18 April 1942
Doolittle Raid on Japan
Faced with a string of serious defeats at the hands of the Japanese, American military planners sought to make a demonstration of force to raise Allied morale. Consequently in mid-April the U.S. aircraft carriers Hornet and Enterprise were dispatched to the Western Pacific. On March 18 sixteen B-25 bombers took off from the Hornet, accompanied by escort fighters from the Enterprise. Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James H. Doolittle, the B-25s flew over southern Japan, dropping bombs on the cities of Tokyo, Kobe, Yokohama, Nagoya, and Yokosuka. Only one bomber was damaged in the raid itself, but all sixteen were forced to crash-land in China, since the aircraft carriers were not long enough for the B-25s to land on them.

The raid did very little physical damage, but it did provide a considerable psychological boost. It also convinced Japanese military planners that the American carriers had to be destroyed before large-scale offensive operations could resume.

Histories:
The Perilous Fight (PBS): Doolittle Raid and Midway
Halsey-Doolittle Raid, April 1942
Tokyo (Doolittle) Raid: Informational Intelligence Summary
Halsey-Doolittle Raid: Bombing of Tokyo

Campaign Map:
Operation of Aircraft Carrier Forces, 1941-1942

Photograph:
Doolittle Raid, April 1942

Documents:
Excerpt from General Doolittle’s Report on the Japanese Raid
Report to FDR from H.H. Arnold on the Doolittle Raid

Video:
The Perilous Fight (PBS): Doolittle Raid and Midway