Original Item: One-Of-A-Kind. This is a fantastic piece of WWII history! This is a framed Commemorative print that has General James Doolittle’s signature! This print is number 1345 of a total of 2000 prints made. The printing plates were intentionally destroyed, so the 2000 that were printed are the only ones in existence.

The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. Although the raid caused comparatively minor damage, it demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attacks. It served as retaliation for the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was planned by, led by, and named after Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle (later a Lieutenant General in the US Army Air Forces and the US Air Force Reserve).

Under the final plan, 16 B-25B Mitchell medium bombers, each with a crew of five, were launched from the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet, in the Pacific Ocean, off Japan. There were no fighter escorts. After bombing the military and industrial targets, the crews were to continue westward to land in China.

On the ground the raid killed about 50 people and injured 400. Damage to Japanese military and industrial targets was slight, but the raid had major psychological effects. In the United States, it raised morale. In Japan, it raised fear and doubt about the ability of military leaders to defend the home islands, but the bombing and strafing of civilians steeled Japanese resolve to gain retribution – this was exploited for propaganda purposes. The raid also pushed forward Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's plans to attack Midway Island in the Central Pacific – an attack that turned into a decisive defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) by the US Navy in the Battle of Midway. The consequences of the Doolittle Raid were most severely felt in China, where Japanese reprisals caused the deaths of 250,000 civilians and 70,000 soldiers.

Of the 16 USAAF crews involved, 14 complete crews of five returned to the United States or to US forces elsewhere – one crew was killed in action. Eight US aviators were captured by Japanese forces in Eastern China and three of these were later executed. All but one of the B-25s were destroyed in crashes, while the 16th landed at Vladivostok, in the Soviet Union.

Because the Soviet Union was not officially at war with Japan, it was required, under international law, to intern the crew during the war, and their B-25 was confiscated._ However, within a year, the crew was secretly allowed to leave the Soviet Union, under the guise of an escape – they returned to the United States, or to US units elsewhere, by way of Allied-occupied Iran and North Africa.

This print is signed by:

- General JAMES DOOLITTLE
One of the great heroes of the 20th Century. After Pearl Harbor he masterminded and trained his famous Tokyo Raiders for the strike back against the Japanese. He led this historic mission and won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Later as a General he had an illustrious career commanding the air war over Italy and North Africa before taking charge of the U.S. Eighth Air Force in Europe.

A great display item ready for further research and display!