Doolittle Raiders-Never Forget

[wwwarbird]

 Hello friends,

 I try not to post non-modeling related topics here, but this is important stuff to all of us, and is also something that I personally feel very strongly about.

 Sadly, it's become the "American Way" to only pay attention to what's "en vogue" at any given time, and make one's self sure to be "up on" whatever the popular conversation is for any given day. One prime example of my opinion on this is that ever since the morning after 9/11 the term "Never forget" has been very popular when referring to that terrible day. Thing is, the majority have proven that they only truly "care" for a short time. What we actually did about 9/11, (nothing) proves this beyond any doubt. (more people were killed on 9/11 that at Pearl Harbor) After the fashion of 9/11 wore off, it is now only a "bad movie" in the back of most minds in our society. This is not a good thing.  Fearing that we may offend someone, or some group, no one has the balls to actually do anything about these events anymore. Like it or not, this is a major problem with our country, and to me is extremely disrespectful to anyone who has ever fought for what we have. The "Doolittle Raiders" gave a @#$%. I have immense respect for all of them, and will never forget. Please have them in your thoughts this coming Thursday...

 http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/14/opinion/greene-doolittle-raiders/index.html?eref=igoogledmn_topstories

 http://www.doolittlereunion.com/
 
 Please do not turn this thread into any sort of political debate, just honor and remember the 'Raiders.

 Thank you.


 

 

[Bootlegger]

I have to agree with you, Damn P/C, they killed OUR COUNTRYMEN.  When are they gonna pay? With the present government probably never..

   "If you don't learn form history, you are doomed to have to repeat it"

[Bill Morell]

"A great civilization is never conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within. "W. Durant  Unfortunately this is our current path.

[john e. holliday]

I wasn't going to  post anything as I get too political.  But, I will admit I didn't vote for them.

[Paul Smith]

There seems to be a shortage of good color documentation of the Doolittle raiders B-25.  My theory is the whole mission was TS so there wasn't much photography and the all the planes were lost so there are no actual museum displays.  Not chance of getting bona fide first hand photos, the gold standard.  We have plenty of low grade black & white movies, but not what you need in a contest.

As a Monday morning quarterback, with the knowledge that all sixteen planes were lost, they would have been better off turning around and ditching near a US destroyer rather than getting scattered around China.

The attached artist's drawing is as good as I've seen.  It looks like the red, white, and blue fin flash was crudely sprayed over in an attempt at camo.  There are some pictures of planes where the red dot on the white star was similarly sprayed-over in the field.

[Steve Fitton]

Looking at the Hornet film, the red meatball in the US insignia is still there, but the stripes on the fin are not.  The rudder is a lighter colour, as was often the case in how doped fabric parts looked vs aluminium parts.  Since the raid planes started life as brand new units, it would be worth checking when painting the fin markings at the factory was deleted.  It may be that those planes never had it.

[Tom Niebuhr]

I don't agree with Tom Brokar much, but he correct in calling that the Greatest Generation. Our history seems to be disappearing. Even 911 is becoming a forgotten date.  I hope that we can wake up without another major event.

The Doolittle Group was very successful in that it encouraged our nation and gave Japan an introduction to the Amercan capabilities.

[Dan McEntee]

  I believe the B-25s used in the Doolittle Raid were kept as low key and nondescript as possible on purpose, no personal markings or nose art was allowed. The only exception being the Ruptured Duck, if I remember reading this correctly. They didn't want to give the Japanese any easy way to tie the planes and men to any particular unit , ship or task force. The Raid was an amazing accomplishment made by a group of even more amazing men. If there is any doubt that they were from "The Greatest Generation," just look at the time line at how our current society has degraded and eroded as their generation has aged and has been slowly slipping away. With the way things are in this country right now, we can surely use each and every one of them. The answers to our problems are in the history books and lessons of how they suffered, sacrificed, and accomplished what they needed to do to get the job done. It cannot be taken lightly. I will never forget!
   Dan McEntee

[john e. holliday]

And the human race will keep repeating history as long as the human race exhists.   Don't beleive me, read the history books of some of the greatest countries that have risen and then fallen.  I just hope our country is not too late to recover.

[Brian Massey]

I went to the reunion in 1994 when it was held in Fresno. They mustered there and then did a flyover of Doolittle's home on the coast.

I'll never forget walking amongst the Raiders and talking with them. I was particularly impressed with the Chinese farmer that hid crew #2 from the Japanese. I asked him how he could have done that knowing the consequence if he as caught; he simply smiled a small "sheepish" smile and said that it was something he felt he "had to do". He was quite a guy. (He signed my program, it's the Chinese characters on the left hand edge.) After the war the crew paid to get he and his family to the U.S. where he was made an Honorary Raider.

Brian

[Steve Fitton]

What a lucky Chinese farmer!  He got to avoid fun things like the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution!

[Douglas Ames]

Looking at the Hornet film, the red meatball in the US insignia is still there, but the stripes on the fin are not.  The rudder is a lighter colour, as was often the case in how doped fabric parts looked vs aluminium parts.  Since the raid planes started life as brand new units, it would be worth checking when painting the fin markings at the factory was deleted.  It may be that those planes never had it.

I believe your correct. They wanted to keep it low key for that particular mission.

FYI- Anytime a control surface is repainted (or recovered) it must also be rebalanced.

In May of 1942, 1 mo. after the raid, the USN issued a directive to eliminate the Red "Meatball" from the national insignia along with the tail stripes. Not sure on the USAAC aircraft but it would think it would have been the same time.
The tail markings were repainted/ recovered as the planes rotated in for maint., the tropical environment played hell on dope & fabric. This is why you see transitional schemes with some planes with tail stripes, some without sans the Red dot. Painting over the fuse./ wing markings was easy but the directive wasn't carried out on the rudders overnight.