The Legacy of Flight
Images from the archives of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
- By David Romanowski and Melissa Keiser
- AirSpaceMag.com, September 14, 2010
USS Hornet crewmen watch an Army Air Forces B-25 Mitchell medium bomber lift off from the carrier deck on April 18, 1942, en route to Japan. Led by renowned aviator Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, the 16 B-25s bombed military and industrial targets in Tokyo and other cities. The "Doolittle Raid" inflicted relatively minor damage, but it electrified the home front, sharply boosting morale after months of demoralizing defeats after Pearl Harbor.
None of the B-25s reached their intended Chinese landing fields. One detoured to Russia, where its five-man crew was interned. The other crewmen either bailed out or crash-landed in China. Three died in the process and eight were captured. The Japanese executed three and a fourth died in captivity. The other crews found their way back to fight another day. Doolittle was promoted to brigadier general and commanded air forces in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and England.
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Comments (4)
Can some knowledgeable person comment upon why the
canopy of the distant (of the four) F-51 seems
different from the others. EDITORS' REPLY: According to Melissa Keiser and David Romanowski’s book, “The top three airplanes are P-51Ds, the first model with the distinctive bubble canopy, which improved the pilot’s view toward the rear. Suzy-C, by contrast, is a P51B with the earlier canopy design.”
Posted by J. P. Vetrano on October 30,2010 | 05:58 PM
The caption of photo 9 is not phrased well.
The thousands of men who serviced and flew the B-24 Liberator also deserve some acknowledgment as the "might" of the Mighty Eigth Air Force's daylight campaign.
Posted by Mark Breeding on February 10,2012 | 11:32 AM
Note the second P-51 aircraft has a revised tail.
Posted by James Williamson on April 18,2013 | 10:03 AM
Let me just make an inocuous comment; as an ex-86D driver, your stuff is the first I note each AM.
Posted by Gordon Caswell on April 18,2013 | 04:56 PM