Richard Cole Autographed Photograph
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the military was tasked by President Franklin D. Roosevelt with bombing the Japanese mainland as soon as possible. While it was acknowledged that the retaliatory attack would likely result in minimal damage, the primary goal was to boost the American public's moral after the disaster at Pearl Harbor, and also to undermine the confidence in which the Japanese held their own leaders, who had assured them that they were immune from U.S. attack.
The concept for the attack originated from Navy Captain Francis Low, who believed it possible to launch twin-engine bombers from an aircraft carrier. However, actual planning and execution of the attack was assigned to Lt. Colonel James Doolittle, a famous aviator and aeronautical engineer. The air assault eventually became commonly known as the "Doolittle Raid".
Doolittle chose the B-25 as the aircraft best matching the specifications for the mission, and worked with engineers to modify the aircraft for flight off an aircraft carrier and to extend the flight range. One such modification was that the defensive tail guns were removed due to weight concerns, and mock gun barrels were installed in their place.
The crews for the mission were all volunteers, who only were told that they had the opportunity to participate in an "extremely hazardous" mission, but were not provided any details. A total of sixteen aircraft, each with a five man crew, were used in the air assault. The plan called for the aircraft to be flown off the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, and to then split up once they reached Japan and bomb various targets in different locations in the country. The aircraft were then to proceed to China for landing.
The plan had to be altered, however, when the task force that Hornet was part of was spotted by a Japanese patrol boat. The patrol boat was sunk, but not before it had radioed an attack warning to Japan. On April 18, 1942, with the carrier still ten hours and 170 nautical miles from the intended launch area, the decision was made to go ahead and launch the aircraft immediately.
All sixteen aircraft were successfully launched, despite the fact that none of the crews had actually flown off an aircraft carrier before, and the bombing mission was accomplished. Due to having had to launch much further from shore than planned, the aircraft did not have sufficient fuel to reach the airfields at which they were to land. Fifteen of the aircraft reached China, but were forced to either crash land or the crews had to parachute out of the aircraft. The sixteenth aircraft ended up in the Soviet Union, landing in Vladivostok, where the aircraft was confiscated and the crew interned for more than a year. Of the crews that made it to China, eight men were captured by the Japanese Army, with three of the eight being executed. Chinese villagers helped hide the crews from the Japanese, and eventually guide the remaining American airmen to safety.
The concept for the attack originated from Navy Captain Francis Low, who believed it possible to launch twin-engine bombers from an aircraft carrier. However, actual planning and execution of the attack was assigned to Lt. Colonel James Doolittle, a famous aviator and aeronautical engineer. The air assault eventually became commonly known as the "Doolittle Raid".
Doolittle chose the B-25 as the aircraft best matching the specifications for the mission, and worked with engineers to modify the aircraft for flight off an aircraft carrier and to extend the flight range. One such modification was that the defensive tail guns were removed due to weight concerns, and mock gun barrels were installed in their place.
The crews for the mission were all volunteers, who only were told that they had the opportunity to participate in an "extremely hazardous" mission, but were not provided any details. A total of sixteen aircraft, each with a five man crew, were used in the air assault. The plan called for the aircraft to be flown off the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, and to then split up once they reached Japan and bomb various targets in different locations in the country. The aircraft were then to proceed to China for landing.
The plan had to be altered, however, when the task force that Hornet was part of was spotted by a Japanese patrol boat. The patrol boat was sunk, but not before it had radioed an attack warning to Japan. On April 18, 1942, with the carrier still ten hours and 170 nautical miles from the intended launch area, the decision was made to go ahead and launch the aircraft immediately.
All sixteen aircraft were successfully launched, despite the fact that none of the crews had actually flown off an aircraft carrier before, and the bombing mission was accomplished. Due to having had to launch much further from shore than planned, the aircraft did not have sufficient fuel to reach the airfields at which they were to land. Fifteen of the aircraft reached China, but were forced to either crash land or the crews had to parachute out of the aircraft. The sixteenth aircraft ended up in the Soviet Union, landing in Vladivostok, where the aircraft was confiscated and the crew interned for more than a year. Of the crews that made it to China, eight men were captured by the Japanese Army, with three of the eight being executed. Chinese villagers helped hide the crews from the Japanese, and eventually guide the remaining American airmen to safety.
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The item in my collection is a photograph of the B-25 bomber aircraft on the flight deck of the USS Hornet that has been autographed by Lt. Richard Cole, who served as Lt. Col. Doolittle's co-pilot on Crew #1.
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