Gen. James H. Doolittle
In 1981, I had the real pleasure of getting to know General James H. Doolittle. He was quite likely the most accomplished pilot of all time! That is a very big statement to make but here is what he did:
| YEARs | Accomplishments |
|---|---|
| 1922 | Made the first transcontinental flight (Florida to California) in under 24 hours |
| 1925 | Awarded the 1st Doctorate of Aeronautics in the US |
| 1925 | Won the Schneider Cup – Very High Speed Seaplanes |
| 1926 | Was awarded the Mackay for achieving 232 mph in the Schneider Cup race |
| 1927 | Performed the first outside loop |
| 1929 | Made the first “Blind” instrument flight for which he was awarded the Harmon Trophy. This was the first time that an airplane had been flown on instruments alone |
| 1930 | Worked with Shell Oil to develop high octane aviation fuel |
| 1931 | Won the Bendix Trophy cross country air race in the Laird Super Solution |
| 1932 | Set another speed record for land planes – 296 mph |
| 1932 | Won the Thompson Trophy with the notorious Gee Bee R-1 |
| 1941 | Lead the “Tokyo Raid” leading 16 B-25s to take off from the carrier USS Hornet and attacking Tokyo, Kobe, Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya |
| 1942 | Became commanding officer of the 12th Air Force |
| 1943 | Became commanding officer of the 15th Air Force |
| 1944 | Now a Lieutenant general, he was the commanding officer of the 8th Air Force |
