Monday, February 2, 2026

A Heightened interest in Self Preservation

This tends to run in the men in my family. However, my uncle Tommy likely died in a plane crash in 1942. I realized at some point that I was too bold a person (like many in my family to be safe piloting a plane).

My dreams was always to be a pilot and have that be my profession. However, my father made me swear not to get my full pilot's license until he had passed away simply because his brother died in a plane crash at age 22 when someone collided with him from below and it sheered off both their wings and one of his wings so his plane spun like a top came down into some power lines and then an old lady who saw his plane when to get a hose and by the time she got a hose running he was screaming and burned to death. This is one of several stories I heard about this including that he is remembered among the war dead of World War II as a Test Pilot testing planes off Aircraft Carriers when Jimmie Dolittle bombed I think Tokyo soon after the war started. However, it was top secret work this early in the War so he had to have a likely story for his parents to hear.

Begin quote from "what U.S. planes bombed Tokyo at the beginning of World war II?"

 
Sixteen
North American B-25B Mitchell medium bombers, modified for carrier operations, bombed Tokyo on April 18, 1942, in the Doolittle Raid. Launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, these Army Air Force planes targeted industrial and military sites.
Key details of the planes and mission:
  • Modification: To extend range for the mission, the B-25s were stripped of some defensive guns and added extra fuel tanks.
  • Armament: Each plane carried four 500-pound bombs, with some equipped with simulated gun barrels in the tail to deter Japanese fighters.
  • Mission Profile: The bombers launched 450 miles from Japan, attacking targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, and other cities before attempting to land in China.
  • Significance: This was the first air attack on the Japanese home islands, providing a major morale boost for the United States after Pearl Harbor.

  • Bombing of Tokyo - Wikipedia
    The first American air attack on Tokyo was the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942. Sixteen North American B-25 Mitchells modified for...
    Wikipedia
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  • Doolittle Raid: B-25B “Mitchell” Bombers
    Apr 18, 2025 — The Doolittle Raid on Japan took place on April 18, 1942. The raid involved 16 B-25B "Mitchell" medium bombers. The bombers were s...
    NHHC (.mil)
  • Doolittle Raid - Wikipedia
    Under the final plan, 16 B-25B Mitchell medium bombers, each with a crew of five, were launched from the US Navy aircraft carrier ...
    Wikipedia
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