Jimmy Doolittle—America’s “old, bold pilot” & his raid on Tokyo

By John Tiffany. Perhaps the best-known American airman, other than the Wright brothers and Charles Lindbergh, was Gen. James H. Doolittle. Jimmy Doolittle was an outstanding combat leader. He commanded the Twelfth, Fifteenth and Eighth air forces during World War II. One of his most notable achievements was the raid on Japan four months after Pearl Harbor.

There used to be a saying in aviation circles: “There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots— except Jimmy Doolittle.” In the early days of World War II, Doolittle, with incredible courage and skill, undertook a mission of near impossibility and managed to energize a nation. [Read the entire article as PDF…]

Taken from The Barnes Review, May/June 2006: Jimmy Doolittle & the Tokyo Raid VOLUME XII, NUMBER 3