Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor

by Scott, James M.

  34 Of the 231: Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate, eds., The Army Air Forces in World War II, vol. 1, Plans and Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942 (1948; reprint, Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1983), pp. 200, 213.

  34 “Every commanding”: Arnold, Global Mission, p. 271.

  34 a California tire: “Tire Dealer Gives $1,000 Bond for First Tokyo Bomb,” Evening Independent, April 18, 1942, p. 11.

  34 “convince the mass”: John Franklin Carter, Report on Suggestion for Bombing Japanese Volcanoes, May 21, 1942, Box 114, HHAP.

  34 “It could”: Amon G. Carter to E. M. Watson, Dec. 18, 1941, ibid.

  34 “In his opinion”: Arnold, Global Mission, pp. 276.

  35 Arnold dismissed: Carroll V. Glines, Doolittle’s Tokyo Raiders (Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand, 1964), p. 7.

  35 “I always thought”: Arnold, Global Mission, pp. 276–77.

  35 “The minimum”: Chiefs of Staff Conference minutes, Dec. 24, 1941, Microfilm Roll #205, HHAP.

  35 “By transporting”: Conference in White House minutes, Jan. 4, 1942, ibid.

  35 An informal agreement: C. E. Duncan to A-3, Jan. 5, 1942, with E. L. Naiden memorandum for the record, Microfilm Roll #206, HHAP.

  35 In response: John B. Cooley to Chief of the Air Corps, “Data Required on Army Airplanes for Carrier Operation,” Jan. 17, 1942, Microfilm Roll #115, HHAP.

  35 Analysts ruled out: H. H. Arnold to E. J. King, Jan. 22, 1942, ibid.

  36 “It is not believed”: Earl L. Naiden to Chief of the Army Air Forces, “Proposed Test of Cargo Planes Operating from Aircraft Carriers,” Jan. 13, 1942, ibid.

  36 Arnold enthusiastically: D. B. Duncan to Ernest King, June 8, 1949.

  36 “Jim, what airplane”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 229.

  36 Arnold picked up: Ibid, p. 236.

  37 “Jim, I need”: Ibid.

  CHAPTER 3

  38 “Doolittle is as gifted”: Russell Owen, “Daring Doolittle Makes Pilots Gasp,” New York Times, Sept. 23, 1927, p. 3.

  38 “Jimmy Doolittle is the smallest”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 22.

  39 “One of my punches”: Ibid., p. 21.

  39 “Since my size”: Ibid., p. 22.

  39 “The sights and sounds”: Ibid., p. 24.

  39 “You’re going to get hurt”: Ibid., p. 28.

  40 “She wants you”: Ibid., p. 30.

  40 “Being incarcerated”: Ibid.

  40 “She was a very good”: Ibid.

  40 “There’s no doubt”: Ibid., p. 31.

  40 “You must think”: Ibid., p. 32.

  41 “Alaska was not”: Ibid., p. 33.

  41 “He made a monkey”: James H. Doolittle oral history with Robert S. Gallagher, March 4–6, 1973, Oral History Research Office, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.

  41 “Luckiest thing”: James Doolittle to Joe Doolittle, April 4, 1943, Box 64, Series IX, James H. Doolittle Papers (DPUT), University of Texas at Dallas; “Cadet Doolittle Scores Knockout As Eastern College Boxing Starts,” New York Times, March 6, 1943, p. 17; “Syracuse Boxers Set Record to Win,” ibid., March 7, 1943, p. S1.

  42 “You all right?”: Reynolds, The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, p. 28.

  42 “My love for flying”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 42.

  42 “I naturally went into fighters”: Doolittle oral history with Gallagher, March 4–6, 1973.

  43 “I was pretty upset”: Steve Wilstein, “The Man Who Tweaked Japan’s Nose,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 14, 1986, p. A3.

  43 “Who’s next?”: Reynolds, The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, pp. 48–49.

  43 “I was making about $140”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 47.

  44 “What future is there”: Reynolds, The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, p. 51.

  44 “So close to one”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 49.

  44 “I tried to invent”: Ibid., p. 50.

  44 “He is energetic”: James H. Doolittle, Efficiency Report, Feb. 28, 1920, Doolittle Official Military Personnel File (DOMPF), National Personnel Records Center, Saint Louis, Mo.

  45 “Gee, Lieutenant”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 50.

  45 “It has to be Doolittle”: Ibid., p. 51.

  45 “Colonel”: Coffey, Hap, p. 100.

  45 “The only really dangerous”: Doolittle oral history with Gallagher, March 4–6, 1973.

  45 “Doolittle is more valuable”: James H. Doolittle, Efficiency Report, May 18, 1922, DOMPF.

  45 “Dynamic personality”: James H. Doolittle, Efficiency Report, Feb. 6, 1932, DOMPF.

  45 “One of the most daring”: James H. Doolittle, Special Efficiency Report for Emergency Officers, April 29, 1920, DOMPF.

  46 “The preparations for this flight”: J. H. Doolittle, “Report of Cross Country Flight,” Sept. 19, 1922, DOMPF.

  46 On the evening of August 6: Ibid.; “Cross-Country Plane Plunges into Sea” New York Times, Aug. 7, 1922, p. 13.

  46 “I was shocked”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 73.

  46 “No”: Ibid.

  46 He oversaw the plane’s repairs: J. H. Doolittle, “Report of Cross Country Flight,” Sept. 19, 1922; “Flies with One Stop across Continent,” New York Times, Sept. 6, 1922, p. 14.

  46 “I realized the storm”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, pp. 74–75.

  47 “I have read”: Mason M. Patrick to J. H. Doolittle, Oct. 16, 1922, DOMPF.

  47 “I was glad I wore”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 91.

  48 “We would often study”: Ibid., p. 89.

  48 To drum up interest: “Speed Fliers Ready for Pulitzer Race,” New York Times, Oct. 12, 1925, p. 8.

  48 “We performed aerobatics”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 102.

  48 Doolittle cheered Bettis: Ibid., p. 103; “Pulitzer Race Won at 249-Mile Speed; Disappoints Fliers,” New York Times, Oct. 13, 1925, p. 1.

  48 “The flying of Doolittle”: “American Seaplane Wins Schneider Race at 232-Mile Speed,” New York Times, Oct. 27, 1925, p. 1.

  49 “This was one”: Mason M. Patrick to J. H. Doolittle, Nov. 6, 1925, DOMPF.

  49 “Your splendid accomplishment”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So lucky Again, p. 108.

  49 “I believe it very desirable”: Mason M. Patrick memo for Chief of Staff, April 9, 1926, DOMPF.

  49 “It was a dream”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 114.

  49 At a May 23 cocktail party: Ibid., pp. 115–16; Board Proceedings, Jan. 17, 1927, Exhibit A, DOMPF.

  50 “Embarrassment overcame”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 116.

  50 His tenaciousness: “Doolittle’s Courage Wins Big Plane Order,” New York Times, Jan. 13, 1927, p. 18.

  50 “These flights”: James Hanson to Chief of Air Service, July 19, 1926, DOMPF.

  50 “His injury may result”: Testimony of Tom S. Mebane, Board Proceedings, Jan. 17, 1927, DOMPF.

  51 When his treatment: G. C. Young to the Adjutant General, “Board Proceedings re: 1st Lieut. James H. Doolittle, A.C.,” April 14, 1927, DOMPF.

  51 He and other pilots at Walter Reed: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, pp. 119–20.

  51 He climbed up: “Doolittle Performs Outside Loop,” New York Times, May 26, 1927, p. 5.

  51 “Nothing to it”: “Jimmy Doolittle Tells How an Outside Loop Is Made,” Milwaukee Journal, March 10, 1931, p. 2.

  51 “What would I do?”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 127.

  51 “Fog is one of the greatest”: Charles A. Lindbergh, “Lindbergh on Flying,” New York Times, Jan. 20, 1929, p. XX12.

  52 Doolittle throttled up: “‘Blind’ Plane Flies 15 Miles and Lands, Fog Peril Overcome,” New York Times, Sept. 25, 1929, p. 1.

  52 “This entire flight”: James Doolittle, “Early Blind Flying: An Historical Review of Early Experiments in Flying,” tran
script of lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, April 28, 1961, AFHRA.

  53 News of Doolittle’s achievement: “Air Experts Acclaim ‘Blind Flying’ Tests,” New York Times, Sept. 26, 1929, p. 9.

  53 “On Tuesday”: “Blind Flying Demonstrated,” editorial, New York Times, Sept. 26, 1929, p. 28.

  53 “That took real courage”: H. H. Arnold to Lester D. Gardner, May 28, 1941, DOMPF.

  53 “Over the years”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 150.

  53 “I left the Air Force”: James Doolittle oral history with Edgar F. Puryear Jr., Feb. 7, 1977, AFHRA.

  53 Doolittle had not only: “Doolittle Hits 296-Mile Pace; Breaks the Land Plane Record,” New York Times, Sept. 1, 1932, p. 1.

  53 “Air racing is like hay fever”: “Speed Crown to Doolittle,” Toledo News-Bee, Sept. 6, 1932, p. 1.

  54 “I have yet to hear”: Jimmy Doolittle, “Testing Racing Planes,” Popular Aviation, Nov. 1933, p. 339.

  54 “Aviation has become a necessity”: Bert Stoll, “Doolittle Hits Races,” New York Times, Oct. 21, 1934, p. XX6.

  55 “Shell had taken”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 192.

  55 “On the streets”: Ibid., p. 210.

  55 “This thing is very close”: J. H. Doolittle to Henry Arnold, Aug. 15, 1941, Microfilm Roll #13, HHAP.

  55 his muscle worked: Prentiss Brown letter to Henry Arnold, Feb. 13, 1942, ibid.

  55 “Don’t think”: Prentiss Brown letter to Henry Arnold, March 4, 1942, ibid.

  55 “General Arnold supported me”: James Doolittle oral history interview with Murray Green, Dec. 22, 1977, AFHRA.

  56 “I am entirely”: J. H. Doolittle to Ira C. Eaker, June 7, 1940, DOMPF.

  56 “When he resigned”: H. H. Arnold to Lester D. Gardner, May 28, 1941, DOMPF.

  56 “My job was to marry”: Doolittle oral history interview with Green, Dec. 22, 1977.

  56 “I respectfully request”: J. H. Doolittle to H. H. Arnold (Thru Channels), Dec. 8, 1941, DOMPF.

  56 “How quickly”: James H. Doolittle oral history interview with Lt. Col. Burch, Maj. Fogelman, and Capt. Tate, Sept. 26, 1971, AFHRA.

  56 an unforgiving: James Doolittle oral history interview with Reuben Fleet, Aug. 14, 1970, Robert F. McDermott Library, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. A copy of this oral history is also on file at AFHRA.

  56 Pilots quipped: Coffey, Hap, p. 247.

  57 “The B-26 was a good airplane”: James Doolittle oral history interview with Paul Ryan, Feb. 15, 1983, AFHRA. A copy of this oral history is also on file with the U.S. Naval Institute.

  57 “There wasn’t anything”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 228.

  57 “the most important”: Ibid., p. 229.

  CHAPTER 4

  58 “If you have one plane”: Allan J. Johnson to Franklin Roosevelt, June 7, 1941, Box 12, OF 4675, FDRL.

  58 “Special Aviation Project No. 1”: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 238.

  58 “Anything that I wanted”: Jimmy Doolittle, Tokyo Raid Dinner, Monterey, Calif., April 19, 1988, press conference, cassette recording, Box 2, Series XIV, DPUT.

  58 The veteran aviator envisioned: Doolittle handwritten draft plan, undated, Box 516, RG 18, Central Decimal Files, Oct. 1942–1944, NARA; Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, pp. 236–43.

  58 It was developed: Background on the B-25 comes from N. L. Avery, B-25 Mitchell: The Magnificent Medium (St. Paul, Minn.: Phalanx Publishing, 1992), pp. 27–38; Tom Lilley et al., “Conversion to Wartime Production Techniques,” in G. R. Simonson, ed., The History of the American Aircraft Industry: An Anthology (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1968), p. 131; Irving Brinton Holley Jr., Buying Aircraft: Matériel Procurement for the Army Air Forces (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1989), p. 550.

  59 “It is a good”: Hanson W. Baldwin, “Bombers Thrill War Game Troops,” New York Times, Sept. 23, 1941, p. 7.

  59 “The B-26 was a Lincoln”: Forrest K. Poling, From Farm Fields to Airfields (Superior Township, Mich.: Zorado Press, 2006), p. 120.

  60 “It is so much more”: Ted W. Lawson, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, ed. Bob Considine (New York: Random House, 1953), p. 16.

  60 Opened in 1927: “Army Dedicates New Flying Center,” New York Times, Oct. 13, 1927, p. 3; Charles J. Bauer, “New Test Equipment,” ibid., April 6, 1941, p. XX5; Sidney M. Shalett, “Air Magic Show at Wright Field,” ibid., Dec. 30, 1942, p. 8; Hanson W. Baldwin, “Wright Field Holds Great Air Secrets,” ibid., Nov. 4, 1943, p. 12; Russell Owen, “Where the Impossible Is Done,” ibid., March 18, 1945, p. SM8.

  60 “Wright Field is the place”: William A. Norris, “Wright Field Air Center of the World,” Milwaukee Sentinel, June 4, 1944, p. 1.

  60 “It is requested”: J. H. Doolittle memo for the Chief of the Air Staff, Jan. 22, 1942, Iris #02053123, AFHRA.

  60 Doolittle upped his request: Memo to Chief of the Air Corp, “Special B-25B Project,” Jan. 29, 1942, ibid.; Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 242.

  60 Orders called for the bombers: John Y. York Jr., memo for A-3, Jan. 30, 1942, Wm. W. Dick to Commanding General, Air Force Combat Command, Bolling Field, D.C., Jan. 31, 1942, both in Iris #02053123, AFHRA.

  60 The B-25 boasted: J. H. Doolittle, Report on the Aerial Bombing of Japan, June 5, 1942; “General Doolittle’s Remarks at the Wings Club Dinner,” Oct. 1, 1945, transcript, Box 7, Series IV, DPUT; Charles R. Greening, “The First Joint Action,” Monograph Submitted to the Faculty of the Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia, Fourth Class, Dec. 21, 1948, AFHRA, pp. 1–6. Copies of Greening’s report can also be found in Doolittle’s personal papers at the LOC and the University of Texas.

  62 “The purpose”: Doolittle handwritten draft plan, undated, Box 516, RG 18, Central Decimal Files, Oct. 1942–1944, NARA.

  62 Doolittle ordered: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 241.

  62 “It is desired”: Henry Arnold to Carl Spaatz, “Objective in Japan Most Desirable for Attack,” Jan. 22, 1942, Microfilm Roll #114, HHAP.

  62 “The above aircraft factories”: AAF C/AS to Henry Arnold, “Objective in Japan Most Desirable for Attack,” Jan. 31, 1942, ibid.

  63 “Many of these objectives”: Ibid.

  63 “An initial study”: Doolittle handwritten draft plan.

  64 “Premature notification”: Ibid.

  64 On the frigid Sunday: Hornet deck log, Feb. 1, 1942, Box 4439, RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Deck Logs, 1941–1950, NARA.

  64 $32 million new flattop: “Knox Praises Men Lost on the Kearny,” New York Times, Oct. 21, 1941, p. 5.

  64 had returned to Virginia: Lisle A. Rose, The Ship That Held the Line (Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1995), pp. 19–34.

  64 The wiry officer: Marc Mitscher Navy Bio, Jan. 23, 1964, NDL; “Admiral Mitscher, War Hero, 60, Dies,” New York Times, Feb. 4, 1947, p. 5; Theodore Taylor, The Magnificent Mitscher (New York: W. W. Norton, 1954), pp. 14–27.

  64 “I was a 2.5 man”: Elmont Waite, “He Opened the Airway to Tokyo,” Saturday Evening Post, Dec. 2, 1944, p. 88.

  64 This unlikely leader: Marc Mitscher Navy Bio, Jan. 23, 1964.

  65 The humble skipper: Waite, “He Opened the Airway to Tokyo,” p. 20; Henry Suydan interview with George Murray, Feb. 1947, Box 1, Marc Andrew Mitscher Papers, LOC.

  65 Long cruises: Taylor, The Magnificent Mitscher, p. 8; The Reminiscences of Captain Stephen Jurika, Jr., U.S. Navy—Retired, vol. 1 (Annapolis, Md.: U.S. Naval Institute, 1979), p. 493.

  65 “I’m an old man now”: “Admiral Mitscher,” editorial, New York Times, Feb. 4, 1947, p. 24.

  65 “In being selected”: Marc Mitscher to Frederick Sherman, Feb. 24, 1942, Box 1, Marc Andrew Mitscher Papers, LOC.

  65 “He wasted”: Suydan interview with Murray, Feb. 1947.

  65 “Even when”: Waite, “He Opened the Airway to Tokyo,” p. 20.

  65 “Ca
n you put”: Taylor, The Magnificent Mitscher, p. 112.

  66 “best combat crews”: John B. Colley to the Commanding General, Air Force Combat Command, “Carrier Operation Test,” Jan. 16, 1942, Microfilm Roll #115, HHAP.

  66 “Airplanes will have combat”: Ibid.

  66 “Successive take-offs”: C. E. Duncan to A-3, “Carrier Type of B-25’s,” Jan. 13, 1942, Microfilm Roll #115, HHAP.

  66 Mitscher ordered: Taylor, The Magnificent Mitscher, p. 112.

  66 Sailors lit: Hornet deck log, Feb. 2, 1942.

  66 “Since flying”: “Fitzgerald Paved Way for Tokyo Raid,” News and Courier, April 16, 1967, p. 12-B.

  67 “If we go into the water”: Oscar H. Dodson, “The Doolittle Raid,” Bridge 3, no. 3 (Spring 1987): 8.

  67 During the more: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, pp. 238–39.

  67 “When I got”: “Fitzgerald Paved Way for Tokyo Raid,” p. 12-B.

  67 Mitscher flashed: Taylor, The Magnificent Mitscher, p. 113.

  67 Lieutenant James McCarthy: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, pp. 238–39.

  67 The Army aviator: D. B. Duncan memorandum to Ernest King, Feb. 4, 1942, Box 1, Ernest J. King Papers, NHHC.

  67 The Hornet’s air patrol: Ibid.

  67 “Frank”: Alexander T. Griffin, A Ship to Remember: The Saga of the Hornet (New York: Howell, Soskin, 1943), p. 48.

  68 “Very realistic drill”: Taylor, The Magnificent Mitscher, p. 113.

  68 “There was a six foot”: D. B. Duncan memorandum to Ernest King, Feb. 4, 1942.

  68 “Excellent”: Ibid.

  68 “The less you know”: Taylor, The Magnificent Mitscher, p. 113.

  68 Doolittle had asked: Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 242; J. H. Doolittle, Report on the Aerial Bombing of Japan, June 5, 1942.

  69 “When I saw it”: Edgar McElroy, “When We Were One: A Doolittle Raider Remembers,” Trinity, July 2010, p. 24.

  69 “I couldn’t eat”: Lawson, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, p. 7.

  69 “rocket plane”: McElroy, “When We Were One,” p. 24.

  69 “Not only did”: Robert G. Emmens oral history interview with James C. Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1992, AFHRA.

  69 The bombardment group: Lawson, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, pp. 7–8.

  69 “It was the first time”: Jack A. Sims with A. B. Cook, First over Japan: An Autobiography of a Doolittle-Tokyo Raider (Fort Myers, Fla.: Southpointe Press, 2002), p. 10.