Oral history interview with Robert E. Cole, 2001 August 08.

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Oral history interview with Robert E. Cole, 2001 August 08.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/417813906

Interview with Robert E. Cole, an Army Air Forces veteran (Doolittle's Raiders), concerning his experiences as Jimmie Doolittle's co-pilot during the Tokyo Raid of April 18, 1942. Pre-war education and job experiences; enrollment in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, 1939; enlistment in the Aviation Cadets Program, 1940; brief descriptions of primary, basic, and advanced flight training, 1940-41; B-25 bomber transition training with the 17th Bomb Group, Pendleton, Oregon, 1941; transfer to Columbia, South Carolina, February 14, 1942; his decision to volunteer for a secret mission, March 1, 1942; his initial meeting with Colonel Doolittle; his assignment as Doolittle's co-pilot; mission training at Eglin Field, Florida; training in short field takeoffs of 450 feet; flight from Eglin to Alameda, California, and transfer of the sixteen B-25s to the carrier USS Hornet; the sailing of Task Force 16 en route to Japanese territorial waters; the takeoff at 0820 hours on April 18, 1942; the flight to Tokyo and the bombing; the flight from Tokyo to the Chinese coast; bailing out at 9,000 feet due to the plane running out of fuel at 2020 hours; his contact with Chinese Nationalist troops and being reunited with the rest of his crew, April 19; their subsequent meeting with Lieutenant John Birch and the trek to Chungking; transfer to Kunming and assignment to the 11th Bomb Squadron; various B-25 missions against Japanese targets in China and Burma, 1942; flying supplies over "The Hump," July, 1942-June, 1943; transfer to the States, June, 1943; his volunteering for service in Burma with the 1st Air Commandos to support Wingate's Chindits and Merrill's Marauders, October, 1943-July, 1944; reassignment to Tulsa, Oklahoma, as an acceptance test pilot for Douglas Aircraft until 1945; reunions of Doolittle's Raiders following the war.

67 leaves ; 29 cm.

University of North Texas Library, UNT

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SNAC Resource ID: 7441312

University of North Texas Library, UNT

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