Doolittle Tokyo Raid - 80 Men 80 Years

The Doolittle Tokyo Raid occurred on April 18 1942.

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 1

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 2

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 3

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 4

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 5

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 6

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 7

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 8

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 9

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 10

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 11

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 12

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 13

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 14

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 15

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 16

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 17

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 18

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 19

AIR CLASSICS - MAY 2019

Page 20

www.AirClassicsMagazine.com

The Doolittle Raid Crew.

Crew No. 1/ B-25B #40-2344 (target Tokyo): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, pilot; Lt. Richard E. Cole, copilot; Lt. Henry A. Potter, navigator; Staff Sgt. Fred A. Braemar, bombardier; Staff Sgt. Paul J. Leonard, flight engineer/gunner. After running low on fuel, all five members bailed out of the airplane over Haotian Guan, China, where they were assisted by the local Chinese and made their way to the Western Zhejiang Administration. All five crew members survived the mission.

Crew No. 2 / B-25B #40-2292 (target Tokyo): 37th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Travis Hoover, pilot; Lt. William N. Fitzhugh, copilot; Lt. Carl R. Wildner, navigator; Lt. Richard E. Miller, bombardier; Sgt. Douglas V. Radney, flight engineer/gunner. The pilot, Lt. Travis Hoover, was able to crash land the plane in a rice paddy in Japanese occupied Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. They were assisted by the Chinese and made their way to Western Zhejiang Administration. All five survived the mission.

Crew No. 3 / B-25B #40-2270 (target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, (Left to Right) Lt. Charles J. Ozuk Jr., navigator; Lt. Robert M. Gray, pilot; Sgt. Aden E. Jones, bombardier; Lt. Jacob E. Manch, copilot; Cpl. Leland D. Faktor, flight engineer/gunner. Cpl. Leland D Faktor, (far right) died falling. off a cliff when the crew was forced to bail out over China. The remaining four pilots were assisted by the local Chinese and made their way to Chu Hsien. Pilot Robert Gray was later killed in action during a combat mission on Oct. 18, 1942, while serving with the 341st Bomb Group in India.

Crew No. 4 / B-25B #40-2282 (target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Everett W. Holstrom, pilot; Lt. Lucian N. Youngblood, copilot; Lt. Harry C. McCool, navigator; Sgt. Robert J. Stephens, bombardier; Cpl. Bert M. Jordan, flight engineer/gunner. All five survived the mission. Four remained in Indochina where they continued to fly missions into 1943, Lt. McCool continued flying missions in the European Theater of Operations.

Crew No. 5 / B-25B #40-2283 (target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Capt. David M. Jones, pilot; Lt. Ross R. Wilder, copilot; Lt. Eugene F. McGurl, navigator; Lt. Denver V. Truelove, bombardier; Sgt. Joseph W. Manske, flight engineer/gunner. All five crew members survived bailing out of their plane over Chu Hsien and were the first of the Raiders to reach China. Capt. Jones would later became a German POW during a mission in North Africa. He was a prisoner of war for 2 ½ years and helped dig the tunnels that would later become known as the Great Escape. Two other crew members, 1st Lt. Eugene Francis McGurl and Lt. Denver Vernon Truelove, were killed in action later in the War.

Crew No. 6 / B-25B #40-2298 (target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Dean E. Hallmark, pilot; Lt. Robert J. Meder, copilot; Lt. Chase J. Nielsen, navigator; Sgt. William J. Dieter, bombardier; Sgt. Donald E. Fitzmaurice, flight engineer/gunner. After successfully completing their bombing run, the crew of the Green Hornet found themselves off the coast of China when fuel ran out. Lt. Hallmark ditched the plane in the ocean. Crew members Sgt. Dieter (far right) and Sgt. Fitzmaurice (center) did not survive the crash and drowned. The remaining crew swam ashore and were taken prisoner by the Japanese. On Oct. 15, 1942, Lt. Hallmark (second from left) was executed by the Japanese. First Lt. Robert Mader would die from beriberi and dysentery on Dec. 11, 1942, while a prisoner of war. The only surviving crewmember, Chase J. Nielsen (far left), spent the remainder of the war as a Japanese prisoner. He later testified in the Japanese War Crime Trials.

Crew No. 7 / Plane #40-2261 (target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Ted W. Lawson, pilot; Lt. Dean Davenport, copilot; Lt. Charles L. McClure, navigator; Lt. Robert S. Clever, bombardier; Sgt. David J. Thatcher, flight engineer/gunner. Four of the five crew members would be injured when their plane ditched in the ocean off the China coast. Local Chinese bandaged them up and moved them to a medical facility. Lt. Lawson lost his leg and all his teeth in the raid. He later wrote the book, "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," about his crew during the mission which was turned into a major Wartime motion picture by MGM Studios. Lt. Clever (Center) was killed stateside on Nov. 20, 1942 in an air accident over Ohio. The remaining crew survived the mission and the War.

Crew No. 8 /Plane #40-2242 (target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Capt. Edward J. York, pilot; Lt. Robert G. Emmens, copilot; Lt. Nolan A. Herndon, navigator/bombardier; Staff Sgt. Theodore H. Laban, flight engineer; Sgt. David W. Pohl, gunner. Having been very low on fuel after their bombing run, the crew landed in Russia as prisoners of war. After 13 months, the crew escaped to Iran. All five survived the mission and the war.

Crew No. 9 / Plane #40-2203 (target Tokyo): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Harold F. Watson, pilot; Lt. James N. Parker Jr., copilot; Lt. Thomas C. Griffin, navigator; Sgt. Wayne M. Bissell, bombardier; Tech. Sgt. Eldred V. Scott, flight engineer/gunner. All five crewmembers survived the mission and the war. The only injury was to Lt. Watson when the crew had to bail out.

Crew No. 10 / Plane #40-2250 (target Tokyo): 89th Reconnaissance Squadron, Lt. Richard O. Joyce, pilot; Lt. J. Royden Stork, copilot; Lt. Horace E. Crouch, navigator/bombardier; Sgt. George E. Larkin Jr., flight engineer; SSgt. Edwin W. Horton Jr., gunner. The only plane to sustain damage during the bombing attacks, all five members survived the mission and continued flying missions in Indochina through 1943.

Crew No. 11 / Plane #40-2249 (target Yokohama): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Capt. C. Ross Greening (89th RS), pilot; Lt. Kenneth E. Reddy, copilot; Lt. Frank A. Kappeler, navigator; Staff Sgt. William L. Birch, bombardier; Sgt. Melvin J. Gardner, flight engineer/gunner. The crew bailed out 200 miles inland from the coast. Lt. Reddy broke his kneecap and suffered a scalp wound and Sgt. Gardner sprained both ankles. The entire crew made it safely to Chuhsien, where the men received treatment.

Crew No. 12 / Plane #40-2278 (target Yokohama): 37th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. William M. Bower, pilot; Lt. Thadd H. Blanton, copilot; Lt. William R. Pound Jr., navigator; Tech. Sgt. Waldo J. Bither, bombardier; Staff Sgt. Omer A. Duquette, flight engineer/gunner. All five survived the mission.

Crew No. 13 / Plane #40-2247 (target Yokosuka): 37th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Edgar E. McElroy, pilot; Lt. Richard A. Knobloch, copilot; Lt. Clayton J. Campbell, navigator; Master Sgt. Robert C. Bourgeois, bombardier; Sgt. Adam R. Williams, flight engineer/gunner. All five survived the mission and continued flying missions in Indochina for more than a year. From Lt. McElroy's mission report regarding the bail out: "Each man wore life jacket, gun belt with gun, knife, canteen, extra clips and first aid pack and flashlight. Ship was on an A.F.C.E. heading of 260° M. speed 160 M.P.H. Crew bailed out close together as possible at 2245 o'clock. I went last retarding throttles completely before leaving ship. Everyone landed safely except Sgt. Williams who landed in tree and wrenched his knee slightly."

Crew No. 14 / Plane #40-2297 (target Nagoya): 89th Reconnaissance Squadron, Maj. John A. Hilger, pilot; Lt. Jack A. Sims, copilot; Lt. James H. Macia Jr., navigator/bombardier; Staff Sgt. Job Eierman, flight engineer; Staff Sgt. Edwin V. Bain, gunner. All five safely bailed out over mainland China where they received help from the local Chinese to reach Chu Hsien. They continued to flying combat in Indochina and Europe.

Crew No. 15 / Plane #40-2267 (target Nagoya): 89th Reconnaissance Squadron, Lt. Donald G. Smith, pilot; Lt. Griffith P. Williams, copilot; Lt. Howard A. Sessler, navigator/bombardier; Lt. Thomas R. White, flight engineer; Sgt. Edward J. Saylor, gunner. Pilot Donald Smith survived the Raid but was killed in action on Nov. 12, 1942 in Europe. The remaining crew survived the war.

Crew No. 16 (Plane #40-2268, target Nagoya): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. George Barr, navigator; Lt. William G. Farrow, pilot; Sgt. Harold A. Spatz, engineer/gunner; Lt. Robert L. Hite, copilot; Cpl. Jacob DeShazer, bombardier. This was the last B-25 to leave the USS Hornet, almost an hour after the first plane flown by Lt. Col. Doolittle. The crew was forced to bail out over Japanese held territory and were taken prisoner by the Japanese. First Lieutenant William Farrow (second from left) and Sgt. Harold Spatz (center) were executed by the Japanese on Oct. 15, 1942. Lt. Hite, Lt. Barr and Cpl. DeShazer (far right), were prisoners of war for 40 months until they were liberated on Aug. 20, 1945.

Raid practice at Eglin Field, 1942

Raid Mission Photos

USAAF B-25B bombers tied down on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was en route to the mission's launching point. View looks aft from the rear of Hornet's island. The plane in the foreground is tail # 40-2203 (mission plane # 9). Partially visible at far right is tail # 40-2250 (mission plane # 10). Piloted respectively by Second Lieutenants Harold F. Watson and Richard O. Joyce, these B-25s attacked targets in the Tokyo area.

USAAF B-25B bombers tied down on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was en route to the mission's launching point. The plane in the center (second from the camera) is tail # 40-2283. It was mission plane # 5, piloted by Captain David M. Jones, which attacked targets in the Tokyo area.

USAAF aircrewmen preparing .50 caliber machine gun ammunition on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was steaming toward the mission's launching point. Ammunition box in center is marked A.P. M2, Incndy. M1, Trcr. M1, indicating the ammunition types inside: armor piercing, incendiary and tracer. Note wooden flight deck planking, with metal aircraft tiedown strips in place of every eighth plank.

USAAF aircrewmen preparing .50 caliber machine gun ammunition on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was steaming toward the mission's launching point. Three of their B-25B bombers are visible. That in the upper left is tail #s 40-2298, mission plane # 6, piloted by Lieutenant Dean E. Hallmark. That in top center is tail # 40-2283. It was mission plane # 5, piloted by Captain David M. Jones. Both attacked targets in the Tokyo area. Lt. Hallmark, captured by the Japanese in China, was executed by them at Shanghai on 15 October 1942. Note the open flight deck bomb elevator in the upper right.

USAAF B-25B bombers and Navy F4F-3 fighters on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while she was en route to the mission's launching point. Note wooden dummy machine guns in the tail cone of the B-25 at left.

View looking aft from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Nashville (CL-43) is in the distance. Eight of the mission's sixteen B-25B bombers are visible on the carrier's flight deck. Aircraft at right is tail # 40-2250, which was mission plane # 10, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Richard O. Joyce, which attacked targets in the Tokyo area.

USAAF B-25B bomber lines up for takeoff from USS Hornet (CV-8), on the morning of 18 April 1942. Note white lines painted on the flight deck, below the plane's nose and port side wheels, to guide the pilot during his takeoff run. This is the 3rd or 4th plane to be launched.

A USAAF B-25B bomber flies over USS Hornet (CV-8) while on its way to attack targets in Japan, just after it was launched on the morning of 18 April 1942.

Crewmen work on a USAAF B-25B parked at the rear of USS Hornet's (CV-8) flight deck, while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Gwin (DD-433) is in the center, approaching the carrier from astern.

USS Gwin (DD-433) approaches USS Hornet (CV-8) from astern, with USS Nashville (CL-43) beyond, while en route to the mission's launching point. The ships are framed by the tail of USAAF B-25B Crew 16, parked on the rear of the carrier's flight deck.

Navy blimp L-8 hovers over USS Hornet (CV-8) while delivering parts for the mission's U.S. Army Air Force aircraft. Taken shortly after the ship left San Francisco to begin the operation, circa 4 April 1942. Note USAAF B-25B bomber parked on the flight deck.

USAAF B-25B bombers on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), parked on the flight deck while heading to the raid's takeoff point. Note use of the flight deck tie-down strips to secure the aircraft.

Two of the operation's sixteen USAAF B-25B bombers, parked on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission launching point. The plane at right has tail # 40-2282. It is mission plane # 4, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Everett W. Holstrom, Jr. during the raid, in which it attacked targets in Tokyo. Note protective cover over its gun turret, and wooden dummy guns mounted in its tail cone. The plane at left is warming up its engines, as was done periodically during the voyage.

View looking aft from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Gwin (DD-433) is coming alongside, as USS Nashville (CL-43) steams in the distance. Eight of the mission's sixteen B-25B bombers are parked within view, as are two of the ship's SBD scout bombers. Note midships elevator, torpedo elevator, arresting gear and flight deck barriers in the lower portion of the photo, and 1.1 quad anti-aircraft machine gun mount at left.

Nose of one of the raiding force's B-25B bombers, which is tied down on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8) while en route to the takeoff point. This aircraft is mission plane # 11 (USAAF serial # 40-2249), nicknamed Hari Carrier and decorated accordingly. The plane's pilot was Capt. C. Ross Greening. It attacked targets in Yokohama. Note slippage mark on the nosewheel and tire, and inscription on the wheel cover: Inflating instructions inside check tire pressure daily.

USS Hornet (CV-8) launching Army Air Force B-25B bombers, at the start of the first U.S. air raid on the Japanese home islands, 18 April 1942.

Doolittle and Cole first B-25B bomber takes off from USS Hornet (CV-8) at the start of the raid, 18 April 1942. They had the least amount of runway (400 feet!!!) which inspired the rest of the crews that they could make the impossible take off. Note men watching from the signal lamp platform at right.

An Army Air Forces B-25B bombers awaits the takeoff signal on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), as the raid is launched, 18 April 1942. Note Flight Deck Officer holding launch flag at right, and white stripes painted on the flight deck to guide the pilot's alignment of his plane's nose and port side wheels.

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (front), leader of the raiding force, wires a Japanese medal to a 500-pound bomb, during ceremonies on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), shortly before his force of sixteen B-25B bombers took off for Japan. The planes were launched on 18 April 1942. The wartime censor has obscured unit patches of the Air Force flight crew members in the background.

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (front), leader of the raiding force, and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), pose with the courageous airmen shortly before his force of sixteen B-25B bombers took off for Japan. The wartime censor has obscured unit patches of the Air Force flight crew members in the background.

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle (left front), leader of the attacking force, and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck, while the raid task force was en route to the launching point.

North American B-25B Mitchell bomber taking off from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) during the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942.

HOME