To be certain the concept would work, two B-25s on Feb. Low’s proposal was the beginning of the project. The AAF War Plans Division had been studying the feasibility of launch from a carrier but nothing had yet come of it. “Hap” Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Forces, who agreed. Low took his idea to King, who referred it to Lt. If they could launch from a carrier deck, then the Navy could sail them within striking distance of the enemy home islands. Their operating radius was 300 miles a carrier could not safely steam that close to Japan. The Navy’s carrier-based aircraft couldn’t do it. President Roosevelt wanted a bombing raid on Japan as soon as possible to bolster the nation’s morale. The United States was still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor the month before, and Japan had continued to rack up one victory after another in the Pacific. Through Low’s mind flashed the thought that, if such bombers could take off from a carrier deck, they could bomb Japan. A Doolittle Raider takes off from the flight deck of USS Hornet, headed for Japan.
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