Preparation
An aircraft carrier. Army bombers. A plan without precedent.
The crews trained to lift heavily loaded B-25Bs into the air using a fraction of the runway they normally required.
The first strike
A mission measured in more than targets.
The raid carried an early message that distance and surprise could be overcome. Its lasting human record extends far beyond the targets—to the crews, the Chinese communities that received them, and the descendants who preserve the story.
The launch
Sighted early. Launched farther out.
Discovery by a Japanese patrol vessel forced the task force to launch sooner than planned, adding distance to an already narrow fuel calculation.
Westward
Across Japan, then into darkness.
After striking their targets, the crews flew toward China through worsening weather with fuel gauges falling toward empty.
Rescue
The mission ended in the hands of strangers.
Chinese civilians, soldiers, and medical workers sheltered and guided many Raiders. Their courage is inseparable from the story of survival.
Evidence in the frame
Photographs from the raid collection.
