The Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese home islands during World War II. The mission was notable in that it was the only operation in which United States Army Air Forces bombers were launched from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. It was the longest combat mission ever flown by the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. The Doolittle Raid demonstrated that the Japanese home islands were vulnerable to Allied air attack and it provided an expedient outlet for U.S. retaliation for Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, already a famous civilian aviator and aeronautical engineer before the war. The raid, however, had its roots in the mind of Navy Captain Francis Low, who early in the war predicted that, under the right conditions, twin-engined Army bombers could be successfully launched from an aircraft carrier. Subsequent calculations by Doolittle indicated that the B-25 Mitchell could be launched from a carrier with a reasonable bomb load, hit military targets in Japan, and fly on to land in China. Flying the raid On April 1, 1942, following two months of intensive training, 16 highly modified North American Aviation B-25B Mitchell medium bombers, their five-man volunteer crews, and maintenance personnel were loaded onto the USS Hornet at Alameda, California. Each plane carried four 500-pound bombs (three high-explosive and one incendiary), two .50-caliber machine guns in an upper turret, a .30-caliber machine gun in the nose, and extra fuel tanks. Each B-25 was also "armed" with two dummy wooden machine gun barrels mounted in the tail cone to discourage Japanese air attacks from that direction. The planes were arranged and tied down on the Hornet's flight deck in the order of their expected launch. The Hornet left the port of Alameda on April 2, and a few days later joined up with the carrier USS Enterprise and its escort of cruisers and destroyers in the mid-Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. The Enterprise's fighters and scout planes would provide protection for the entire task force in the event of a Japanese air attack, since the Hornet's fighters were stowed below decks to allow the B-25's to use the flight deck. The two carriers and their escorting ships then proceeded, in radio silence, towards their intended launch point in enemy-controlled waters east of Japan. Lt Col Doolittle and Captain Mitscher with USAAF crews aboard USS Hornet, April 1942 On the morning of April 18, at a distance of about 650 miles (1,050 km) from Japan, the task force was sighted by a Japanese picket boat which radioed an attack warning to Japan. Although the boat was quickly destroyed by gunfire from an American cruiser, Doolittle and Hornet skipper Captain Marc Mitscher decided to launch the B-25's immediately a day early and about 200 miles (320 km) farther from Japan than planned. Despite the fact that none of the B-25 pilots, including Doolittle, had ever taken off from a carrier before, all 16 planes made it off the Hornet safely. They then flew single-file towards Japan at wavetop level to avoid detection. The planes began arriving over Japan about noon and bombed military targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, Osaka, and Nagoya. Although some B-25's encountered light anti-aircraft fire and a few enemy fighters over Japan, no bomber was shot down or severely damaged. Fifteen of the 16 planes then proceeded southwest along the southern coast of Japan and across the East China Sea towards eastern China, where recovery bases supposedly awaited them. One B-25, extremely low on fuel, headed instead for the closer land mass of Russia. The raiders faced several unforeseen challenges during their flight to China: night was approaching, the planes were running low on fuel, and the weather was rapidly deteriorating. As a result of these problems, the crews realized they would probably not be able to reach their intended bases in China, leaving them the option of either bailing out over eastern China or crash landing along the Chinese coast. Fifteen planes crash landed; the crew who flew to Russia landed near Vladivostok, where their B-25 was confiscated and the crew interned until they managed to escape through Iran in 1943. Doolittle and his crew, after safely parachuting into China, received assistance from John Birch, an American missionary in China; Doolittle subsequently recommended Birch for intelligence work with General Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers. The Aftermath Following the Doolittle Raid, most of the B-25 crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety with the help of Chinese civilians. But the Chinese paid dearly for sheltering the Americans. The Japanese military slaughtered an estimated 250,000 civilians while searching for Doolittle’s men[citation needed]. The crews of two planes (10 men total) were unaccounted for. On August 15, 1942, the United States learned from the Swiss Consulate General in Shanghai that eight of the missing crewmembers were prisoners of the Japanese at Police Headquarters in that city (two crewmen had died in the crash landing of their plane). On October 19, 1942, the Japanese announced that they had tried the eight men and sentenced them to death but that several of them had received commutation of their sentences to life imprisonment. No names or details were included in the broadcast. Japanese propaganda ridiculed the raid, calling it the "Do-nothing Raid", and boasted that several B-25's had been shot down. In fact, none had been lost to enemy action. After the war, the complete story of the two missing crews was uncovered in a war crimes trial held at Shanghai. The trial opened in February 1946 to try four Japanese officers for mistreatment of the eight captured crewmen. Two of the original ten men in the two planes, Dieter and Fitzmaurice, had died when their B-25 crashed off the coast of China. The other eight, Hallmark, Meder, Chase Nielsen, Farrow, Bob Hite, George Barr, Spatz, and Jake DeShazer, were captured. In addition to being tortured and starved, these men contracted dysentery and beriberi as a result of the poor conditions under which they were confined. On August 28, 1942, pilot Hallmark, pilot Farrow, and gunner Spatz were given a mock trial by the Japanese, although the airmen were never told the charges against them. On October 14, 1942, these three crewmen were advised that they were to be executed the next day. At 16:30 on October 15, 1942, the three were brought by truck to Public Cemetery No. 1, outside Shanghai, and shot. B25's on board USS Hornet en-route to raid Japan The other five captured airmen remained in military confinement on a starvation diet, their health rapidly deteriorating. In April 1943, they were moved to Nanking where, on December 1, 1943, Meder died. The remaining four men (Nielsen, Hite, Barr, and DeShazer) eventually began receiving slightly better treatment from their captors and were even given a copy of the Bible and a few other books. They survived until they were freed by American troops in August 1945. The four Japanese officers who were tried for war crimes against the eight Doolittle Raiders were found guilty. Three were sentenced to hard labor for five years and the fourth to a nine-year sentence. Survivor DeShazer eventually became a missionary and returned to Japan in 1948, where he served in that capacity for over 30 years. One other Doolittle Raid crewman was lost on the mission. Corporal Leland Faktor was killed during his bailout attempt over China, the only man on his crew to be lost. Immediately following the raid, Doolittle told his crew that he believed the loss of all 16 aircraft, coupled with the relatively minor damage the planes had inflicted on their targets, had rendered the attack a failure, and that he expected a court martial upon his return to the United States. Instead, the raid bolstered American morale to such an extent that Doolittle was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt and was promoted two grades to Brigadier General, skipping the rank of colonel. He went on to command the 12th Air Force in North Africa, the 15th Air Force in the Mediterranean, and the 8th Air Force in England during the next three years. In addition to Doolittle's award of the Medal of Honor, Corporal Dave Thatcher (an engineer- gunner) and Lieutenant Thomas White (flight surgeon/gunner) each received the Silver Star for their brave efforts in helping several wounded crewmembers evade Japanese troops in China. All the remaining Raiders (including Thatcher and White) were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and those who were killed, wounded, or injured as a result of the raid also received the Purple Heart. In addition, every Doolittle Raider received a decoration from the Chinese government. The Doolittle Raiders have held an annual reunion almost every year since the late 1940's. The high point of each reunion is a solemn, private ceremony in which the surviving Raiders perform a roll call, then toast their fellow Raiders who passed away during the previous year. Specially-engraved silver goblets, one for each of the 80 Raiders, are used for this toast. When only two Raiders remain alive, they will drink a final toast using the vintage bottle of Hennessy cognac which has accompanied the goblets to each Raider reunion since 1960. Only 16 Raiders are still alive, and only eight were able to attend the 64th anniversary reunion held in Dayton, Ohio on April 18-20, 2006. The oldest Raider is now 93 and the youngest is 84. B25's Parked on board USS Hornet ready for when the order to take-off comes The effect of the raid Compared to the devastating B-29 Superfortress attacks against Japan later in the war, the Doolittle raid did little material damage. Nevertheless, when the news of the raid was released, American morale soared from the depths to which it had plunged following the Pearl Harbor attack and Japan's subsequent territorial gains. The raid also had strategic impact in that it caused the Japanese to recall some fighter units back to the home islands for defense. They did not understand how American planes could attack from such a distance, assuming that America had developed a new extremely long-range airplane (when in reality, American forces knew it would essentially be a one-way trip). These reassignments subsequently weakened Japan's air capabilities against the Allies at the Battle of Midway and later Pacific Theater campaigns. Books and movies The Doolittle Raid was the subject of two 1944 feature films: "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo" and "The Purple Heart". Thirty Seconds over Tokyo was based on a book of the same title by Doolittle Raider pilot Captain Ted W. Lawson, who lost a leg and suffered other serious injuries as a result of his crash landing off the coast of China. In this movie, Spencer Tracy played Doolittle and Van Johnson portrayed Lawson. "The Purple Heart", starring Dana Andrews, was a largely fictional depiction of the captured Doolittle Raiders. The 2001 film Pearl Harbor presented an extremely fictionalized view of the raid. A few movies about the Doolittle Raid were also made in Taiwan in the 1960s and 1970s, describing the efforts of Chinese civilians saving the American pilots[citation needed]. Many books were written about the Doolittle Raid after the war. "Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders", by C.V. Glines, tells the complete story of the raid, including the unique experiences of each B-25 crew. "Guests of the Kremlin", written by copilot Bob Emmens, describes his crew's adventures as internees in Russia after their landing in that country following the raid. "Four Came Home", also by C.V.Glines, tells the story of Nielsen, Hite, Barr, and DeShazer the Raiders who were held in POW camps for over three years. "The First Heroes" by Craig Nelson, goes into great detail of the events leading up to the raid and the aftermath for all the pilots and their families.
Wow. I thought it was a fictionalised ending to 'Pearl Harbour'. So I wasn't far wrong in that Hollywood struck again and rewrote history. Nice one Boss.
By its very nature, the Doolittle Raid engaged relatively few combatants, and although the damage inflicted was comparatively minor it achieved a great strategic outcome. The planning and execution of the raid involved all levels from the CS president down to a relatively low-ranking Arm Air Forces (AAF) lieutenant colonel. Conversely, the Japanese planning for the homeland defence involved several commanders, split between sea (including naval air) and land-based air defences. The nation also relied on available Imperial, Japanese Navy (IJN) forces to counter any threat approaching the home islands. The Doolittle Raid received the government’s attention, politically and militarily, in its conception, planning, and operation. President Roosevelt championed the concept and motivation for the raid. Roosevelt had never served in uniform, but was no stranger to the military, having served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. As president, Roosevelt initiated a program of pre-war mobilization that included reinstatement of the draft, Army and Navy expansion, and America’s rapid transformation into the “Arsenal of Democracy.” Roosevelt was willing to take risks and often questioned established policies and laws. He involved himself heavily in military planning and operations more suited to lower levels of command. Roosevelt’s desire to strike back at Japan immediately after Pearl Harbour echoed throughout the government. The Commander-in-Chief US Fleet (CominCh) and the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Ernest J. King, and Lieutenant General Henry “Hap” Arnold, Chief of the AAF heard his demands. King, it noted Anglophobe, was not a congenial commander. King graduated from the Naval Academy in 1901 and rapidly advanced through the ranks seeing in surface warfare, submarines, and aviation. He earned his wings in May 1927 and later led the Bureau of Aeronautics. By 1941, King was a full admiral and was appointed commander of the Atlantic Fleet. After Pearl Harbour, Roosevelt appointed King to the unusual roles of CominCh and CNO. He was responsible for development and implementation of naval strategy for all theatres of operation. Captain Francis S. Low, it CNO staff operations officer, became a key planner. Low, a submariner, had heard during a planning conference about using aircraft carriers to transport land-based planes to North Africa. The aircraft would fly off the carrier once they were in range of a friendly airfield. Low thought American forces could exploit this idea, but instead of delivering aircraft they would be used to attack targets in Japan. Low was tasked with checking the readiness and availability of carriers. Another member of King’s staff, air operations officer Capt Donald B. Duncan was assigned to support the effort. He would organize the air plan of attack. The Navy commanders responsible for conducting the strategic attack revolved around the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC), was responsible for naval operations around Japan. Nimitz was in charge of operations in the Central Pacific. The Doolittle Raid was conducted in Admiral Chester W. Nimitz's area of responsibility, the Central Pacific. As CINCPAC, TF-16 fell under his command and control. He shared his command with Gen Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw Southwest Pacific operations. Nimitz completed the US Naval Academy and was commissioned as an ensign in 1907. His career spanned surface and submarine assignments culminating in his promotion to full admiral in 1938. Nimitz became CINCPAC shortly after the Pearl Harbour attack. Command of the task force carrying the Army bombers for the raid initially belonged to CAPT Marc A. Mitscher. Mitscher was the commanding officer of the newly commissioned USS Hornet that would carry the B-25s to Japan. In his early career, he served in armoured cruisers, gunboats, and destroyers. He later trained as a naval aviator and was awarded his wings in June 1916. A Naval Academy graduate, Mitscher served in a variety of aviation assignments from executive officer on the aircraft carrier Saratoga, to command of the seaplane tender Wright, and served two years as Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics. The other operational naval commander was Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey. Halsey would command a support task force for the raid from Pearl Harbour and later take command of all forces. Halsey also finished the Naval Academy and served in the antisubmarine forces during World War I aboard destroyers. He held assignments in Naval Intelligence and in October 1922 was ordered to serve a tour as it naval attache in Berlin. Halsey was intrigued by carrier aviation and became an aviator in May 1935 when he was 52 years old. He later commanded the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. In 1940, Halsey was elevated to the rank of vice admiral as the Commander Pacific Aircraft Battle Force. Vice Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey took command of TF-16, composed of the Hornet and Enterprise, during the raid. Halsey ordered the attack earlier than planned after the task force was sighted by the Japanese. General “Hap” Arnold, a 1903 graduate of the US Military Academy, first served in the infantry, but later became an aviator under the tutelage of the Wright brothers in June 1911. Arnold, as the first qualified Army pilot, was designated US Army Aviator Number 1. His career progressed steadily, and during World War 1 he was the youngest colonel in the Army. However, he never served in combat. He excelled in command and staff positions and headed the Army Air Corps in 1938 as a major general. Arnold became Chief of the AAF on June 30, 1941. General Henry "Hap" Arnold, AAF Chief, selected Doolittle, and was instrumental in the raid's planning. Arnold was a key player in providing the crews and aircraft for the attack. Lieutenant General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell, a 1904 West Point graduate, commanded the China, Burma, and India (CBI) Theatre for the United States. Stillwell would negotiate landing site support for the Doolittle raid from Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Nationalist Chinese movement. He was a tough officer who was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for helping plan the St Mihiel offensive in 1918. He later served for almost 20 years in China, as a military attache, observer, and commander. Chiang Kai-shek received his formal military education from the Paoting Military Academy and graduated in 1904. Chiang unified China in 1928, but was challenged by Mao General Joseph Stilwell (right) had to persuade Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (left) to allow American bombers to land in China. Chiang was concerned about Japanese retribution, and his fears would later become reality. Zedong’s communist. He later claimed victory over them in 1934, but later could not contain the, Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1937. Arnold selected Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, a member of his personal staff, to train, organize, and equip the Army bomber force. Doolittle was born in Alameda, CA on December 14, 1896. His family lived in a variety of areas, including Nome, AK where his father was a gold prospector. Doolittle attended the University of California, Berkeley, but left to enter the Aran, during World War I. He later graduated in 1922 with an engineering degree. Doolittle earned his wings on March 11, 1918, but never served in Europe. Jimmy Doolittle was well known to a public enthralled with aviation before World War II. Doolittle continued as an Army aviator and test pilot after World War 1. He taught himself aerobatics and helped persuade the public and a sceptical Congress of military aviation's value. He was a part of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell's First Provisional Air Brigade, which demonstrated aircraft could sink battleships in 1921. Doolittle achieved several "firsts" such as perfecting the outside loop, setting a world speed record, and flying across America in less than 24 hours in 1922. He also won the 1925 Schneider Marine Trophy. The Army awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross for his cross-country flying trip. Doolittle had achieved more accomplishments, in less time, than his contemporaries or his superiors. By 1925, he earned one of the first doctorates in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Doolittle advanced as a test pilot for the Army at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio and for the Navy at Mitchell Field in New York. His ultimate accomplishment was the development of instrument flying that allowed pilots to "fly blind." Doolittle personally tested take-off, flying, and landing by instruments in a fabric-covered cockpit on September 24, 1929. This triumph allowed all-weather and night flying, which greatly expanded military and commercial aviation. Doolittle's feats were not lost on others. Although lie was allowed to seek opportunities to conduct aviation research, development, and testing, Doolittle was constrained within the military. The Shell Oil Company sought a way to enhance its aviation market and offered to triple Doolittle's major's salary and give him added flexibility for aviation experimentation. Doolittle resigned his active Air Corps commission, but retained a reserve one. He would continue to support test flights as a reservist. Under Shell employment, Doolittle was instrumental in pressing forward the development of 100-octane aviation fuel which powered aviation propulsion development to new heights. Despite his heavy schedule, Doolittle was still highly engaged in aviation racing. He won major speed racing competitions by living a Laird Super Stallion in 1931 that resulted in the award of the Bendix Trophy and the 1932 Thompson Trophy in the Gee Bee R-1. The Gee Bee was infamous as a "death trap" and Doolittle later admitted that he was happy to walk away safely from it. As the clouds of war gathered, Doolittle's career at Shell Oil was interrupted. He was recalled to active duty in 1940 as the United States mobilized. Arnold used him as a technical trouble-shooter. One of his first duties was to ensure automobile manufacturers could switch to assembling Army aircraft. After the Pearl Harbour attack, Doolittle immediately requested a return to flight status. Instead, he was assigned to AAF Headquarters in Washington, working on special projects directly for Arnold.
Brigadier General James Doolittle After leading the American bombing raid on Tokyo on April 18th 1942, Brigadier General James Doolittle gave the following brief account of his exploit. Every Plane of our attacking force was specially equipped and every man volunteered for the raid. They practised the plan of attack for weeks. Extreme care was taken not to bomb non military targets. We did not bomb the Imperial Palace. I gave special instructions not to bomb the palace, although there would have been no difficulty in doing so, had we desired. The success of the raid exceeded our most optimistic expectations. Each plane was assigned specific targets, and the bombardiers carried out their expert duties with remarkable precision. Since the raid was made in fair weather in the middle of the day and from a very low altitude no trouble whatever was experienced in finding the exact target. Apparently there was no advance warning of the raid, as we experienced little hostile reaction. Not more than thirty Japanese pursuit planes were observed during the flight, and these were completely ineffective, several we know were shot down. The pilots seemed somewhat inexperienced and were evidently not up to the standard of those encountered in active theatres. We approached our objectives just over the housetops, but bombed at 1,500 feet. The target for one plane was the navy yard in South Tokyo, in reaching which it had passed over what apparently was a flying-school, as there were a number of planes in the air. Brigadier General James Doolittle and his wife at the White House receiving the Congressional Medal of Honour from President Roosevelt for the daring raid on Tokyo. In the back ground is Lt Gen, H. H. Arnold, who was the Air Forces Commander at the time. One salvo made a direct hit on a new cruiser of battleship under construction. It was left in flames. Another illuminated a tank factory. After releasing our bombs we dived again to the tree tops and went to the coast at that altitude to avoid A.A. fire. Along the coast line we observed several squadrons of destroyers and some cruisers and battleships. About 25 or 30 miles to sea our rear gunners reported seeing columns of smoke rising thousands of feet in the air. One of our bombardiers strewed incendiary bombs along a quarter of a mile of an aircraft factory near Nagoya. Flying at such low altitudes made it very difficult to observe results. We could see them strike, but our own field of vision was greatly restricted by our speed. Even so one of our party observed a ball game in progress. The players and spectators had not started to run for cover until just as the field passed out of sight. We would like to have tarried and watched later developments from fire and explosion, and even so we were fortunate to receive a fairly detailed report from the excited Japanese radio broadcasts. It took them several hours to calm down to deception and accusation. In general, the objectives of the raid began north of Tokyo and extended south in an area about 40 miles long and 5 to 20 miles wide.
He Flew From 'Shangri-La' to Bomb Tokyo Before very long Tokyo and other cities in the Japanese homeland will be feeling the weight of Allied air-power. But so far only one raid has been made on Tokyo, that led by "Daredevil" Doolittle, the subject of this article by CURTISS HAMILTON for the War Illustrated 1943 ... On an April morning of last year a small man, with shrewd eyes and going a little bald, walked along the deck of the U.S. aircraft-carrier Hornet for the start of the greatest adventure of his life. This man, now in his middle forties, had spent twenty-five years as test pilot and stunt flyer; this was his first combat operation. It was more than that; it was his own idea, conceived at the moment he heard of the Pearl Harbour attack four months earlier, and he was personally to lead the raid on the capital of Japan on April 18, 1942. If he looked a little preoccupied it was because the Hornet, steaming within 800 miles of Tokyo and far from its base, had been spotted by enemy forces. Plans had had to be hurriedly changed and the take-off made 10 hours in advance. What was to have been a night raid was now to be a day raid, with a strong possibility that ground and air defences, warned by radios, would be in full operation. Maj. James Doolittle and the 80 men he had personally selected for this task were not worried about the danger. They were worried that they might be driven from their targets and that months of careful preparation and rehearsal might be spoiled. The Hornet turned into the wind and the plane piloted by Major Doolittle flew from its deck, circling until it had been joined by the other bombers. Then, with the Hornet turning at full speed for its base, the bombers flew towards the Japanese capital. They went in low to escape observation. How the bombs raining down not only on Tokyo, but also on Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka brought the Japanese the greatest shock in their military history; how Doolittle and his men completely deceived the defences; and how 64 of them, after making forced landings because of the unexpected distance they had had to travel, reached the Chinese lines and found their way back to America – all this is now a matter of history. For a year the world knew no more than that U.S. planes had bombed Japan from a base which President Roosevelt called "Shangri-La" in playful allusion to the mythical country of James Hilton's novel, Lost Horizon. Now it has been officially confirmed that the base was an aircraft-carrier, and that the planes were led by Major Doolittle, who for twenty-five years had astonished and thrilled the American public by his spectacular flying. As the whole daring and well-conceived plan was revealed, it became evident how well Major Doolittle deserved the Congressional Medal of Honour and the rank of Brigadier-General given him a month after the raid. It made him "American Hero No. 2", second only to General MacArthur in popularity with the public. A few months later "Daredevil" Doolittle was in London on a mission, the nature of which the Axis was left to guess. Few recognized him at the West End hotel where he stayed, for indeed Doolittle bears little resemblance to the hatchet-faced, hawk-eyed air ace of fiction. Presently Axis curiosity was satisfied about Doolittle's mission. Hundreds of tons of bombs from 100 Fortresses fell on Naples in April last in the first attack made by U.S. planes on Europe form North Africa. They were under the command of Maj.-Gen. Doolittle. U.S. planes followed that up with the first air raid on Rome, in full daylight on July 19, 1943, the North-West African Strategical Air Force – of which Maj.-Gen. James Doolittle is commanding general – combining with Middle East bases bombers to pound the carefully chosen military targets for 2½ hours. Of more than 500 planes which took part only five failed to return. Doolittle Takes the Helm His bombers have operated in many different places, with only minor losses. On one occasion Doolittle himself had a narrow escape, the Flying Fortress in which he was travelling with a number of staff officers being attacked simultaneously by four enemy aircraft. The co-pilot was hit, and Doolittle took the place; and after two of the enemy planes had been damaged the Germans gave up the attack. The success of Gen. Doolittle, who, as pilot go, is a veteran, is due to his unusual combination of talents. That he has courage, daring and boldness goes without saying. Since he went to North Africa he has been awarded the Silver Star, the third highest U.S. award for gallantry. But a general requires more than this. Doolittle is not only one of the most skilled pilots in the world in anything from a fighter to a multi-engined transport – he has set up world records in both – he is also a most careful planner, a man who realizes that all the courage and skill in the world are not enough without the most careful preparation. He does not hope for luck; but he courts it by overlooking no detail or possibility beforehand. It is a safe guess that the alternative plan of a daylight raid on Tokyo which was put into execution was no emergency make-do, but a scheme which had been as carefully rehearsed as the attack which the planes had been practising over American cities two months previously. All through his long career as test-pilot and stunt flyer, Doolittle's preparations have equalled the daring of his conceptions. The public had heard only of his breath-taking flights across America and his daring pioneer blind landings in fog. They heard little of his "going back to school" for a refresher course before preparing for a record-breaking flight, or his rigorous physical self-discipline and training before attempting some new feat in blind-flying or altitude flying. The bare facts of Doolittle's career which made him the hero of American civil aviation in the years between the wars are quickly told. He learned to fly in the last war, and was denied combat experience in France only because his skill made him so invaluable as an instructor that the authorities kept him in the U.S. With the coming of peace he turned to racing and record breaking. There were few important races he did not win, from the Schneider Trophy Race in 1925, when he beat the British, to the Bendix Trophy Race, when he became the first man to cross the U.S. in less than 12 hours. Doolittle rejoined the U.S. Army Air Force before America entered the War, and was engaged in research when Pearl Harbour, which have America a shock, gave him an idea. The Tokyo raid was already in rehearsal in less than a month. It was his own idea, and he converted experts and chiefs in the services to his viewpoint that it was possible not only by his enthusiasm but also by hard facts and figures. The raid was not intended as a decisive military action, but as a "reply" to Pearl Harbour, a demonstration that the U.S. also had original ideas, as a "lift" for morale in the U.S. and an operation to keep the Japs guessing for months afterwards. After the raid Doolittle addressed a series of meetings of aircraft workers in California, and it is probable that his talks resulted in extra production more than equivalent to the number of planes lost (still secret) in the raid.
The famous U.S, raid on Tokyo and other important Japanese cities which took place on April 18th 1942 was carried out by Mitchell medium bombers; it was disclosed on April 20th 1943. Sixteen of these aircraft, commanded by Maj. Gen. (then Major) J. Doolittle, took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet, 800 miles from the Japanese capital. The machines were to fly on to specified landing fields in China after completion of the operation, but they were unable to make the distance. One landed unharmed on Russian soil, others force landed in China or in Chinese waters. Two were forced down in Japan, and the crews, consisting of eight men, were taken prisoner. Major General James Doolittle’s raid on Tokyo. Yokosuka Japan Naval base taken from B-25, April 18, 1942. Japanese warships can also be seen in the picture. Wreckage of Major General James Doolittle’s downed plane on a hill side in China after the raid on Tokyo, April 18, 1942. Major General Doolittle sits by a wing of his crashed plane somewhere in China after he led the daring US air raid on Tokyo. Major General Doolittle, his Tokyo bombing crew and some Chinese friends are pictured in China after the US Airmen bailed out following the Doolittle led air raid on Japan. Left to right, Staff sgt. F.A. Braemer, bombardier, Seattle; Staff Sgt. P.J. Leonard, Engineer-Gunner, Denver, unidentified Chinese; First Lt. R.E. Cole. Co-Pilot, Dayton, Ohio, General Doolittle; unidentified Chinese; First Lt. H.A. Potter, Navigator, Pierre, South Dakota; unidentified Chinese; Sgt. Leonard was killed in action in North America. After the raid some of the pilot’s crash landed in China. Above, this crew were carried in rough conveyances to a village near where their bomber crashed. Below, Chinese soldiers bring in the group of General Doolittle’s Tokyo raiders on foot to the tiny village. Center right, his arm held by a Chinese is Col. John Hilger, who was injured.
The Doolittle Raid, conducted in April 1942, proved that attacks didn't have to do a huge amount of physical damage to be effective. Indeed, the Doolittle Raid, named for the chief architect of the venture, then Lt. Col. James Doolittle, did only minor, insignificant damage to its target, but proved a success in many other ways.* Intentions* The truth is that the raid was never intended to deal any kind of death blow to the Japanese Home Islands. To the contrary: the planners were looking for something else entirely. *It was conceived of at a time when Pearl Harbor was fresh in the minds of Americans, who were questioning their ability to defend their land against outside aggression, given the severity of the blow in Pearl Harbor. It was decided that there needed to be some kind of attack that would both boost the Americans' morale and plant the seeds of doubt within the minds of the Japanese, who were being shown only war propaganda at the time.* The Plan* The plan was simple: the Americans would take a small number of B-25s, carriers, destroyers and cruisers and launch an assault directly on the Japanese Home Islands. The targets chosen were industrial in nature. There were 80 servicemen involved in the raid.* Success* Overall, the raided was deemed a rousing success. Several U.S. servicemen lost their lives, but on the whole the mission was accomplished. News of the attack spread across the United States and gave the nation a newfound confidence about its role in the Pacific War. In Japan, the raid was depicted as a cruel attack against innocent women and children, but the damage to the peoples' faith was done.* The raid also played an important role in setting the course of the future. Because of the embarrassing attack, Japan was forced to pull portions of its navy out of other areas of the world to defend against a second attack. This proved invaluable aid to the Royal Navy of Britain, which had previously been struggling to battle the superior Japanese forces in the Indian Ocean. It also prompted the military leaders of Japan to seek out a new target that would remind the Americans they, too, were vulnerable. They would eventually settle on Midway, in what would become an immensely significant battle.
Ryozo Asano, left, spokesman for a group of diversified Japanese family enterprises called the Zaibatsu, inspects the wreckage of his steel plant in Tokyo, after the first U.S. air raid on Japan's capital, April 18, 1942. He is accompanied by an unidentified aide. Thirteen targets were struck, including an oil tank farm, a steel mill, and an aircraft carrier under construction. Some 50 Japanese lost their lives.
Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who led the April, 1942 air raid on Tokyo, addresses a throng of aircraft workers at the North American Aviation plant on June 1, 1942. He said that "Shangri La," the mythical land identified by President Roosevelt as the place where the bombers came from, "is right here in this North American plant."
