April 7, 2017

Doolittle Raiders Reflect on Their Moment in History

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published in the July 1992 issue of All Hands Magazine"I was eating breakfast aboard USS Hornet (CV 8) when I first heard the guns," said retired Air Force Col. Henry "Hank" A. Potter. Task Force 16 was firing on Japanese picket boats that, having spotted the ships, were feared to have radioed Tokyo about

April 3, 2017

Junior Officers and the Halsey-Doolittle Raid

NH-64472. Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle (left front) and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Hornet commanding officer, pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck prior to the raid.  The Halsey-Doolittle Raid in April 1942 was the first strike by U.S. forces against Japan itself. Vice Admiral William F.

April 18, 2016

The Doolittle Raiders - The Mission

On April 18, 1942, it was a "nice sun-shiny day overcast with anti-aircraft fire," according to Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Eldred V. Scott. Over Tokyo, anyway. Scott's weather quip signaled the near completion of the Doolittle Raiders mission on that day 72 years ago today. But it was just the beginning of the unknown for the 80 men and their 16