The Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Photos

Here are some photos from before, during and after the Doolittle Raid.  Click on photo to see a larger version, hold mouse over photo for a description.

USS Hornet as seen from the USS Salt Lake City   USS Hornet as seen from the USS Enterprise.   USS Hornet as seen from the USS Salt Lake City   Scout plane circling the USS Enterprise  

Refueling from USS Cimarron (AO-22), during the Doolittle Raid operation. Photographed from USS Salt Lake City (CA-25). Note that Northampton's forward smokestack had been reduced in height by this time.   B-25's on flight deck of USS Hornet   View looking aft from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Gwin (DD-433) is coming alongside, as USS Nashville (CL-43) steams in the distance. Eight of the mission's sixteen B-25B bombers are parked within view, as are two of the ship's SBD scout bombers. Note midships elevator, torpedo elevator, arresting gear and flight deck barriers in the lower portion of the photo, and 1.1" quad anti-aircraft machine gun mount at left.   The plane at right has tail # 40-2282. It is mission plane # 4, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Everett W. Holstrom, Jr. during the raid, in which it attacked targets in Tokyo. Note protective cover over its gun turret, and wooden dummy guns mounted in its tail cone. The plane at left is warming up its engines, as was done periodically during the voyage   The end B-25 on the rear deck of the USS Hornet. This was the plane that injured a crewman shortly before takeoff and also landed in Russia. USS Gwin (DD-433) is in the center, approaching the carrier from astern.

USS Fanning (DD-385) escorting USS Enterprise (CV-6) on the day the Doolittle Raid aircraft were launched, 18 April 1942. Photographed from USS Salt Lake City (CA-25). Destroyer in the background, headed toward the left, is USS Balch (DD-363), flagship of Destroyer Squadron Six.   USS Fanning (DD-385) maneuvers near USS Enterprise (CV-6) on the day the Doolittle Raid aircraft were launched, 18 April 1942. Photographed from USS Salt Lake City (CA-25).   USS Sabine (AO-25) refuels USS Enterprise (CV-6) in rough weather, during the approach phase of the mission, 17 April 1942. Note configuration of refueling gear, and spare anchor stowed on the oiler's after superstructure bulkhead.   Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle (left front), leader of the attacking force, and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck, while the raid task force was en route to the launching point.   Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (left front), leader of the raiding force, talks with Captain Marc A. Mitscher, USN, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), on board Hornet sometime before the 18 April 1942 launch of the raiding airplanes. Members of the Army Air Forces flight crews, and the wing of one of their B-25B bombers, are in the background.

USAAF aircrewmen preparing .50 caliber machine gun ammunition on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was steaming toward the mission's launching point. Ammunition box in center is marked "A.P. M2, Incndy. M1, Trcr. M1", indicating the ammunition types inside: armor piercing, incendiary and tracer. Note wooden flight deck planking, with metal aircraft tiedown strips in place of every eighth plank.   Doolittle wires a Japanese medal to a bomb, for "return" to its originators in the first U.S. air raid on the Japanese Home Islands, April 1942. Photographed on board USS Hornet (CV-8), shortly before LtCol. Doolittle's B-25 bombers were launched to attack Japan.   Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (front), leader of the raiding force, wires a Japanese medal to a 500-pound bomb, during ceremonies on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), shortly before his force of sixteen B-25B bombers took off for Japan. The wartime censor has obscurred unit patches of the Air Force flight crew members in the background.   Rising Sun Japanese medal tied to a bomb to be used on the raid. Return to sender...   USAAF aircrewmen preparing .50 caliber machine gun ammunition on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was steaming toward the mission's launching point. Three of their B-25B bombers are visible. That in the upper left is tail #s 40-2298, mission plane # 6, piloted by Lieutenant Dean E. Hallmark. That in top center is tail # 40-2283. It was mission plane # 5, piloted by Captain David M. Jones. Lt. Hallmark, captured by the Japanese in China, was executed by them at Shanghai on 15 October 1942. Note the open flight deck bomb elevator in the upper right.

Eight of the mission's sixteen B-25B bombers are visible on the carrier's flight deck. Aircraft at right is tail # 40-2250, which was mission plane # 10, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Richard O. Joyce, which attacked targets in the Tokyo area. View looking aft from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Nashville (CL-43) is in the distance.   USAAF B-25B bombers and Navy F4F-3 fighters on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while she was en route to the mission's launching point. Note wooden dummy machine guns in the tail cone of the B-25 at left.   USS Gwin (DD-433) approaches USS Hornet (CV-8) from astern, with USS Nashville (CL-43) beyond, while en route to the mission's launching point. The ships are framed by the tail of a USAAF B-25B, parked on the rear of the carrier's flight deck.   USS Enterprise escorting the USS Hornet on route to the raid   Several of the mission's sixteen B-25B bombers are visible. That in the foreground is tail # 40-2261, which was mission plane # 7, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Ted W. Lawson. The next plane is tail # 40-2242, mission plane # 8, piloted by Captain Edward J. York. Both aircraft attacked targets in the Tokyo area. Note searchlight at left. View looking aft and to port from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Vincennes (CA-44) is in the distance.

USS Hornet (CV-8) launches Army Air Force B-25B bombers, at the start of the first U.S. air raid on the Japanese home islands, 18 April 1942.   Navy blimp L-8 hovers over USS Hornet (CV-8) while delivering parts for the mission's U.S. Army Air Force aircraft. Taken shortly after the ship left San Francisco to begin the operation, circa 4 April 1942. Note USAAF B-25B bomber parked on the flight deck.   Navy blimp L-8 approaches USS Hornet (CV-8) to deliver parts for the mission's B-25B aircraft. Taken shortly after the ship left San Francisco to begin the operation, circa 4 April 1942. Note package hanging below the airship.   Some of the mission's B-25B bombers parked on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the raid's takeoff point. Note use of the flight deck tie-down strips to secure the aircraft.   The plane in the upper right is tail # 40-2242, mission plane # 8, piloted by Captain Edward J. York. Note use of the flight deck tie-down strips to secure the aircraft. Location is near the forward edge of the midships aircraft elevator.

USAAF B-25B bombers tied down on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was en route to the mission's launching point. The plane in the center (second from the camera) is tail # 40-2283. It was mission plane # 5, piloted by Captain David M. Jones, which attacked targets in the Tokyo area.   The plane in the foreground is tail # 40-2203 (mission plane # 9). Partially visible at far right is tail # 40-2250 (mission plane # 10). Piloted respectively by Second Lieutenants Harold F. Watson and Richard O. Joyce, these B-25s attacked targets in the Tokyo area. USAAF B-25B bombers tied down on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was en route to the mission's launching point. View looks aft from the rear of Hornet's island.   USAAF B-25B bombers prepare to take off from USS Hornet (CV-8), on the morning of 18 April 1942. These are the last five or six planes to be launched.   A USAAF B-25B bomber flies over USS Hornet (CV-8) while on its way to attack targets in Japan, just after it was launched on the morning of 18 April 1942.   This aircraft is mission plane # 11 (USAAF serial # 40-2249), nicknamed "Hari Carrier" and decorated accordingly. The plane's pilot was Capt. C. Ross Greening. It attacked targets in Yokohama. Note slippage mark on the nosewheel and tire, and inscription on the wheel cover: "Inflating instructions inside -- check tire pressure daily".

Nose art on B-25B "Hari Carrier" (USAAF serial # 40-2249), photographed while the plane was parked on board USS Hornet (CV-8), en route to the raid launching point. This aircraft was mission plane # 11, piloted by Captain C. Ross Greening. It attacked targets in the Yokohama area on 18 April 1942.   This is the 3rd or 4th plane to be launched. USAAF B-25B bomber lines up for takeoff from USS Hornet (CV-8), on the morning of 18 April 1942. Note white lines painted on the flight deck, below the plane's nose and port side wheels, to guide the pilot during his takeoff run.   A B-25 on its way to take part in the first U.S. raid on Japan mainland.   Doolittle's plane taking off from the USS Hornet (CV-8) at the start of the raid, 18 April 1942. Note men watching from the signal lamp platform at right.   Unique view of Doolittle's plane taking off from USS Hornet

An Army Air Forces B-25B bombers awaits the takeoff signal on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), as the raid is launched, 18 April 1942. Note Flight Deck Officer holding launch flag at right, and white stripes painted on the flight deck to guide the pilot's alignment of his plane's nose and port side wheels.   Doolittle's men require air raid shelter too! Doolittle and some of the raiders are grouped outside this shelter carved from the mountainside. They lived here for 10 days after assembling from their chinese mountain retreats. Jap planes raided nearby villages frequently after the raid.   Injured raider with his Chinese friends taking shelter in a Chinese home. Rear left is Maj. Hilger.   Chinese carry Doolittle Raiders to safety down from the Chinese mountains where their bomber was forced down comes a group of American fliers riding in native conveyances on the shoulders of admiring natives.   Chinese soldiers escort a group of Raiders to safety in a nearby village.

USS Nashville (CL-43) firing her 6"/47 main battery guns at a Japanese picket boat encountered by the raid task force, 18 April 1942. Photographed from USS Salt Lake City (CA-25).    Fishing boat 200 miles SW of Tokyo following the raid. Photo by Lt. Clayton Campbell, navigator, crew 13. This picture is sometimes labeled as the picket boat sunk at launch time. The black spot above the boat is a blemish on the negative     Flight deck of the USS Enterprise   The 20 Cent Bomb Sight used on all planes during the raid.

View of Yokosuka Naval Base taken from a B-25 during the raid.   Yokosuka naval base three seconds before bombs away. Rows of spots at top are AA fire coming up from ships in the bay. Photo from right navigator’s window by Lt. Clayton Campbell, navigator, crew 13      Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF, (center) with members of his flight crew and Chinese officials in China after the 18 April 1942 attack on Japan. Those present are (from left to right): Staff Sergeant Fred A. Braemer, Bombardier; Staff Sergeant Paul J. Leonard, Flight Engineer/Gunner; General Ho, director of the Branch Government of Western Chekiang Province; Lieutenant Richard E. Cole, Copilot; Lt.Col. Doolittle, Pilot and mission commander; Henry H. Shen, bank manager; Lieutenant Henry A. Potter, Navigator; Chao Foo Ki, secretary of the Western Chekiang Province Branch Government.

Wreckage of Doolittle's plane in the mountains of China.   Chinese search mountainside for pieces of plane wreckage.   B-25 as seen from the deck of the USS Hornet.     

         Rip cord used by Richard Joyce during bail-out on Doolittle Raid.   "Blood Chit" that was sewn onto the back of the Raiders flight jackets or carried in their pocket and read "This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue, protect, and provide him medical care"

           

           

           

        

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

        

Map that all raiders carried with them on the Raid.   Map that all raiders carried with them on the Raid.   Overview map of the Doolittle Raid.   Map of Japan signed by all of the Raiders

      Wrist badge - Col. Henry A. Potter, a US pilot, presented a wrist badge to Zhu Xuesan when he was rescued.

My father and others practicing short distance takeoffs before the raid.   President Roosevelt pinning the Medal of Honor on Doolittle.  

Pre Raid preparations   A piece of scrap metal from plane 3      Zeng Jianpei and Wei Hanmin who were involved in rescuing the American pilots (50 years ago and 50 years after).

The images below are from the Roy Stork Collection, courtesy of Ted Briscoe.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Below are copies of the Newspaper from the USS Hornet dated April 18, 19 & 21st, 1942!

This image was provided by Dave & Eric @ WartimePress    This image was provided by Dave & Eric @ WartimePress    This image was provided by Dave & Eric @ WartimePress    This image was provided by Dave & Eric @ WartimePress    This image was provided by Dave & Eric @ WartimePress

The images below are of York's plane, which landed in Russia, and were taken the day after the Raid, April 19, 1942

The following images are from Quzhow from China.  They are taken in 2009.  They show some of the areas where some of the planes crash landed.

     

 

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