James Doolittle with his crew shortly before the Doolittle Raid against Japan, Apr 1942

Historical Information
Caption     James Doolittle with his crew shortly before the Doolittle Raid against Japan, Apr 1942 ww2dbase
Date 5 Apr 1942
Photographer    Unknown
 
Source Information
Source    ww2dbaseUnited States Air Force via Wikimedia Commons
Link to Source    Link
 
Related Content
More on...   
B-25 Mitchell   Main article  Photos  
Doolittle Raid   Main article  Photos  Maps  
James Doolittle   Main article  Photos  
Hornet (Yorktown-class)   Main article  Photos  
Photos on Same Day 5 Apr 1942
 
Licensing Information
Licensing  Public Domain. According to the United States copyright law (United States Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105), in part, "[c]opyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government".

Please contact us regarding any inaccuracies with the above information. Thank you.
 
Metadata
Added By C. Peter Chen
Photo Size 2,789 x 2,233 pixels



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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed C. Peter Chen says:
17 Aug 2011 07:44:25 PM

Front row:
Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, pilot
Lieutenant Richard Cole, co-pilot

Back row:
Lieutenant Henry Potter, navigator
Staff Sergeant Fred Braemer, bombardier
Staff Sergeant Paul Leonard, flight engineer/gunner
2. Commenter identity confirmed Bill says:
20 Mar 2012 09:11:19 PM

Doolittle and crew were assigned to the number-one B-25B.
This was the crew he flew with on the raid to Japan April 18, 1942. Doolittle was the first bomber to be launched at 0820hrs.
The raiders tookoff in heavy sea, strong wind with heavy overcast.
3. Anonymous says:
5 Apr 2025 05:09:41 AM

Are we sure that the guy in the back right is a Staff Sergeant? He appears to have captain's bars on his cap.
4. Commenter identity confirmed David Stubblebine says:
7 Apr 2025 05:12:33 PM

Anonymous (above):
You are right, those do look like captain’s bars on his cap. But they must be something else because the man on the right side of this photograph is Staff Sergeant Paul Leonard, Doolittle’s flight engineer. This very same photograph (cropped) is used on Sgt Leonard’s page at Find-A-Grave and that page also includes a photo of his headstone at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. His headstone lists his rank as Master Sergeant.

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