Cleveland Air Show tribute: Doolittle raider

photo credit: pat j dooley photography

This World War II Air Force B-25B medium bomber was in the Cleveland Air Show this weekend. As it was flown by the crowds, the announcer paid tribute to Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle’s co-pilot, Richard E. Cole, born in Dayton, Ohio.  Earlier this year, Cole passed away at age 103; he was the last survivor of the Doolittle raids on Tokyo. From Wikipedia: 

The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid (Saturday 18 April 1942), was an air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. It demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attack, served as retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was planned, led by, and named after Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces.

Sixteen B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were launched without fighter escort from the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS Hornet deep in the Western Pacific Ocean, each with a crew of five men. (from Wikipedia)

# # #