Doolittle Tokyo Raiders

On 18 April 1942, Lt. Colonel James H. Doolittle led 79 U.S. Army Air Forces airmen in 16 B-25 Mitchell land-based bombers on a successful bombing mission against military targets in principal cities of Japan after taking off from the U.S. Navy carrier Hornet, accomplishing a feat believed impossible at the time. The raid brought casualties after a Japanese picket boat intercepted the carrier task force and forced an earlier takeoff than planned; increased distance and head winds caused 15 aircraft to reach China in darkness and bad weather, and all of their crews bailed out or ditched. One crewman died during bailout, two drowned, and one fuel-short B-25 flew to Russia and landed near Vladivostok, where its crew and aircraft were interned for 14 months. Eight men were captured by the Japanese; three were executed by firing squad, one died of beri-beri and malnutrition, and the remaining four survived nearly 40 months of imprisonment until American troops released them in August 1945. The raid's major results were material damage, severe psychological shock to the Japanese, a great boost to American morale, the recall of Japanese land, sea, and air forces to protect the homeland, and the direct precipitation of the battle of Midway. The mission became a classic in the annals of aerial warfare for its daring use of Army land-based bombers from a carrier in joint operations with the Navy.

Riverside, Ohio · United States