Parts of Doolittle Raid Planes Found in China, Searchers Say

What appear to be remains of planes that took part in the first successful air raid on Japan in World War II have been found in China, the leader of an expedition that searched for the planes said Friday.

The remains include part of the B-25B bomber flown by the leader of the raid, Col. James H. Doolittle, said Bryan Moon, an artist and history buff from Frontenac.

Moon said a section of steel fitting the dimensions and shape of an armored panel from behind the pilot’s seat of Doolittle’s plane was found. Also reported found were sections of the other bombers and artifacts that included a flight crew member’s hat badge and razor.

Some of the plane sections had been transformed by villagers into cooking pots and ladles, Moon said.

Moon informed his publisher, the Hadley Companies in Bloomington, of the find, company spokeswoman Joan Lee said. She said Moon and other expedition members were to return to Minnesota today.

Also on the expedition to Zhejiang Province was retired Col. Henry A. Potter of Austin, Tex., the navigator on Doolittle’s plane in the raid on April 18, 1942. Four other planes also crashed in the mountains of China after their bombs were dropped.

Doolittle’s plane was the first fully loaded bomber ever to take off from an aircraft carrier. The 16-plane mission launched from the Hornet boosted the morale of the American public after the December, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.

The skies cleared before the planes reached their targets, key industrial sites, and the bombs were dropped successfully. But bad weather over the coast made it impossible for the aircraft to land safely.

One of the planes landed in Russia. The others all either landed in the water near the China coast or the crews parachuted, according to an official War Department report.

Potter said last month that 44 of the original Doolittle Raiders, including Doolittle, are alive and meet annually. Doolittle is 93 and lives in California.