{"product_id":"i-could-never-be-so-lucky-again-isbn-9780553584646","title":"I Could Never Be So Lucky Again","description":"\u003cb\u003eAfter Pearl Harbor, he led America’s flight to victory\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeneral Doolittle is a giant of the twentieth century. He did it all. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs a stunt pilot, he thrilled the world with his aerial acrobatics. As a scientist, he pioneered the development of modern aviation technology. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDuring World War II, he served his country as a fearless and innovative air warrior, organizing and leading the devastating raid against Japan immortalized in the film \u003ci\u003eThirty Seconds Over Tokyo\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow, for the first time, here is his life story — modest, revealing, and candid as only Doolittle himself can tell it.\u003cb\u003eJames Doolittle\u003c\/b\u003e (1896–1993) was a stunt pilot who thrilled the world with his aerial acrobatics, a scientist who pioneered the development of modern aviation technology, and a fearless and innovative air warrior who served his country during World War II.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRetired Air Force Colonel \u003cb\u003eCarroll V. Glines\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of 36 books and more than 700 magazine articles on aviation and military subjects. Three of his books are about the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan. He was also the co-author of General Jimmy Doolittle's autobiography entitled \u003ci\u003eI Could Never Be So Lucky Again\u003c\/i\u003e. He was formerly the editor of \u003ci\u003eAir Cargo\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Air Line Pilot, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eProfessional Pilot \u003c\/i\u003emagazines, and is now the curator of the Doolittle Library at the University of Texas, Dallas, and historian for the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.\u003cb\u003eApril 18, 1942\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The 16-ship Navy task force centered around the aircraft carriers   \u003ci\u003eHornet \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eEnterprise\u003c\/i\u003e had been steaming westward toward Japan all night. I had given   my final briefing to the B-25 bomber crews on the \u003ci\u003eHornet\u003c\/i\u003e the day before. Our job   was to do what we could to put a crimp in the Japanese war effort with the 16 tons   of bombs from our 16 B-25s. The bombs could do only a fraction of the damage the   Japanese had inflicted on us at Pearl Harbor, but the primary purpose of the raid   we were about to launch against the main island of Japan was psychological.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The   Japanese people had been told they were invulnerable. Their leaders had told them   Japan could never be invaded. Proof of this was the fact that Japan had been saved   from invasion during the fifteenth century when a massive Chinese fleet set sail   to attack Japan and was destroyed by a monsoon. From then on, the Japanese people   had firmly believed they were forever protected by a “divine wind” — the \u003ci\u003ekamikaze.\u003c\/i\u003e An attack on the Japanese homeland would cause confusion in the minds of the Japanese   people and sow doubt about the reliability of their leaders.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e There was a second,   and equally important, psychological reason for this attack. America and its allies   had suffered one defeat after another in the Pacific and southern Asia. Besides the   devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese had taken Wake Island and   Guam and had driven American and Filipino forces to surrender on Bataan. Only a small   force of Americans was left holding out on the island of Corregidor. America had   never seen darker days. Americans badly needed a morale boost. I hoped we could give   them that by a retaliatory surprise attack against the enemy’s home islands launched   from a carrier, precisely as the Japanese had done at Pearl Harbor. It would be the   kind of touché the Japanese military would understand. An air strike would certainly   be a blow to their national morale and, furthermore, should cause the Japanese to   divert aircraft and equipment from offensive operations to the defense of the home   islands.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The basic plan for the raid against Japan was simple. If the Navy task   force could get us within 400 to 500 miles of the Japanese coast, the B-25 medium   Army bombers aboard the \u003ci\u003eHornet\u003c\/i\u003e would launch, with carefully trained crews, against   the enemy’s largest cities. Although the carrier’s deck seemed too short to allow   the takeoff of a loaded B-25 land-based Army bomber, I was confident it could be   done. Two lightly loaded B-25s had made trial takeoffs the previous February from   the \u003ci\u003eHornet\u003c\/i\u003e off the Virginia coast before the carrier had joined the Pacific fleet.   All of the pilots had practiced a number of short-field takeoffs at an auxiliary   field near Eglin Field, Florida.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I would take off first so as to arrive over Tokyo   at sunset. The other crews would leave the carrier at local sunset and head for their   respective targets. I would drop four 50-pound incendiary bombs on a factory area   in the center of Tokyo. The resulting fires in the highly inflammable structures   in the area would light up the way for the succeeding planes and steer them toward   their respective targets in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, Nagoya, and the Kobe-Osaka complex.   The rest of the B-25s would be loaded with four 500-pound bombs each — two incendiaries   and two demolition bombs. After launching the B-25s, the Navy task force was to retreat   immediately and return to Hawaii.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e We would not return to the \u003ci\u003eHornet.\u003c\/i\u003e After bombing   our targets, we were to escape to China. The planes would be turned over to the new   Air Force units being formed in the China-Burma-India theater.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e There were five crew   members in each airplane — pilot, copilot, bombardier, navigator, and gunner. One   crew had a physician aboard — Dr. (Lieutenant) Thomas R. White — who had volunteered   and qualified as a gunner so he could go. This was a fortuitous choice, as it turned   out, for four members of another crew.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The State Department had tried to get permission   from the Soviets for us to land in Soviet territory for refueling. This flight would   have been an easy 600 miles or so after bombing the Japanese targets. But permission   was denied because the Soviets were neutral vis-à-vis Japan and did not want to have   another Axis power at their back door invading their country from that direction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Therefore, after dropping its bombs, each plane was to head generally southward   along the Japanese coast, then westward to Chuchow, located about 70 miles inland   and about 200 miles south of Shanghai. After refueling there, we were to proceed   to Chungking, 800 miles farther inland. The greatest in-flight distance we would   have to fly was 2,000 miles. With the fuel tank modifications we had made and extra   gas in five-gallon cans, there was enough fuel on board to fly 2,400 miles, provided   the crews used the long-range cruising techniques we had practiced.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Our planes had   been positioned on the deck for takeoff the evening before. The mechanics had run   up their engines and made last-minute adjustments. I wanted the crews to get a good   night’s sleep, but few heeded the advice of an oldster who, at 45, was twice the   age of most of them. Some of the officers played poker with the Navy pilots who had   been unable to fly since leaving California because our planes took up all the space   on the deck. The Navy pilots and our crews wanted to recoup their individual losses   before we left.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The \u003ci\u003eEnterprise\u003c\/i\u003e launched scout planes at daybreak for 200-mile searches,   and fighters were sent up as cover for the task force. The weather, which had been   moderately rough during the night, worsened. There was a low overcast and visibility   was limited. Frequent rain squalls swept over the ships, and the sea began to heave   into 30-foot crests. Gusty winds tore off the tops of the waves and blew heavy spray   across the ships, drenching the deck crews. At 6:00 A.M., a scout plane returned   to the \u003ci\u003eEnterprise\u003c\/i\u003e and the pilot dropped a bean bag container on the deck with a message   saying he had sighted a small enemy fishing vessel and believed he had been seen   by the enemy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Admiral William F. Halsey immediately ordered all ships to swing left   to avoid detection. Had the enemy vessel seen the aircraft? No one knew. The question   was answered about 7:30 A.M. when another patrol vessel was sighted from the \u003ci\u003eHornet\u003c\/i\u003e only 20,000 yards away. A Japanese radio message was intercepted by the \u003ci\u003eHornet\u003c\/i\u003e’s   radio operator from close by. One of the scout planes then sighted another small   vessel 12,000 yards away. A light could be seen bobbing in the rough sea. Halsey   ordered the cruiser \u003ci\u003eNashville\u003c\/i\u003e to sink it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Unknown to us, the Japanese had stationed   a line of radio-equipped picket boats about 650 nautical miles out from the coast   to warn of the approach of American ships. I went to the bridge where Captain Marc   A. Mitscher briefed me on what had happened. “It looks like you’re going to have   to be on your way soon,” he said. “They know we’re here.” I shook hands with Mitscher   and rushed to my cabin to pack, spreading the word as I went.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Some of the B-25 crews   had finished breakfast and were lounging in their cabins; others were shaving and   getting ready to eat; several may have still been dozing. A few had packed their   bags, but I think many were completely surprised because they thought they would   not be taking off until late afternoon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At 8:00 A.M., Admiral Halsey flashed a message   to the \u003ci\u003eHornet\u003c\/i\u003e: LAUNCH PLANES X TO COL DOOLITTLE AND GALLANT COMMAND GOOD LUCK AND   GOD BLESS YOU.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The ear-shattering klaxon horn sounded and a booming voice ordered:   “Now hear this! Now hear this! Army pilots, man your planes!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The weather had steadily   continued to worsen. The \u003ci\u003eHornet\u003c\/i\u003e plunged into mountainous waves that sent water cascading   down the deck. Rain pelted us as we ran toward our aircraft. It was not an ideal   day for a mission like this one.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The well-disciplined Navy crews and our enlisted   men, some of whom had slept on deck near their planes, knew what to do. Slipping   and sliding on the wet deck, they ripped off engine and gun turret covers and stuffed   them inside the rear hatches. Fuel tanks were topped. The mechanics pulled the props   through. Cans of gasoline were filled and handed up to the gunners through the rear   hatches. Ropes were unfastened and wheel chocks pu11ed away so the Navy deck handlers   could maneuver the B-25s into takeoff position.","brand":"Bantam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301723492581,"sku":"NP9780553584646","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780553584646.jpg?v=1767729621","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/i-could-never-be-so-lucky-again-isbn-9780553584646","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}