From the April 21, 2013, Air Force Times "What Airmen should know about the Doolittle Raiders."
1. They had short takeoff training for their B-25 bombers on a 500-ft airstrip at Eglin Field (now Eglin AFB. This was how much room they would have to take off from a Navy aircraft carrier's deck (the Hornet) This was the first time an Army bomber had ever taken off from a carrier.
And, the first plane (Doolittle's) to take off had less runway than the latter ones.
2. They did not spend time on landings. As it was, they had to take off some ten hours and 170 miles farther out than planned when they were spotted by a Japanese patrol boat. Doolittle went ahead anyway, knowing that this additional distance meant there was no way they had enough fuel to reach unoccupied China.
Mighty Brave Lads. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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