James Harold Doolittle was born in Alameda, California, on 14 December 1896. After graduating from high school in Los Angeles, he received his higher education at the Los Angeles Junior College and the University of California. He enlisted in the Army's Signal Corps Reserve in October 1917, received flight training and was commissioned in March 1918. During the First World War, Lieutenant Doolittle instructed Air Corps students in aerial gunnery and tactics.
During the 1920s, Doolittle's military aviation achievements made him famous. He made a record-breaking trans-continental flight in September 1922; won the Schneider, Bendix and Thompson air racing trophies; and played an important role in the development of instrument flying. In addition to flying exploits, in mid-decade he obtained Master of Science and Doctor of Science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Doolittle left Army Air Corps active service in 1930, though he remained active as a Reserve officer. Working in private industry, he was instrumental in improving aviation fuels and became the president of the Institute of Aeronautical Science in 1940. In July of that year, he returned to active duty with the Air Corps, subsequently working to convert the automobile industry to military production. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he planned and executed the daring 18 April 1942 air raid on Japan, one of the most dramatic incidents of the first months of the Pacific War. For this exploit, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General after the Japan raid, and later to Lieutenant General, Doolittle commanded the Twelfh and Fifteenth Air Forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theaters in 1942-43. During 1944-45, he led the Eighth Air Force in both the European and Pacific Theaters. He returned to private industry following World War II and remained an prominent figure in the aeronautics field. In 1985, he received four-star rank on the Air Force Retired List. General James H. Doolittle died in 1993.
This page features our only views of James H. Doolittle.
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Photo #: USAF K-104 (Color) Brigadier General James H. Doolittle, USAAF Points to Tokyo on a World globe, sometime after his return to the United States following his April 1942 bombing mission against Japan. Official U.S. Air Force Photograph. Online Image: 71KB; 590 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: USAF K-102 (Color) Brigadier General James H. Doolittle, USAAF Poses beside an Army Air Forces recruiting poster alluding to his April 1942 bombing raid on Japan. Photograph was taken circa 1943. Official U.S. Air Force Photograph. Online Image: 73KB; 585 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: USA C-2102 (Color) Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle, USAAF Standing beside an airplane, circa 1944-45. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 67KB; 580 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 64472 Doolittle Raid on Japan, 18 April 1942 Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle (left front), leader of the attacking force, and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck, while the raid task force was en route to the launching point. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 125KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-41190 Doolittle Raid on Japan, April 1942 Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (left front), leader of the raiding force, talks with Captain Marc A. Mitscher, USN, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), on board Hornet sometime before the 18 April 1942 launch of the raiding airplanes. Members of the Army Air Forces flight crews, and the wing of one of their B-25B bombers, are in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 123KB; 740 x 585 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-41191 Doolittle Raid on Japan, April 1942 Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (front), leader of the raiding force, wires a Japanese medal to a 500-pound bomb, during ceremonies on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), shortly before his force of sixteen B-25B bombers took off for Japan. The planes were launched on 18 April 1942. The wartime censor has obscurred unit patches of the Air Force flight crew members in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 108KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 102457 Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF Wires a Japanese medal to a bomb, for "return" to its originators in the first U.S. air raid on the Japanese Home Islands, April 1942. Photographed on board USS Hornet (CV-8), shortly before LtCol. Doolittle's B-25 bombers were launched to attack Japan. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 70KB; 520 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 97502 Doolittle Raid on Japan, April 1942 Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF, (center) with members of his flight crew and Chinese officials in China after the 18 April 1942 attack on Japan. Those present are (from left to right): Staff Sergeant Fred A. Braemer, Bombardier; Staff Sergeant Paul J. Leonard, Flight Engineer/Gunner; General Ho, director of the Branch Government of Western Chekiang Province; Lieutenant Richard E. Cole, Copilot; Lt.Col. Doolittle, Pilot and mission commander; Henry H. Shen, bank manager; Lieutenant Henry A. Potter, Navigator; Chao Foo Ki, secretary of the Western Chekiang Province Branch Government. Official U.S. Army Air Forces Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 112KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
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Medal of Honor citation of Brigadier General James H. Doolittle, as printed in the Congressional Document "Medal of Honor Recipients --1863-1963, page 135: |
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 4 March 2001
New image added 11 January 2002