What a great warbird.
After they dropped their bombs they flew on to China trying to get to Claire Chenaults Flying Tiger bases. Their trials after the raid is a very interesting story as is the Flying Tigers.
What a great warbird.
I always forget that those were Army Air Corps bombers on a very small naval flight deck. It really was a “suicide” mission.
Only one disagreement with the writer, the “Strikers” ARE NOT the Ace in the hole, but none the less, they are Awesome! B-25 & Doolittle? Both were under rated at the start, and both served way above and beyond. Like the ratty old P-40 War Hawk, the B-25 served in every theater of the war from start to finish. Blew lots of shit up, and saved a hell of alot of lives. Somebody said something about full flaps....a few pilots forgot, and still got airborne. a 50 knot wind is a hell of an advantage, (Hornet was doing over 30 knots into at least a 20 knot headwind).
In yet another example of God taking sides in an American conflict, the Doolittle Raid benefitted from Divine intervention.
Doolittle had to launch early, after being spotted by the Japanese picket boats. (Why no submarine patrols to clear them out in advance?) Despite adding extra fuel, Doolittle’s team was still expected to fall a few hundred miles short of the Chinese coast and ditch in the ocean.
But then a big storm blew up, providing Doolittle’s boys with a vital tailwind that pushed them along. The storm, from what I’ve read, was unusual for that time of year but it saved American lives.
An officer, noting carburetor settings were “off”, had the error reset to factory settings. But there had been no error! The settings were “leaned-out” intentionally, and were corrected before launching.
They’ve long lost the battle with extreme political correctness.