The log of the Enterprise for 16, April shows the increasing tension at Task Force Sixteen plowed into enemy-dominated waters:
"0501–Launched first inner air patrols of 6 fighters, followed throughout the day by patrols of 5, 4 and 6 fighters each. No contacts. Launched first scouting flight of 13 scout bombers to search sector 204-324 to distance of 20 miles, followed in the afternoon by scouting flight of 8 torpedo planes to search sector 204-24 to distance of 150 miles. No contacts.
Activity increased the next day. At 05:37 the Enterprise launched 18 scout bombers for three-hour search missions. During the morning, the Sabine pumped aviation gasoline and fuel oil aboard the Big E and then, along with the Cimmaron, topped off the cruisers and destroyers. At 14:45, the destroyer Nonssen and both tankers left the formation to await the return of the larger ships after the B-25's were launched. A short time later the other destroyers were detached. The two carriers and four cruisers left now increased their speeds to 20 knots. Hardly had the destroyers and tankers receded from view when the wind picked up and increased to gale force.
Meanwhile, the B-25's had been spotted on the deck for takeoff. The lead bomber, Doolittle's, had 467 feet of clear deck; the last one, Lieutenant Bill Farrow's, hung precariously out over the stern ramp of the carrier. Two white lines were painted on the deck–one for the left wheel and one for the nose wheel of the bombers. If the pilots kept their planes on these lines they could be assured of clearing the carrier's "island" with their right wings by about six feet.
The excitement aboard the Hornet increased when its refueling was completed and the Mitchells positioned. Up on the bridge of the Hornet, Mitscher and Doolittle huddled over a map table.
"Jimmy, we're in the enemy's back yard now," Mitscher said calmly. "anything could happen from here on in. I think it's time for our little ceremony."
Doolittle agreed . . . When the Enterprise had merged with the Hornet's force, mail had been exchanged and Mitscher had received some official correspondence from the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox. Enclosed were some medals which had been presented to H. Vormstein, John B. Laurey, and Daniel J. Quigley, ex-Navy enlisted men, to commemorate the visit of the U.S. Battle Fleet to Japan in 1908. Vormstein and Laurey, both working in the Brooklyn Navy Yard at the time, had asked in the letter of January 26, that Secretary Knox "attach it to a bomb and return it to Japan in that manner." Quigley,formerly of the USS Kearsarge, wrote from his home in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, on 2 March:
"Following the lead of my former fleet mates in forwarding thru you, Sir, their Jap commemoration medals via bomb to Tokyo, I herewith enclose the one issued to me and trust that it will eventually find its way back in company with a bomb that will rock rock the throne of the 'Son of Heaven' in the Kojimachi Ku district of Tokyo."Knox had forwarded the medals to Nimitz at Pearl Harbor, asking that the request be complied with at the appropriate time. "The appropriate time seems to have come sooner than they realized," Mitscher said, grinning. "Let's get your boys together and comply with these instructions from on high."
Over the loudspeaker came the announcement, "Army crews, report to the flight deck!" When everyone had gathered around a bomb that had been brought on deck, Mitscher made a short speech about the medals and handed them to Doolittle. Lieutenant Steve Jurika, having heard about the ceremony, added the medal he had received from the Japanese in 1940.
The group posed for pictures and kidded each other goodnaturedly. Several of them wrote slogans on the bomb like "I don't want to set the world on fire, just Tokyo" and "you'll get a BANG out of this!" They knew the time for departure was drawing nigh. Dog tags were checked and last innoculations made. Already their survival equipment had been handed out and the eighty men who were going on the raid had been loaded down like over-eager Boy Scouts. Each crew member had been issued a Navy gas mask, a .45 automatic, clips of ammunition, a hunting knife, flashlight, emergency rations, first aid kit, canteen, compass, and life jacket. Besides their clothes, most had added an assortment of extras to their B-4 bags such as cigarettes , candy bars, and extra razor blades. "Shorty" Crouch, navigator, on Dick Joyce's crew, ever mindful of the lectures about the lack of cleanliness in the Orient, jammed rolls of toilet paper into his bags. They were hoping for the best but being prepared for the worst, and their lightheartedness soon became forced as each man wondered about his personal chances for survival.
Mechanical difficulties had been cropping up on every plane almost hourly. On the 16th, Lieutenant Don Smith's right engine cracked it's blower wile he was running it up. Navy carpenters hurriedly rigged up a platform so an engine change crew could remove it. It was taken below decks to the machine shop, quickly repaired and replaced.
Gun turrets did not function correctly, hydraulic lines still leaked, spark plugs fouled, and gas tanks dripped. The anxiety of the crews mounted as Doolittle went from plane to plane, questioned the crews, and inspected their planes from the nose wheel tires to the false broomstick guns in the rear. On the afternoon of the 17th, he called the crews together.
"The time is getting short now," he told them. "By now every single one of you knows exactly what to do if the alarm is sounded. We were originally supposed to take off on the 19th but it looks like it'll be tomorrow instead. This will be your last briefing. Be ready to go at anytime.
"We should have plenty of warning if we're intercepted. If all goes well, however, I'll take of so as to arrive over Tokyo at dusk. The rest of you will take off two or three hours later and can use my fires as a homing beacon."
Doolittle reiterated the plan in full and, for the last time, gave the men a chance to back out. Again, no one took him up on his offer. He then gave instructions about the 5-gallon gas cans which were to be stowed in the rear compartment. "Don't throw out the empty cans as you use them," he cautioned. "If you do, you'll leave a trail directly back to the Hornet. When the cans are all empty, punch holes in them and throw them overboard all at the same time. Now, any questions?"
There was one question that had bothered many of the men but no one had yet brought it up. One of the pilots, however, decided that he wanted to know what the Boss's answer would be so he asked, "Colonel, what should we do if we lose an engine or something else goes wrong and we have to crash land in Japan?"
Doolittle's answer was quick. "Each pilot is in command of his own plane when we leave the carrier," he answered. "He alone is responsible for the decision he makes for his own plane and crew. Each man must eventually decide for himself what he will do when the chips are down. Personally, I know exactly what I'm going to do."
The wardroom fell silent. Doolittle didn't elaborate so one of the group asked, "Sir, what will you do?"
"I don't intend to be taken prisoner," so the scrappy little man answered. "If my plane is crippled beyond any possibly of fighting or escape, I'm going to bail my crew out and then dive it, full throttle, into any target I can find where the crash will do the most damage. I'm 46 years old and have lived a full life. Most of you fellows are in your twenties and if I were you, I'm not sure I would make the same decision. In the final analysis, it's up to each pilot and, in turn, each man to decide what he will do."
He then cautioned them to get rid of any and all identification, letters, orders and diaries that would link them with the Hornet, their unit in the States of their training.
The B-25 crews labored all day on the 17th preparing their planes for battle. Ammunition and bombs were loaded aboard. Last minute engine run-ups were made and crew survival equipment placed in each plane. Doc White had thoughtfully climbed on board the Hornet in San Francisco with 80 quarts of bourbon–a quart for every man going on the raid. During the voyage, he exchanged it with the Navy medics for pints of medicinal rye. These would be easier to carry in the B-4 bags he reasoned and, if they had to bail out, could be stuffed into their flight jackets. He admonished the group again to urgency that was felt by all on the Hornet.
Earlier that day, Commander Apollo Soucek, the Hornet's Air Officer had issued "Air Department Plan for Friday, 17 April 1942":
The Big Bombers on the flight deck will be loaded with bombs during the day. The sequence of events in connection with loading and respotting will be as follows:
(1) Complete fueling ships; tanker shoves off.
(2) Push #02268 and #02267 clear of number 3 elevator.
(3) Bring incendiary bombs to flight deck via number 3 elevator; commence loading on accessible airplanes.
(4) Start bringing heavy bombs to the flight decks via regular bomb elevators; commence loading on accessible airplanes.
(5) When all incendiary bombs are on flight deck, secure number 3 elevator and pull #02267 and #02268 forward far enough for loading purposes.
(6) One half hour before sunset, respot the deck for take-off. Note: All loading will be done under the direct supervision of Captain Greening, U.S.A.By sunset, loading and positioning were complete. All planes had been fueled; only personal baggage had to be stored aboard. Twenty-four hours later, if all went well, the 16 bombers would be gone. As had been the practice during the voyage, poker games started below decks the instant work was done. The night of April 17 was no exception.
At midnight on the Hornet, Ensign Robert R. Boettcher had relieved Ensign J. A. Holmes on watch as officer of the Deck. He noted in the ship's log that the Hornet, in company with Task Groups 16.2 and 16.5, was steaming darkened on a course of 267˚ at 20 knots. The ship's bell chimed off the half hours as the midnight-to-four shift went about it's routine chores. Boettcher's task was to stay alert for signs of any enemy sea or air activity and keep the Hornet knifing ahead on course.
When the six bells signaling 3 A.M. were chimed, Boettcher stretched, yawned and asked for a cup of coffee. He had drained the last waning drops when a message was flashed from the Enterprise that knotted his stomach: "Two enemy surface craft reported." The Big E's radar had spotted two enemy ships off the port bow at a distance of twenty-one thousand yards. All watch hands stared into the inky blackness; two minutes later a light appeared on the horizon.
The Enterprise's short range, high frequency radio crackled out a curt order for all ships to come right to a course of 350˚ to avoid detection. As the ships obeyed, general quarters was sounded and every man on the six ships fought his way to his assigned battlestation. A half hour later, the enemy ships faded from the radar screen and the westerly course was resumed at 4:11 A.M. For the Task Force, the day had begun even though the "all clear" had been sounded at 3:41. The B-25 crews went back to their cabins to resume their interrupted sleep.
At 05:08 the dawn search flight patrol consisting of eight F4F Grumman fighters and three SBD Douglas scout bombers took to the air from the Enterprise to search to a distance of two hundred miles. Three more scout bombers were launched for a combat air patrol above the Task Force.
The weather, which had been moderately rough during the night, was worsening. Low broken clouds hung over the area; frequent rain squalls swept over the ships and the sea began to bellow up in 30 foot crests. Gusty winds tore the tops off the waves and the spray blew across the decks of the ships, drenching the deck crews.
The three SBD pilots climbed to the bottom of the broken clouds in a "single plane relative search." At 05:58, Lieutenant O. B. Wiseman sighted a small patrol craft. He quickly reversed course for the Enterprise. Fixed his position as best he could on his small plotting board, he jotted down a message:
Enemy surface ship–latitude 36-O4N, Long. 153-10E, bearing 276˚ true–42 miles. Believed seen by enemy.Wiseman handed the message back to the gunner in the rear seat and make a throwing motion with his hand.
The gunner knew what to do. He reached in his pocket for a bean bag message container, stuffed the paper inside and peered over the side as Wiseman dived for the Big E's flight deck. Wiseman put flaps down to slow his plane and the gunner opened the canopy. When the SBD was directly overhead, the message plopped down on the deck and was scooped up on the run by a deckhand and delivered to Halsey on the bridge.
Halsey's reaction was immediate. He ordered all ships in the Task Force to swing left to a course of 220˚ to avoid detection. The question uppermost in everyone's mind was whether or not Wiseman had been seen. About an hour later, at 07:38, another enemy patrol vessel of about 150 tons was sighted from the Hornet only twenty thousand yards away. If the Hornet could see the small vessel, there was every reason to believe that the Task Force had been sighted and reported. It became a certainty when the Hornet's radio operator intercepted a Japanese message which had originated from somewhere close by. Still further confirmation came at 07:45 when Ensign J. Q. Roberts sighted the enemy vessel only twelve-thousand yards away.
The moment of decision had come. Halsey ordered the Nashville to sink the patrol boat. In the log of the Enterprise was noted the following:
By previous agreement with Lt. Col. Doolittle, flight commander of the 16 B-25 planes on the Hornet, the plan was to launch one plane from a position approximately 400 miles east of Inuboe Saki at a time to permit arrival over Tokyo at sunset. The other planes were to be launched at local sunset to permit a night attack on Tokyo. However, in case the presence of the force was detected, it was understood the planes were to be launched immediately. If launched from 550 miles from Inuboe Saki, the arrival at arranged destination was remotely possibility. If launched from a point in excess of 650 miles, it was calculated impossible to arrive at Hushan, the arranged destination. These factors were all considered and as our position was known to have been reported by the patrol vessel previously contacted, Ad. Halsey ordered the planes launched.
The message Halsey flashed to Mitscher on the Hornet was set at 8:00 A.M.:
LAUNCH PLANES X TO COL. DOOLITTLE AND GALLANT COMMAND GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS YOU.Doolittle, on the Hornet's bridge when the message came, hurriedly shook hands with Mitscher and leaped down the ladder to his cabin, shouting to everybody he saw, "O.K. fellas, this is it! Let's go!" At the same time, the blood-chilling klaxon sounded and the announcement came over the loudspeaker: "Army pilots, man your planes!" The B-25 crews had not been fully aware of the drama going on around them up to this point. Some had finished breakfast and were lounging in their cabins; others were shaving and preparing to eat; several were still asleep. A few had packed their B-4 bags but most were caught completely unawares when the call came.
Although their collective goal was the same, the 80 men all reacted differently. "Shorty" Manch had his own ideas about what to take. He grabbed his portable phonopraph as well as two .45 caliber pistols and a carbine. He had his records in a cake tin but decided at the last minute to ask his buddy, Lieutenant Bob Clever, navigator on Ted Lawson's "Ruptured Duck," to put the precious platters under his seat. Clever reluctantly agreed.
Doc White hurriedly passed out the two pints of liquor to each man. Lieutenant Dick Knobloch ran from plane to plane handing up bags of sandwiches he had gotten from the galley.
Army and Navy men poured all over the Hornet's deck in seemingly wild confusion. Engine and turret covers were ripped off and stuffed up into the rear hatches. Ropes were unfastened and wheel chocks pulled away. A "donkey" pushed and pulled the 25's into position along the back end of the flight deck.
The Hornet's speed was increased and her bow plunged viciously into the towering waves . The deck seemed like a crazy seesaw that bit into the water each time the bow dipped.
Once each plane was in position, the job of loading could be completed. The gas tanks were all topped off. Navy crews rocked the bombers back and fourth to break up any air bubbles in the tanks so they could pour in a few more quarts of precious gasoline. Sailors quickly filled the ten 5-gallon gas cans allotted each ship and passed them hand-to-hand up into the rear hatches.
The Hornet's control tower displayed a huge blackboard which noted the compass heading of the ship and the wind speed. As the crews jammed their personal belongings aboard, Hank Miller climbed up into the forward hatch of each plane, wished the crew good luck and said, sadly, "I sure wish I could go with you guys. I'll be holding up a blackboard to give you any last minute instructions. Give me a glance before you let your brakes off."
On signal, Doolittle in the lead plane started his engines and warmed them up. Near the bow on the left side, Lieutenant Edgar G. Osborne stood with a checkered flag in his hands. He began to swing the flag in a circle as a signal for Doolittle to ease the throttles forward. Osborne swung the flag in faster and faster circles and Doolittle pushed more and more power on. At the precise instant the deck was beginning its upward movement, chocks were pulled from under Doolittle's wheels and Osborne gave him the "go" signal. Doolittle released his brakes and the Mitchell inched forward.
Ted Lawson, waiting his turn in the "Ruptured Duck," described their leader's takeoff:
With full flaps, motors at full throttle and his left wing far out over the port side of the Hornet, Doolittle's plane waddled and then lunged slowly into the teeth of the gale that swept down the deck. His left wheel stuck on the white line as if it were a track. His right wing, which had barely cleared the wall of the island as he taxied and was guided up to the starting line, extended nearly to the edge of the starboard side.
We watched him like hawks, wondering what the wind would do to him, and whether we could get off in that little run toward the bow. If he couldn't, we couldn't.
Doolittle picked up more speed and held to his line, and, just as the Hornet lifted up on top of a wave and cut through it at full speed, Doolittle's plane took off. He had yards to spare. He hung his ship almost straight up on its props, until we could see the whole top of his B-25. Then he leveled off and I watched him come around in a tight circle and shoot low over our heads–straight down the lines painted on the deck.The log of the Hornet for 18 April records that Colonel Doolittle was airborne at 08:20 A.M. ship time. Instead of following him three hours later, as originally planned, the second plane, piloted by Lieutenant Travis Hoover, had to take off just five minutes later.
"Hoover kept his nose in the up position too long," Lieutenant Hank Miller recalls, "and nearly stalled the plane. After the third plane took off, put the words 'STABILIZER IN NEUTRAL' on the blackboard. I'm pretty sure they saw and took my advice."
"Succeeding take-offs were all good except one–Ted Lawson's–because he either forgot his flaps or inadvertently put them back into the 'up' position instead of 'neutral.' But he got away with it.
"The flaps on three other planes were up as they maneuvered into position, but the flight deck crew caught them before take-off. The only casualty to the planes themselves was a cracked nose glass on Lt. Don Smith's plane when it was rammed into the tail cone of the one ahead of it. There wasn't enough damage to worry about so he took off in order."
The last plane on the deck, piloted by Lieutenant Bill Farrow, seemed earmarked for disaster from the start. Since it's tail was hanging out over the end of the deck, the loading of the planes rear compartment could not be completed until the 15th plane, Smith's, had moved forward. Six deck handlers held down on the nose wheel while Farrow taxied forward. Just as Smith revved up his engines, and the men moved away from Farrow's nose wheel, Seaman Robert W. Wall, one of the six, lost his footing. The sudden gust of air caused him to lose his balance and the combination of air blast and the slippery, pitching deck threw him into Farrow's idling left propeller. There was nothing Farrow could do. The prop chewed into Wall's left arm and threw him aside. His deck mates quickly rushed to him and carried him to sick bay where his arm was amputated a short time later.
Farrow's plane was off at 9:20, exactly one hour after Doolittle's. Doolittle had 620 nautical miles to go to reach Inuboe Saki, the nearest point of land; Farrow's distance was calculated at an even 600 miles with the Hornet's position officially fixed at 35˚55'N, 153˚19'E.
While the Doolittle crews had been getting ready on the Hornet, the cruiser Nashville began pumping shells at the patrol vessel Ensign Roberts had sighted. Roberts made a glide bombing attack and dropped a 500-pounder but it missed. He strafed with a lone .50 caliber machine gun but could see no damage being done. Other planes joined the attack. The War Diary of the Nashville describes the action this way:
0748–Enemy ship bore 201˚T at a range of 9,000 yds.
0752–Received order from Adm. Halsey to attack vessel and sink same.
0753–Opened fire with main battery firing salvo fire at range of 9,000 yds.
0754–Shifted to rapid fire.
0755–Checked fire. Target could not be seen.
0756–Resumed firing. Bombing planes made attack on enemy vessel. They returned the fire of the planes with machine guns and a light cannon.
0757–Enemy headed toward the Nashville.
0801–Bombing planes made another attack on enemy ship. This fire returned by the enemy.
0804–Opened fire. This fire was returned but enemy shells fell short.
0809–Bombing planes made another attack. Changed course to the left in order to close the enemy.
0814–Increased speed to 25 knots.
0819–Commenced firing salvo fire.
0821–Steadied a course 095T. Enemy vessel on fire.
0823–Enemy vessel sunk.
0827–Commenced maneuvering to pick up survivors. Attempts to rescue one man sighted proved unsuccessful.
0846–Went to 25 knots to rejoin mission.The skipper of the Nashville, Captain S. S. Craven, added an additional note in the log to explain why it had taken so long to sink the small, apparently fragile vessel. He noted that "938 rounds of 6" ammunition were expended due to the difficulty of hitting the small target with the heavy swells that were running and the long range at which fire was opened. This range was used in order to silence the enemy's radio as soon as possible. The ship sunk was a Japanese patrol boat and was equipped with radio and anti-aircraft machine guns."
As soon as the 16th B-25 had left the deck, the entire task force reversed course to the east and proceeded at full speed in a maneuver the Navy calls simply "getting the hell out." The Hornet, now divested of it's load of bombers, brought it's own planes up on deck and assumed it's aerial role of scouting in collaboration with the Enterprise. The fact that the enemy patrol vessel had gotten its message off before being sunk probably meant every enemy plane and vessel within range of the American force would be searching for it. The assumption was well founded for aircraft were spotted on the radar screen of the retreating Enterprise but none came closer than 30 miles. The low clouds and poor visibility were proving to be allies.
As 11:30, Ensigns R. M. Elder, R. K. Campbell and J. C. Butler of Bomber Squadron Three were launched from the Enterprise on single-plane searches to the southwest. A few minutes later, Lieutenant R. W. Arndt led a three-plane flight off to attack enemy surface vessels reported 58 miles from the tack force. Ensign Campbell was the first to make contact. At 11:50 he sighted a 150-foot patrol boat painted dark gray with a tall radio antenna towering above its deck. Two dive bombing attacks were made but no hits were scored. Campbell pressed the attack firing both the .50 caliber and .30 caliber guns but only minor damage could be seen.
A few minutes after Campbell's attack, Lieutenant Arndt and his two wingmen attacked another vessel. Three 500-pound and five 100 pound bombs were dropped, again without success. As the War Diary of the squadron wryly noted, "there was no apparent damage from bombs except for one 100-lb. bomb near miss which evidently stopped the fire on one small caliber AA gun located aft. The enemy used radical maneuver and returned AA fire with what appeared to be a 1" gun."
Ensign Butler, searching another sector, sighted still a third patrol boat. It was about 125 feet long and was towing a smaller boat behind. He made three separate bomb runs, dropping one bomb each time. The two 100-pound bombs were duds but the 500-pound bomb landed close aboard on the port side causing fragmentary damage. After the bombing, Butler strafed both boats until his ammunition was gone. He thought he had sunk the smaler boat and damaged the larger one. After landing he reported that "one plane received three hits from enemy fire–not serious."
What Arndt and his squadron mates could not do, the Nashville did. As soon as the scout bombers retired, she opened fire on the bobbing patrol boat at forty-five hundred yards. Firing off and on for the next twenty minutes with her 5-inch and 6-inch guns as she closed the distance, she finally obtained results. Overwhelmed by the quantity of lead that filled the air, the Japanese ran up a white flag and the Nashville ceased firing. While the Nashville circled, the enemy boat slowly sank. Five survivors were spotted and quickly hauled aboard suffering from shock, immersion and fright. Only one, Seaman Second Class Nakamura Suekichi, was injured slightly with a bullet wound in his cheek.
There had been 11 men aboard the patrol boat, the Nagato Maru, according to Suekichi. He reported in a letter to the author that ". . . the waves were high that day and I could not help worrying that our 70-ton Nagato Maru would capsize at any moment." He told Navy interrogators that he had spotted some planes while on watch and went below to rouse his skipper, Chief Petty Officer Gisaku Maeda. The skipper assumed they were the usual morning patrol planes from Japan and stayed in his cabin. A short time later Suekichi tried again and said, "Sir, there are two of our beautiful carriers now dead ahead."
This time Maeda was wide awake. No Japanese carriers were supposed to be in his patrol area. He rushed on deck, studied them intently through his binoculars, and said sadly, "Indeed they are beautiful but they are not ours." He went below to his cabin, took a pistol from his sea bag, put it to his temple and pulled the trigger.
"At that time," Suekichi said, "we radioed the Kiso, the flagship of the Fifth Fleet, that the enemy had been sighted. When the American cruiser fired on us, I could actually see the approaching shells. The airborne attack by the enemy became more severe, but we really doubted whether they could hit us, so we pointed our small gun at the enemy. Looking back on our actions now, we acted foolishly. But, after all, we thought we were fighting for the great spirit of Nippon. Since we had communicated the discovery of enemy ships and planes, we were positive that no damage would occur in Japan."
While the Nashville was completing the action, the planes returned to the Enterprise to re-arm. One of them, piloted by Lieutenant L. A. Smith, however, could not make it. Without warning, the SBD's engine began to lose oil pressure and he had to ditch. His plane had been hit by the small caliber fire from the picket ship. He and his gunner, AMM2C H. H. Caruthers, were rescued shortly thereafter by the Nashville.
The excitement of the day was not yet over. A small enemy submarine was sighted and attacked before it hurriedly submerged undamaged. Other Japanese patrol vessels and freighters were sighted but not attacked. When the day's activities were studied by Halsey's staff, the number of enemy vessels found was surprising. Halsey reported that "in addition to the radar contact with two craft made at 0310, actual contact showed one submarine, 14 PY's (patrol vessels) and 3 AK's (probably "mother ships" for the patrols) concentrated in an area about 130 miles by 180 miles. A similar concentration was reported by a submarine just returned from patrol in the East China Sea which stated that 65 sampans had been sighted in an area just about the same size as that mentioned above. These are indications of the degree to which the Japanese are using these small craft for patrols and screens around their vital areas." Halsey made no mention of enemy lane-based patrol planes which had also been seen. If these planes had found the task force, there is no doubt they would have attacked the carriers offensively, which the patrol vessels could not.
The escaping task force steamed at full speed during the night and at dawn the next day began its patrols again. No more enemy ships were sighted but one scout bomber from the Hornet, overdue from the morning patrol, ditched in the water out of gas only seven miles from the Enterprise. The plane, piloted by Lieutenant G. D. Randall with radioman T. A. Gallagher aboard, sank in 30 seconds. Neither the plane nor the men were recovered.
It took Task Force Sixteen exactly one week to the hour after launching the B-25's to reach Pearl Harbor. Before docking, Halsey sent a "Well Done" to his skippers and termed the mission a success. "The Japs chased us all the way home, of course," Halsey wrote later. "whenever we tracked their search planes with our radar, I was tempted to unleash our fighters, but I knew it was more important not to reveal our position than to shoot down a couple of scouts. They sent a task force after us; their submarines tried to intercept us; and . . . even some of their carriers joined the hunt; but with the help of foul weather and a devious course, we eluded them . . ."
(Not one B-25 was lost over Japan; some splashed off the coast and others landed in China; only two pilots were captured by the enemy and subsequently executed.)
--Lieutenant Colonel Carroll V. Glines
From: The United States Navy in World War II
Compiled and edited by: S.E. Smith
Part III: Chapter 1: Launch Planes!
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USS Enterprise:
_in_Puget_Sound,_September_1945.jpg) USS Enterprise CV-6 | |
| Career (United States) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Enterprise (CV-6) |
| Ordered: | 1933 |
| Builder: | Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 16 July 1934 |
| Launched: | 3 October 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 12 May 1938 |
| Decommissioned: | 17 February 1947 |
| Nickname: |
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| Honors and awards: |
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| Fate: | Scrapped 1958–1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Yorktown-class aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: |
As built:
From October 1943:
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| Length: |
As built:
From July 1942:
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| Beam: |
As built:
From October 1942:
From October 1943:
|
| Draft: | 25 ft 11.5 in (7.912 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 32.5 knots (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h) |
| Range: | 12,500 nautical miles (23,150 km; 14,380 mi) at 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
| Complement: | 2,217 officers and men (1941) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | CXAM-1 RADAR[1] |
| Armament: |
As built:
From April 1942:
From mid-June 1942 to mid-Sept 1942:
From Mid-Sept. 1942:
From October 1943:
From September 1945:
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| Armor: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 90 aircraft |
| Aviation facilities: |
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.svg){kind=small}
USS Enterprise (CV-6), was the seventh U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. Colloquially referred to as the "Big E", she was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. A Yorktown class carrier, she was launched in 1936 and was one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to survive the war (the others beingSaratoga and Ranger). She participated in more major actions of the war against Japan than any other US ship. These actions included theBattle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, various other air-sea engagements during theGuadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. On three separate occasions during the Pacific War, the Japanese announced that she had been sunk in battle, earning her the name "The Grey Ghost". Enterprise earned 20 battle stars, the most for any U.S. warship in World War II and became the most decorated US ship of World War II.
Enterprise on 8 April 1942 departed to rendezvous with the carrier Hornet and sail west, escorting Hornet on the mission to launch 16 Army B-25 Mitchells in the "Doolittle Raid" on Tokyo. While Enterprise fighters flew combat air patrol, the B-25s launched on 18 April, and flew undetected the remaining 600 miles (1,000 km) to the target. The task force, its presence known to the enemy after a sighting by small vessels, reversed course and returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 April.
USS Sabine: .
 Sabine (foreground) and the guided missile cruiser Albany in the Caribbean Sea in March 1967 | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Sabine |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Sparrows Point,Maryland |
| Laid down: | 18 September 1939 |
| Launched: | 27 April 1940 as SS Esso Albany |
| Sponsored by: | Miss Ellen Klitgaard |
| Acquired: | Purchased, 25 September 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 5 December 1940 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 February 1955 |
| Recommissioned: | 10 December 1956, by MSTS |
| Decommissioned: | 13 November 1957 |
| Struck: | 14 January 1959 |
| Recommissioned: | 14 December 1961 |
| Decommissioned: | 20 February 1969 |
| Struck: | 1 December 1976 |
| Fate: | Sold, 1 August 1983 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Cimarron-class oiler |
| Displacement: | 7,470 long tons (7,590 t) light 24,830 long tons (25,228 t) full load |
| Length: | 553 ft (169 m) |
| Beam: | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft: | 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m) |
| Propulsion: | Twin screws, 30,400 shp (22,669 kW) Steam (600psi), NSFO |
| Speed: | 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 304 |
| Armament: | • 4 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal. guns(4×1) • 4 × 40 mm AA guns • 4 × 20 mm AA guns |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | US Pacific Fleet (1941-49) US Atlantic Fleet (1949-55, 1961-69) Military Sea Transportation Service (1956-57) National Defense Reserve Fleet(1957-61, 1970-76) Atlantic Reserve Fleet (1969-70) |
| Operations: | World War II |
| Awards: | 10 battle stars |
USS Sabine (AO-25), a Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oiler serving in the United States Navy, was the second ship named for the Sabine River on the Texas-Louisiana border.
Sabine was laid down on 18 September 1939 as SS Esso Albany, MC hull 10, by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, at the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Maryland; launched on 27 April 1940; sponsored by Miss Ellen Klitgaard; renamed Sabine on 19 September 1940; acquired by the Navy through purchase on 25 September 1940; and commissioned on 5 December 1940, Commander Edmund W. Strother in command.
Early in 1942, Sabine supported carrier task forces that carried out raids against Wake Island and the Gilbert Islands. On 10 April, she joined the task force built around USS Hornet (CV-8) and USS Enterprise (CV-6)which steamed to within 700 miles (1,100 km) of the coast of Japan and launched bombers of the United States Army Air Forces commanded byLt. Col. James Doolittle. The Doolittle Raiders bombed Tokyo,Yokosuka, Nagoya, and Kobe. This daring strike surprised the Japanese and helped to boost American morale.
 USS Cimarron at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1942 | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Cimarron |
| Namesake: | The Cimarron River in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas |
| Builder: | Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.,Chester, Pennsylvania |
| Laid down: | 18 April 1938 |
| Launched: | 7 January 1939 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Louise Harrington Leahy |
| Commissioned: | 20 March 1939 |
| Decommissioned: | October 1968 |
| Struck: | October 1968 |
| Honors and awards: | 10 battle stars for World War IIservice 7 battle stars for Korean Warservice 4 campaign stars for Vietnam War service |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 1969 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Cimarron class fleet replenishment oiler |
| Displacement: | 7,470 long tons (7,590 t) light 24,830 long tons (25,228 t) full load |
| Length: | 553 ft (169 m) |
| Beam: | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft: | 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m) |
| Propulsion: | Twin screws, 30,400 shp (22,669 kW) Steam (600psi), NSFO |
| Speed: | 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 304 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS) |
| Armament: | • 4 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal. guns • 4 × 40 mm AA guns • 4 × 20 mm AA guns During Korean War reduced to: • 3 × 5 in./38 mounts • 3 in. mounts replaced 20 & 40 mm |
| Service record | |
| Commanders: | Lieutenant Commander William W. Behrens, Jr. |
| Operations: | World War II, Korean War,Vietnam War |
| Awards: | 10 battle stars (World War II) 7 battle stars (Korea) 4 campaign stars (Vietnam) |
USS Cimarron (AO-22) was a Cimarron-class oiler serving with theUnited States Navy and only the second ship to be named for theCimarron River in the southwestern United States. She was launched 7 January 1939 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania; sponsored by Mrs. William D. Leahy; and commissioned 20 March 1939 with Lieutenant Commander William W. Behrens, Jr. in command.
Cimarron reached San Francisco on 1 April 1942 and sailed the next day with the task force bound for the first air raid on Tokyo on 18 April. With USS Sabine (AO-25), they fueled the Fleet at sea before and after the raid, and returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 April.
 | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Puget Sound Navy Yard |
| Laid down: | 12 July 1939 |
| Launched: | 16 May 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 14 March 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk by Japanese warships off Guadalcanal 13 November 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Gleaves-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,630 tons |
| Length: | 348 ft 3 in (106.15 m) |
| Beam: | 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m) |
| Draft: | 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m) |
| Propulsion: | 50,000 shp (37 MW); 4 boilers; 2 propellers |
| Speed: | 37.4 knots (69 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,500 nautical miles at 12 kt (12,000 km at 22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 16 officers, 260 enlisted |
| Armament: | 5 × 5 in (127 mm) DP guns, 6 × 0.5 in. (12.7 mm) guns, 6 × 20 mm AA guns, 10 × 21 in (53 cm) torpedo tubes, 2 × depth charge tracks |
USS Monssen (DD-436), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Mons Monssen, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions aboard the USS Missouri(BB-11) in 1904.
On 31 March she arrived at San Francisco, joined Task Force 16 (TF 16), and departed 2 April. Steaming west, she was in the antisubmarine screen for Hornet (CV-8) as the aircraft carrier headed for Japan with Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle's B-25s on her flight deck. In the early morning hours 18 April the force was sighted by the enemy and the Army pilots manned their planes, ignoring the bad weather, the daylight hours, and the additional 168 miles they would have to fly over the planned 500 miles to their targets, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe.
Following the Doolittle Raid, the force returned to Pearl Harbor, from which it sortied 30 April to aid Yorktown (CV-5) andLexington (CV-2) in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Reaching the scene after the battle was over, the force returned to Pearl Harbor, arriving 26 May. Two days later they departed again — this time for Midway to repulse an expected assault on that advanced base. By 2 June, TF 16 had rendezvoused with Task Force 17 (TF 17) and was in position 350 miles northeast of Midway. On the 4th the Battle of Midway commenced as Japanese carrier planes flew against installations on the island. By the 7th, the American forces had won one of the decisive battles of history, sinking four carriers and one cruiser at the cost of destroyer Hammann (DD-412) and carrier Yorktown, and profoundly changing the course of the war.
| B-25 Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A B-25C Mitchell in 1942 | |
| Role | Medium bomber |
| Manufacturer | North American Aviation |
| First flight | 19 August 1940 |
| Introduction | 1941 |
| Retired | 1979 (Indonesia) |
| Primary users | United States Army Air Forces Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Air Force United States Navy |
| Number built | 9,984 |
| Developed from | XB-21 |
| Developed into | North American XB-28 |
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-enginedmedium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.
The B-25 was named in honor of General Billy Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. By the end of its production, nearly 10,000 B-25s in numerous models had been built. These included a few limited variations, such as the United States Navy's and Marine Corps' PBJ-1patrol bomber and the United States Army Air Forces' F-10 photo reconnaissance aircraft.
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The B-25 first gained fame as the bomber used in the 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid, in which 16 B-25Bs led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle attacked mainland Japan, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The mission gave a much-needed lift in spirits to the Americans, and alarmed the Japanese who had believed their home islands were inviolable by enemy forces. Although the amount of actual damage done was relatively minor, it forced the Japanese to divert troops for the home defense for the remainder of the war.
The raiders took off from the carrier USS Hornet and successfully bombed Tokyo and four other Japanese cities without loss. Fifteen of the bombers subsequently crash-landed en route to recovery fields in Eastern China. These losses were the result of the task force being spotted by a Japanese vessel forcing the bombers to take off 170 mi (270 km) early, fuel exhaustion, stormy nighttime conditions with zero visibility, and lack of electronic homing aids at the recovery bases. Only one B-25 bomber landed intact, in Siberia where its five-man crew was interned and the aircraft confiscated. Of the 80 aircrew, 69 survived their historic mission and eventually made it back to American lines.
Following a number of additional modifications, including the addition of Plexiglaswindows for the navigator and radio operator, heavier nose armament, and de-icingand anti-icing equipment, the B-25C was released to the Army. This was the second mass-produced version of the Mitchell, the first being the lightly armed B-25B used by the Doolittle Raiders. The B-25C and B-25D differed only in location of manufacture: -Cs at Inglewood, California, -Ds at Kansas City, Kansas. A total of 3,915 B-25Cs and -Ds were built by North American during World War II.
Although the B-25 was originally designed to bomb from medium altitudes in level flight, it was used frequently in the Southwest Pacific theater (SWPA) on treetop-level strafing and parafrag (parachute-retarded fragmentation bombs) missions against Japanese airfields in New Guinea and the Philippines. These heavily armed Mitchells, field-modified at Townsville, Australia, by Major Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn and North American tech rep Jack Fox, were also used on strafing and skip-bombing missions against Japanese shipping trying to resupply their land-based armies.
Under the leadership of Lieutenant General George C. Kenney, B-25s of the Fifthand Thirteenth Air Forces devastated Japanese targets in the Southwest Pacific theater from 1942 to 1945, and played a significant role in pushing the Japanese back to their home islands. B-25s were also used with devastating effect in theCentral Pacific, Alaska, North Africa, Mediterranean and China-Burma-India (CBI) theaters.
Use as a gunship[edit]
Because of the urgent need for hard-hitting strafer aircraft, a version dubbed the B-25G was developed, in which the standard-length transparent nose and the bombardier were replaced by a shorter solid nose containing two fixed .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and a 75 mm (2.95 in) M4 cannon,[2] one of the largest weapons fitted to an aircraft, similar to the experimental British Mosquito Mk. XVIII, and German Ju 88P heavy cannon carrying aircraft. The cannon was manually loaded and serviced by the navigator, who was able to perform these operations without leaving his crew station just behind the pilot. This was possible due to the shorter nose of the G-model and the length of the M4, which allowed the breech to extend into the navigator's compartment.
The B-25G's successor, the B-25H, had even more firepower. The M4 gun was replaced by the lighter T13E1,[2] designed specifically for the aircraft. The 75 mm (2.95 in) gun fired at a muzzle velocity of 2,362 ft/s (about 720 m/s). Due to its low rate of fire (approximately four rounds could be fired in a single strafing run) and relative ineffectiveness against ground targets, as well as substantial recoil, the 75 mm (2.95 in) gun was sometimes removed from both G and H models and replaced with two additional .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns as a field modification.[3]
Besides that, the -H normally mounted four fixed forward-firing .50 (12.7 mm) machine guns in the nose, four more fixed ones in forward-firing cheek blisters, two more in the manned dorsal turret, one each in a pair of new waist positions, and a final pair in a new tail gunner's position. Company promotional material bragged the B-25H could "bring to bear 10 machine guns coming and four going, in addition to the 75 mm cannon, a brace of eight rockets and 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) of bombs."[4]
The B-25H also featured a redesigned cockpit area, required by the dorsal turret having been relocated forward to the navigator's compartment – just aft of the cockpit and just ahead of the leading edge wing roots, thus requiring the addition of the waist and tail gun positions – and a heavily modified cockpit designed to be operated by a single pilot, the co-pilot's station and controls deleted, and the seat cut down and used by the navigator/cannoneer, the radio operator being moved to the aft compartment, operating the waist guns.[5] A total of 405 B-25Gs and 1000 B-25Hs were built,[2] the 248 of the latter being used by Navy as PBJ-1H.
The final, and the most built,[2] version of the Mitchell, the B-25J, looked much like the earlier B, C and D, having reverted to the longer, glazed bombardier's nose, but with the -H version's relocated-forward dorsal manned turret. The less-than-successful 75 mm (2.95 in) cannon was deleted. Instead, 800 of this version were built with a solid nose containing eight .50 (12.7 mm) machine guns, while other J-models featured the earlier "greenhouse" style nose containing the bombardier's position.[6]
Regardless of the nose style used, all J-models also included four .50 in (12.7 mm) light-barrel Browning AN/M2 guns in a pair of "fuselage package", flank-mount conformal gun pods each containing two Browning M2s, located directly beneath the pilot's and co-pilot's compartment along the external sides of the cockpit, with the co-pilot's seat and dual flight controls restored to their previous cockpit locations. The solid-nose B-25J variant carried a total of 18 .50 in (12.7 mm) light-barrel AN/M2 Browning M2 machine guns: eight in the nose, four in the flank-mount conformal gun pod packages, two in the dorsal turret, one each in the pair of waist positions, and a pair in the tail – with fourteen of the guns either aimed directly forward, or aimable to fire directly forward for strafing missions. No other main series production bomber of World War II carried as many guns.[6]
The first 555 B-25Js (the B-25J-1-NC production block) were delivered without the fuselage package guns, because it was discovered that muzzle blast from these guns was causing severe stress in the fuselage; this problem was cured with heavier fuselage skin patches. Although later production runs returned these fuselage package guns to the aircraft, they were often removed as a field modification for the same reason.[6] The later B-25J was additionally armed with eight 5 in (130 mm) high-velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR).[2] In all, 4,318 B-25Js were built.
Flight characteristics[edit]
The B-25 was a safe and forgiving aircraft to fly. With an engine out, 60° banking turns into the dead engine were possible, and control could be easily maintained down to 145 mph (230 km/h). However, the pilot had to remember to maintain engine-out directional control at low speeds after takeoff with rudder; if this maneuver was attempted with ailerons, the aircraft would snap out of control. The tricycle landing gear made for excellent visibility while taxiing. The only significant complaint about the B-25 was the extremely high noise level produced by its engines; as a result, many pilots eventually suffered from varying degrees of hearing loss.[7]
The high noise level was due to design and space restrictions in the engine cowlings which resulted in the exhaust "stacks" protruding directly from the cowling ring and partly covered by a small triangular fairing. This arrangement directed exhaust and noise directly at the pilot and crew compartments. Crew members and operators on the airshow circuit frequently comment that "the B-25 is the fastest way to turn aviation fuel directly into noise". Many B-25s now in civilian ownership have been modified with exhaust rings that direct the exhaust through the outboard bottom section of the cowling.
The Mitchell was an exceptionally sturdy aircraft that could withstand tremendous punishment. One well-known B-25C of the 321st Bomb Group was nicknamed "Patches" because its crew chief painted all the aircraft's flak hole patches with high-visibility zinc chromate primer. By the end of the war, this aircraft had completed over 300 missions, was belly-landed six times and sported over 400 patched holes. The airframe was so bent askew that straight-and-level flight required 8° of leftaileron trim and 6° of right rudder, causing the aircraft to "crab" sideways across the sky.[citation needed]
An interesting characteristic of the B-25 was its ability to extend range by using one-quarter wing flap settings. Since the aircraft normally cruised in a slightly nose-high attitude, about 40 gal (150 l) of fuel was below the fuel pickup point and thus unavailable for use. The flaps-down setting gave the aircraft a more level flight attitude, which resulted in this fuel becoming available, thus slightly extending the aircraft's range.[7]
By the time a separate United States Air Force was established in 1947, most B-25s had been consigned to long-term storage. However, a select number continued in service through the late 1940s and 1950s in a variety of training, reconnaissance and support roles. Its principal use during this period was for undergraduate training of multi-engine aircraft pilots slated for reciprocating engine or turboprop cargo, aerial refueling or reconnaissance aircraft. Still others were assigned to units of theAir National Guard in training roles in support of Northrop F-89 Scorpion andLockheed F-94 Starfire operations.
TB-25J-25-NC Mitchell, 44-30854, the last B-25 in the USAF inventory, assigned atMarch AFB, California as of March 1960,[8] was flown to Eglin AFB, Florida, fromTurner Air Force Base, Georgia, on 21 May 1960, the last flight by a USAF B-25, and presented by Brig. Gen. A. J. Russell, Commander of SAC's 822d Air Division at Turner AFB, to the Air Proving Ground Center Commander, Brig. Gen. Robert H. Warren, who in turn presented the bomber to Valparaiso, Florida Mayor Randall Roberts on behalf of the Niceville-Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce. Four of the original Tokyo Raiders were present for the ceremony, Col. Davy Jones, Col. Jack Simms, Lt. Col. Joseph Manske, and retired Master Sgt. Edwin W. Horton.[9] It was donated back to the Air Force Armament Museum c. 1974 and marked as Doolittle's 40-2344.[10]
Today, many B-25s are kept in airworthy condition by air museums and collectors.
| Jimmy Doolittle | |
|---|---|
 
Lt Gen. James Doolittle
| |
| Birth name | James Harold Doolittle |
| Nickname(s) | "Jimmy" |
| Born | December 14, 1896 Alameda, California |
| Died | September 27, 1993 (aged 96) Pebble Beach, California |
| Place of burial | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch |  Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps United States Army Air Service United States Army Air Corps United States Army Air Forces  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1917–1959 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | Twelfth Air Force Fifteenth Air Force Eighth Air Force |
| Battles/wars | Mexican Border Service World War I (Stateside Duty) World War II *Pacific Campaign **Doolittle Raid *Mediterranean Campaign *European Campaign Cold War *Korean War (Stateside Duty) |
| Awards | Air Medal (4) |
| Other work | Shell Oil, VP, Director Space Technology Laboratories, Chairman |
General/Doctor James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as an officer in the United States Army Air Forcesduring the Second World War. He earned the Medal of Honor for his valor and leadership as commander of the Doolittle Raid while a lieutenant colonel.
The Doolittle Raid[edit]
Main article: Doolittle Raid
Doolittle was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on January 2, 1942, and assigned to Army Air Forces Headquarters to plan the first retaliatory air raid on the Japanese homeland. He volunteered for and received General H.H. Arnold's approval to lead the top-secret attack of 16 B-25 medium bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, with targets in Tokyo, Kobe,Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya. After training at Eglin Field and Wagner Field in northwest Florida, Doolittle, his aircraft and flight crews proceeded to the McClellan Field, California for aircraft modifications at the Sacramento Air Depot, followed by a short final flight to Naval Air Station Alameda, California for embarkation aboard USS Hornet. On April 18, all the bombers successfully took off from the Hornet, reached Japan, and bombed their targets. Fifteen of the planes then headed for their recovery airfield in China, while one crew chose to land in Russia due to their bomber's unusually high fuel consumption. As did most of the other crewmen who participated in the mission, Doolittle's crew bailed out safely over China when their bomber ran out of fuel. By then they had been flying for about 12 hours, it was nighttime, the weather was stormy, and Doolittle was unable to locate their landing field. Doolittle came down in a rice paddy (saving a previously injured ankle from breaking) near Chuchow (Quzhou). He and his crew linked up after the bailout and were helped through Japanese lines by Chinese guerrillas and American missionary John Birch. Other aircrews were not so fortunate. Although most eventually reached safety with the help of friendly Chinese, four crewmembers lost their lives as a result of being captured by the Japanese and three due to aircraft crash and/or while parachuting. Doolittle went on to fly more combat missions as commander of the 12th Air Force in North Africa, for which he was awarded four Air Medals. The other surviving members of the raid also went on to new assignments.
Doolittle received the Medal of Honor from President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House for planning and leading his raid on Japan. His citation reads: "For conspicuous leadership above and beyond the call of duty, involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. With the apparent certainty of being forced to land in enemy territory or to perish at sea, Lt. Col. Doolittle personally led a squadron of Army bombers, manned by volunteer crews, in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland."
The Doolittle Raid is viewed by historians as a major morale-building victory for the United States. Although the damage done to Japanese war industry was minor, the raid showed the Japanese that their homeland was vulnerable to air attack, and forced them to withdraw several front-line fighter units from Pacific war zones for homeland defense. More significantly, Japanese commanders considered the raid deeply embarrassing, and their attempt to close the perceived gap in their Pacific defense perimeter led directly to the decisive American victory during the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
When asked from where the Tokyo raid was launched, President Roosevelt coyly said its base was Shangri-La, a fictional paradise from the popular novel Lost Horizon. In the same vein, the US Navy named one of its carriers the USS Shangri-La.
.jpg) Hornet shortly after completion | |
| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Hornet |
| Operator: |  United States Navy |
| Ordered: | 30 March 1939 |
| Builder: | Newport News Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down: | 25 September 1939 |
| Launched: | 14 December 1940 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Frank Knox |
| Commissioned: | 20 October 1941 |
| Struck: | 13 January 1943 |
| Honors and awards: | American Defense Service Medal with ("A" device); American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with (4 Battle Stars);[1][2] World War II Victory Medal; |
| Fate: | Sunk in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 27 October 1942 |
| Notes: | Last U.S. fleet carrier lost in action |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Yorktown-class aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: | As built:20,000 long tons (20,000 t) standard (design),26,507 long tons (26,932 t) (full load), 29,114 long tons (29,581 t) (maximum) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | As built:83 ft 3 in (25.37 m) (waterline), 114 ft (35 m) (overall) |
| Draft: | 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m) design, 28 ft (8.5 m) full load |
| Installed power: | 120,000 shp (89,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × Parsons geared steam turbines 9 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers 4 × shafts |
| Speed: | 32.52 kn (37.42 mph; 60.23 km/h) (design) 33.84 kn (38.94 mph; 62.67 km/h) (builder's trials) |
| Range: | 12,500 nmi (14,400 mi; 23,200 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
| Complement: | 2,919 officers and enlisted (wartime) |
| Armament: |
As Built:
From July 1942:8 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal dual purpose guns 16 × 1.1 in (28 mm)/75 cal anti-aircraft guns (4x4) 24 × .50 in (13 mm) machine guns From February 1942: 8 × 5 in/38 cal dual purpose guns 16 × 1.1 in (28 mm)/75 cal anti-aircraft guns (4x4) 30 × 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons 8 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal dual purpose guns 20 × 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)1.1 in/75 cal 32 × 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons |
| Armor: |
As built:*2.5–4 in (6.4–10.2 cm) belt
|
| Aircraft carried: | As built: 90 × aircraft |
| Aviation facilities: | 3 × elevators 3 × hydraulic catapults (2 flight deck, 1 hangar deck) |
USS Hornet CV-8, the seventh ship to carry the name Hornet, was aYorktown-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. During World War II in the Pacific Theater, she launched the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and participated in the Battle of Midway and the Buin-Faisi-Tonolai Raid. In the Solomon Islands campaign she was involved in the capture and defense of Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands where she was irreparably damaged and sunk. Hornet was in service for a year and six days and was the last US fleet carrier ever sunk by enemy fire. For these actions, she was awarded four service stars, a citation for the Doolittle Raid in 1995, and her Torpedo Squadron 8 received a Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism for the Battle of Midway.
Doolittle Raid, April 1942[edit]
Main article: Doolittle Raid
Hornet arrived at Naval Air Station Alameda, California on 20 March 1942.[8] With her own planes on the hangar deck, by midafternoon on 1 April she loaded 16 B-25s on the flight deck.[9] Under the command ofLieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, 70 United States Army Air Corpsofficers and 64 enlisted men reported aboard. In company of her escort,Hornet departed Alameda on 2 April[9] under sealed orders. That afternoon, Captain Marc Mitscher informed his men of their mission: a bombing raid on Japan.
Eleven days later, Hornet joined the aircraft carrier Enterprise offMidway, and Task Force 16 (TF 16)[10] turned toward Japan. WithEnterprise providing combat air cover, Hornet was to steam deep into enemy waters. Originally, the task force intended to proceed to within 400 nmi (460 mi; 740 km) of the Japanese coast; however, on the morning of 18 April, a Japanese patrol boat, No. 23 Nitto Maru, sighted the American task force. Nashville sank the patrol boat.[11] Amid concerns that the Japanese had been made aware of their presence, Doolittle and his raiders were forced to launch prematurely from 600 nmi (690 mi; 1,100 km) out instead of the planned 450 nmi (520 mi; 830 km). Because of this decision, none of the 16 planes made it to their designated landing strip in China. After the war, it was found that Tokyo received the Nitto Maru's message in a garbled form and that the Japanese ship was sunk before it could get a clear message through to the Japanese mainland.[12]
As Hornet swung about and prepared to launch the bombers, which had been readied for take-off the previous day, a gale of more than 40 kn (46 mph; 74 km/h) churned the sea with 30 ft (9.1 m) crests; heavy swells, which caused the ship to pitch violently, shipped sea and spray over the bow, wet the flight deck and drenched the deck crews. The lead plane, commanded by Colonel Doolittle, had only 467 ft (142 m) of flight deck, while the last B-25 hung its twin rudders far out over the fantail. Doolittle, timing himself against the rise and fall of the ship's bow, lumbered down the flight deck, circled Hornet after take-off, and set course for Japan. By 09:20, all 16 were airborne, heading for the first American air strike against the Japanese home islands.[11]
Hornet brought her own planes on deck as TF 16 steamed at full speed for Pearl Harbor. Intercepted broadcasts, both in Japanese and English, confirmed at 14:46 the success of the raids. Exactly one week to the hour after launching the B-25s, Hornet sailed into Pearl Harbor.[13] Hornet's mission was kept an official secret for a year; until then President Roosevelt referred to the base the bombers started from only as "Shangri-La". Several years later, the USN would give this name to an aircraft carrier.
Hornet steamed from Pearl Harbor on 30 April to aid Yorktown and Lexington[14] at the Battle of the Coral Sea, but the battle ended before she reached the scene. On 4 May Task Force 16 crossed the equator, the first time ever for Hornet.[15]After executing, with Enterprise, a feint towards Nauru and Banaba (Ocean) islands which caused the Japanese to cancel their operation to seize the two islands, she returned to Hawaii on 26 May,[16] and sailed two days later to help repulse an expected Japanese assault on Midway.
| Marc Andrew Mitscher | |
|---|---|
Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher during World War II
| |
| Nickname(s) | "Pete" |
| Born | January 26, 1887 Hillsboro, Wisconsin |
| Died | February 3, 1947 (aged 60) Norfolk, Virginia |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1910–1947 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Service number | 7591 |
| Commands held | USS Wright USS Hornet Deputy Chief of Naval Operations Air Fast Carrier Task Force Eighth Fleet Atlantic Fleet |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Navy Cross (3) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (3) Legion of Merit |
Admiral Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in theUnited States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of World War II.
World War II[edit]
Between June 1939 and July 1941, Mitscher served as assistant chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics.
Carrier commander[edit]
Mitscher's next assignment was as captain of the Yorktown-class aircraft carrierUSS Hornet, being fitted out in Newport News, Virginia.[13] Upon her commissioning in October 1941 he assumed command, taking Hornet to the Naval Station Norfolkfor her training out period. She was there in Virginia when the Japanese attackedPearl Harbor. Newest of the Navy's fleet carriers, Mitscher worked hard to get ship and crew ready for combat. Following her shake-down cruise in the Caribbean, Mitscher was consulted on the possibility of launching long-range bombers off the deck of a carrier. After affirming it could be done, the sixteen B-25 bombers of theDoolittle Raid were loaded on deck aboard Hornet for a transpacific voyage while Hornet's own flight group was stored below deck in her hangar. Hornet rendezvoused with the Enterprise and Task Force 16 in the mid-Pacific just north of Hawaii. Under the command of Admiral Halsey, the task force proceeded in radio silence to a launch point 650 miles from Japan. Enterprise provided the air cover for both aircraft carriers while the Hornet's flight deck was taken up ferrying the B-25s. Hornet, then, was the real life "Shangri-la" that president Roosevelt referred to in his announcement of the bombing attack on Tokyo.
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