Lessons in military history part 2; The Doolittle Raid

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Steven Wilson and Ryan Warner
  • 28th Bomb Wing public affairs and 28th Bomb Wing historian's office
ELLSWORTH AFB, S.D. --  Imagine a modern commanding officer walking into a room and telling his bomber pilots they have to strike a target.

The pilots respond with enthusiasm.

The commander then says not only are they striking a target in their big bombers, but they are going to drop ordnance on the very heart of the enemy stronghold and the president himself has pushed for this operation.

The young pilots and aircrew can't wait.

Oh, by the way, their commander continues, we have to take off in our bombers from the deck of a moving aircraft carrier.

The Airmen stare in disbelief.

This very thing happened in early 1942 when Lt. Col. James "Jimmy" Doolittle began planning America's first strike against the Japanese after their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.

The airstrike was the brainchild of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In a White House meeting with his joint chiefs, December 21, 1941, he stated he wanted Japan bombed and as soon as possible.

The seeds for America's first retaliation were planted.

The task force carrying the Airmen and specially modified B-25 Mitchell bombers left the port of Alameda, Calif., April 2, 1942.

The aircraft were packed closely together and tethered on the deck of the USS Hornet.

The Hornet and its accompanying task force made its way across the Pacific with the goal of striking the Japanese home island of Honshu. This attack was in direct reprisal to the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor a few months before.

Plans called for the B-25s to take off from the carrier when within 450 - 650 miles of Japan, bomb selected targets at such locations as Yokohama and Tokyo, and then fly another 1,200 miles to friendly airfields on mainland China.

En route to the target the task force spotted a Japanese picket ship, which radioed a message to Tokyo warning them of the ships steaming toward Japan.

Colonel Doolittle made the snap decision to take off earlier than scheduled, which placed the bombers 170 miles short of their original takeoff point.

All 16 bombers reached the Japanese islands, dropped their bombs on oil stores, factory areas, and military installations, and then headed out across the East China Sea.
However, night was approaching, the planes began running low on fuel, and the weather was rapidly becoming worse. The crews realized they could not reach the Chinese airfields and had the choice of either bailing out, ditching at sea, or crash-landing, although one plane was able to divert to Vladivostok where its crew was interned by the Russians.

When the news of the raid was released, American morale zoomed from the depths to which it had plunged following Japan's domination in the Pacific.

History popularly calls the Doolittle Raid good for American morale at a critical time but militarily a token success; however, historical research now shows something different.

Lessons in Military History

· The Japanese, much like Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the American Civil War, (see Lessons in Military History Part 1) discounted the possibility of an enemy attack and were vulnerable.

· The raid caused the Japanese to transfer fighter units back to their home islands, which could have been used against the Allies in other theaters of war.

· Flexibility is the key to airpower. When Lt. Colonel Doolittle knew his security was compromised, he made an on-the-spot decision and ordered his bombers to take off earlier than planned.

· Effective employment of bomber airpower can force the enemy to react and change their agenda. The Japanese strategic planners were initially confused about where the raid had originated from and incorrectly thought the bombers flew from Midway Island. This forced Admiral Yamamoto's hand to attack Midway, which resulted in a decisive battle ending Japan's expansion efforts in the Pacific, losing four of six total carriers for their nation.

In comparison to the B-29 attacks against Japan two years later, the Tokyo raid was a token effort. However, it was an example of brilliant tactics, flexibility and long reaching effects of effective bomber airpower. Ellsworth can trace its proud bomber heritage to Doolittle's Raid. Three of the B-25s belonged to the 34th Bomb Squadron and three more belonged to the 37th Bomb Squadron, both now operating B-1B Lancer's from Ellsworth.

Editor's Note: Both the authors have degrees in history as well as museum training and experience.