http://www.nationalmuseum.af.m...id-75th-Anniversary/

What I would give to be in Dayton right now. . .

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On April 18, 1942, 80 men achieved the unimaginable when they took off from an aircraft carrier on a top secret mission to bomb Japan. These men, led by Lt. Col. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, came to be known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.



Today, just one of the men survive: Lt. Col. Richard “Dick” E. Cole, who served as Doolittle’s co-pilot on Crew Number 1. Cole, now 101 years old, plans to return to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in April to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the raid and to pay tribute to fellow Raider SSgt. David Thatcher, who passed away in 2016.



Current plans include 17 B-25 bombers on static display on the runway behind the museum on April 17-18, B-25 flyover prior to the start of a memorial service on 18 April, B-1 flyover at the conclusion of the memorial service, book signings by several authors, and special film screening on the evening of April 18 of “Doolittle’s Raiders: The Final Toast.”

The Doolittle Raiders have always been my heroes; literally, since I've been old enough to read. I've only met one of them - Maj Gen (Ret) David Jones, pilot of crew 5.

Anyone fortunate enough to be able to attend?

In 2014 I had the pleasure of listening to LtCol. Ed Saylor share his recollection of the raid. While a Sgt, he was the crew chief of plane 18. His plane had mechanical problems and using little more than hand-tools he removed, fixed, and replaced one of the engines while on the deck of the carrier. Was either fix it and fly or push the plane into the sea and miss the party.

Truly amazing. He passed away 7 month later in Jan 2015.

EdSaylor by Wayne Wilson, on Flickr


Short vimeo video of LtCol Saylor...

https://vimeo.com/118626137

319th SOS renamed their building recently to honor Richard Cole.

Those guys were badass for sure. Glad to see their legacy lives on in Air Commandos today.

Having recently read "I could never Be So Lucky Again" which is a General James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle autobiography and also flown on a B25, I am humbled by the accomplishments of these great men.

B25 by Wayne Wilson, on Flickr

B-25Edit2 by Wayne Wilson, on Flickr

Jimmy Doolittle has always been one of the few I actually describe as a "hero". I have very very few I've given that label - and everything he did from the development of instrument flying, B-26 "hoover" performance, seaplane racing in Curtiss R-1, Doolittle raid - and then taking over and releasing the fighters in Europe? Amazing.

I was a kid when I first read about the "Ruptured Duck", the raid, and bravery of those men taking off . Not to certain death - all thought they had a chance ... and they came close but not enough gas. Then the response of the Chinese people despite the horrible retribution from Japan. There is a lot to learn and respect - those raiders and Doolittle are special.

Edited to add my favorite pic of Doolittle:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: FlyingScot,

quote:

Originally posted by FlyingScot:
Jimmy Doolittle has always been one of the few I actually describe as a "hero". I have very very few I've given that label - and everything he did from the development of instrument flying, B-26 "hoover" performance, seaplane racing in Curtiss R-1, Doolittle raid - and then taking over and releasing the fighters in Europe? Amazing.

Doolittle said that setting our fighters loose was the best decision he ever made.

Up to that point, the 8th AF (the main US bombing command flying out of England attacking the continent) had orders that our fighters had to stay close in with the bombers. This made the bomber crews 'feel safer,' as they could see their escort. Unfortunately, this also meant that we were handing the German interceptors the initiative. They could mass up out of range, and come barreling in and hit us in large concentrated numbers. Even then, our fighters were flying slow and could often not accelerate to catch up with the Germans. Keeping our fighters close meant they could only react to the Germans (the Germans, ironically enough, made the same mistake in the Battle of Britain when THEY were on the offensive).

Doolittle realized that a fighter pilot must seize the initiative in order to be successful. He cut the fighters loose, so they could roam ahead, and intercept the German fighters BEFORE they could make massed attacks. Often, this kept the Germans from engaging the American bombers altogether (as self-preservation is the #1 priority for a fighter pilot in most situations - you can't attack if you are dead). And, when the Luftwaffe didn't intercept our bombers on certain raids (they got to the point where they didn't have enough fuel, fighters, or pilots to challenge every raid), our fighters would roam the countryside shooting and destroying anything that moved. This had a devastating effect on the German war machine.



What really amazes me about the Doolittle raid is the sheer gutsiness of it. It almost ended in catastrophe. We planned to launch from about 450 miles out. However, about 750 miles out, we ran into a Japanese picket boat. We sank it (eventually; our gunner sucked so bad back then), but it got off a radio warning first. The Japanese, assuming we would come within carrier-aircraft range, were getting a fleet together to intercept (fast cruisers and destroyers, IIRC). Well, we launched and turned back sooner than they expected (they did not imagine us using longer-ranged land-based bombers instead of the short-range carrier aircraft). We were able to out-run pursuit.

Had the Japanese fleet caught up with us (even without carriers), there is a near-certainty that the ENTIRE fleet would have been destroyed, including 2 of our precious carriers (Hornet and Enterprise). This would have been catastrophic for US strategy in the Pacific. Instead of launching our first offensive in the Pacific (Guadalcanal) in August, 1942, we would have been pushed back at least a year while we got more carriers built/deployed.

The raid had a tremendous effect on American AND Japanese morale. It boosted the US military AND public in a very dark time. It provoked the Japanese to bite off more than it could chew by attacking Midway (their plan was to take Midway and extend their 'ownership' of the Pacific far enough to prevent a future raid of this type). Of course, their Midway op was a disaster for them - they lost 4 carriers and most of their experienced pilots. They never recovered from this.

I use the Doolittle Raid as an example of how a tactical operation can have significant strategic effects. . .

Sometimes you do, because you can.

God Bless them all, and their legacy.

Quite the contrast to the other posts about perceived microaggressions, hurt feelings, and other issues that our youth(at least those who feel under appreciated and/noticed) have to deal with....
When my Dad passed away last January, I called his best friend from his WWII service, his B-17 pilot, and fellow POW. During the reminiscing my Dad's friend did, he pointed out that my Dad was the old man of the crew at 21 years of age. I know that the snowflakes of today don't fully represent our youth in total, and am thankful that when needed, the nation has always been able to depend on it's youth to answer the call as those Doolittle Raiders and others did.

Carl Wildner, navigator on plane 2 lived about 20 miles from me. Years ago, I cold called him. he was very gracious, invited us to his house. We visited for hours. Posed for a photo with me(cherished). He also signed my book, destination Tokyo. He spoke about flying on Doolittle's wing all the way to the coast. He said they were such eager beavers(his words) that if they had bombed their primary target, they would have died from the explosion. As luck would have it, they bombed their secondary. A man of very slight stature, but of incredible courage. A memory of a lifetime!

I was in the garage working on my car when I heard a couple engines that do not normally fly around here. Went outside and saw 4 B-17's flying by. Awesome sight!

If I was not so busy and having to be on call for work, I would have gone over to the museum in my TD. Would have fit in for the period.

quote:

In 2014 I had the pleasure of listening to LtCol. Ed Saylor share his recollection of the raid. While a Sgt, he was the crew chief of plane 18. His plane had mechanical problems and using little more than hand-tools he removed, fixed, and replaced one of the engines while on the deck of the carrier. Was either fix it and fly or push the plane into the sea and miss the party.

Truly amazing. He passed away 7 month later in Jan 2015.

He spoke at out high school. You could have heard a pin drop. Later I had the honor to speak with him over coffee. As his was the last plane to launch. I'd assumed he had more room. LtCol Saylor smiled and pointed out the the ships island prevent a launch. Each plane had to taxi past the island and each had the same short length of deck to take off.

... wonderful and now historical stories ... men and women of a time gone by ...

10 minute movie clip from WWII on Doolittle Raid


https://youtu.be/-yXzYxUC93A

The reference to Shrangi-la:

Because it was not at all obvious, reporters asked FDR from where the Doolittle raid bombers were launched. He just smiled and answered:

“Shangri-La!”

18 April 1942

http://www.powerlineblog.com/a...e-doolittle-raid.php

Thanks for posting that, and I would have loved to have been there too.

For an excellent book about the raid, I suggest "Target Tokyo" by James Scott.

For additional information about Doolittle's life, and additional contributions to aviation in general, and WWII in particular, I suggest "The Aviators" by Winston Groom. It covers the lives of Doolittle, Rickenbacker, and Lindbergh.