Posted on 04/18/2017 4:41:46 AM PDT by Zakeet
On April 18, 1942 - 75 years ago Tuesday - 80 incredibly brave men in 16 bombers took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo and other Japanese cities in retaliation for the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
It was called the Doolittle Raid, after the group’s charismatic leader, Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, a renowned avaiator even before the war.
Doolittle’s B-25 was the first to take off from the Hornet. Sitting beside him was a quiet, lanky young man from Dayton, Ohio, named Dick Cole.
On Tuesday, the 101-year-old will be at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton , Ohio. There, he will complete a decades-long tradition and turn over the goblet of his friend and fellow Raider David Thatcher, who died last year on June 22.
The tradition was that the Raiders would meet each year and drink a toast to those who had fallen. Each had their own goblet, and after each Raider died, his goblet would be turned upside down in its case. Cole, 101, will offer the toast this year by himself - he’s the last surviving Raider.
(Excerpt) Read more at thestate.com ...
WOW! FR is a source of knowledge like no other.
They probably considered it back then but the trade offs weren’t worth the risks. I thought perhaps the added power might have enabled them to carry more fuel off the deck, more than the extra that might have been consumed while using the nitrous and the engines were somewhat expendable as long as they survived the launch off the deck and trip.
It is sad in a way—but-—it is wonderful that such men lived and volunteered for the task——would we have such men today to do the same if needed———I am proud of them all as I served at Normandy to help finish the rotten war-—God Bless my USA
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It is sad in a way—but-—it is wonderful that such men lived and volunteered for the task——would we have such men today to do the same if needed———I am proud of them all as I served at Normandy to help finish the rotten war-—God Bless my USA
why do we keep losing?
Look no further than the swamp.
And dozens of them getting killed because of the Mitt-licking lackey of the moon-rock god, may feces be upon his name, and a snugly-fitted hemp necktie upon him.
Gasoline mixture had been previously adjusted for maximum “mileage”; however, while on the carrier, the mixture was changed back to the “book” settings. Just in time, the error was noted and the mixture reset. (!)
Amazing, the pilot training manual for the B-25 is online.
There could have been another inaccessible adjustment but it looks like the mixture is adjustable from the cockpit. The pilot and crew would probably have been keeping a close eye on it as they progressed towards Japan to be sure they weren’t consuming too much fuel.
I play cornhole with a WWII Army vet (Pacific) at our senior center. Simon is 99 and served on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. He was a BAR man. Said the Marines did all the heavy fighting, and the Army did the mopping up.
It’s interesting his hand got infected in the jungle and he was treated on the hospital ship, Solace, where my father-in-law served as a Pharmacist Mate. My father-in-law is 93.
No cowardly snowflakes and pajamas boys among this group.
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