The events that led to the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo
The Beginnings of World War II
World War II was the consequence of political instabilities left behind from World War I. Although the First World War ended in 1918, there were many events and regional conflicts in the years that followed that led the world down the path to the devastation that was World War II. There were however, some key events that I will focus on. This is by no means an exhaustive discussion of the events that led to the war.
Japanese aggression goes back to September 18, 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria. In 1935, Germany and Japan found common ground with an anti-communist pack. Political wrangling delayed the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact until November 25, 1936. Just 3 weeks prior, on November 1, 1936, Germany and Italy signed a treaty of friendship and announced a Rome-Berlin Axis. On July 7, 1937, Japan continued their aggression with an invasion of China. Finally, Italy joined the Anti-Comintern pact on November 6, 1937.
In the years leading up to the start of World War II, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist, or Nazi Party, prepared Germany for his plan of world domination. On August 23, 1939, Hitler and the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. Hitler's desire to invade Poland was well known at the time. The nonaggression pact meant that Hitler could then invade Poland with the assistance of the Soviet army. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Fearing the spread of the German army across Europe, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany on September 3, 1939. World War II had begun.
By July of 1940, Germany started planning for their invasion of Russia. On September 27, 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact. The Axis alliance was born. During these war years, the United States was fairly isolated. Although the United States remained politically neutral at this point, in March of 1941, the United States approved a lend-lease agreement with Britain. The average United States citizen was aware of the war, but it's impact remained distant. The government, cognizant of the impending threat, was gearing up to join the war. In June of 1939, the United states military ranked 19th in the world in terms of strength. Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew it was a matter of time before the United States entered the war. The lend-lease agreement with Britain both bolstered the relationship with the two nations as well as allowed the United States to quietly build the strength necessary to win the war.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Imperial Japan placed air bases in French Indochina to support their ongoing war with China. The United States, Britain, and the Netherlands imposed a total embargo on Japan in response to this action. Most critical of the Japanese imports lost was oil. Without much needed oil, the Japanese armed forces would be without fuel in 12 to 18 months. Japan felt their only recourse was to attack the United States. The morning of December 7, 1941, a day that would live in infamy, the Japanese Navy executed a surprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. The United States would no longer be isolated from the devastation of the Second World War.
The attack, which lasted seven hours, started on the morning of December 7, 1941 at 07:48 Hawaiian time. The Japanese intended to devastate the United States Pacific fleet to keep it from interfering with military actions they had planned in Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. Two waves of Japanese torpedo planes launched from six aircraft carriers to attack Pearl Harbor. Four of the eight U.S. Navy battleships were sunk. The remaining four were damaged. Seven other ships were either damaged or sunk. Almost 200 aircraft were destroyed. Over 2,400 Americans were killed and another 1,200 were injured. The Japanese left important base installations undamaged. This was a mistake that would allow the base to quickly return to action.
On December 8, 1941 at 12:30 p.m. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt changed the course of United States history. Although his "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy" speech lasted just over 7 minutes, the effects would resound for years to come. Within one hour of his speech, the Senate responded with a unanimous vote in support of war. By 4:00 p.m. that afternoon, President Roosevelt was signing the declaration of war. The United States would no longer be a neutral bystander in the war.
The 17th Bomb Group
Based at McChord Field, the 17th Bomb Group consisted of the 34th, 37th, and 95th Bomb Squadrons and the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron. At the time, the 17th was flying a mix of B-18, B-18A, and B-23 bombers. After the 12th and 47th Bombardment Groups were activated, the 17th became the first group to receive the state of the art B-25 bomber. The 17th received their first B-25 on February 25, 1941. In June of 1941, they would move to the newly completed Pendleton Field. By early August, they were on temporary duty at Felts Field. All the while, the young pilots enjoyed the flight time while practicing bomb runs or flying to California to pick up other new B-25s. By early 1942, the 17th would be assigned over 70 B-25s.
By the end of August, 1941, their temporary duty was over and the last of the 17th returned to Pendleton Field. Their stay there would be short as the entire bomb group would depart for Jackson, Mississippi the second week of September. The Louisiana maneuvers were scheduled from September 15 through September 28, 1941. More than 330,000 men fought in the largest war game ever executed. The Government knew they would eventually enter the war, and they wanted to make certain we were prepared. Simulated battles were fought in conditions as similar to actual combat as could be provided without firing a single shot. Little sleep was to be had, and many important lessons were learned.
As September turned to October, the 17th received orders to proceed to Windsor Locks, Connecticut via Patterson Field. From there, they made their way to Westover, Massachusetts and then to Jacksonville, Florida. By mid-November, they were to report to Augusta, Georgia for more maneuvers. This time, the training would last until late November. This time, the "war" was more scheduled. Ten hour shifts were created for flight crews. Each crew would work 10 hours on, and then 10 hours off allowing at least some amount of sleep. Pilots from the group were still periodically flying to California to pick up more B-25s.
The first of December saw the 17th move to March Field for yet another week of maneuvers. The training was scheduled from December 8th until the 16th. Their arrival on the 5th gave them some time for much needed relaxation. The hope was to complete this week of training and return to Pendleton in time for a 20 day Christmas leave. The Japanese would have other ideas. On the morning of December 7, 1941, the 17th would awake to the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. There would be no Christmas leave. The 17th would pack up and fly back to Pendleton on the 8th. Once there, they would be pressed into action flying submarine patrols along the Washington and Oregon coast. The crews of the 17th quickly racked up more experience in the B-25 than any other group flying in the Army.
