On April 21st, 2012, the Lyon Air Museum provided attendees with a chance to get very close to a key event in the history of WWII. Museum President Mark Foster first introduced George Maynor who was on the flight deck of the USS Hornet when Doolittle’s B-25 was the first of sixteen B-25s that took off in a typhoon for their raid on Tokyo which occurred on April 18th, 1942 about four months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The Museum’s B-25 stood behind George as the perfect backdrop for George to recant his experiences. In addition, a display featuring living history speaker Jack R. Hemmett, founder of
www.fc-oc.org and Pearl Harbor survivor was to the left of the podium. Jack was in attendance and at age 92 shared his keen wit with me and my neighbor and friend Lynn Shubert, former P-38 Pilot serving in the European Theater during WWII. We also met Cornell Iliescu; Ploesti-Romania bombing survivor and founder of
www.noblecausefoundation.com which is a tribute to fallen heroes.
George told the hanger filled audience the mission was not disclosed to any of the crew and he thought they were simply ferrying the sixteen Bombers to be unloaded at a secret location as they sailed for the dispatch point. When they began prepping the bombers for flight, he kept thinking this can’t be done…those bombers are too large, look at how their wings are hanging over the sides of the flight deck! He also told us one of the B-25s failed to start and the crew worked feverously and finally got it running. There had also been a fire and a crewman running with a fire extinguisher lost an arm to a propeller.
The mission was to sail closer to Japan but the Typhoon had slowed their progress plus they had been spotted by a Japanese fishing boat who radioed the alarm back to Japan. Realizing they would not have enough fuel to make their bombing run over Tokyo, which was the first attack on Japanese soil, they took off hoping to make it to China after the bombing run. Jimmy Doolittle was the first off the deck on this first ever attempt to launch a Bomber from an aircraft carrier. He had to time his departure by aiming into the 30 foot seas when the bow dipped down with the waves crashing over the end of the flight deck so when he got to the end of the flight deck the bow would be coming back up and he could clear the waves. The other pilots followed suit and all sixteen made their famous 30 seconds over Tokyo run as depicted in the 1944 war film by MGM. All the aircraft involved in the bombing were lost and 11 crewmen were either killed or captured—with three of the captured men executed by the Japanese Army in China. One of the B-25s landed in the Soviet Union at Vladivostok where it was confiscated and its crew interned for more than a year. Thirteen entire crews, and all but one crewman of a 14th, returned either to the United States or to American forces.
Mark Foster then presented Jonna Doolittle Hoppes, grand daughter of Jimmy Doolittle. Jonna, began her talk by first setting the record straight: it was the Navy and not her Grand Dad Jimmy Doolittle that came up with the idea of launching the B-25s from the USS Hornet. She then went on to say her mission in writing two books and engaging in a series of personal appearances is two fold; first, to clarify the persona of Jimmy Doolittle and second to encourage veterans of WWII and their families to make permanent records of their experiences. Setting an example, Jonna has published two books; Calculated Risk: The Extraordinary Life of Jimmy Doolittle (2005, Santa Monica Press) and Just Doing My Job: Stories of Service from World War II (April 2009, Santa Monica Press) and has a website:
www.jonnadoolittlehoppes.com
Jonna began her talk by presenting Jimmy Doolittle as a child of small statue with long blond curls setting him up as a target for other kids to bully him. She presented family photos on a large flat screen as she spoke getting us closer to Jimmy. Jimmy soon developed not only a fierce competency with his fists but a determination to accomplish his goals despite his size. He went on to develop gymnastic abilities which were curtailed when he took a dare to do a handstand on a window ledge that gave way. He dropped two stories, landed on his feet and broke both ankles. By then, he was an accomplished flyer and was due to attempt a record flight. In practicing for his flight the casts on his ankles kept breaking apart so he removed them and had friends rig up corset stays that could be attached to the rudder peddles. Jimmy went on to set the record flight. His ankles never did heal properly and plagued him through out his life.
Jonna went on to talk about Jimmy eloping with Joe (sic) and how her family was disappointed in her marriage to someone who seemed to have little resources and prospects. After all Joe was educated, extremely intelligent and came from a family of means. As Jonna reminded us, behind every successful man is a woman and Joe certainly filled the bill. Jimmy went on to fame and fortune earning the following Military Honors; the Medal Of Honor Citation, the Army Distinguished Service Medal Citation and the Distinguished Flying Cross Citation and the Silver Star Citation in addition to other honors as detailed in Jonna’s books and other historical sources.
Following Jonna’s superb and engaging presentation, she lent herself to a book signing and it was time to roll out the B-25J Mitchell built by North American Aviation and named after the controversial champion of U.S. Airpower, General “Billy” Mitchell. I stood behind the massive Bomber as the tow vehicle pulled it out of the hangar. Suddenly, I felt like I was transported to that flight deck of the USS Hornet 70 years ago. Once in place about 100 feet from the hanger, the ground crew prepared the Bomber for take off as the pilot and co-pilot climbed up into the belly just behind the cockpit, took their seats and ran through their pre-flight check lists.
The hanger was filled with attendees yet silent as all ears strained to hear those two massive 1,700 horsepower, Wright Cyclone R-2600 14-cylinder radial piston engines. First, the right engine cranked over and you could hear the starter gears as the prop began to turn. It caught with a cough, a pop and a few bangs. The plumes of blue smoke were washed aft by the prop as they fired the left engine which was on the hanger side on the plane. When the left engine caught the smoke had made it way to the hanger, not only did we experience the sight and sound of the B-25 but the smell!
As the pilot did the warm up followed by the pre-flight run up of the engines what struck me was how much louder the B-25 was with only two engines compared to the Museum’s B-17 with its four engines. During the warm up and even as the B-25 taxied away, commercial passenger jets were taking off and landing from the adjacent John Wayne Airport and it was remarkable to see the span of 70 years of aviation.
The B-25 treated us with three flyovers in front of the hanger. The pilot laid into the throttles as he flew low to the ground then veered off to the right and gained altitude giving viewers a sense of what is must have been like during WWII. I was transfixed as the B-25 taxied back to the hanger and cut the engines. As I write this, the words of the speakers, the sites, smells and sounds of the day stay with me as I look forward to upcoming events at the Lyon Air Museum and the many other historic facilities and air shows we’re are so fortunate to have here in Southern California.
Dana F. Welch
Historic Aircraft Enthusiast