Doolittle Raid, Surprise attack on Tokyo by U.S. bombers in 1942 during World War II. After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt demanded that the U.S. military find a way to strike back directly at Japan. The only possible method was with carrier-borne aircraft, but standard naval planes had too short a range; carriers launching them would have to sail dangerously close to Japan’s well-defended coast. A special unit of 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers, far larger than naval aircraft, was trained under Col. James Doolittle to take off from the carrier USS Hornet and drop their bombs on Japan and then fly on to land in an area of China controlled by the pro-Allied Nationalists. They took off successfully on April 18 and arrived over Japan in daylight. They succeeded in bombing almost all Japanese targets, most in Tokyo but also in Kōbe, Yokosuka, and Ōsaka. Thirteen B-25s reached Chinese-held territory; among the crews of these aircraft, there were three fatalities from accidents during bail-outs or crash landings. One plane landed in the Soviet Union, and its crew was interned by Soviet authorities. Two planes went down in Japanese-controlled territory, and the crews were captured. Three raiders were executed by the Japanese and one died in captivity; the remaining four remained prisoners of war until the conclusion of hostilities. Little damage resulted, but the raid was a boost to American morale at a low point in the war.
an increase in the number of women enrolling in professional schools. a significant increase in the number of women in the Senate. the end of the wage gap between men and women.
