Jimmy Doolittle set many records for flying(2)

This would be extremely difficult. Japan controlled the Western Pacific area. Any attack would have to begin deep in Japanese-controlled territory. The only possible way to attack Japan was to fly large, two-engine bombing planes from a Navy carrier ship.

It had never been done. American military leaders began looking for someone to lead the attack. They chose Jimmy Doolittle.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:The chosen airplane was called the B-25 Mitchell. It carried five men. From the beginning, Jimmy Doolittle knew the airplanes might be able to take off from a carrier. But he knew they could never land there. They were too big. The planes would have to fly from the carrier to Japan and then land in China.

The attack plan was a carefully guarded secret. The airplane crews did not know anything about it. They were only told the flight would be extremely dangerous. The 16 airplanes and their crews were placed on the aircraft carrier Hornet near San Francisco. Jimmy Doolittle told his crews where they were going only after the carrier was at sea.

FRANK OLIVER: The plan was simple. The carrier would sail to within 650 kilometers of the Japanese coast. The planes would take off from the carrier, bomb Japan at night, and land in China in the morning.

But problems sometimes develop, with even the best made plans. At 7:30 on the morning of April 18th, 1942, Japanese patrol boats saw the carrier. It was still 1050 kilometers from the Japanese coast.

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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The plans changed immediately. Orders were given to launch the planes. The bombing would be done during the day. The pilots started the engines.

As everyone watched, Jimmy Doolittle flew the first aircraft off the carrier deck. The winds were strong. The ship was moving up and down in the high waves. But he made it look easy. The others followed. The carrier turned around and sped back toward the United States. Jimmy Doolittle and his air crews were alone.

FRANK OLIVER: Jimmy Doolittle led the way to Japan. Each of the 16 planes had different targets. Most of them bombed targets in Tokyo. Others hit targets in Yokohama and Nagoya. All the aircraft safely left Japan. One landed in the Soviet Union. Fifteen others tried to reach the air fields in China. None did. The distance was too great. All the planes ran out of fuel. Most of the crews were forced to jump from their planes using parachutes.

Most of the men returned home safely. Eight were captured.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The bombing by Jimmy Doolittle and his air crews did very little real damage to Japan. However, it did damage the Japanese government. War leaders had told the Japanese people their country never could be attacked. Jimmy Doolittle proved them wrong. Troops and airplanes were called home to protect Japan.

At home in the United States, the Doolittle raid caused a great deal of joy. It was the first victory against the enemy. The newspapers praised Jimmy and his air crews as heroes.

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FRANK OLIVER: President Roosevelt awarded Jimmy Doolittle the Medal of Honor, America's highest military award. He was promoted to general. He went on to command huge numbers of fighters and bombers during the war, often flying deep into enemy territory.

After the war, Jimmy Doolittle served his country again in many different jobs for both private companies and for the government. He also worked with many civilian companies as a senior official.

In 1989, President Ronald Reagan presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jimmy Doolittle. The award honored his work in aviation and his service to his country.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: On September 27th, 1993, scientist, racing pilot, aviation pioneer and military leader Jimmy Doolittle died. He was 96.

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RAY FREEMAN: This Special English program was written, produced and directed by Paul Thompson. Your narrators were Shirley Griffith and Frank Oliver. This is Ray Freeman. Join us again next week at this time for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.

instrument flying: 仪表（导航）飞行（指驾驶员只借助仪表进行的飞行）