World War II History for September 9

Today in WW II History World War II History for September 9, 1941 – Iran surrenders to the Allies Agreeing, among other things, Iran deports Axis spies posing as diplomatic and tourist staff. Iran will order the "diplomats" and others out on the 13th. 1942 – Japan dropped incendiaries over Oregon in an attempt to set fire to the forests in Oregon and Washington. The forest did not ignite. A Japanese floatplane dropped incendiary bombs on an Oregon state forest-the first and only air attack on the U.S. mainland in the war. Launching from the Japanese sub I-25, Nobuo Fujita piloted his light aircraft over the state of Oregon and firebombed Mount Emily, alighting a state forest–and ensuring his place in the history books as the only man to ever bomb the continental United States. The president immediately called for a news blackout for the sake of morale. No long-term damage was done, and Fujita eventually went home to train navy pilots for the rest of the war. 1943 – During World War II Allied forces landed at Taranto and Salerno. Operation Avalanche, the Allied land invasion of Salerno, and Operation Slapstick, the British airborne invasion of Taranto, both in southern Italy, are launched. The U.S. 5th Army under Lt. Gen. Mark Clark landed along the Salerno coastline while British Commando units and their American counterparts, the U.S. Rangers, landed on the peninsula itself. Salerno had been chosen as the first site for invasion of the peninsula because it was the northern-most point to which the Allies could fly planes from its bases in Sicily, which they had already invaded and occupied. Rockets launched from landing craft provided cover, and the beach landings went relatively smoothly. It wasn't until two days later that the Germans, with some Italian troops coerced into service, mounted a heavy counterattack on the beachhead. But Clark called in the 82nd Airborne for support, and by the 15th, Salerno was in Allied hands. Meanwhile, the British 1st Airborne Division, having successfully landed at Taranto, captured the airfield at Foggia.