Читать книгу And Then They Prayed - Barry Loudermilk - Страница 11
ОглавлениеTailwinds Of Providence
Lieutenant Colonel ”Jimmy” Doolittle (1942)
“But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
Studying maps of the Japanese mainland had suddenly replaced the nightly poker games as the primary off duty activity below the decks of the aircraft carrier, USS Hornet, at least for the forty-eight Army Air Corps pilots and navigators, who were the guests of the United States Navy on this highly secretive mission. The additional thirty-two Army Air Corps enlisted men who served as bombardiers, gunners and mechanics, were scouring over every detail of their Mitchell B-25 bombers strapped to the deck of the ship. Sergeant Joseph W. Manske, the mechanic and gunner of aircraft number five, meticulously checked every component of both engines to ensure his aircraft was mission ready.
It was April 17, 1942, and for two and a half months the men of the sixteen aircrews had been rigorously training for a mission so secretive that, until a few days earlier, they had not even been told their objective.
Mission Ready
Since the beginning of February, when each man had volunteered for what they were told was an extremely dangerous, but highly valuable, mission they had been experimenting and training to do things with the B-25 that it was not designed to do.
While the pilots and co-pilots were learning how to get the planes airborne in about a third the amount of runway the aircraft normally used, the mechanics were directed to make unusual modifications to the airframe and engines. Radios, and even some of the armament, were removed. Any component deemed not absolutely necessary for the plane to take off, fly and drop a few bombs, was removed to decrease weight. Carburetors, which were designed for optimal speed and performance, were recalibrated for greater fuel efficiency.
Special rubber fuel tanks were delivered, which would be placed in the crawlspace that connected the cockpit to the rear gunner’s compartment, where gunners and mechanics, such as Joe Manske, sat. This would not only cut off access between the gunner and the rest of the crew, but it would render the bottom gun turret unusable, so those were also removed to lessen the weight and hopefully extend the plane’s fuel range.
Each of the sixteen aircrews consisted of five men who had volunteered for this mission. Because the mission was extremely dangerous, and possibly even suicidal, the men had been given multiple opportunities to back out honorably. But none stepped aside, and they all confidently stood with their Mission Commander, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle.
While none of the sixteen aircrews knew exactly what they were training for, they could easily determine that it was going to be a long trip. They also correctly derived they would likely start the mission from the deck of an aircraft carrier, and that fuel range was a significant concern. But orders were precise and clear; they were not to discuss their training with anyone, including family and friends, no matter how much they were trusted. The crews were even prohibited from speculating amongst themselves where they may be going and what their target was to be. However, since the United States was now officially involved in the war in Europe and Japan, they knew they could be going just about anywhere.
