Posted on Apr 5, 2022
First installment of payback for Pearl Harbor was on its way…
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80 years ago today, Jimmy Dolittle’s Raiders depart San Francisco, destination, Japan, for a joint USAAF/USN mission of payback for Pearl Harbor.
On 1 April 1942, the 16 modified bombers, their five-man crews, and Army maintenance personnel, totaling 71 officers and 130 enlisted men, were loaded onto the USS Hornet at Naval Air Station Alameda in California. Each aircraft carried four specially constructed 500-pound bombs. Three of these were high-explosive munitions and one was a bundle of incendiaries. The incendiaries were long tubes, wrapped together to be carried in the bomb bay, but designed to separate and scatter over a wide area after release. Five bombs had Japanese “friendship” medals wired to them—medals awarded by the Japanese government to U.S. servicemen before the war.
On 1 April 1942, the 16 modified bombers, their five-man crews, and Army maintenance personnel, totaling 71 officers and 130 enlisted men, were loaded onto the USS Hornet at Naval Air Station Alameda in California. Each aircraft carried four specially constructed 500-pound bombs. Three of these were high-explosive munitions and one was a bundle of incendiaries. The incendiaries were long tubes, wrapped together to be carried in the bomb bay, but designed to separate and scatter over a wide area after release. Five bombs had Japanese “friendship” medals wired to them—medals awarded by the Japanese government to U.S. servicemen before the war.
First installment of payback for Pearl Harbor was on its way…
Posted from stationhypo.com
WWII World War Two
Japan
San Francisco
Pearl Harbor
Aircraft Carriers
Posted >1 y ago
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I was blessed to meet one of the crew members on Dolittle’s raiders. He told me he was on the plane that was the 2nd to take off. He told me the first plane took off and dropped below the flight deck. He said they were sure it crashed. As they moved into position to take off they saw the first plane lift above the level of the flight deck. He told me as they took off it took a long time to gain altitude they were so over loaded.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
LTC David Brown That had to be Truly Disturbing to Watch for a Little While!
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LTC David Brown
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel - You could tell how much it affected him when he told the story.
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That's not very far to reach a takeoff speed of around 120 mph. Very steady hands and nerves of steel, especially when they would actually lose altitude right after clearing the ramp.
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