Chapter 59 drop the bomb on tokyo

The attack on Tokyo was originally proposed by the Pacific Fleet, but Nimitz has always held objections to this.He worried that the air strike on Tokyo might lead to retaliation from Japan, and the Pacific Fleet was still in the stage of recharging its strength and did not have enough troops to deal with the Japanese offensive. However, this plan was supported and approved by Admiral King, and Nimitz was powerless to stop it.The main reason for the shelving of the plan was that it was difficult to refuel in the northern region in February, and technically speaking, it was also quite difficult to implement.

The United States does not have an air force base in the Pacific Ocean that is capable of bombing the Japanese mainland. If it is a large base, it is Hawaii.But to fly from Hawaii to the Japanese mainland, not even the most long-range bomber can do it. Using the carrier-based aircraft of the aircraft carrier to attack is the only feasible way, but the combat radius of the carrier-based aircraft is very small, and the aircraft carrier must approach Japan.This brought a new problem that was difficult to solve, that is, the aircraft carrier was too close to the Japanese airport and entered the combat radius of the Japanese bombers, which was tantamount to suicide.

In order to throw a few bombs in a demonstration style and pay for all the few aircraft carriers, this is naturally a very loss-making business. Nimitz was not enthusiastic about the air raid on Tokyo and shelved it if he could.In March, the problem of refueling was solved, and the Army, which had been unable to intervene, also became interested in this plan.They came up with a safer technical plan: replace the navy's carrier-based aircraft with the army's medium- and long-range bombers, so that they can carry out bombing while ensuring the safety of the aircraft carrier. Because the land-based bomber participating in the war was of the "B-25" type, this bombing mission was named "B-25 Project".The specific person in charge is Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle, who himself is a very good pilot and once set a record for flying over the continental United States in one day.

After receiving the mission, Doolittle carefully selected 16 volunteers from among the pilots to conduct secret training at the air force base. Carrier runways are simply too short for land-based bombers to use for landing. The method of the "B-25 Project" is to let the B-25 bomber do a one-way flight and land at a Chinese airport after finishing. The military strength of the Chinese army at that time could not guarantee the safety of the airport. It is conceivable that this is a dangerous task that even if the bombing is successful, it may not be able to survive.Therefore, before the training started, Doolittle made it clear: "This is the most dangerous action you will experience. The action is completely voluntary. If you hesitate, you can withdraw now, just don't mention it to others."

No one hesitated, and no one withdrew. The B-25 bomber has a total length of 16 meters and a take-off weight of 13 tons, which is equivalent to a behemoth. Although it is theoretically feasible to let it take off on the deck of an aircraft carrier, it is very difficult to do so. Doolittle first let the pilots practice taking off on a smaller field, and then the field became smaller and smaller, until it was only as big as the deck of an aircraft carrier.After a month of intense training, all pilots have met the requirements and can take off on the deck of an aircraft carrier at a speed of 100 km/h.

Carrying the B-25 is the new aircraft carrier "Hornet" transferred from the Atlantic Ocean.Since it was already equipped with land-based bombers, the "Bumblebee" could no longer use its original carrier-based aircraft for reconnaissance and patrolling, so the military conveniently asked Nimitz to send another aircraft carrier to escort it. Although Nimitz still had reservations about the air strike on Tokyo, he still sent his top general, Halsey, who led the "Enterprise" formation to escort the "Bumblebee" to the Japanese sea and directly commanded the operation.

On April 14, 1942, "Enterprise" and "Hornet" rendezvoused to form a task force.Since the secret has not been made public, the officers and soldiers on the "Enterprise" aircraft carrier saw that the "Hornet" was fully loaded with extra-large land-based aircraft, and they were very puzzled: such a big thing can neither take off nor land, what are they going to do? ? On April 17, the deck crew made a final inspection of the B-25. They used a cargo plane to load the bomb, and then wrote on the plane with chalk: "I don't want the whole world to burn, I just want to set Tokyo on fire."

On April 18, Halsey announced to all the personnel of the "Enterprise": "The purpose of our trip is to insert a dagger into the heart of the Japanese Empire-Tokyo!" Only then did the soldiers understand, and there was thunderous applause. Then, Halsey called Doolittle to his side and handed him a medal.This was a gift from the Japanese government when Halsey visited Japan with the ship, and the words "Japan-US Goodwill" were engraved on it. The United States and Japan did have a close relationship. The United States once provided the island country with necessary resources such as oil and steel. However, now that Pearl Harbor has been bombed by them, it is still goodwill. Go kiss their big head ghost.

Halsey to Doolittle: "Throw this thing over Tokyo and give it back to the Japs!" The morale of the task force was high, and they were united as one, but in the early hours of this day, they were spotted by a fishing boat. This is not an ordinary fishing boat, but an armed fishing boat called "Nitto Maru" commanded by the Japanese Navy.The captain immediately sent a signal to Tokyo: "They are coming, three American aircraft carriers!" At 6 o'clock in the morning, Yamamoto Fifty-Six received the telegram.He immediately made a judgment: "The target of the US aircraft carrier must be Tokyo."