Posted on 04/11/2015 1:41:34 PM PDT by NEWwoman
You may be right, yarddog.
But I think back to Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas 1776. The American revolution was at its nadir and really the raid on Trenton wasn’t much. But it was a great moral booster.
It is mind boggling that people can get a college degree now with no knowledge of this, or Corrigador, or the Bataan death march or the battle of the Hurtgen Forest.
I would imagine that they can't outline the Great War or the Spanish American War either.
As for me, I took up war gaming after ordering a subscription to Simulations Publications’ Strategy & Tactics magazine in seventh grade.
I went into the Marines at seventeen, got out after the Soviet collapse, and am now trying to replace my library with an electronic book library so I can change to a more mobile lifestyle.
Amazing, FatherofFive, what can be accomplished when we are united and have a heart to win.
Thanks for the kind words, GreyFriar
Wow! razorback-bert
What a privilege to witness a part of history.
It was good to see again! Lots of B-25 film footage.
Being a VJ Day newby, I grew up hearing and reading all about Doolittle and the Raid. I feel like I knew all those guys.
In my book the best airplane ever built was the B-25. A few years ago I was privileged to get a ride on one at an air show. What a thrill! It was so easy to imagine being in one of the 25’s taking off that day in the Pacific on a most incredible adventure.
If I hit the Lotto, first thing I do is buy me a B-25!
The original plan was to launch several hundred miles closer, but they ran into a Japanese fishing boat (which they immediately sunk) and were concerned their presence was announced.
Really didn’t want to lose the Hornet.
Yes the fishing boat or maybe it was a patrol craft did in fact send a message but for some reason the Japanese did not take any action.
That extra 500 miles was probably critical too.
The Raiders trained at Field 2 on Eglin. It was not far from where I grew up in rural Walton County.
It was pretty much out in the sticks away from everything.
They didn’t take action because they thought they had a lot of time. They thought the American carriers would need another day or so.to get close enough to launch their carrier based planes.
Ping.
Read Lawson’s book when I was about ten (1960). Still surviving David Thatcher was part of his crew.
Thanks so much for posting.
Thanks for the ping. Only two of eighty...
30 Seconds being made in 44, even the movie set 25’s were authentic, probably the crews were regular 25 crews.
The Hornet footage, especially of Doolittle’s taking off fantastic.
Someone once said they imagined those boys were freaked out at take off, I say No, they were peein in the their pants excited with the thought of being first to bomb Japan.
How interesting. I seem to remember that remote training site from the movie.
Thanks for the kind word, onedoug. I understand only two raiders are left. Sergeant Thatcher and Lt. Co. Cole. The greatest generation is passing away.
On some show they had a pilot who owned his own B-25 try to take off in the same distance Doolittle’s pilots did.
He did not even come close to making it.
The pilot explained that they had the advantage of the ship’s speed plus wind at sea can be pretty strong. Also he said they had 115 octane fuel back then.
Doolittle pushed the Army Air Force to adopt 100 octane fuel in the 30s. He also convinced the British to use it and the higher octane fuel was one of the contributing factors to the RAF's success against the Germans during the Battle of Britain.
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