Editing Jimmy Doolittle (section)

==Doolittle Raid==
[[File:060217-F-1234P-017 Doolittle Raid Crew 1.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Doolittle and his crew just before takeoff for the [[Doolittle Raid|mission]]. From left to right: Lt. Henry A. Potter, navigator; Doolittle, pilot; SSgt. Fred A. Braemer, bombardier; Lt. [[Richard E. Cole]], copilot; SSgt. Paul J. Leonard, flight engineer/gunner. On {{USS|Hornet|CV-8}}, 18 April 1942.]]
[[File:Doolittle LtCol g41191.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Doolittle on the flight deck of {{USS|Hornet|CV-8}}]]
[[File:17 14 182 doolittle.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Exhibit at [[National Museum of the United States Air Force|USAF Museum]] depicting a [[North American B-25 Mitchell|B-25B Mitchell]] in preparation for the [[Doolittle Raid]].]]
{{Main|Doolittle Raid}}

Following the reorganization of the Army Air Corps into the [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] in [[1941 in aviation#June|June 1941]], Doolittle was promoted to [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] on January 2, 1942, and assigned to Army Air Forces Headquarters to plan the first retaliatory air raid on the Japanese homeland following the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. He volunteered for and received [[Henry H. Arnold|General H.H. Arnold's]] approval to lead the top-secret attack of 16 [[B-25 Mitchell|B-25]] medium bombers from the aircraft carrier {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|6}}, with targets in [[Tokyo]], [[Kobe]], [[Yokohama]], [[Osaka]] and [[Nagoya]].

After training at [[Eglin AFB|Eglin Field]] and [[Wagner Field]] in northwest Florida, Doolittle, his aircraft, and volunteer flight crews proceeded to [[McClellan AFB|McClellan Field]], California for aircraft modifications at the Sacramento Air Depot, followed by a short final flight to [[Naval Air Station Alameda]], California for embarkation aboard the aircraft carrier [[USS Hornet (CV-8)|USS ''Hornet'']]. On April 18, Doolittle and his 16 B-25 crews took off from ''Hornet'', reached Japan, and bombed their targets. Fifteen of the planes then headed for their recovery airfield in China, while one crew chose to land in Russia due to their bomber's unusually high fuel consumption. As did most of the other crewmen who participated in the one-way mission, Doolittle and his crew bailed out safely over China when their B-25 ran out of fuel. By then, they had been flying for about 12 hours, it was nighttime, the weather was stormy, and Doolittle was unable to locate their landing field. Doolittle came down in a rice paddy (saving a previously injured ankle from breaking) near [[Quzhou]]. He and his crew linked up after the bailout and were helped through Japanese lines by Chinese guerrillas and American missionary [[John Birch (missionary)|John Birch]]. Other aircrews were not so fortunate, although most eventually reached safety with the help of friendly Chinese. Seven crew members lost their lives, four as a result of being [[Japanese war crimes#Execution and killing of captured Allied airmen|captured and murdered by the Japanese]] and three due to an aircraft crash or while parachuting. Doolittle thought he would be [[court martial]]ed due to having to launch the raid ahead of schedule after being spotted by a Japanese patrol boat and the loss of all the aircraft.