Читать книгу And Then They Prayed - Barry Loudermilk - Страница 13

On April 17, the Mitchell B-25 bombers were ready; the crews had been advised of their mission only a few days earlier. Every one of the eighty airmen now knew their destination was the mainland of Japan; however, they also knew that to have enough fuel to complete the mission, they would have to launch within four hundred fifty miles of Japan.

Although the Mitchell Bombers had been modified to take off from the deck of the Hornet, they would not be able to land on the carrier. Their mission was to takeoff from the carrier once they were within range of the Japanese mainland, fly to their assigned targets in Japan, drop their lethal payloads on military and industrial targets, and continue on to China where they would land at friendly air fields. To avoid detection, in case the Japanese had radar, the aircrews would fly at extremely low altitudes, which would consume significantly more fuel. They were also advised that, after releasing their bombs over Japan, they would face a headwind all the way to China, which always blew west to east this time of year over the China Sea.

Everything had been calculated very carefully; the launching point, the headwind between Japan and China, even the weight and drag of the aircraft. If everything was to go as planned and the weather was good, the aircrews would have at least a favorable chance of completing the mission and making it far enough into China to avoid capture by the Japanese, who controlled much of the coastal areas. But there was no margin for error and everything would have to fall perfectly in place; otherwise, they would not have enough fuel to make it to safety.

Although still over two hundred miles from the planned launch point, Lt. Colonel Doolittle knew that they were now in the enemy’s back yard, and the carrier task force was at great risk of being spotted by Japanese air patrols or fishing vessels. If detected before getting within four hundred fifty miles of Japan, they would either have to launch the aircraft early, or push the bombers into the sea to allow for the Navy fighters to be brought up from below to defend the task force. With the possibility that the mission could launch at any time, Doolittle decided to gather his aircrews to let them in on the final details of their historic mission.

After gathering the Raiders, their Commander once again gave them the opportunity to back out; but, none took the offer. Doolittle carefully explained that, if detected, they could have to launch earlier than planned. This idea concerned everyone, as the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and they were in the middle of what appeared to be a monsoon. Poor flying weather meant the possibility of strong headwinds, poor visibility and the burning of additional fuel, which was already a grave concern.

Before ending the meeting, Doolittle allowed the crews to ask questions. One of the pilots asked a question that was on the mind of every man in the meeting, “Colonel Doolittle, what should we do if we lose an engine or get hit by ack-ack fire and crash-land in Japan?”

Doolittle replied with a confidence and conviction that inspired each crewmember, “Each pilot is in command of his own plane when we leave the carrier. He is responsible for the decisions he makes for his own plane and his own crew. If you’re separated, each of you will have to decide for yourself what you will do. Personally, I know exactly what I’m going to do.”

Doolittle stopped speaking, leaving the room entirely silent, until another crewmember asked, “Sir, what will you do?”

“I don’t intend to be taken prisoner,” said Doolittle. “If my plane is crippled beyond any possibility of fighting or escaping, I’m going to bail my crew out and then drive it, full throttle into any target I can find where the crash will do the most damage. I’m forty-five years old and have lived a full life. Most of you are in your twenties and if I were you, I’m not sure I would make the same decision. In the final analysis, it’s up to each pilot and, in turn each man to decide what he will do.”

After the mission briefing dismissed, Sergeant Joe Manske returned to the flight deck to continue his task of checking out his aircraft. Joe, like many of the other mechanics, rarely left the aircraft since they had been moved into their final staging positions on the flight deck. He would often sleep on the deck near his aircraft, if the weather permitted.

On the evening of April 17, the weather turned from bad to worse; the task force was now facing excessive winds and rough seas. Thirty foot swells washed over the Hornet’s deck, sending seawater rushing down the runway, threatening to wash anything not secured to the ship, into the ocean.

On the morning of April 19, Lt. Colonel Doolittle was on the bridge of the Hornet when one of the other ships signaled they had spotted a Japanese vessel about eleven miles out, and they believed the task force had been sighted by the enemy. The USS Nashville was ordered to sink the vessel, and the USS Hornet received the message: “Launch Planes. To Colonel Doolittle and Gallant Command. Good Luck and God Bless You”

Doolittle left the bridge and called to his men, “OK Fellas, this is it, Let’s go!” At the same time, the ships klaxon sounded, followed by the announcement “Army personnel man your airplanes and take off immediately!”

Joe Manske hurried to the deck to begin the preparations for takeoff. His plane would be the fifth to depart, and he had to ensure both wing tanks and the special crawlway tank was filled with fuel. Manske had taken the crawlway tank out of the plane the day before to repair a leak, and refilled it with fuel. He filled the right wing tank while a sailor filled the left tank, but Manske did not double check the tank after the sailor finished. When the pilot, Captain Jones, ran through the startup procedure, he noticed the left tank was thirty gallons short, and ordered Mankse to top off the tank. A sailor passed him a fuel hose, but because the ship was at battle stations, all fuel pumps had been shut off.

By now the first plane, with Lt. Colonel Doolittle at the controls, was being readied for takeoff. As the lead plane in the line of sixteen B-25s, crammed closely together on the deck, Doolittle had the shortest amount of available runway, only about four hundred fifty feet. All eyes were on the lead plane, as Doolittle moved his throttles to full power and rolled toward the end of the carrier’s deck. With a thirty knot headwind, Doolittle’s plane lifted into the air with runway to spare.

The second and third planes also successfully departed, and now it was time for Captain Jones to start his engines. Several naval personnel on deck were yelling for Jones to get going, so he ordered Manske back into the plane and started the engines.

At the direction of one of the deckhands, Captain David Jones revved the engines and taxied his B-25 into position on a specially painted line that ran the length of the runway. With only six feet of clearance between the planes right wing and the ship’s tower, Jones would have to keep his left wheel on the line to avoid hitting the tower and ripping off his right wing.

Jones and the other pilots had practiced numerous short field takeoffs during their special training for this mission. But this would be his first real carrier takeoff, and now he not only had to concentrate on keeping the plane from hitting anything on the deck, but his takeoff had to be timed so that he reached the end of the deck as the ship was on top of one of the huge waves; otherwise, he may get airborne only to fly into a rising wall of seawater.

As the Hornet’s deck crew pulled the chocks from under the wheels of the bomber, Jones pressed heavily on the breaks. He then turned to a navy signalman, Lieutenant Edgar G. Osborne, and gave him a thumbs-up, indicating that all instruments were in the “green” and the aircraft and crew were ready for takeoff. Osborne began swinging a checkered flag in a large circle, a signal for Jones to advance the throttles forward. Jones, pressing firmly on the brakes, pushed both throttles to full power. As the brakes strained to hold back the powerful aircraft, Osborne began swinging the flag in faster and faster circles.

Co-pilot, Lieutenant Ross “Hoss” Wilder kept his eyes forward, looking down the short runway, as the carrier pitched downward and the spray from another wave came blowing over the bow. Water rushed down the deck toward the plane as deckhands held on to keep from being washed into the sea or a spinning propeller. Just as the ship began pitching upward, Osborne signaled to “go!” Jones released the brakes and the B-25 began slowly moving down the runway.

To Jones, it appeared as though the plane would fly right into the middle of one of the massive waves, but as they progressed down the flight deck, the bow began to rise. Osborne’s signal to “go” was carefully timed so that when they reached the end of the runway, the ship’s bow would be high upon a wave. At least that had worked for the first four aircraft that proceeded Captain Jones and his crew. However, Jones knew that there were too many factors in this operation that had to go just right and the takeoff would prove to be the easiest part of this mission. As the aircraft reached its minimum takeoff speed, Jones pulled slightly back on the yoke, and the B-25 lifted off the carrier’s deck and into the air.

The navigator, Lieutenant Eugene McGurl, called out coordinates, and Captain Jones and Co-Pilot, Lieutenant Ross Wilder, set a course for the mainland of Japan. By nine twenty in the morning, the last of the sixteen planes had left the USS Hornet. Now Lt. Colonel Doolittle and his Raiders were all alone, in enemy territory.

Around twelve fifteen in the afternoon, the lead plane piloted by Lt. Colonel Doolittle had reached the Island of Japan and had the city of Tokyo in its sites. Doolittle climbed to an altitude of twelve hundred feet, lined up with a factory, and released his bombs. Within a short time, the other Raiders would follow, striking pre-selected targets across the Island of Japan. Amazingly, the Raiders met little resistance. While there was some anti-aircraft fire, it was much less than expected, and they were surprised at the lack of fighter aircraft, which had been expected in much greater numbers. After releasing their bombs, every pilot dove down to treetop level until they reached the ocean where they set a course directly towards China.