It’s a windy April morning somewhere in the North Pacific Ocean. Wave after wave crashes against the side of the USS Hornet as she pitches violently in the heavy seas. Dozens of her crew bustle around the unusual complement of aircraft on her flight deck. Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle does a last-minute check of his plane before ordering the crew to man the bomber. Its propellers cut through the mist of seawater as Doolittle throttles up the engines. An audacious raid that'll set the future of the Pacific War is about to begin. It is the 21st December 1941, three weeks after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that dragged the United States into the World War. The Empire of Japan strides from victory to victory fulfilling its ambitious imperialistic plans. The beaten US military is in full retreat and a strong air of doubt and fear run through the minds of American society. President Roosevelt holds a meeting in the White House anxiously demanding his top military officials to carry out a strike against Japan to give hope and improve the faltering morale of the nation. Within the next month, the military planners explored possibilities to perform an attack on the Japanese home islands. Since the long-range bomber bases in the Philippines were no-more, there was no viable way to strike at the heart of the Japanese empire. Yet, in the first half of January a brave endeavour sparked within the ranks of the US Navy. One of the captains came up with an idea to launch a number of large Army Air Force bombers from the deck of an aircraft carrier. It was never before performed in combat, yet it seemed like the best bet for the American military given the circumstances. Soon, the chiefs of both the Army and the Navy greenlit the project and the top-secret raid landed on the planning table. At first, just a handful of officers were working on the details of this future mission. On the Army side, the organisation and training of the bomber force was entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, a test pilot and one of the leading figures of American aviation. A number of aircraft were considered for the mission, but only the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber proved to be the one roughly sufficient for the mission. In the beginning of February, two Mitchell bombers were successfully launched from the deck of the USS Hornet, to prove the feasibility of the concept. Originally, the planes were to return to the carrier upon dropping the bombs, but this idea was quickly ruled out, as landing such a big and heavy craft on a moving flight deck was bordering on the impossible. Hence, after fulfilling the objective, bombers were to land on the continent. The shortest and most obvious route would be to head to the city of Vladivostok, yet negotiations with the Soviets were fruitless, leaving the unoccupied China interior as the only available option, even though the Chinese officials were rightfully concerned over possible Japanese retribution. Landing in China however required some serious modifications of the B-25s to reduce its weight and extend its range by a significant margin. Additional gas tanks were mounted, and much of the equipment removed, including radio sets and classified Norden bombsights. Even the gun of the dorsal turret was replaced with a painted broomstick to save weight. In fact, this entire mission is really a captivating story, really worth exploring its details. Anyway, a couple weeks of intensive training began in March, with crew practising simulated carrier launches, night flying, low altitude bombing and more. Since time was of the essence, on the very first day of April sixteen Mitchell bombers were loaded onto the flight deck of the USS Hornet in the San Francisco bay. On the next morning, the aircraft carrier escorted by two cruisers and four destroyers departed the foggy naval air station, commencing with the mission. On the early evening of April 12th, the Hornet’s group met with another task force of a similar composition, led by the USS Enterprise, the Hornet’s sister ship of the same class, which steamed from Pearl Harbor to provide air cover for the entire naval force. Apart from the rough weather, the journey was uneventful and five days later the US Navy warships readied for a final part of their mission. The carriers and escorting cruisers were refuelled and set for a final high-speed dash to the launch area, roughly four to five hundred nautical miles off the coast of Japan. But soon, the unexpected started to happen. A few hours after midnight the radar operators on the Enterprise detected a Japanese vessel, far outside of the expected patrol area. The Americans luckily avoided detection for the remainder of the night, but in the morning USS Hornet made visual contact with one of the Japanese picket boats patrolling the sector. It was quickly shelled and sunk by one of the cruisers, yet there was no delusion among the American officers, the Japanese military was already informed of their presence. A war of nerves set in. Every mile into the enemy-controlled waters increased the risk of losing the invaluable American carriers, but also meant increasing chances of Doolittle raiders. Being detected ten hours before the planned launch, the battle fleet was still around 250 nautical miles from the targeted launch area. Doolittle’s plan involved launching at dusk and flying a bombing run under the cover of darkness, but it was decided that the safety of the carriers was of the utmost importance. The weather was unforgiving, the heavy seas washed over the flight deck of the Hornet, but there was no time to waste. Twenty minutes past eight in the morning, the Twin Cyclone engines of Doolittle’s leading plane roared as he went full throttle over an unusually short runway for a bomber. His B-25 reached the end of the flight deck and narrowly avoided crashing, almost brushing the waves before pulling up. Men aboard the Hornet quavered, but within the next hour the rest of the bombers safely got airborne. Five small groups were formed and promptly the aircraft took direction towards Japan, flying at minimal altitude to avoid detection. Colonel Doolittle navigated with ease, approaching the eastern coast of central Honshu island shortly past noon. While the three planes stuck to the coast flying further west to their objectives in Nagoya and Kobe, the remaining thirteen bombers targeted factories and military installations within Tokyo and southern Tokyo Bay. The Americans spotted some training biplanes and flights of Japanese fighters, yet the latter seemed not interested in approaching the Americans. Seemingly, a total surprise was achieved. Upon closing in to their objectives, the raiders climbed to a bombing altitude and each plane dropped four high explosive or incendiary bombs. The crews reported visible damage to the targeted objects and large fires spreading around. The air-sirens blasted as the Japanese soldiers rushed to the anti aircraft guns. Their response however proved too late and insufficient. The American bombers flew at a very low altitude and Japanese AA fire managed to score some minor hits on the sole B-25 plane. Upon fulfilling their objectives, the raiders headed to the China coast. An emerging tailwind enabled fifteen bombers to reach the Chinese mainland, but this was the only good news of the afternoon. For the last seven hours of the journey the planes crossed through a heavy storm which, coupled with the approaching night meant almost zero visibility. As a result, none of the bombers reached their intended landing sites. In those demanding conditions, the aircraft either crash landed or the crew bailed out over Eastern China. Three airmen died in the process and eight others were captured by the Japanese. Only four of those survived the war, making the eventual death toll of seven men. Yet not all bombers reached China. A lone B-25 suffered from abnormally high fuel consumption due to an unmodified carburettor and was forced to divert northeast after bombing Tokyo and against orders, flew to the Soviet Union, which was officially neutral to Japan. The crew was interned, yet after more than a year their “escape” was staged, giving the Soviets a plausible excuse to offer the Japanese. The Tokyo air raid inflicted relatively light physical damage, but its psychological impact was massive. For the Americans the raid gave hope that a seemingly invincible enemy could be defeated and also became an effective recruitment and propaganda tool. The attack shocked the Japanese leadership which diverted their limited resources to defend the home islands and put great emphasis on the destruction of the American aircraft carriers that eventually led to the decisive clash near the Midway atoll seven weeks later.
