Existing comment:
DOOLITTLE RAID
The Mission and the Man:
In January 1942, Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold selected Lt. Col. James Doolittle to lead Special Aviation Project No. 1, the bombing of Japan. Doolittle, who enlisted in the Army in 1917, became a flying cadet and received his commission in 1918. In the late 1920s and the early 1930s, he won the prestigious Schneider, Bendix and Thompson aviation trophies. He made the first blind flight in 1929 during which he took off, flew and landed while being completely dependent upon aircraft instruments. Doolittle left the Army Air Corps in 1930, but when war appeared imminent, in 1940 he returned to active duty. Although the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, caused only minor damage, it forced the Japanese to recall combat forces for home defense, raised fears among the Japanese civilians, and boosted morale among Americans and our Allies abroad. |