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California during World War II was a major contributor to theWorld War II effort. California's longPacific Ocean coastline provided the support needed for thePacific War. California also supported thewar in Europe. After the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, most of California's manufacturing was shifted to the war effort. California became a major ship builder and aircraft manufacturer. Existing military installations were enlarged and many new ones were built. California trained many of the troops before their oversea deployment. Over 800,000 Californians served in theUnited States Armed Forces. California agriculture, ranches and farms were used to feed the troops around the world.California's long coastline also put the state in fear, as an attack on California seemed likely. California was used for the temporary and permanentinternment camps forJapanese Americans. The population grew significantly, largely due to servicemen who were stationed at the new military bases/training facilities and the mass influx of workers from around the U.S. in the growing defense industries. With all the new economy activity, California was lifted out of theGreat Depression. Over 500,000 people moved to California from other states to work in the growing economy. California expanded its oil and mineral production to keep up with the war demand.^[1][2]

A total of 12% of all U.S. Government war contracts were awarded to California companies. A total of 17% of the war materials were made in California.Mining,natural gas, andoil production were active industries in California before World War II, and these rapidly expanded to support the war effort. LikeWorld War I, the mines and mining towns came to life again, due to an increase in demand for gold, copper, and silver. California oil production doubled, thesynthetic rubber industry created in California and California agricultural output almost tripled. In 1941 California oil production was 230,263,000 barrels; by the end of the war in 1945 the output was 326,555,000 barrels.^[3]Raw material was also shipped to California fromLend leaseU.S. Allies. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and America entered the war, there was a quick build of new military bases,airfields, training camps, and other military installations. New military construction projects and the emerging war industries in California brought in tens of thousands of workers from across America. After the war, many stayed in California, with some others returning to their home states. Towns and cities next to military and industrial facilities grew and had an increase in the economy.California's population in 1940 was 6,907,387 and by 1950 it had grown to 10,586,223, a 53.3% increase.^[4] California received one eighth of all war orders. With the manpower shortage many women entered the workforce in manufacturing and other jobs held by men in the past. As factories added more shifts, a variety of stores and services increase operating hours. To retain workers, some businesses increased theiremployee benefits. Many military personnel who were trained in California returned after the war to tour the state, so California'stourist industries began to grow.

California's mild climate made it ideal for year-roundfood production.^[5] With many men overseas, there was labor shortage at harvest time. The need for extra workers at harvest brought in housewives and students. Some businesses even loaned workers to help with harvest and food packing as needed. TheWoman's Land Army of America was one of the organizations helping in food production. Even with the increase in food production there was mandatoryfood rationing. Civilians were encouraged to plantVictory gardens to help with the food shortage. The slogan "grow your own, can your own", was started at start of the war and referred to families growing andcanning their own food in victory gardens. With its mild climate most victory gardens were grown almost year-round.^[6][7] Tires and gasoline were also rationed.^[8][9]Rationing of wool fabric was also required during the war. This is one of the causes of the June 1943Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles.^[10]

• After the attack on Pearl Harbor it was feared that some Japanese Americans might be loyal to Japan. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signedExecutive Order 9066, which authorized theSecretary of War to set some military zones for theinternment of Japanese Americans. California had some of the U.S.prisoner of war camps andJapanese Americansinternment camps.War Relocation Authority built both temporary and permanent relocation camps. As aliens they had to register in accordance with the law and were required to turn in all weapons and short-wave radios. Japanese Americans first were sent to one of California's 11 temporary relocation camps, like the two in southern California:Pomona assembly center and theSanta Anita assembly center. From these centers many were sent to other states and some were sent to California'sManzanar War Relocation Center, California or theTule Lake War Relocation Center. Even with internment, a number of American-born Japanese (orNisei) volunteered to join the U.S. armed services. The Nisei units fought well and are highly decorated units. Nisei joined all the U.S. armed branches, most joined the U.S. Army.^[11]

• Camp Haan was built at nearMarch Air Reserve Base, the camp housed 1,200 Italian prisoners of war (POW). German POWs were also housed at the camp. In all21 POW camps were built in California. A number of Italian POWs pledged to help the United States. About 70% to 90% of the Italian POWs volunteered forItalian Service Units (ISU). Due to labor shortage the Italian Service Units helped on Army depots, arsenals, farms and hospitals, there they volunteered to work and received better housing, than the standard POW camps.Camp Lamont was used for German POW volunteers to work on crops.^{[12][13][14][15]}Camp Cooke held German POWs, now the site ofVandenberg Air Force Base.^[16] TheStockton Ordnance Depot held 1,500 German prisoners from May 1944 till June 1946.^[17]

• On February 23, 1942, the Japanesebombed the Ellwood Oil Field. TheEllwood Oil Field and oil refinery are located inGoleta, California in theSanta Barbara Channel.Japanese submarine I-17 fired 16 shells at the Oil Field from its deck gun before running. This attack along with theNiihau Incident started the fear ofthe invasion of California. There was speculation that the battle group that attacked Hawaii would come to California next.^[18] There were no casualties and little damage in the attack.^[19] News of the attack triggered aninvasion scare along theWest Coast of the United States.^[20][21]
• Fu-Go balloon bombs were the other attack on California and 14 other states. Japanese launched fire bomb balloons across the Pacific Ocean. These high-altitude balloons carried bombs and incendiary explosives. In California 25 fire bomb balloons were found, none caused injuries in California. The balloon bombs were launched in Japan from November 3, 1944, to April 1945. On February 23, 1945, aP-38 Lightning plane shot down a balloon nearSanta Rosa, California. On January 10, 1945, anArmy P-38 shot down a Fu-Go balloon nearAlturas, California^{[22][23][24][25][26]}
• Ships off the California coast were attacked:SS Agwiworld (escaped),SS Emidio (sank),SS Samoa (escaped),^[27]SS Larry Doheny (sank),SS Dorothy Phillips (damaged),SSH.M. Storey (escaped, sank later),SSCamden (sank),SS Absaroka (damaged),SS Montebello (sank),SS Barbara Olson (escaped),SSConnecticut (damaged),SS Fort Camosun (Sank), andSSIdaho [tanker] (minor damage). In the attacks, eight seamen were killed and others injured. After the attack on Pearl Harbor theImperial Japanese Navy sent fiveSubmarines,I-17,I-19,I-23I-25 andI-26, to attack ships off coastal California.^{[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]}
• Due to fear California coastal cities turned off lights or blacked out windows at night. Some radio stations went off the air and civil ships were ordered to stay in port. Commercial air travel was grounded.^{[40][21][41][42]} A military defense system was installed up and down the coast, that includedblimps, patrol ships,artillery batteries, and aircraft.^[43][44]
• The sense of danger caused the "Battle of Los Angeles." On February 24 and 25, 1942 Los Angeles civil defense thought there was an attack and so 1,440 rounds of U.S.anti-aircraft ammunition was fired at what turned out to be a non-existent enemy. Reports of an unidentified aircraft started blackout and shooting of reported incoming aircraft. There was crazed and inaccurate reporting of the event at the time. The only damage in the city was self-inflicted from anti-aircraft fire coming down. The event exposed the defenselessness of the West Coast, as California was defended by only 16 modern warplanes at the time.
• After the war it was learned that Tokyo had planned a December 24, 1941 attack onSan Diego Bay.Japanese submarine I-10 was to be the leader of seven other submarines that were to shell theU.S. Navy at San Diego Bay. The attack was called off with the subs only 20 miles off the California coast.^[45]

California was a major supplier of ammunition for the war.Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant in Stanislaus County andBenicia Arsenal were two of the largest ammunition makers. InSan Bernardino the Western Stove Company builtincendiary bombs.^[46]

The largest World War II accident in California was thePort Chicago disaster. TheLiberty ship SSE. A. Bryan exploded on July 17, 1944, while being loaded with ammunition. About 4,600 tons (4,173 tonnes) of explosives had been loaded in the ship's holds at the time. The explosion killed 320 sailors and civilians and injured 390 others.^[47][48]

Hollywood'smotion-picture industry continued to makemovies during the war. In addition toentertainmentfilms, Hollywood madetraining films and films to raise morale.^[49][50][51] The 1942 filmThe Arm Behind the Army showed how important home support of the war was.^{[citation needed][52][53][54]}

Bob Hope volunteered with theUnited Service Organizations (USO) and entertained troops during World War II and for decades later (1941 to 1991). Hope brought many Hollywood stars with him on his USO tours.^[55]

Desi Arnaz was stationed atBirmingham General Army Hospital inVan Nuys, California during the war to entertain the troops there. Arnaz had a bad knee and so was transferred to the US Army Medical Corps. Arnaz also coordinated with the stars that visited the hospital.^[56]

Disney famously dedicated a large portion of their business to makingpropaganda films.

To help pay for the war the U.S. soldwar bonds. With its booming economy during World War II, Californians was one of the top ofU.S. War Bonds sold. Much of the advertising for war bonds was donated. The spirit of sacrifice was never stronger for the defense of democracy and a way of honoring the sacrifices of American troops. Named after the 1942Hollywood Victory Caravan, Paramount-produced film promoted bond sales in a 1945, post War. The short film included Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Alan Ladd, William Demarest, Franlin Pangborn, Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart, and others. Other heroes like boxingJoe Louis andJoe DiMaggio sold war bonds.Albert Einstein donated the original copies of his manuscript on the theory of relativity for auction to raise money for war bonds.^[57][58]

California National Guard was mobilized and called to active duty in August 1940. The US Army recruited the first group to deploy to the war in Europe. The others troops called up were sent to the Pacific war. Between 1940 and 1941 about 12,000 California National Guard troops were called up to service in federal duty. Some troops were used for the defense of California and Hawaii. California National Guard was used for coast patrols, security guards for the Army Air Force bases, railroad bridges, rail tunnels and major dams. Major training bases areCamp Roberts andCamp San Luis Obispo.^[59]

Due to the attack on Pearl Harbor and on California civil defense systems were started in California.Office of Civilian Defense was founded on May 20, 1941, and theOffice of Civil Defense in May 1941. TheCivil Air Patrol was started on December 1, 1941, in which civilian planes and spotters were used in air reconnaissance, search-and-rescue, and transport. After the attacks on California theCoast Guard Auxiliary, became very active in the use of civilian boats and crews for reconnaissance and search-and-rescue. Towers were built along coastal California, staffed with spotters to look for enemy aircraft working with theGround Observer Corps.^[60] In February 1942 the Federal government startedWar Time, ending in September 1945. WithWar Time California time was renamed toPacific War Time with specialDaylight Savings times. TheWomen Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) started on August 5, 1943, used 1,074 civilian women pilots to fly new warplanes from the factories to Army airfields for training and deployment points. WASP pilots also towed targets for live anti-aircraft artillery practice, towed gliders for practice landings, simulated strafing missions, and transported cargo. WASP California headquarters was atSanta Ana Army Air Base,Merced Army Airfield,Minter Field, andVictorville Army Airfield^[61]

American railroads moved 70% of allfreight transported in the United States in 1940. During World War II thepassenger andfreight volume increased vastly. Railroads moved about 90% of the military's cargo need and transported 98% of military personnel. Railroads worked overtime to keep up with demand. It was patriotic to avoid all unnecessary travel, to give space needed for troop movement. Railroad brought troops to California training centers and camps.^[62] Railroad brought workers to California's growingdefense industry. During World War II rail-line moved toDiesel locomotives and away from the labor-intensivesteam locomotives. The Army had specialhospital cars built to move wounded soldiers, one operated out of San Francisco.^[63][64]

The development of new systems was a key to winning the war. World War 2 brought about many new technologies. Some California colleges and universities joined in theV-12 Navy College Training Program training volunteers for Navy commission.^[65] Some California universities also had classes foraeronautical engineering, resident inspectors of ordinance and naval material, and a liaison for theNational Defense Research Committee.^[66][67]

• Los Alamos National Laboratory – Top secretManhattan Project
• California Institute of Technology – aeronautical – wind tunnels – rocketry
• University of California, Berkeley – Manhattan Project
• Stanford University – radar microwave research
• University of California-San Diego –Frequency modulationSonar to track multiple targets with a single ping and large Sonar crystals.^[68]
• University of California, Riverside – V-12 Navy College
• University of California, Los Angeles – V-12 Navy College –Scuba diving
• Occidental College – V-12 Navy College
• EarlyPenicillin experiments were done at the Kaiser Richmond Shipyards.^[69]
• Skunk Works – Planes and jets
• Hewlett-Packard builtoscillators forproximity fuze andmicrowaveSignal generator used in radar and counter-radar measures.^[70]
• Hedy Lamarr Hollywood actor withGeorge Antheil invented Frequency-hopping spread spectrum for the Navy.^[71]

After the warOperation Magic Carpet started to bring the troops home, some brought homewar brides. On October 30, 1944, GovernorEarl Warren started the California Veteran's Commission. The Commission worked to help veterans re-entry into civilian life. The Commission working withUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs,California Military Department, state agencies, local governments, and community groups like:American Legion,Veterans of Foreign Wars, andDisabled American Veterans. ManyVeterans Health Administration facilities were opened in the state.^[72][73][74] Veteran's Bond Act of 1943 helped veterans to purchase a home or farm.^[75] Veterans started families, that is called thebaby boom,birth rates increased in theU.S. and California.^[76][77]

California became a major builder of ships for the war. Under theEmergency Shipbuilding program, cargo ships like Liberty ships andVictory ships were built in days, not the normal months. Ships that could be repaired overseas greatly reduced repair time, soCalifornia shipyards also builtfloating dry docks like theLarge Auxiliary Floating Dry Docks andMedium Auxiliary Floating Dry Docks. As fear of an attack on California seemed likely, the War Department requested some ships be built at an inland ports, so many new ships were built at thePort of Stockton, seventy nautical miles from the ocean. Henry J. Kaiser built day care centers at his shipyards in Richmond.Kaiser Steel was headquartered inFontana, California. Some of the ships were given to theAllies of World War II through theLend-Lease act of March 11, 1941. At the end of the war there was a surplus of ships and mostshipyards were closed. Surplus ships were either sold or put into theNavy Reserve Fleet, like theSuisun Bay Reserve Fleet. California ship yards:^{[78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87]}

Built in California during World War 2 were:B-17 Flying Fortress,Lockheed P-38 Lightning,Douglas C-47 Skytrain,Douglas SBD Dauntless,Douglas A-26 Invader,Lockheed Ventura,Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar,Lockheed P-2 Neptune,Lockheed Constellation,Douglas P-70 Nighthawk,Douglas DC-5,Douglas C-54 Skymaster,Douglas BTD Destroyer,Douglas A-33,Douglas TBD Devastator,Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer,Northrop A-17,Northrop BT,Northrop N-3PB,Northrop P-61 Black Widow,McDonnell FH Phantom,Consolidated B-24 Liberator,Consolidated PB2Y Coronado,Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf,Consolidated B-32 Dominator,Consolidated P-30,North American B-25 Mitchell,North American P-51 Mustang,Vultee A-31 Vengeance,Vultee BT-13 Valiant,Vultee P-66 Vanguard,Vultee V-11,Interstate Cadet,North American T-6 Texan,Douglas A-20 Havoc,Lockheed C-69 Constellation,Consolidated PBY Catalina,Interstate TDR,Timm N2T Tutor,Ryan PT-22 Recruit,Ryan ST and theWaco CG-4 / Timm CG-4A . TheLockheed Hudson built in Burbank was delivered to Canada and then the United Kingdom starting in 1939. By the end of the war California had 70% of the aerospace manufacturing in the United States and had built over 200,000 planes.Hughes H-4 Hercules,Victory Trainer andBartlett Zephyr were built in California, but not used. TheCalifornia Institute of Technology inPasadena, California started aSchool of Aeronautics and other aeronautic research labs in the early 1920s, this helped California become a major aerospace manufacturing center.^{[114][115][116][117]}

Aircraft manufacturers of World War II in California:

During World War II all California civilian automobile manufacturing ended.^[118]

• General MotorsSouth Gate Assembly builtStuart M-5 and M5A1light tanks at 500 per month.^{[119][120][121][122]}
• General MotorsOakland Assembly builtPratt & Whitney aircraft engines and munitions.
• Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Richmond built 49,399jeeps. The Ford plant also did completion work ontanks,armored personnel carriers, armored cars and other military vehicles. Ford's Long Beach plant was leased to the Air Force and used as an Air Base.^[123]
• Willys-OverlandMaywood, California plant was used by Lockheed to build subassemblies forLockheed Hudson.^[124]
• Chrysler of California, Los Angeles, built 12,214 aircraft engines, 4,100 B-17 cabins and 688PV-2 Harpoon cabins.^[125][126]
• Studebaker Pacific Corporation of Los Angeles built engines for the B-17s and PV-2 Harpoons being built in Burbank.^[127]
• Menasco Motors Company in Burbank, built aircraftlanding gear for North American, Lockheed, Republic, General Dynamics, and other aircraft manufacturers. Menasco continued this work after the war.^[128]
• Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Los Angeles built 1,550 turrets used on M5 tanks. Firestone also built 3,100 M5tank tracks.^[129]

Joshua Hendy Iron Works was the biggest supplier of reciprocating engines forLiberty ships in the country. It was also theonly manufacturer of large steam turbine propulsion systems on the West Coast.

• Marine triple expansion reciprocating
  • Joshua Hendy Iron Works in Sunnyvale
• Marine diesel
  • Enterprise Engine and Foundry Co. in San Francisco
  • Atlas-Imperial in Oakland
• Marine steam turbines
  • Joshua Hendy in Sunnyvale

Like other states in thedesert Southwest, many of the new military installations built wereUnited States Army airbases. California's weather, wide open spaces, railroad connections, and access to ocean made it an ideal location for training pilots, alsoarmored vehicles operators.^{[130][131][132]}

The largestUnited States Army training installation in the history of the United States was theDesert Training Center. To prepare troops for the battles in theNorth African campaign, the army hadGeneral Patton build many desert training camps inSouthern California and a few inArizona. The camps were built in theMojave Desert andSonoran Desert. The open space let the Army andArmy Air Corps use live fire to train troops, test and develop equipment. Tactical doctrines, techniques, and training methods for combat were developed from this training. From 1 April 1942 to 1 July 1944, the complete training area covered 18,000 square miles. The camp reached fromPomona, California east to almost toPhoenix, Arizona and fromYuma, Arizona northward into the southern tip ofNevada.^[133]

California Army Divisional Camps

• Camp Clipper andCamp Essex
• Camp Coxcomb
• Camp Granite^[134]
• Camp Ibis
• Camp Iron Mountain
• Camp Pilot Knob
• Camp Young – Desert Training Center Headquarters

California Army Depots

• Camp Freda Quartermaster Depot
• Camp Desert Center
• Camp Goffs – Depot and Infantry training.
• Pomona Ordnance Depot

California Army Airfields

• Major airfields
  • Blythe Army Air Base
  • Desert Center Army Airfield
  • Thermal Army Airfield
  • Rice Army Airfield
  • Shavers Summit Army Airfield (nowChiriaco Summit Airport)
• Minor airfields
  • Camp Coxcomb Army Field (abandoned)
  • Camp Essex Army Field (abandoned)
  • Camp Goffs Army Field (abandoned)
  • Camp Ibis Army Field (abandoned)
  • Camp Iron Mountain Army Field

Desert Training Center California Hospitals

• Banning General Hospital (Banning, CA)
• Camp Freda Hospital
• Camp Desert Center Hospital
• Camp Goffs Hospital
• Torney General Hospital
• Needles Station Hospital
• Cherry Valley Hospital

For World War 2 existing California Army bases were enlarged and many new bases were built. Bases were used for induction, training, deployment, supply depots, hospitals and housing of POWs.

ExistingUnited States Army Air Corps air bases were enlarged to house and train the many new crews needed. Almost all civilian airports and airstrips were converted to Army Air training centers. Almost all civilian air flights were cancelled. Many new airstrips and landing pads were built for pilot landing and take-off training. Air bases had housing and meals for the troops. Some airstrips and landing pads had no support buildings, as they were used only for landing and take-off training.United States Army Air Corps World War II bases, airstrips and landing pads in California:^[139][140]

United States Navy's main marine bases were located in the deepwater ports of:San Diego Bay,Port of Los Angeles,San Francisco Bay and theStockton Deepwater Shipping Channel. TheUS Navy during WW2Pacific Fleet operated: ports, supply depots and airfields foraircraft carrier training, alsoblimps used for patrol of the coast. Post World War II many shipyards became home of thePacific Reserve Fleet used to store the many surplus ships.^[141]
United States Navy World War II bases and stations in California:^[142]

Camp Pendleton became the main training grounds for training Marines includinglanding craft school,amphibious tractor school, beach battalion school,amphibious communications school, and a medical field service school. Skills that would be used across theisland hopping in the Pacific War and the war in Europe.^{[145][146][147]}

• Camp Pendleton San Diego
• Marine Corps Air Station Miramar San Diego
• Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow Barstow, Yermo Quartermaster Sub-Depot
• Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego San Diego
• Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton
• El Toro Marine Corps Air Station
• Tustin Marine Corps Air Station
• Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara
• Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range
• Camp Elliott
• Camp Matthews
• Gillespie Field
• Camp Las Pulgas Bivouac Area
• Camp Ensign
• Ensign Ranch Airfield
• Camp Dunlap

In times of war, like during World War II, theUnited States Coast Guard operated as a branch of the Department of the Navy. In California the Coast Guard operated out of the12th Naval District.Coast Guard's World War 2 Navy support included use of Coast Guard cutters, patrol boats, bases, stations and lighthouses. Patrols and search and rescue missions being the main task.^{[148][149][150]}

United States Coast Guard World War II bases in California:

• Coast Guard Island Alameda
• Coast Guard Air Station San Diego
• Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco
• Coast Guard Station Golden Gate
• Hamilton Cove Seaplane Base

TheUnited States Merchant Marine operatedmerchant ships out of California US Navy and private ports to supply goods needed around the world. Most merchant ships operated withcivilian merchants andUS Navy armed guards to man thedeck guns under theMerchant Marine Act of 1936. Merchant Marine operated many different types of ships, the most numerous type was theLiberty ships andVictory ships. Merchant Marine training was conducted by the Coast Guard.^{[151][152][153][154]}The Maritime Service established several Merchant Marine training centers in California for World War 2:

• Port Hueneme, California (1941–1942)
• Avalon, California (1942–1945)
• Government Island, California (1938–1943) (officers training also)

• 
  Norman Rockwell'sLet's Give Him Enough and On Time
• 
  USS Wadleigh atMare Island Naval Shipyard, 10 April 1945.
• 
  Lockheed Hudson in flight in 1941
• 
  Pomona assembly center, temporary Detention Camp for Japanese Americans
• 
  Santa Anita assembly center 1942 with Military police, temporary detention Camp for Japanese Americans
• 
  Victory cargo ships are lined up atCalifornia Shipbuilding Corporation in Los Angeles, California.
• 
  Eastine Cowner, a former waitress, at work on theLiberty shipSS George Washington Carver at the Kaiser shipyards, Richmond, California, in 1943.
• 
  Women at work on bomber,Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, California in October 1942
• 
  P-38 Lightning assembly line at the Lockheed plant,Burbank, California.
• 
  B-25 Mitchell bomber production line at theNorth American Aviation plant, Inglewood, California, October 1942.
• 
  US Ration Book No. 3 circa 1943, front
• 
  "How to Shop With Ration Book Two", 1943 poster
• 
  Battle of Los Angeles, Photos fromLos Angeles Times, 26 February 1942
• 
  American WWII-era poster promotingVictory gardens
• 
  Army testing a California FordGP (jeep) in 1941.
• 
  George Schreiber poster for theThird War Loan Drive (September 9 – October 1, 1943)
• 
  US Crop Corp poster
• 
  US Crop Corp poster
• 
  US Army Hospital Train in 1944
• 
  Hanging an engine on aBT-13 Valiant trainer at the Vultee aircraft plant,Downey, California
• 
  What Can I Do? The Citizen's Handbook for War, U.S. Office of Civilian Defense 1942
• 
  Florene Watson shown preparing aP-51D-5NA for a ferry flight from a factory atInglewood, California
• 
  US Army Hospital Car in 1944

• American Theater (1939–1945)
• Arizona during World War II
• Desert Training Center
• Military history of the United States during World War II
• New Mexico during World War II
• United States home front during World War II
• Arnold Scheme

• Allen, Robert L.The Port Chicago Mutiny: The Story of the Largest Mass Mutiny Trial in U.S. Naval History (2006)excerpt
• Alvarez, Luis. "On Race, Riots, and Infrapolitics in Wartime Los Angeles."Revue francaise detudes americaines 1 (2012): 19–31onlineArchived 2022-04-07 at theWayback Machine
• Collins, Keith E.Black Los Angeles: The Maturing of the Ghetto, 1940–1950 (1980).
• Escobedo, Elizabeth Rachel.From coveralls to zoot suits: The lives of Mexican American women on the World War II home front (UNC Press Books, 2013).
• Foster, Mark S. "Giant of the West: Henry J. Kaiser and regional industrialization, 1930–1950."Business History Review 59.1 (1985): 1–23.
• Friedrich, Otto.City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s (Harper & Row, 1986).
• Johnson, Marilynn S.The second gold rush: Oakland and the East Bay in World War II (Univ of California Press, 1994).
• Koppes, Clayton R. and Gregory D. Black.Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits & Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies (The Free Press, 1987).
• Lange, Dorothea.Photographing the second gold rush: Dorothea Lange and the East Bay at War, 1941—1945 (Heyday Books, 1995), a primary source.
• Leonard, Kevin Allen.The Battle for Los Angeles: Racial Ideology and World War II (2006).
• Lichtenstein, Alex, and Eric Arnesen. "Labor and the Problem of Social Unity during World War II: Katherine Archibald's Wartime Shipyard in Retrospect."Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas 3.1 (2006): 113–146.
• Lotchin, Roger. "The Triumphant Partnership: California Cities and the Winning of World War II"Southern California Quarterly 88.1 (2006): 71–95. [ online]
• Lotchin, Roger W.The Bad City in the Good War: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Diego (Indiana University Press, 2003)
• Lotchin, Roger W.Fortress California, 1910–1961: From Warfare to Welfare (U of Illinois Press, 2002). pp 131–170.
• Lotchin, Roger W., ed.The Way We Really Were: The Golden State in the Second Great War (U of Illinois Press, 2000); 10 essays by scholars
• Lotchin, Roger W. "California Cities and the Hurricane of Change: World War II in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego Metropolitan Areas."Pacific Historical Review 63.3 (1994): 393–420.online
• Lotchin, Roger W. "World War II and urban California: city planning and the transformation hypothesis."Pacific Historical Review 62.2 (1993): 143–171.online
• Lothrop, Gloria Ricci. "Unwelcome in Freedom's Land: The Impact of World War II on Italian Aliens in Southern California."Southern California Quarterly 81.4 (1999): 507–544.
• McLeod, Dean L.Port Chicago (2007)excerpt
• Mitchell, Don. "Battle/fields: Braceros, agribusiness, and the violent reproduction of the California agricultural landscape during World War II."Journal of historical geography 36.2 (2010): 143–156.
• Nash, Gerald D.The American West Transformed: The Impact of the Second World War (1990)
• Parker, Dana T.Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II (2013).
• Sánchez, George J.Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945 (Oxford University Press, 1993).
• Starr, Kevin.Embattled Dreams: California in War and Peace, 1940-1950 (Oxford University Press, 2002).
• Verge, Arthur C. “The Impact of the Second World War on Los Angeles.” ThePacific Historical Review 63#3 (1994): 289–314.online
• Verge, Arthur C. "World War II" inA Companion to California History ed. by William Deverell andDavid Igler. (2008) pp 312–321.online

• Leonard, Kevin Allen. "'Is That What We Fought for?' Japanese Americans and Racism in California, The Impact of World War II."Western Historical Quarterly 21.4 (1990): 463–482.online
• Lotchin, Roger W.Japanese American Relocation in World War II: A Reconsideration (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
• Ng, Wendy L.Japanese American Internment During World War II: A History and Reference Guide (Greenwood, 2002).

• 1940s in California
• Military history of California
• United States during World War II by state
• Economy of California
• United States home front during World War II
• California in World War II

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