Days That End in 'Y' - editorial 'toons & memes

Saturday, December 07, 2019

Days That End in 'Y' - editorial 'toons & memes

'Buckle up; It's gonna be a quick n bumpy ride' edition.

America Hits Back: The Doolittle Tokyo Raid, April 18, 1942

"In the wake of the devastating Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), and into the spring of 1942, America's morale slumped from numerous Japanese successes. The USA desperately needed a victory.

Capt. Francis S. Low, a U.S. Navy submariner, suggested an attack against the heart of Japan using U.S. Army Air Forces medium bombers flown from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. The difficult task of training for and leading the raid went to Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, a brilliant aviator and compelling leader. The top secret plan called for the B-25s to take off about 450 miles from Japan, bomb selected targets at such locations as Yokohama and Tokyo, and then fly another 1,600 miles to friendly airfields in mainland China. The operation was risky -- medium bombers had never been flown from a carrier, and sailing so far into enemy territory endangered the U.S. Navy task force."

1 Doolittle (center) with members of his crew and Chinese officials following their bail-out near Quzhou, China.

2 An Army Air Force B-25B bomber takes off from Hornet at the start of the raid, 18 April 1942.

"The mission objective of the joint Army-Navy bombing project was to bomb Japanese industrial centers, to inflict both “material and psychological” damage upon the enemy. It worked, but the cost to the pilots and crewmen of the 16 B-25 medium bombers was high."

Read: The Eight Who Were Captured

3 Hornet launches Doolittle’s force at the start of the first U.S. air raid on the Japanese home islands, 18 April 1942.

4 B-25Bs on Hornet’s flight deck prior to the raid.

5 USAAF aircrew load .50-caliber ammunition boxes.

"At dawn on April 18, 1942, the task force, commanded by Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, was steaming west through rough Pacific seas, about 650 miles away from Japan. On the deck of the USS Hornet sat 16 B-25s. Unfortunately, the task force encountered an enemy patrol boat, and no one knew if it had radioed a warning to Japan before being sunk. Col. Doolittle and Admiral Halsey discussed their difficult choice -- cancel the raid or launch earlier than planned and risk running out of fuel. Doolittle chose to attack, and all 16 aircraft took to the air. Upon reaching the Japanese homeland, the Raiders dropped their bombs on oil storage facilities, factory areas and military installations, and then headed out across the East China Sea. "

6 Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle (left front) and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Hornet commanding officer, pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck prior to the raid.

"As their fuel gauges dropped, the Raiders knew they could not reach their designated airfields. One by one, they ditched at sea, bailed out, or crash-landed in China (one crew diverted to the Soviet Union). Fortunately, with the help of the Chinese people, most of the Doolittle Raiders safely reached friendly forces (Japanese forces later executed as many as a quarter million Chinese citizens in retaliation for this assistance)."

"When authorities released news of the attack, American morale zoomed from the depths to which it plunged following Japan's many early victories. Although the brilliant strike caused relatively little physical damage, it stunned the Japanese population -- their embarrassed leaders had promised the mainland would never be attacked. The Japanese transferred four fighter groups from the front lines to defend mainland Japan. To prevent future American attacks on the homeland, Admiral Yamamoto ordered the disastrous attack on Midway Island, which became the turning point in the war in the Pacific."

9 Hornet arrives at Pearl Harbor on 30 April after launching the raid. PT-28 and PT-29 are speeding by in the foreground.

10 DAYTON, Ohio -- North American B-25B Mitchell and Doolittle Raiders diorama in the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)

A Plague Of Dragons: The Superb Fantasy Artworks By Justin Gerard

"Justin Gerard is an independent artist who has worked within the publishing and film industries providing illustrations for clients such as Disney, Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, Harper Collins, Penguin Books, and Random House. He has also worked in the game industry for Sony, Riot, Blizzard, Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, Kabaam, Cryptozoic and Riotminds."