The Doolittle Raiders
On 18 April 1942, airmen of the US Army Air Forces, led by Lt. Col. James H. (Jimmy) Doolittle, carried the battle of the Pacific to the heart of the Japanese empire with a surprising and daring raid on military targets at Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Nagoya, and Kobe. This historic attack against these major cities was the result of coordination between the Army Air Forces and the US Navy, which carried the sixteen North American B-25 medium bombers aboard the carrier USS Hornet to within take-off distances of the Japanese Islands.
Unless otherwise indicated, these photos are courtesy of the United States Air Force Archives.
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Crew No. 1 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2344, target Tokyo): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, pilot; Lt. Richard E. Cole, copilot; Lt. Henry A. Potter, navigator; SSgt. Fred A. Braemer, bombardier; SSgt. Paul J. Leonard, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 2 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2292, target Tokyo): 37th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Travis Hoover, pilot; Lt. William N. Fitzhugh, copilot; Lt. Carl R. Wildner, navigator; Lt. Richard E. Miller, bombardier; Sgt. Douglas V. Radney, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 3 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2270, target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Robert M. Gray, pilot; Lt. Jacob E. Manch, copilot; Lt. Charles J. Ozuk Jr., navigator; Sgt. Aden E. Jones, bombardier; Cpl. Leland D. Faktor, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 4 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2282, target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Everett W. Holstrom, pilot; Lt. Lucian N. Youngblood, copilot; Lt. Harry C. McCool, navigator; Sgt. Robert J. Stephens, bombardier; Cpl. Bert M. Jordan, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 5 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2283, target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Capt. David M. Jones, pilot; Lt. Ross R. Wilder, copilot; Lt. Eugene F. McGurl, navigator; Lt. Denver V. Truelove, bombardier; Sgt. Joseph W. Manske, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 6 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2298, target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Dean E. Hallmark, pilot; Lt. Robert J. Meder, copilot; Lt. Chase J. Nielsen, navigator; Sgt. William J. Dieter, bombardier; Sgt. Donald E. Fitzmaurice, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 7 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2261, target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Ted W. Lawson, pilot; Lt. Dean Davenport, copilot; Lt. Charles L. McClure, navigator; Lt. Robert S. Clever, bombardier; Sgt. David J. Thatcher, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 8 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2242, target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Capt. Edward J. York, pilot; Lt. Robert G. Emmens, copilot; Lt. Nolan A. Herndon, navigator/bombardier; SSgt. Theodore H. Laban, flight engineer; Sgt. David W. Pohl, gunner. |
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Crew No. 9 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2203, target Tokyo): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Harold F. Watson, pilot; Lt. James N. Parker Jr., copilot; Lt. Thomas C. Griffin, navigator; Sgt. Wayne M. Bissell, bombardier; TSgt. Eldred V. Scott, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 10 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2250, target Tokyo): 89th Reconnaissance Squadron, Lt. Richard O. Joyce, pilot; Lt. J. Royden Stork, copilot; Lt. Horace E. Crouch, navigator/bombardier; Sgt. George E. Larkin Jr., flight engineer; SSgt. Edwin W. Horton Jr., gunner. |
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Crew No. 11 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2249, target Yokohama): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Capt. C. Ross Greening (89th RS), pilot; Lt. Kenneth E. Reddy, copilot; Lt. Frank A. Kappeler, navigator; SSgt. William L. Birch, bombardier; Sgt. Melvin J. Gardner, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 12 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2278, target Yokohama): 37th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. William M. Bower, pilot; Lt. Thadd H. Blanton, copilot; Lt. William R. Pound Jr., navigator; TSgt. Waldo J. Bither, bombardier; SSgt. Omer A. Duquette, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 13 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2247, target Yokosuka): 37th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. Edgar E. McElroy, pilot; Lt. Richard A. Knobloch, copilot; Lt. Clayton J. Campbell, navigator; MSgt. Robert C. Bourgeois, bombardier; Sgt. Adam R. Williams, flight engineer/gunner. |
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Crew No. 14 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2297, target Nagoya): 89th Reconnaissance Squadron, Maj. John A. Hilger, pilot; Lt. Jack A. Sims, copilot; Lt. James H. Macia Jr., navigator/bombardier; SSgt. Job Eierman, flight engineer; SSgt. Edwin V. Bain, gunner. |
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Crew No. 15 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2267, target Nagoya): 89th Reconnaissance Squadron, Lt. Donald G. Smith, pilot; Lt. Griffith P. Williams, copilot; Lt. Howard A. Sessler, navigator/bombardier; Lt. Thomas R. White, flight engineer; Sgt. Edward J. Saylor, gunner. |
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Crew No. 16 (B-25B Serial Number 40-2268, target Nagoya): 34th Bombardment Squadron, Lt. William G. Farrow, pilot; Lt. Robert L. Hite, copilot; Lt. George Barr, navigator; Cpl. Jacob D. DeShazer, bombardier; Sgt. Harold A. Spatz, flight engineer/gunner. |