Home > Jimmy Doolittle

He was born in Alameda, California and, in 1922, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha. In 1925, he received a doctorate in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the first to receive a doctorate in the field.

In October 1917 he enlisted in the Signal Corps Reserve as a flying cadet and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps' Aviation Section on March 11 1918. During World War I he was not a member of the Lafayette Escadrille as some historians write. A hapless namesake who served briefly in the famous Lafayette Escadrille suffered several mishaps and left the service. Instead, Doolittle stayed in the United States as a flight instructor. On July 1, 19201920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) Events January January 7 Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. January 9 Britain announces it will build 100,000 homes for war veterans. January 10 Leagu he received a regular commission and was promoted to first lieutenant.

Doolittle was one of the most famous pilots during the inter-war period. He was the first to cross the United States in less than twenty-four hours in 1922 and the first to perform an outside loop in 1927. He also won the three major racing trophies: the Schneider CupThe Schneider Trophy (or prize or cup) for seaplanes was announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911 with a prize of roughly £1,000. It was meant to encourage technical advances in civil aviation but became a c race in a Curtiss R3C in 1925, the Bendix Trophy in a Laird Super Stallion in 1931, and the Thompson Trophy in 1932 in the notorious Gee Bee R-1 .

His most important contribution to aeronautical technology was the development of instrument flying. He was the first pilot to take-off, fly, and land an airplane using instruments alone, without a view outside the cockpit. This accomplishment in 1929 enabled practical all-weather airline operations. Doolittle helped influence Shell to produce the first quantities of 100 octane aviation gasoline. This fuel was crucial to the high-performance planes that were used during WWII. 100 Octane Low Lead is the modern derivative of his forward thinking.

He is most famous for organizing and leading (as a colonelColonel ( Ger: Oberst is a military rank, usually the highest below general grades, and just above Lieutenant Colonel. The word is pronounced similarly to "kernel". In the US military, a colonel in the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps is equivalent to a c) the so-called Doolittle Raid in 1942Events January January 1 World War II: The word " United Nations" is first officially used to describe the Allied pact. January 2 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces. January 5 Amy Johnson disappears in flight over River Thames estuary ass which was a daring carrierUSS John C. Stennis (left), and HMS Illustrious (right), showing the difference in size between a supercarrier and a typical aircraft carrier. An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft. Aircraft carriers thus allow-based bombing attack against mainland JapanJapan (, Nippon/Nihon literally "the origin of the sun") is a country in East Asia situated on a chain of islands east of the Asian continent on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The largest of these islands are, from north to south, Hokkaido , Honsh following the American defeat at the Battle of Pearl Harbor. The bombers didn't have enough fuel to reach safety in China and most were forced to crash land when they ran out of fuel.

Doolittle was awarded the Medal of Honor for accomplishing this mission, which is viewed by historians as a major public-relations victory for the United States. Although the amount of damage done to Japanese war industry was minor and quickly fixed, the raid showed the Japanese their homeland was not invulnerable, and forced them to withdraw several frontline fighter units for homeland defense. More significantly, Japanese commanders considered the raid deeply embarrassing, and their attempt to close the perceived gap in their Pacific defense perimeter led directly to the decisive Battle of Midway. President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented the medal to Doolittle.

Following the raid on Tokyo, Doolittle went on to lead the Twelfth, Fifteenth, and Eighth Air Forces. As commander of the Eighth Air Force, Doolittle was responsible for the strategic bombing campaign that destroyed Germany's ability to wage war.

Doolittle left active duty in 1945, but remained active in business, education, and government service. He died in California and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.