The real battle of L.A.

The number one movie at the box office this week is the epic alien movie The Battle: Los Angeles. What most people don't know, is that there actually was a historical event of the same name.

On Wednesday, February 25, 1942, just weeks the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor something was seen that set off a panic stricken military response. A large round object was seen by dozens of army personnel hovering over Culver City and Santa Monica. No less than nine spotlights are trained directly on the object in the photo.  Because it was believed to be some kind of Japanese warship, it immediately triggered a wartime blackout in L.A and most of southern California. The object appeared nearly stationary and was easily targeted by searchlights and gun crews. In the coming minutes the U.S. military would fire nearly 2000 rounds of high explosive shells at the intruder in full view of hundreds of thousands of residents. This was no rumor. EVERYONE saw it. The object took many direct hits from the barrage but did not appear to be damaged in any way. Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, dismissed the event as a “false alarm” due to “jittery wartime nerves. In the years since, various explanations have been offered – from Japanese planes to German craft launched from secret bases in Mexico to unidentified aircraft to weather balloons to sky lanterns to blimps.s,” but when this failed to satisfy the press and the public, the Army responded with a definitive answer that the craft and the battle were real, and the next day, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson confirmed that. Look closely at the photo's. Do you see a blimp? Of course not.
So what do you think is in this photo?