Doolittle Raid, April 18, 1942.

[Aristaeus]

At 07:38 on the morning of 18 April, 1942 The Hornet Task Force was about 650 nautical miles (1,200 km) from Japan, when it was sighted by the Japanese picket boat No.23 Nittō Maru, a 70-ton patrol craft, which radioed an attack warning to Japan. The boat was sunk by gunfire from USS Nashville. Doolittle and Hornet skipper Captain Marc Mitscher decided to launch the B-25s immediately—10 hours earlier and 170 nautical miles (310 km) farther from Japan than planned. After respotting to allow for engine start and runups, Doolittle's aircraft had 467 feet (142 m) of takeoff distance. Despite the fact that none of the B-25 pilots, including Doolittle, had ever taken off from a carrier before, all 16 aircraft launched safely between 08:20 and 09:19. (The 16th B-25 had been included only as a reserve, intended to fly along as an observation and photographic platform, but when surprise was compromised, Doolittle decided to use all 16 aircraft in the attack.) This was the only time that United States Army Air Forces bombers were launched from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier on a combat mission.

The B-25s then flew towards Japan, most in groups of two to four aircraft before changing to single file at wavetop level to avoid detection. The aircraft began arriving over Japan about noon (Tokyo time; six hours after launch) and bombed 10 military and industrial targets in Tokyo, two in Yokohama and one each in Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka. Although some B-25s encountered light antiaircraft fire and a few enemy fighters over Japan, no bomber was shot down. Only the B-25 of Lt. Richard O. Joyce received any battle damage, minor hits from antiaircraft fire. B-25 No. 4, piloted by Lt. Everett W. Holstrom, jettisoned its bombs before reaching its target when it came under attack by fighters after its gun turret malfunctioned.

15 of the 16 aircraft then proceeded southwest along the southern coast of Japan and across the East China Sea towards eastern China, where several fields in Zhejiang province were supposed to be ready to guide them in using homing beacons, then recover and refuel them for continuing on to Chongqing, the wartime Kuomintang capital. The primary base was at Zhuzhou, toward which all the aircraft navigated, but Halsey never sent the planned signal to alert them, apparently because of a possible threat to the task force. One B-25, extremely low on fuel, headed instead for the closer land mass of the Soviet Union.

The raiders faced several unforeseen challenges during their flight to China: night was approaching, the aircraft were running low on fuel and the weather was rapidly deteriorating. None would have reached China at all except for a fortuitous tail wind as they came off the target that increased their ground speed by 25 knots for seven hours. 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 aircraft reached the Chinese coast after 13 hours of flight and crash landed or bailed out; the crew who flew to the Soviet Union landed 40 miles (65 km) beyond Vladivostok, where their B-25 was confiscated and the crew interned until they managed to escape through Iran in 1943. It was the longest combat mission ever flown by the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, averaging approximately 2,250 nautical miles (4,170 km).

[video=youtube;1CTyJPLek94]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CTyJPLek94[/video]

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Armament: Six .50-cal. machine guns; 3,000 lbs. of bombs
Engine: Two Wright R-2600s of 1,700 hp each
Maximum speed: 328 mph
Cruising speed: 233 mph
Range: 2,500 miles (with auxiliary tanks)
Ceiling: 21,200 ft.
Span: 67 ft. 6 in.
Length: 53 ft.
Height: 16 ft. 9 in.
Weight: 29,300 lbs. maximum
Cost: $109,670 (1943)

http://www.doolittleraider.com/

http://www.doolittleraid.com/b25.htm

 

[Aristaeus]

Doolittle Raiders hold final reunion

May 1, 2013 by General Aviation News Staff


By ROBERT JAQUES

The Doolittle Raiders held their 71st and final public reunion in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, April 16-20.

Of the 80 men who took part in the daring mission to bomb Japan, only four are still living. Three were able to attend this final reunion: Lt. Col. Richard Cole, 97, co-pilot on plane #1 who flew with Col. Jimmy Doolittle; Lt. Col. Edward Saylor, 93, an engineer on plane #15; and Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, 92, an engineer and gunner. The fourth, Lt. Col. Bob Hite, 95, co-pilot of plane #16, could not travel due to illness.

The surviving Raiders elected to have their final reunion at Ft. Walton Beach since this is where their mission began in 1942 at nearby Eglin Air Force Base. That’s where the men and their B-25 bombers came to practice short field takeoffs using less than 500 feet to get airborne. This was the maximum distance on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS HORNET the bombers could use to get airborne.

On April 18, 1942, 80 men flying 16 B-25s took off from that aircraft carrier and bombed several cities in Japan, then headed to Chinese airfields. However, the carrier task force was spotted by a Japanese trawler, and the planes had to takeoff 200 miles farther away than planned. This meant the planes used more fuel and could not reach the airfields in China. Some of the planes ditched along the Chinese coast, while others crash landed in the mountains.

The pilot of plane #8 decided to land in Vladivostok, Russia, in hopes of getting more fuel to continue into China. The Russians confiscated the airplane and interred the crew for about a year before they escaped through Iran. After the war, the Russians did not return the airplane and it remained “lost.”

At this year’s reunion, Charles Runion, from Lebanon, Tennessee, came with a fascinating story that gave closure to this tale of the “missing” airplane. In the mid-1990s a friend of his, who spent time in Russia and had made friends with a Russian Air Force officer, was taken to an area where derelict and broken aircraft were scattered. He recognized only the nose section of a B-25 and went over to inspect it closely.

The front of the airplane had been crushed and heavily damaged, but he was able to obtain the data plate. He later gave this historic and rare data plate to Runion, who brought it to the Reunion to show the Raiders. Runion displays the data plate in his own aviation museum in Lebanon called Wings Remembered.

The Raiders’ mission caused very little strategic damage to Japan, but it proved to the Japanese people they were vulnerable to an attack, and it raised American morale considerably. The Raiders were all volunteers and are an important part of American history and legacy.

Over the years, the Raider’s reunions have been in various cities and the public has always been allowed to attend. However, there are certain private events the Raiders do not open to the public.

One of these is the ceremony where they drink a toast to the memory of a Raider who died since their last reunion with special silver goblets given to the Raiders by the city of Tucson, Arizona, when they had a reunion there in 1959. There are 80 goblets with each man’s name engraved twice. One is right side up and the other is upside down. When that person dies, the goblet is turned upside down and placed in a special display box. The goblets are on display at the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

This year, the Raiders raised a toast and turned over a goblet to the memory of Tom Griffin, 96, who died Feb. 26. He was the navigator on plane #9.

The tradition that has yet to happen is the opening of a special bottle of 1896 Hennessy Cognac by the last surviving Raiders (Doolittle was born in 1896). Later this year, the four remaining survivors will open the bottle and have that final toast. Whenever it is, it will be very private.

When the announcement came that this would be the last reunion the public could attend, reaction was swift. Less than 48 hours after the reunion was announced, all available seats were sold. More than 600 people attended events throughout the weekend to see, hear, and meet these heroes.

As the week ended with the Saturday night banquet, the 600 plus guests gave the Raiders one last standing round of applause. This tribute from the audience showed their appreciation for the Raiders’ part in one of America’s finest missions of World War II. God bless them all.

http://http://www.generalaviationnews.com/2013/05/doolittle-raiders-hold-final-reunion/
[video=youtube;0KSQO6z6mXE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KSQO6z6mXE[/video]

[video=youtube;4bF6EJH4NKo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bF6EJH4NKo[/video]

 

[Aristaeus]

Doolittle Raiders' Final Toast Ceremony to take place at National Museum of the U.S. Air Force


9/5/2013 - DAYTON, Ohio -- The U.S. Air Force will host the famed Doolittle Tokyo Raiders' final toast to their fallen comrades during an invitation-only ceremony on Nov. 9 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123361963

 

[hatguy1]

That's some great stuff, Aristaeus. Thanks for posting that.

 

[Aristaeus]

"On this day 71 years ago, the following Raiders were executed by a Japanese firing squad in Public Cemetery No. 1 in Shanghai, China:

1st Lt. William G. Farrow, pilot, Crew 16, of Darlington, SC
1st Lt. Dean E. Hallmark, pilot, Crew 6, of Greenville, TX
Sgt. Harold A. Spatz, engineer-gunner, Crew 16, of Lebo, KS

All eight of the captured Raiders were sentenced to death by a Japanese court-martial, but five were spared by Emperor Hirohito and the above three singled out for execution. They were cremated afterward with their ashes purposely mislabeled to cover up what had been done to them. Fortunately, a worker in the funeral home remembered who they were and identified their remains for U.S. investigators following Japan's surrender in 1945. Farrow and Hallmark are buried next to each other in Arlington National Cemetery and Spatz is buried in the "Punchbowl" in Honolulu."


Four Came Home: The Gripping Story of the Survivors of Jimmy Doolittle's Two Lost Crews

by Carroll V. Glines (Author)

 

[Stand By]

Lest we forget.
Thank you for posting ...

It's crazy to me to think that, as a kid growing up in 1970s Great Britain, there were veterans of WWII on every street. The old veterans of WWI were there at the Remembrance Day service in London each November 11th ... now all gone and here are with a dwindling amount of WWII veterans remaining to tell of their sacrifices for the life of comparative ease which we all enjoy today. Very sad. May they be remembered and God bless them all.

 

[Aristaeus]

Senate Bill 381 passed with unanimous consent to award the Raiders the Congressional Gold Medal. They still need 90 House Representatives to sign on to House Resolution 1209 before the legislation can be voted on and sent to the President for signature. Visit https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr1209 to see if your representative has signed on. If they haven't, get on the horn and encourage them to become co-sponsors while there's still time.

[video=youtube;L3i7S-CLvz4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3i7S-CLvz4&feature=youtu.be[/video]