AGAZINE - Midwest Flyer

North American B-25 Mitchells Gather For 68 th Doolittle Reunion
George A. Larson
There was one additional Mitchell at the B-25 gathering, but unlike those
parked on the ramp, this one was in the WWII Air Power Gallery of the
National Museum of the USAF. The aircraft is an impressive diorama as if
the B-25 was tied down to the flight deck of the carrier USS Hornet, with
engines covered to prevent fouling by salt water sea spray over the flight
deck. The two figures near the aircraft are Colonel Doolittle to the right
and Admiral William Halsey to the colonel’s side. Captain Cole, copilot of
the aircraft, is leaning out the window. The bombardier is inside the nose.
The Norden bombsight had been removed, and replaced with a simple
metal triangle, with v-shaped sight for the bombardier to release bombs
at low-level.
by Lt Col. George A. Larson
USAF (Ret.)
The National Museum of the
United States Air Force at
Wright-Patterson Air Force
Base in Dayton, Ohio, hosted the
68th reunion of the Doolittle Tokyo
Raiders. Museum Director Major
General Charles D. Metcalf, United
States Air Force (USAF), Ret., said:
“It was a great privilege for the
museum to be selected as the site for
the Doolittle Raiders’ reunion. The
Doolittle Raiders are living legends
and their story is a fascinating part of
American history. By hosting their
reunion at the museum, the public
will have a chance to meet them and
perhaps get an autograph, but most
importantly, thank them for their
courageous and admirable service to
our nation.”
To honor and give tribute to this
reunion, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders
Association had hoped to bring
25 North American B-25 Mitchell
medium-range bombers to the runway
behind the museum. They succeeded
in bringing in 17 B-25s, the type that
Colonel Doolittle’s unit flew to attack
Japan off the aircraft carrier, the USS
Hornet, on April 18, 1942, to conduct
the first U.S. bombing of Japan
after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The
following is the story of these B-25s at
the museum.
Ohio was the site of this historic
aviation event with Urbana’s Grimes
Field the initial arrival point for the
On Sunday, April 18, the 17 B-25s completed a mass take-off and
fly-over to honor three of the surviving Doolittle Tokyo Raiders after a
memorial service, held in the museum’s memorial garden.
(L/R) MSgt David J. Thatcher; Lt. Cole Richard E. Cole and Major
Thomas C. Griffin.
Photograph, with permission,
National Museum of The United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio,
Specialists In Mooney Aircraft
Repair, Maintenance & Annual Inspections
Factory-Trained & Experienced Technicians
FAA Certified Unlimited Class 3 Repair Station
B-25s to arrive from around the
United States. The presence of these
B-25s was the largest gathering of
privately-owned B-25s since the end
of World War II (WWII). Prior to
flying to the museum on the morning
of April 17, the crews of “The
Grimes Gathering of B-25s” practiced
formation flying, and offered aviation
enthusiasts and military veterans rides
and tours of the bombers on static
display.
The crowds were huge and even
though cold, aviation enthusiasts and
WWII veterans walked up and down
the parked row of Mitchells.
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 41