990s.

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2 responses to “A captured Japanese midget submarine paraded around the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during a USC v. UCLA football game, Los Angeles, December 12, 1942”

  1. Skip Nicholson says:

    Yes. It looks like the “turnstile end” seats–the least desirable ones–are nearly full, and the scoreboard says ticket sales are “still continuing,” so it must have been a packed house. It was also the first time UCLA ever defeated USC (although the Trojans would win 9 of the next 10).

  2. Al Donnelly says:

    The Philco won’t fit through the hatch…we’re gonna have to find a way to make these things smaller!

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