The Man

During the 1920s and '30s, "Jimmy" Doolittle traveled the nation and world as the US Army's aerobatics and air racing star. The "master of the calculated risk," he achieved international renown for performing seemingly death-defying, daredevil stunts that advanced aeronautic science. In 1925, when only a few dozen men in the world held advanced degrees in Aeronautical Engineering, he earned a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1922, Doolittle became the first pilot to fly across the US in less than 24 hours; nine years later he was also first to do so in under twelve hours. In 1927, he executed the first outside loop. His greatest contribution was developing effective instruments for flight in adverse weather and at night. In 1929, he made the first blind flight in history, with his cockpit completely darkened from takeoff to landing.

Doolittle won numerous races, including the "Big Three." At the 1925 Schneider Trophy Race he established a world speed record. His second transcontinental triumph came in the 1931 Bendix Trophy Race. Next year, he took the Thompson Trophy at the National Air Races, setting another record in the infamous Bee Gee, an unstable aircraft widely considered a flying death trap.

In 1930 Doolittle resigned his regular Army commission, but continued in reserve service. Shell Oil Company hired him to manage its Aviation Department, for which he experimented with high-octane fuels.

After war broke out in Europe in 1939, Lieutenant Doolittle soon returned to uniform as a major. His first Army Air Corps mission back on active duty in July, 1940 was to help auto industry executives convert their plants to produce plane engines and assemble aircraft. In 1941, the new Army Air Forces sent him to England to survey that besieged nation's aviation industry. His next assignment pitted him against the twin-engined Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. Its high landing speed and heavy wing loading made it tricky to handle; several had crashed. Doolittle showed that the B-26 was safe if flown properly.

Without revealing why, Arnold asked, "Jim, what bomber do we have that will get off in 500 feet with a 2000 pound bomb load and fly 2000 miles?" Doolittle pondered a moment, then replied that he would answer that question in a day or two.

The very next day, January 18, Doolittle reported that only two Army bombers fit the demanding bill: the older, Douglas B-18 Bolo, based on the DC-2 airliner, and the more compact, high-winged North American B-25 Mitchell. Moreover, both twin-engined medium bombers would need extra gas tanks to fly the required distance. Arnold then added that the aircraft must take off within the narrow width of 75 feet. Doolittle responded that left only the 67-foot wingspan B-25. Then he inquired, "Now, what's behind all this?"