A STRANGE message in an American magazine which referred to bomb shelters and the date of Pearl Harbour was placed weeks before the attack.

It has been 75 years since the surprise air raid by Japan on the US Naval Base and no one has ever got to the bottom of the mysterious advertisement.

Smoke pours from USS Shaw (right centre) whilst the minelayer USS Oglana lies capsized in the foreground
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Smoke pours from USS Shaw (right centre) whilst the minelayer USS Oglana lies capsized in the foregroundCredit: Getty Images

A view from a Japanese plane shows a plume of water rising from the waters of Pearl Harbour
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A view from a Japanese plane shows a plume of water rising from the waters of Pearl HarbourCredit: Getty Images
Dice pictured in the advert show the numbers 12 and seven, the date of the attack in 1941.

Although thorough research into the message in the New Yorker magazine in 1941 has found there is nothing more to add, it’s mystery and the person or group behind it still remains.

The advert on November 22, 1941 read had a picture of a group of people sheltered from an air raid, playing dice.

The surprise attack by the Japanese on the US Naval Base saw America join World War II
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The surprise attack by the Japanese on the US Naval Base saw America join World War IICredit: Getty Images
Under the headline of “Achtung, Warning, Alerte!” it said: “We hope you’ll never have to spend a long winter’s night in an air-raid shelter, but we were just thinking… it’s only common sense to be prepared.

“If you’re not too busy between now and Christmas, why not sit down and plan a list of the things you’ll want to have on hand…