Seventy years ago, on April 18, 1942, the U.S. launched its first-ever air raid against Japan, led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle from the aircraft carrier Hornet. In a top-secret operation, 16 B-25Bs, representing the latest bomber technology, were loaded onto the Hornet in Alameda, Calif., on April 2, and headed across the Pacific. After encountering a Japanese patrol boat, the airplanes launched earlier than planned -- 650 nm from the Japanese mainland. None of the airplanes made it back, but of the 80 crewmen, all but four eventually returned home. This week, the five surviving Doolittle Raiders were honored at the Gathering of B-25s at Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, is hosting commemorative events through Friday.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/doolittle-raid-on-tokyo-remembered