James Harold Doolittle

James Harold Doolittle 1896-1993, American aviator, b. Alameda, Calif. After serving in World War I as a flier he returned to school and earned a Sc.D. from MIT. He then became noted for his speed flying (world record, 1932) and also engaged in commercial aviation as the head of Shell Oil's aviation department. In 1940 he was recalled to the U.S. Army Air Corps. Doolittle commanded the first bombers that raided (Apr. 18, 1942) Tokyo and other Japanese cities from the aircraft carrier Hornet. He later headed the North African Strategic Air Forces and led the 8th Air Force in its massive attacks on Germany. In 1945 he resigned from the Army with the rank of lieutenant general to return to business. He retired in 1959.

Bibliography: See biographies by Q. J. Reynolds (1953, repr. 1972), C. V. Glines (1972), and L. Thomas and E. Jablonski (1976).

Doolittle, James Harold (1896–1993) aviation pioneer and air force officer, born in Alameda, California. Doolittle played a pivotal part in establishing the role of aviation in modern warfare. Doolittle was a flight leader and gunnery instructor in the Army Reserve Corps during World War I. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the first transcontinental flight across North America within twenty-four hours in 1922. He helped develop the gyroscope, which makes instrument flying possible. Doolittle resigned from active duty in 1930. He returned to active duty in the Army Air Corps in World War II. He planned and led the first aerial raid on Japan (1942), after which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He directed the forces in support of the invasion of French North Africa (1942) and strategic air operations against German forces in the Mediterranean (1943). He transferred to the Pacific theater after the German surrender, but saw little action, and returned to reserve status in 1946. He was made a four-star general in 1985 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1989.