Timeline for The Doolittle Raid on Japan During Wwii

Time line for the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo, Japan. This raid did little actual damage to Japan, but it restored American morale and showed the Japanese that serious attacks were possible from aircraft carriers. The Japanese relocated some of its fleet because of this attack. This made it easier to attack Japanese ships later in the war. This was the only time that Army aircraft were launched from a Naval vessel.

December 21, 1941 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt directed the Chiefs of Staff to bomb Japan as soon as possible to raise morale after the Pearl Harbor Bombing.

January 10, 1942 – Captain Francis Low informed the Navy Admirals he felt twin engine Army bombers could be launched from the deck of an aircraft carrier. The B-25 was chosen because it best met the mission requirements of a 2400 nautical mile range and a 2000 pound bomb load.

February 3, 1942 – Two B-25s were flown successfully off the deck of the USS Hornet. 17th Bomb Group was chosen to provide personnel for the mission. This was the first group to use the B-25. Lt. Cdr. James Doolittle volunteered and was chosen to lead the mission.

March 1, 1942 – 24 B-25s being modified for this mission at the Mid-Continent Airline Center in Minneapolis were completed and flown to Elgin Field, Fl. The crew trained for three weeks at Wagner Field.

March 25, 1942 – 22 aircraft were flown to Sacramento in preparation for the mission. On March 31, 1942 16 aircraft flew the Alameda Naval Air Station to be loaded on board the USS Hornet in port in Alameda. 16 was the most aircraft that could be fit on the Hornet. The 16th aircraft was supposed to be just an observation aircraft.

April 2, 1942 – USS Hornet left Alameda for the Pacific battle zone.

April 17, 1942 -6:00 – 9:10 AM- USS Hornet and its Task Force were discovered by the Japanese ship Nitto Maru. While the Nitto Maru was captured, Doolittle decided to launch the attack immediately since the task group had been spotted. He also pressed the 16th aircraft into service as a fighting aircraft. All 16 ships launched from the Hornet even though they had never done this before by 9:10 AM.

April 17, 1942 – 1200 noon – All aircraft reach the Japanese mainland. One aircraft had to drop its load early due to an attack by Japanese fighters. The aircraft successfully bombed Toyko, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka. The fighters then left Japanese airspace for the China mainland.

April 17, 1942 – dusk. The mission was supposed to be guided to China by homing beacons but these were never set by Admiral Halsey due to wartime conditions. One aircraft went to the coast of Russia due to low fuel and was captured. The other 15 aircraft had to ditch of the coast of China. Two crews were captured by the Japanese. Several members of the group died during the ditching of the aircraft. The rest made it back home with the help of local Chinese citizens. Later on, the Japanese attacked these areas heavily for this assistance.

July 1942 – Brigader General Doolittle was promoted two ranks for this raid. He also received a Medal of Honor from the President. Doolittle thought the raid was unsuccessful since he lost all the aircraft and that he would be court martialed, but that clearly did not happen. The crew captured by Russia was later returned to the US. The crews captured by the Japanese were not treated well. Three were executed, one died in captivity and the remaining four were freed by the US when Japan surrendered.

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