Doolittle Raid over Japan USS Hornet CV-8 # April 1942 Overview indicated that a range-extended B-25 could be launched The Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942 was the first U.S. air from a carrier with a reasonable bomb load, hit military raid to strike the Japanese home islands during WWII. targets in Japan, and fly on to land in China. He then The mission is notable in that it was the only combat assembled 24 flight crews and orchestrated six weeks of operation in which Army Air Force bombers were launched training at Eglin Field in Florida. Here they learned the from an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet CV-8. The raid unusual techniques of “short field takeoffs” under the demonstrated how vulnerable the Japanese home islands guidance of a naval aviator, Lt. Henry Miller. The Mitchell were to air attack only four months after their surprise bombers were also modified for this extremely long flight attack on Pearl Harbor. While the actual bomb damage was by having extra fuel compartments installed. slight, the raid significantly boosted American morale and In early March, Hornet was ordered to proceed to the west caused a knee-jerk response from the Japanese military coast, transiting the Panama Canal. Her initial stop was in that was disastrous for their long-term war effort. San Diego to pick up new fighter and scout aircraft. On March 31, she tied up at Alameda Naval Air Station with all her aircraft stored in the hangar deck, clearing the flight deck for the large Army planes. Meanwhile, the USAAF crews flew their bombers from Florida to the Sacramento Air Depot (aka McClellan airfield) for final maintenance. On March 31 and April 1, they flew to Alameda. The best 16 bombers were craned on to Hornet’s flight deck and tied down in the order of their expected launch. After their 5-man flight crews and various maintenance personnel had boarded (134 officers and enlisted men in all), Hornet cast off and moored in the middle of SF Bay. She began her top-secret voyage by steaming underneath the Golden Gate Bridge in the mid- History morning of April 2. Rumors were circulated for the curious Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, President public that the ship was simply ferrying Army bombers to Roosevelt tasked senior military commanders with finding some outpost in the Pacific. In reality, she was headed for a suitable response to assuage the public outrage. In a position 500 nautical miles east of Japan. January of 1942, Navy Captain Francis Low predicted that, under the right conditions, twin-engine Army bombers The commanding officer of Hornet , Captain Marc Mitscher, could be successfully launched from an aircraft carrier. was in overall command of Task Force 18 as it steamed The Navy’s project officer, Captain Donald Duncan, wrote west. The escort ships included cruisers Nashville and a 30-page feasibility study and submitted this to General Vincennes , fleet oiler Cimarron , and destroyers Gwin, Hap Arnold, Chief of the USAAF. Duncan also conducted Meredith, Grayson and Monssen . an initial proof-of-concept test on February 2 when two lightly loaded B-25s were flown off the brand new Hornet On April 13, north of Midway Island, they rendezvoused while she was completing sea trials off Norfolk, VA. with Task Force 16 commanded by Vice Admiral William Halsey. It included the USS Enterprise (CV-6) with cruisers USAAF LtCol Jimmy Doolittle, a legendary aviator of Northampton and Salt Lake City , fleet oiler Sabine and his time, was selected to plan the details of the raid and destroyers Balch, Benham, Ellet and Fanning . Enterprise’s eventually lead it. Subsequent calculations by Doolittle fighters and scout planes would provide protection for the USS HORNET MUSEUM HISTORICAL NOTE SERIES ROBERT FISH • APRIL 2011 entire task force in the event of a Japanese air attack . With Halsey in overall command, the two carriers and their escorts proceeded in radio silence toward their intended launch point in enemy-controlled waters. During this cruise, the Army pilots were briefed by Hornet’s Air Intelligence Officer, Lt. Stephen Jurika. As a former naval attaché in Japan before the war, he was instrumental in helping them select high value targets and relatively safe flight routes. He also provided one of the four medals that Doolittle wired to one bomb, to be returned via “special delivery” to Tokyo. By April 17, the bombers had been prepared for their mission. 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 shot down or severely damaged. All but one of the planes gun in the nose, and extra fuel tanks. The B-25s had two proceeded southwest along the coast of Japan, then dummy wooden machine gun barrels, fashioned from west across the East China Sea where air bases in China broomsticks, mounted in their tail cone to discourage supposedly awaited them. One B-25 was extremely low on Japanese air attacks from that direction. fuel and headed for Russia instead, which was closer. On the morning of April 18, while still 650 miles from The raiders faced several unforeseen challenges during Japan, the task force was sighted by a Japanese picket boat, their flight to China: night was approaching, the planes which radioed a warning to headquarters. The boat was were running low on fuel, and the weather was rapidly destroyed by gunfire from an American cruiser. However, deteriorating. As a result of these and other problems, to ensure the safety of the task force, Admiral Halsey the crews realized they would not be able to reach their decided to launch the strike immediately—a day earlier intended bases in China, leaving them the option of either and 150 miles farther from Japan than planned. The bailing out over eastern China or crash landing along the weather situation was less than ideal with rain, 20-knot Chinese coast. The bomber that flew to Russia was the only gusting winds and heavy seas. one that landed intact (near Vladivostok), where their B-25 was confiscated and the crew interned until escaping in 1943. Even though none of the B-25 pilots, including Doolittle, had ever taken off from an aircraft carrier before, all 16 Three Raiders were killed during their attempts to land in planes were airborne in one hour. They flew single-file just China. Eight were captured by the Japanese, of which three above wave top height to avoid detection. The planes began were subsequently executed and a fourth died of disease arriving over Japan about noon (local time) and bombed in prison. Following the Doolittle Raid, most of the B-25 military and industrial targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety Osaka and Nagoya. Although some B-25s encountered light with the help of Chinese civilians and went on to fly other anti-aircraft fire and a few enemy fighters, no bomber was wartime missions. But the Chinese paid dearly as the Japanese killed an estimated 250,000 civilians in retaliation for helping the Army fliers. USS HORNET MUSEUM 707 W Hornet Ave, Pier 3 Compared to the devastating B-29 fire bombing attacks PO Box 460 Alameda, CA 94501 against Japan later in the war, the Doolittle Raid did little material damage. Nevertheless, when the news of the raid Phone (510) 521-8448 Fax (510) 521-8327 was released, American morale soared. The raid also had strategic impact in that it caused the Japanese to recall E-Mail [email protected] Website www.uss-hornet.org some military units back to the home islands for defense where they remained throughout the war. Additionally, it The USS Hornet Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with the goal of inspiring people of all ages to experience naval history, science, and space provoked Admiral Yamamoto into attempting a hastily technology firsthand. Operations are mainly supported by daily admissions, donations, special events, and membership dues. organized strike against Midway Island, a disaster from which the Imperial Japanese Navy never recovered. # USS HORNET MUSEUM HISTORICAL NOTE SERIES ROBERT FISH • APRIL 2011.