Doolittle’s Surprise  – Original Painting by Keith Ferris

Doolittle’s Surprise
32” x 22” Oil on Canvas Painted in 1992
Professionally matted & framed

Doolittle Raider B-25C 40-2282, flown by Lt. Everett Holstrom with crew #4, crosses the Tokyo Bay waterfront at low level during this famous April 18th, 1942, aircraft carrier launched raid on the Japanese capitol. Several Japanese aircraft managed to get airborne and are in pursuit of the B-25. Flying from the USS Hornet on April 18, 16 B-25s took off attacking targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe and Nagoya, Japan.

The Doolittle Raid was the first U.S. air raid to strike the Japanese home islands during World War II, just four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, the raid involved 16 U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 Mitchell bombers that were launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.

To extend their range, the B-25s were stripped of non-essential equipment, and extra fuel tanks were added. To improve low-altitude bombing, the standard Norden bombsight was replaced with a cheaper, makeshift version.  The bombers were loaded onto the USS Hornet in Alameda, California, and sailed into the Pacific. When a Japanese patrol boat spotted the task force earlier than planned on April 18, Doolittle and Captain Marc Mitscher decided to launch the planes immediately.

Doolittle initially feared court-martial for the loss of his aircraft, but instead, he was promoted to brigadier general and received the Medal of Honor. All 80 raiders received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Painted for Popular Mechanics Magazine and published November 1992