Little-Acorn
04-18-2012, 12:09 PM
70 years ago today, on April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers (originally designed to take off from long runways on land) took off from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean, loaded with bombs and lots of fuel, and flew to Tokyo to drop their bombs. Lt. Col. James Doolittle planned the mission, conducted the training and modification of the planes, and flew the lead plane to Tokyo.
Though it didn't achieve large military effect, the "Doolittle Raid" so shocked the Japanese, that they abandoned their former (fairly sound) strategy of concentrating their efforts on administering their locally-won gains in China, the south Pacific, and southest Asia, and tried to make advances in the Pacific to draw out and destroy the remains of the American Navy after Pearl Harbor. This led to their shattering defeat at Midway Island, where they lost four of their six aircraft carriers and most of their frontline pilots and planes - a defeat they never recovered from.
Though it didn't achieve large military effect, the "Doolittle Raid" so shocked the Japanese, that they abandoned their former (fairly sound) strategy of concentrating their efforts on administering their locally-won gains in China, the south Pacific, and southest Asia, and tried to make advances in the Pacific to draw out and destroy the remains of the American Navy after Pearl Harbor. This led to their shattering defeat at Midway Island, where they lost four of their six aircraft carriers and most of their frontline pilots and planes - a defeat they never recovered from.