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08 - WWII - Pacific & Asia
Early Launch by James Dietz
One of the most daring aviation exploits of the Second World War took place on the 18th of April, 1942. Led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, sixteen Army B-25s took off from the crowded deck of the U.S.S. Hornet and headed for hteir targets in Japan.
The bombers were to be launched late in the day on the 18th, close enough to Japan that they could continue east and land at emergency fields set up for them in China; unfortunately fate had other plans.
In Early Launch, Colonel Doolittle and his co-pilot, Lieutenant Richard E. Cole, who were to be the first o take off, discuss last minute instructions with Lieutenant (U.S.N.) Edgar Osborne, who was to be Launch Offier for the take-off. Other Army personnel scramble to their planes while Navy deckhands man their assigned positions for the launch.
Print Size: 28" w x 14 1/2" h
