Since medium bombers were in the army Air Force, the project was then passed to General Henry Arnold who appointed Lt. Colonel James H. Doolittle as the mission commander. Doolittle was the right person for this extraordinary and technically difficult mission. At age 45, Doolittle was not just an excellent and highly experienced pilot.
The 16 bombers chosen had to be specially modified to travel such a long journey and as much space as possible had to be used up as fuel space. The bombers had around double the amount of fuel that normal bombers would have. 16 people volunteered for the mission.
The bomber crews now received their first briefing about the mission details. Doolittle will takeoff first, alone, and will attack Tokyo at dusk. The fire from his bombs would help the following crews navigate. The remaining 15 bombers, in 5 formations of three, were given industry and energy targets in North, centre, and South Tokyo, and also in nearby Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe. They were supposed to take off 400 miles from Japan, and after dropping their bombs, use the darkness to escape, and head to China, to an area which was not under Japanese occupation, and land there in a specially prepared airstrip.
In April 13, eleven days after leaving California, the Hornet's group met the carrier group of the USS Enterprise, and they continued together as Task Force 16, commanded by Admiral Halsey. The Enterprise air group provided air cover, and two submarines led ahead of the force, looking for Japanese vessels. Four days later, in the North Pacific, the tankers and destroyers left the task force, and the carriers and four escorting cruisers increased their speed and headed to Japan. Takeoff was scheduled for April 19 in the afternoon, but in April 18, 1942, at dawn, the task force was detected by a Japanese patrol boat. It was quickly sunk by one of the cruisers, but it was correctly assumed that their presence was already reported to Tokyo. (Japanese wartime documents reveal that the Japanese patrol boat did report that it met an American carrier group, but the report was ignored in disbelief... )
The early detection was a major difficulty. On one hand the carriers were still over 600 nautical miles from Japan, and fuel was already a problem. On the other hand Admiral Halsey knew that the group might be attacked by Japanese carrier aircraft. At 8AM he ordered Doolittle's raiders to takeoff immediately.
The crews rushed to their bombers. The Hornet turned into the strong wind. Engines were started. Doolittle released the brakes and after a short run his bomber was airborne. All the 16 bombers successfully took off, and then the carrier task force quickly turned, heading back to Pearl Harbour.
Flight over the ocean was normal. Near Tokyo, flying at very low altitude, the Doolittle raid bombers met several formations of training aircraft, but no fighters, and no anti-aircraft fire. Their surprise was perfect. It was noon, and Doolittle climbed to 1200ft and dropped his first bomb over the centre of Tokyo. Soon afterwards all the other bombers bombed their targets.
Tokyo was stunned. People panicked. After repeated promises by the authorities that Japan's sky will be "clean" forever, the Doolittle raid was a shock to Japan's military and population. The heads of the Air Force and Navy accused each other, and the commander of Tokyo's air defence committed a suicide.
The raid was a success, greatly boosting the morale of the Americans and leaving the Japanese in complete and utter disbelief and confusion. Doolittle carried out other raids like this, but this one was his most successful.
