Last week we left off when a squadron of 16 B-25 Mitchell Bombers were about to do the impossible. As retribution for the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt called for American military forces to "out-Pearl Harbor" the Japanese. Up until 1941, no one had considered flying heavy bombers off an aircraft carrier - it was deemed impossible.
The B-25 Mitchell was perhaps the perfect choice for this mission. Powered by two 1,700-horsepower engines, the medium bombers were capable of lifting off a short field even with a bomb payload of 2,000 pounds.
Coming up over Japan, the Doolittle group encountered scant resistance. No one in their wildest dreams figured the United States could bomb Japan - not even the Japanese themselves. As the Mitchells flew low over the outskirts of Tokyo, resident picnickers smiled and waved - they figured their air force was conducting drills. Picking out targets, all 16 of the B-25 crews released their payloads onto oil refineries, military barracks, and shipping - one Japanese warship was seen to roll over on its side following a direct hit. The raid incinerated factories and warehouses, and despite a small mustering of antiaircraft fire and enemy fighters, none of Doolittle's B-25 bombers were shot down. A British ambassador to Tokyo described the site, "Surging up from Tokyo's heavy industrial district were six enormous columns of smoke, dense and black. ... A big twin-engine bomber suddenly roared across the sky a half-mile away" (Flyboys, 107).
Since the Japanese government did not zone urban development, military installations were placed immediately next to civilian neighborhoods. Casualties were inevitable. An incendiary fell on Okasaki Hospital, and bombs killed children on a playground at Waseda Middle School. Earlier, Japanese soldiers had no trouble committing atrocities against Chinese civilians, now the tables had been turned. As the squadron of twin-engine American bombers roared over the Japanese cities, nose gunners raked civilian targets with their .30-caliber machine guns. Gunner Bill Birch described chewing apart fishing boats, and anyone caught in the open could be targeted - women, children, farmers, and military.
Having completed their mission, the Doolittle squadron turned away from Japan, toward the safety of China. Strong headwinds, excessive fuel consumption, and deteriorating weather meant they would have to ditch in the cold ocean or, into Japanese-controlled territory. None expected to return home alive.
Of the 80 men who took off from the Hornet, 11 were captured or killed. Jimmy Doolittle bailed out into total darkness, not sure of when the ground would come rushing to meet his feet. He landed in a giant stockpile of human manure. Bomber No. 7 was ditched just off the Chinese coast, severely injuring pilot Ted Lawson, who underwent a field amputation. Bomber No. 11 crashed in a mountainous area, and all five crewmen were safely escorted out. When an interpreter asked if the crew had any needs, William L. Birch requested a bottle of beer - a rarity in that part of China. To his surprise, Birch received a beer. Later he described it as "the tastiest beer I have ever tasted in my life."
The crew of the 15th aircraft ditched off the Chinese coast and was safely held by Chinese villagers. With little more than gestures, the crewmen were identified as U.S. airmen. Disguised as fishermen, the Americans safely floated on a skiff past patrolling Japanese.
Unfortunately, the 16th aircraft was ill fated from the start. During takeoff from the Hornet, a sailor slipped and fell into a propeller, losing an arm. The Japanese captured all five crewmen.
The Doolittle Raid had two profound effects on the American perspective of World War II. First, and most important, it demonstrated the United States had the ability to directly strike Japan. The psychological impact was undeniable, from both sides - the Japanese now knew they were vulnerable, even on their own soil.
Secondly, the Doolittle Raid would expose the brutality of the Japanese military toward POWs. When a captured B-25 crewman told his Japanese interrogator that the rules of the Geneva Convention bound him, the interrogator laughed, "What's the Geneva Convention? We're fighting a war. Don't you know that? We're making our rules as we go" (Flyboys, 113). Captured Doolittle raiders who were not killed outright had their hands crushed, were strung up by their wrists, were beaten by bamboo poles, or rendered unconscious by water boarding.
As retribution for the attack on the Japanese homeland, the Spirit Warriors conducted a brutal orgy of destruction on China. Japanese troops attacked the Chinese villages where it was believed the Doolittle Raiders had landed. Every man, woman and child was slaughtered in that area, to the tune of 250,000 Chinese civilians, in THREE MONTHS.
The Doolittle Raid occurred in April 1942. This would be followed by many examples of human brutality, some of which would reach American boys as far away as rural Wisconsin. Tune in next week.
- Dan Wegmueller of Monroe writes a weekly column for Friday editions of the Times. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
The B-25 Mitchell was perhaps the perfect choice for this mission. Powered by two 1,700-horsepower engines, the medium bombers were capable of lifting off a short field even with a bomb payload of 2,000 pounds.
Coming up over Japan, the Doolittle group encountered scant resistance. No one in their wildest dreams figured the United States could bomb Japan - not even the Japanese themselves. As the Mitchells flew low over the outskirts of Tokyo, resident picnickers smiled and waved - they figured their air force was conducting drills. Picking out targets, all 16 of the B-25 crews released their payloads onto oil refineries, military barracks, and shipping - one Japanese warship was seen to roll over on its side following a direct hit. The raid incinerated factories and warehouses, and despite a small mustering of antiaircraft fire and enemy fighters, none of Doolittle's B-25 bombers were shot down. A British ambassador to Tokyo described the site, "Surging up from Tokyo's heavy industrial district were six enormous columns of smoke, dense and black. ... A big twin-engine bomber suddenly roared across the sky a half-mile away" (Flyboys, 107).
Since the Japanese government did not zone urban development, military installations were placed immediately next to civilian neighborhoods. Casualties were inevitable. An incendiary fell on Okasaki Hospital, and bombs killed children on a playground at Waseda Middle School. Earlier, Japanese soldiers had no trouble committing atrocities against Chinese civilians, now the tables had been turned. As the squadron of twin-engine American bombers roared over the Japanese cities, nose gunners raked civilian targets with their .30-caliber machine guns. Gunner Bill Birch described chewing apart fishing boats, and anyone caught in the open could be targeted - women, children, farmers, and military.
Having completed their mission, the Doolittle squadron turned away from Japan, toward the safety of China. Strong headwinds, excessive fuel consumption, and deteriorating weather meant they would have to ditch in the cold ocean or, into Japanese-controlled territory. None expected to return home alive.
Of the 80 men who took off from the Hornet, 11 were captured or killed. Jimmy Doolittle bailed out into total darkness, not sure of when the ground would come rushing to meet his feet. He landed in a giant stockpile of human manure. Bomber No. 7 was ditched just off the Chinese coast, severely injuring pilot Ted Lawson, who underwent a field amputation. Bomber No. 11 crashed in a mountainous area, and all five crewmen were safely escorted out. When an interpreter asked if the crew had any needs, William L. Birch requested a bottle of beer - a rarity in that part of China. To his surprise, Birch received a beer. Later he described it as "the tastiest beer I have ever tasted in my life."
The crew of the 15th aircraft ditched off the Chinese coast and was safely held by Chinese villagers. With little more than gestures, the crewmen were identified as U.S. airmen. Disguised as fishermen, the Americans safely floated on a skiff past patrolling Japanese.
Unfortunately, the 16th aircraft was ill fated from the start. During takeoff from the Hornet, a sailor slipped and fell into a propeller, losing an arm. The Japanese captured all five crewmen.
The Doolittle Raid had two profound effects on the American perspective of World War II. First, and most important, it demonstrated the United States had the ability to directly strike Japan. The psychological impact was undeniable, from both sides - the Japanese now knew they were vulnerable, even on their own soil.
Secondly, the Doolittle Raid would expose the brutality of the Japanese military toward POWs. When a captured B-25 crewman told his Japanese interrogator that the rules of the Geneva Convention bound him, the interrogator laughed, "What's the Geneva Convention? We're fighting a war. Don't you know that? We're making our rules as we go" (Flyboys, 113). Captured Doolittle raiders who were not killed outright had their hands crushed, were strung up by their wrists, were beaten by bamboo poles, or rendered unconscious by water boarding.
As retribution for the attack on the Japanese homeland, the Spirit Warriors conducted a brutal orgy of destruction on China. Japanese troops attacked the Chinese villages where it was believed the Doolittle Raiders had landed. Every man, woman and child was slaughtered in that area, to the tune of 250,000 Chinese civilians, in THREE MONTHS.
The Doolittle Raid occurred in April 1942. This would be followed by many examples of human brutality, some of which would reach American boys as far away as rural Wisconsin. Tune in next week.
- Dan Wegmueller of Monroe writes a weekly column for Friday editions of the Times. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
