75th anniversary of Doolittle's Raid

[WildcatfaninOhio]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_Raid#Mission

If you've never heard of this mission at beginning of US involvement in WWII, you owe it to yourself to read a bit about it. Perhaps the single most daring, amazing, almost insane military mission I've ever heard of. And pulled off by 80 mega-brave Americans.

There's a sole survivor of the raid. Colonel Richard Cole. He's 101 years old. He was at a anniversary ceremony that was held at Wright Patterson AFB just outside Dayton OH today. Wish I could have been there to shake his hand and tell him that he is without doubt (in my mind at least) the bravest human being currently living.

 

[MdWIldcat55]

It was ballsy, for sure. Just getting a B-25 off a carrier was risking your life. But the second you left the Hornet you knew this unlikely sequence had to happen for you to live to see another full day: You had to reach Tokyo over hundreds of miles of ocean where a mechanical failure meant near-certain death. You had to fly into Japanese air space without being detected and shot down by Japanese Zeros. You had to find a target and drop your bombs without being shot down by AAA. Then -- and to me this would be the most absurdly dangerous part -- you had to fly to China and hope to find a place to crash land where you wouldn't be captured, tortured and killed by the invading Japanese army.

 

[JumperJack]

True heroes.

 

[MegaBlue05]

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8J/EV995ETmTnlxXWuWM212I0y2iAND9unot7gl7Fkx8/Awj/ASPssjbi3Zu+EZb7oERAjl5lQ+ndvbbVKAaYL/i4AH8vuPqpmW6vLHU23FO1c6xou4OfVmecgrZ9lmO/hbh1J5inUI3uTXaB/8+hWywrDy7C2yB4XEg8YmPv+4UOu6XdVg6NDn5fuFNy1kv47x0vfGaeSg+N7DtrNNa2hlXU09GvPMfwu+R6aqVbOXv4m0bJlzPAeoA8J9o9iszD2ESF0s24S6VVgmINa00a7C5oMFscQfhIOhldcUwalSpd/TcZLzDTEtEz6nPkudpqwZily1mm8wkcN51JjjHmTPqvXF6k0cxkc/IiFxuOvHoxy36urZS7NWzt6hzJpMn+0BB+YK2yifZbcb+G0TyLx7PKli7Tx5r6IiLWCIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICpzAbffxO7J0753SfESrjVPYbcblxcuEA96/P+8f91y5bZOnXhm68e0YE02bukvkdJ3Z9mgLO7NqxqWVKf/b32ejajo+ULX4+/fomYkNI95Mn2Wx7N6JGHF38TqxHWDu/VpWce5V8vm0F7Qb81q+4Of8Ax8lK+zi1bRpvcdSIb/adlPooRd0S+6dPF3yVh4HDGiCDAk8NAtuc32Y49dNdt7SHd0d0f+R3DSWgfQKD0wO783mPRoH/ANlM9o71roaPysidczrChNXJjR+px+VNc5e+nSzqbW1gDW1cNNMZObujLjGZk/NQHa/D9yI5ceR/YUp2FvIZuk5GSR55fRNuWs7lhaZcAWugaAGGmfJTllGyaOyW9Jc6mfzM+bTl8i5WIbfdz5qq+yFhddtjSHz0yP8AMK57qlIXpx8eTPqvn/aZh/6rdTxe0+ndU4+i2lej3lBzYnI+kjX5BZfaDhJo34rH4azGmf1t8Dh7Bnuu2E3LNxwcfyujzjJTXXHxK+xavNgWfwVH/P8A4U/VZ9ib/wCjuW8nj57xVmK545ZeiIi1IiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAqSYP6e6bxFZ/wDqKuyVTFah/wBxvGjQVSfnKnKbXx3Va3HLuKLmjMkgDr0VsbPYQKFrRoZSxgDurzm8/wCIlVjhdl32I0aRzaw968f2IcPd26PVXC1yYxvJVM7eYI60ud8DwPJdTPDPVvmCfosClibt3d9Ve+IYZSuKfd1mB7TwPA8wRmD1CidfsxtSZbUqt6S0ge4lRlx7qsOX4zVVQ7eeYA1yWTimytxTY19Sm7czO9GWca8suauLAtira2dvgGo/gXwQPJsaqRvpggggEHIgiQR1C3HCRmXJa+eMFqGm7WMv2Fn4pXdVHd8zw85lWtd7D2bzvCmWE67joHsZCysK2Wtrc7zGS7g5xkjy4D2XO8O8tr/m/rppuzvZUWdMvcP6SoOOrW6x5n7KZALlF6I4W7RDtLwjv7QvaPHRPeN8h8Q9s/RVfhtYEZcQconOFfVxTDgWkSCCCOYORCoE25trmtSMzTe4AjkHZH2U5ReF+kz7ENLz/wCRn0crQVW9jFWKt6zQ71N3od9WktiMvRERawREQEREBERAREQERdCUHcrqSum8vN7kHao9UjTx2m3Er1zj4XVXNDhoADul3XIH3U07RdqjbUzQoOHf1Ac//G08ctHHhy15KmXgtcWs/vdSRmpyy7dMMfurC7Nave3d1Xjg0N6BziY9mhWpaiSqp7JWkPrDmGn2JH3VuWjIHUrYnL1louhXIC1LsiIgIi4KDlF1lc7yDrW0VMbXuY3FasmA7cnzNNqueoJEL5/21Y999Xc8EHfIj9Iyb8gFlqsfWwwbGTZYtLgG06rRTcZyP8Dp84nzV30Koe0OHFfON5UFam1jvib8LunIn7qxuzza7S3rmHAQHH80fQrPl3pWWPW1mIuAVyqcxERAREQEREBERAXBC5RB03FGtpdoe6JpURNQZEnRkjLzOY6Z8dFKF4XFmx+bmgnPPQ5iDmFl39NUZi+Gl1Rzi41HunecZzJ6ngvXDNkaj48OvFXIMEoA73dtnmRP1WZSt2t0AWTH8quX4RLYzZQ2pc55BLoyA0Az14qYBq7IqTa4hcoiMEREBERBwQkLlEHm5i1eI4Syr/WMa8fqAMeXJbhEbtAr7YO2f8IfSP6TI9nfYhaev2f1QZY9ro/un2Jge6tQtXXuxyWXGVsysRDALbEKLmMMOpSA7fcJDeJEE/sKZLgCFykmmWiIi1giIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiIP/9k=

 

[Rebelfreedomeagle]

I liked the song about it. Real American heroes.

 

[Dig Dirkler]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_Raid#Mission

If you've never heard of this mission at beginning of US involvement in WWII, you owe it to yourself to read a bit about it. Perhaps the single most daring, amazing, almost insane military mission I've ever heard of. And pulled off by 80 mega-brave Americans.

There's a sole survivor of the raid. Colonel Richard Cole. He's 101 years old. He was at a anniversary ceremony that was held at Wright Patterson AFB just outside Dayton OH today. Wish I could have been there to shake his hand and tell him that he is without doubt (in my mind at least) the bravest human being currently living.

Doolittle? More like Doo-a-lot if you ask me.

 

[Chuckinden]

The Greatest Generation.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

That raid was key. It gave the home front hope and American spirits soared while it showed the Japanese government and civilians their country was not safe. It also led to Japan trying to expand out even further in its conquests to end the war quicker/get a settlement, which played a big role in the Battle of the Coral Sea and of course the turning point of the Pacific in the Battle of Midway.

 

[USSLair]

That raid was key. It gave the home front hope and American spirits soared while it showed the Japanese government and civilians their country was not safe. It also led to Japan trying to expand out even further in its conquests to end the war quicker/get a settlement, which played a big role in the Battle of the Coral Sea and of course the turning point of the Pacific in the Battle of Midway.

The battle of Midway is one of the most unknown but most important battles of WWII in the Pacific.

 

[CastleRubric]

the new strategic bomber (Northrop Grumman's B21) -- was named after that Raid.....

(The B21 Raider)

I met an older vet when I was stationed at Yokota AB in the early 90's --
He talked about how the prep / drills were held at --- what I believe is now MacDill AFB in FL.....he mentioned a lot of failures using the B25 Mitchell's off of carriers and said there was a local paper running headlines like "2 a day into Tampa Bay" and the like....(ref: the planes dropping right into the ocean and not quite getting the carrier take off / landing thing down correctly)

IIRC Hap Arnold was the 'father of modern airpower' that drove the emphasis on the development and reliance on a separate air force as a modern means of winning wars