Learning Center Our Enshrinees

James “Jimmy” Doolittle

• Directed experimental flying at McCook Field.
• Made the first air crossing of the U.S. in under 24 hours in 1922.
• Won the Schneider Cup Seaplane Race in 1925 and made the first outside loop in 1927.
• Made the world’s first totally blind flight on September 24, 1929.
• Won the Thompson Trophy in 1932 flying the Gee Bee R-1 at a speed of 296 mph saying it was the most dangerous airplane he ever flew.
• Flew in the National Air Races, winning the Transport, the Bendix, and the Thompson Trophy races.
• Lead the famous B-25 Tokyo raid in April 1942 from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet for which he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
• Commanded the 12th Air Force in North Africa and the Eighth Air Force in England from 1944 to 1945.