The Doolittle Raid: The First Air Attack Against Japan, April 1942

by John Grehan, Alexander Nicoll

A pictorial history of America’s response to Pearl Harbor, with “hundreds of photos of the various stages of the raid” (ModelingMadness).On April 1, 1942, less than four months after the world was stunned by the attack on Pearl Harbor, sixteen US aircraft took to the skies to exact retribution. Their objective was not merely to attack Japan, but to bomb its capital. The people of Tokyo, who had been told that their city was invulnerable from the air, would be bombed and strafed—and the shock waves from the raid would extend far beyond the explosions of the bombs.The raid had first been suggested in January 1942 as the US was still reeling from Japan’s preemptive strike against the US Pacific Fleet. The Americans were determined to fight back—as quickly as possible. The 17th Bomb Group (Medium) was chosen to provide the volunteers who would crew the sixteen specially modified North American B-25 bombers. As it was not possible to reach Tokyo from any US land bases, the bombers would have to fly from aircraft carriers, but it was impossible for such large aircraft to land on a carrier; the men had to volunteer for a one-way ticket.Led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, the seventy-one officers and 130 enlisted men embarked on the USS Hornet, which was shielded by a large naval task force—and set out on their mission, which would ultimately jolt the Japanese out of their complacency. This is the full story of this remarkable operation and the men and machines involved, told through a fascinating collection of photographic images.

185 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2021

Reviews

[Andrea Di Bernardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, took the United States government by surprise, but above all it shocked American public opinion by triggering the need for an almost immediate response to the treacherous attack by the Japanese air and naval forces. This reaction manifested itself with the devising of a plan according to which USAAF B-25 bombers would have to be embarked on an aircraft carrier and then be launched in a raid against the islands of Japan and mainly against the nerve center of that country. , Tokyo. This raid went down in history as "The Doolittle Raid" named after the commander of that enterprise, Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle.
The book I am presenting to you today is the most complete that can exist from an iconographic point of view, concerning that mission. The book, published by éen&Sword Air World and written by John Grehan and Alexander Nicoll, contains most of the photos taken during the mission accomplished by the 16 B25s and their crews, as well as photos of the preparations and follow-up, when several crews returned home . The mission, which would have had to take place over enormous distances even for a bomber with great autonomy like the B-25, required the abandonment of the planes over China, as happened for most of the crews. In China, the airmen of the raid would have found the collaboration of the Chinese nationalist forces of Chang Kai Shek.
The book, after a brief introduction, leads us to learn about the preparations for the mission, the boarding on the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and the actual mission with the launch accomplished earlier than the scheduled day, April 18 instead of 19. This had been necessary given the fact that the naval force comprising the USS Hornet had been sighted by Japanese ships and therefore the surprise factor of the raid was partly ruined.
The book presents the mission as a whole but also follows each crew, presenting them gradually in order of departure. That of Lt. Col. Doolittle is the No. 1 crew, followed by another 15 planes, which all completed the mission, creating damage but above all insecurity in the Japanese military apparatus.
Not all crews were lucky, there were casualties and even prisoners, some of whom were sentenced to death after months of torture. However, the raid did not aim to create irreparable damage to the enemy and it could not be so, but precisely to sow panic and make the Japanese military apparatus in a certain sense paranoid. In this sense we can see the influence of the raid on the strategy of the following months, with the search for a confrontation by the Japanese towards the American aircraft carriers that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and the following Midway air and naval confrontation that changed the course of the war .
The book contains hundreds of photos and in the last chapter we can also see the section concerning the 50th anniversary, when the launch of the B-25s from the USS Ranger aircraft carrier was recreated, an occasion that saw a thousand people invited on board, participate.
The raid is part of myth rather than history. From a military point of view it was certainly not a success given the loss of 16 planes out of 16 and the death of several members of the mission itself. But the propaganda and moral element was enormous for the United States in search of a success to revive public opinion. Such is the mythology surrounding this military event that in many films it is coupled with the attack on pearl Harbor as a kind of counterbalance (this was the case with the film "Pearl Harbor" and the recent "Midway"). The book is therefore a treasure trove of fantastic photos that cannot be missing on the shelves of any War in the Pacific and World War II enthusiast.

[Robert Neil Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Doolittle Raid, John Grehan & Alexander Nicoll narrate the incredible tale of a B-25 bombing mission over Tokyo in early 1942. In the context of what was to come, this raid was small, but its significance was huge. The authors describe the daunting logistical difficulties of the raid: the distance involved and the dangers of flying over enemy territory on what could well be a suicide mission; a task force of warships had to be assembled to sail into Japanese controlled waters; and everyone involved required intense training to make the raid happen. With that done, and the green light given, the flotilla sailed to its destiny.
The stripped-down B-25s launched from the USS Hornet on 18 April 1942 with incendiary bombs, all-volunteer crews, enough fuel to fly over Tokyo then land in China, and not much else. From there, the authors follow each plane and crew on their mission, much of it using the words of the airmen that survived. After a hairy take-off for some of them, they encountered enemy warplanes, anti-aircraft fire, technical glitches, and bad weather before crash-landing, baling out, or landing ‘safely’ in China. The crews met various fates, some escaping with various wounds and injuries with Chinese assistance, some captured by the Japanese and enduring torture and PoW camps, while three were executed. The latter resulted in a lacklustre War Crimes trial, perhaps affected by the massive wave of atrocities subsequently enacted by the Japanese in reprisals for the raid and throughout the rest of the war.
The physical impact of the raids was inconvenience more than anything war-winning, but the psychological impact was massive. The authors point out that the Japanese were astonished and alarmed that B-25s could fly from carriers and bomb Japan, while American morale was immeasurably boosted by taking the fight to the enemy so soon after Pearl Harbor. They conclude with the story of the 1992 ‘recreation’ of the raid, demonstrating the long-lasting impact of a mission many considered impossible.
The Doolittle Raid was made possible by the incredible ingenuity, planning, and fortitude that typified much of the American war effort. This basic but illuminating book does credit to that without slipping too far into panegyric. The decision to follow the crews and bombers separately works well, and the remarkable photos with their detailed captions complement the narrative. John Grehan and Alexander Nicoll have done us, and the men involved in the raid, a service by making their story accessible in a clear and informative book.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...

I found this book to be a compelling read and whilst I knew what had triggered the raid in the main, it was still an interesting book to read as there are a lot of photos that I had never seen before which really helped bring the event to life.

I loved that the focus was not just on the raid itself, but also the build up to the aircraft carriers sailing on the 1st April 1942, all the training that was completed by the pilots to get the very large and cumbersome B-25 bombers to be able to take off in such a confined space, especially when the other planes were loaded on board the USS Hornet, and it also showed what was happening in World War II at that time.

I have read a few books in this series across both the Images of Aviation and Images of War titles, and this is the best book that I have read in the series so far.

I loved the layout and the features for each of the 16 crews that took part, including Doolittle himself who was the pilot of the first plane to take off the Hornet, what they encountered and where they dropped and what happened to them after they had completed their missions, not all ended with the pilots and crews being returned to the US.

The book is packed with facts and brilliant photos to tell their stories and it is one that I have already recommended. It is 5 stars from me for this one, I thought it was an excellent book – very highly recommended!!

[Mike Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book. Easy read. Tells the combined story of the Doolittle raiders. Also, Has a summary of each of the 16 planes and their crews that attacked Japan, what their mission was, how they did, and what happened after. A GREAT book.

[Edward C · Rating 5 out of 5]

First-hand accounts of the operation.

All original information written by Doolittle and the AAC volunteers who flew the B-25’s. The pictures help to visualize the action.