The FReeper Foxhole Revisits The Doolittle Raid (4/18/1942) - April 15, 2005

cv6.org ^

[SAMWolf]

Morning all. Last day to get our taxes filed and we need to get our "seed order" planned and sent off.

Snippy is such a slave driver!!

[snippy_about_it]

((Hugs))

[Sen Jack S. Fogbound]

"That was a good flick, IIRC it concentrated mainly on "The Ruptured Duck"

Yes, it does. That was because the movie was based on the book written by Capt. Ted Lawson, who was pilot of the Ruptured Duck for the raid. This was his experience , and the story is true for the most part.

[snippy_about_it]

Snippy is such a slave driver!!

I need a vacation at the coast after all this. Who can we get to run the store?

[stand watie]

RETURNED!

[Professional Engineer]

I like going south, it feels like I'm going downhill. :-)

I've got fire and steel, are you ready? heh heh heh

[Professional Engineer]

Hi miss Feather

[Professional Engineer]

I get to restain the deck. Lucky me!

Gonna use ropes or chains?

Oh, restain, not restrain. Nevermind.

[SAMWolf]

I need a vacation at the coast after all this. Who can we get to run the store?

w_over_w or Iris7, they have experience with our products. ;-)

[alfa6]

1892 General Electric Company forms & is incorporated in New York

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

A really good read, well I must get back to work, a great weekend lined up here in Kansas City and lots to do GROAN

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Professional Engineer]

however, the more pictures and stuff i take off the wall here the more i think i will have to paint before this house sells. ~ick~

Why am I having a vision of the Do-it-Yourself Mr. Bean paint job?

[msdrby]

ROFL!

speaking of DIY... Mom has me changing out her toilet flush-pumps and a showerhead.

[Professional Engineer]

Howdy ma'am

[Professional Engineer]

Thanks. Another book to add to my mountain.

[Professional Engineer]

changing out her toilet flush-pumps

I'm having a Seinfeld flashback.

[colorado tanker]

Another good thread. Little damage done to Japan, but what a morale booster for Americans right when we needed it - and a damper for the Japanese.

I read the First Heroes recently, which has lots of interesting details.

The best route for landing, easily within fuel range, was to fly to the Russian Far East, to Vladivostok. But our "ally" Uncle Joe Stalin would have none of it. He was making nice with the Japs at the time.

One plane didn't get to top of the tanks in all the hurry-up confusion after the Japs were sighted, but took off and did their run anyway, knowing they couldn't reach China. Over Japan they took a vote and decided to make for Russia anyway. The were interned and treated fairly well, ending up in Central Asia near the Iranian border. A Russian man befriended them and helped them "escape" to Iran, where they walked into a British consulate. The book doesn't express an opinion, but I think Uncle Joe arranged the escape so he wouldn't have to officially release them.

Most of the crews ended up parachuting in the dark when they ran out of fuel over China, because the rush departure messed up the timing and distance.

A couple of crews were captured by the Japanese who executed several Americans as "war criminals." Some war crime, embarrassing the crap out of Tojo and Yamamoto.

The raid was not Doolittle's idea. He was in Detroit planning the massive ramp-up of aviation production when Hap Arnold called him to see if he was interested in a secret mission.

The Navy boys were originally very cool to the Army, giving them crummy quarters and the treatment. When they found out the mission was to bomb Tokyo, which none of them dreamed could happen, it all changed and the Army got the best of everything.

Despite being spotted, the Jap air defenses were not ready for them and were taken by surprise.

There was no fuel to spare to circle up into a formation, so the planes made a bee line for Japan on takeoff, which meant the planes came in serially. The last bombers got some pretty rough flak.

Doolittle was not scheduled to fly, but insisted on personally leading the mission, to which the brass reluctantly agreed. Knowing Jimmy, he just would have done it anyway.

All in all, one of the most remarkable stories of American military heroism.

[colorado tanker]

One crew really flew under the Golden Gate. Of course, by then the crews had been training for weeks for nap of the earth flying and had flown that way clear across America.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for posting that. It's fun to see the "greatest generation" as they were in the 1940's. I bet that was some celebration. Looking at that couple on the right, that feller's looks says he thinks he might get lucky later on. :-)

[colorado tanker]

The First Heroes has the same story, Iris, although I can't remember where it happened, I was thinking California. The way that book tells the story, the base personnel weren't deliberately messing up the engines and thought they were doing the right thing. Of course, there was no time to correct it.