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17381 - LIEUTENANT COLONEL JAMES H. DOOLITTLE
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| "Jimmy" Doolittle probably did
more to advance aviation in the early twentieth century than anyone
since the Wright brothers. He set numerous records as a stunt pilot
and a racer, but is best remembered for leading the U.S. Army Air
Forces' first bombing raid against Japan.
James Harold Doolittle was born at Alameda, California, on December 14, 1896. A junior at the University of California when America entered World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a flying cadet. Doolittle earned his wings and served as a flight instructor. Doolittle remained in the army after hostilities, devoting himself to aviation. He completed his B.A. in 1922, and then enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a doctorate in aeronautical engineering. Wedding theory to practice, Doolittle thrilled the flying community with his pioneering stunts, which included the first outside loop in 1927, and the first totally blind flight and instrument landing in 1929. Doolittle resigned his regular commission in 1930 to pursue business opportunities, but he gave that up a decade later as his country drifted into war. A lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Doolittle joined the staff of Lieutenant General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, chief of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Following Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked his senior commanders to raise American morale by striking at the Japanese home islands. His service chiefs decided to place fifteen B-25 bombers on the carrier Hornet, sneak to within 450 miles of Japan, and bomb five major enemy cities. Colonel Doolittle not only worked out the details of this plan and trained the crews, but he volunteered to lead the mission. When the Hornet encountered Japanese picket ships early on April 18, 1942, Doolittle had to take off 620 miles from shore. Nevertheless, the raid surprised the Japanese and greatly embarrassed the Imperial Navy. Promoted to brigadier general and awarded the Medal of Honor, Doolittle commanded the 12th Air Force in Operation Torch later in 1942. His Strategic Air Force bombed Italy in 1943. The following year, he took America's air war to Germany and other targets in northern Europe as commander of the 8th Air Force. Doolittle lived to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his "thirty seconds over Tokyo," finally dying on September 27, 1993. |
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