On April 18, 1942, 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers, which had not yet been tested in combat, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet to attack the capital of the Japanese Empire. The damage to the military and industrial targets in Tokyo caused by the raid itself was minor. Morale in the United States however received a strong boost, while Japan’s belief in its own invulnerability received a very first damper. To commemorate the risky undertaking, this B-1 Lancer from the 34th Bomb Squadron out of Ellsworth, South Dakota, received special tail artwork. On one side an image of the B-25 Mitchell, with which the surprise attack was carried out 80 years earlier, on the other the squadron badges of the crews that participated in the raid.
