Payback In The Pacific: The Daring Doolittle Raid

In the months following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan had a string of stunning victories capturing Guam, Wake Island, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaya, and Burma. The Japanese started to think they were invincible and even the Americans began to fear that reality. However, Naval Captain Francis “Frog” Low had an idea to change that belief: launch B-25 bombers off the flight deck of an aircraft carrier to strike mainland Japan, which the Japanese deemed untouchable by enemy forces.

This daring plan quickly gained traction among military leadership up to President Roosevelt who approved it himself. Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, an experienced and revered U.S. Army aviator, was tasked with making this bold concept a reality. If successful, this mission would crush the Japanese fantasy of an untouchable homeland, and more importantly, boost American morale in the Pacific.

The date was set for April 18, 1942. After months of planning, there was still one major problem, on completion of the bombing raid, the B-25s still had nowhere to land. They could take off from the aircraft carriers but couldn’t return to land on them, and the Soviets denied their request to land in Russia. The only viable option was to land in China. However, they would be cutting it extremely close, and that’s even if they could reach the Chinese airfields with the limited fuel they would have left. After modifying the B-25s by doubling the fuel tank size, removing armor plating, and removing some of the defensive machine guns, they would still be cutting it dangerously close.

While approaching the launching point, the U.S. fleet was spotted by a Japanese patrol boat. Not wanting to put the carriers at too much risk, all sixteen B-25s were given the order to launch early. The possibility of making the Chinese airfields was now out the window. Upon completing the mission, the crews would have to bail out and hope they were over unoccupied China.

There were supposed to be only fifteen B-25s taking part, but Doolittle decided he’d fly the extra bomber himself. He would be the first to take off to prove to his men it could be done. With bad weather and heavy seas, it was a daunting task. However, seeing their Lieutenant Colonel lead the way gave the rest of the bomber crews the extra push to get themselves airborne.

The bombers successfully took off carrying their payload of high-explosive and incendiary bombs. After a few hours of flying through minimal resistance, the bombers completed their mission by bombing targets in Tokyo, Yokosuka, damaging an aircraft carrier, Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagoya. Bombing the mainland was a devastating blow to the morale of the Japanese empire and its people. Now the crews faced the real hard part: making it to safety.

On the way to China, the weather conditions deteriorated rapidly. Eleven of the B-25s were lucky enough to bail out over China, four were forced to crash-land along the coast, and one diverted to the Soviet Union, where they were interned before being allowed to “escape.”

The Japanese captured eight of the daring airmen. Three of them would be executed, one would die in captivity, and four would be liberated at the end of the war. The majority of the crews were rescued and assisted by Chinese civilians and soldiers who helped them evade Japanese capture at great personal risk.

The Japanese military launched savage reprisals against Chinese civilians and soldiers who assisted the Doolittle Raiders. It is estimated that as many as 250,000 Chinese people were killed as a direct result of the Japanese retaliation. The Japanese forces conducted widespread massacres, destroying villages, and implemented a scorched-earth policy in areas where they believed the American airmen had been helped. The cost was great, but Doolittle’s message rang clear: Japan was not the untouchable empire she thought she was.