April 18, 1942, a squadron of B-25’s took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet bound for Japan, lead by Jimmy Doolittle.  B-25’s are land based aircraft and are not intended for carrier use, but every plane in the squadron lifted off.  Only one plane had trouble taking off due the flaps being set in the up position; rather than the down position needed for lift-off.  The pilot righted the plane and reformed with the squadron.

All 16 planes dropped their ordinance on Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe, then headed toward China to land.While it proved to be possible for the bombers to take off from a carrier, it was impossible to return and land on the carrier.  The planes flew 688 miles from the carrier to Tokyo, and then an additional 1,100 miles to China.

Although the damage to Japan was slight, the attack proved to be a great moral boost for all Americans.  Japanese authorities had no idea where the planes came from.  President Roosevelt claimed that the bombers came from 'Shangri-la'.