1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:03,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from house 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:12,799 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson, and today's 4 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: episode is a request from listener Laura and her son, 5 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 1: and I don't think she put her son's name in 6 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: the email, but in truth, it's only sort of a 7 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: request from them. Her son asked for the Doolittle Raid, 8 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 1: which I was game to cover. But really what ended 9 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: up happening was that as I was researching, I got 10 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: really excited about Jimmy Doolittle himself because he was pretty 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: amazing and I certainly had no idea how much he 12 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: contributed to the field of aviation. So I got really 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 1: engulfed in that, really really enjoyed it. So we are 14 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: going to talk about the Doolittle Raid, but it will 15 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: definitely be like an abridged version. We're not gonna go 16 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: into all of the many details. There have been plenty 17 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: of books written about it, uh, So don't worry because 18 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: if you really wanted deeper, there is a lot of 19 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: good stuff out there, including James D. Little's autobiography, which 20 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: I really enjoyed and highly recommend. But first we have 21 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: to do a little bit of historical housekeeping for context. 22 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: So that historical housekeeping is the attack on Pearl Harbor. 23 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: On December seven, forty one, there was a two hour 24 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: surprise attack on an American naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. 25 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:28,559 Speaker 1: Japanese fighter pilots just wrought incredible damage on Pearl Harbor, 26 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: both in terms of human life and lost military assets. 27 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,199 Speaker 1: By the time this short but extremely brutal attack had ended, 28 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: more than two thousand American troops were dead and a 29 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: thousand were wounded, and the Japanese pilots had taken out 30 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,479 Speaker 1: eight battleships, almost a dozen other naval watercraft, and more 31 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: than three hundred airplanes. This is the action that led 32 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: the United States to enter World War Two, which had 33 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: already been going on for two years, and at that 34 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: point in the United States formally declared war on Japan. 35 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: So keep that in mind. UH, And now we're going 36 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: to talk for a little bit about James Doolittle. So 37 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: he was really the key figure in the Doolittle Raid, UH, 38 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: and the man it was eventually named after, Jimmy Doolittle. 39 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: It was also called the Tokyo Raid before it kind 40 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: of took on the nickname of the Doolittle Raid. Jimmy 41 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: was born James Harold Doolittle on December fourteen of eight 42 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 1: in California, and his parents were Rose Shepherd Doolittle and 43 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: Frank H. Doolittle. Frank chased gold, It's how he and 44 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: Rose ended up in California, having moved there from New 45 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:30,959 Speaker 1: England in search of wealth, and when Jimmy was four, 46 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: Frank once again moved the family in search of gold, 47 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: but this time to Nome, Alaska. After seven years in Alaska, 48 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: where he got into plenty of scraps with the other 49 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: local kids, Jimmy was sent back to California by his 50 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 1: parents so that he could go to school there. As 51 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: he moved into his teenage years, he showed some talent 52 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: in boxing, and he won a state boxing championship while 53 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: he was in high school. While he considered going pro 54 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: in the boxing ring, he enrolled at U at U 55 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: c l A instead, and Doolittle was a junior in 56 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: college when the US entered World War One, and he 57 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: immediately enlisted as an Army Signal Corps flying cadet. He 58 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: worked as a flying instructor and he was never shipped 59 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: overseas and once the war was over, he went back 60 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: and finished his undergraduate degree at University of California, Los Angeles, 61 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: and then he went on to the Massachusetts Institute of 62 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: Technology as part of a select military group of enrollees 63 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: to earn his master's degree and his PhD in aeronautical engineering. 64 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: Jimmy Doolttle was a legend before the raid because his 65 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: life was one of those that was really just filled 66 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: with bravado and extraordinary feats. He worked as a stunt 67 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: pilot and as a wing walker in the es and thirties, 68 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: and he went on to work as a test pilot 69 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: and an aviation engineer throughout he was still part of 70 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: the United States Military. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross 71 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: in for flying cross country with just one stop from 72 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: Pablo Beach, Florida to Rockwell, California, over the course of 73 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: twenty you and a half hours in a de Haviland aircraft. 74 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: It was a flight that had been aboarded on his 75 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: first attempt because as he was taking off, the left 76 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: wheel of his plane hit a soft sand patch and 77 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: the plane went off course and actually ended up flipped 78 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: upside down in the water, and Dolittle was mortally embarrassed 79 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,040 Speaker 1: by this much publicized flop because there had been a 80 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: lot of people on hand to witness this takeoff, but 81 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: he didn't try again later, and this time he did 82 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: it with no fanfare or press on hand. His second 83 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: attempt was rough because a storm came up just as 84 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: he took flight, but he powered through it. He struggled 85 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: with sleepiness because after the thunderstorm things were so placid 86 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: that he started to get sleepy, but the rain itself 87 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: was what actually saved him. These rain drops that were 88 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: hitting his propeller were being whipped back at him and 89 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: ended up running down his back. The cold trickles of 90 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: all this water were really annoying, but they also kept 91 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: him from dozing off. And his award came because with 92 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: this flight he had basically proven that it was possible 93 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: to move an Army Air Corps unit anywhere within the 94 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: US in less than twenty four hours, and this was 95 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: just one of many awards that he would earn throughout 96 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: his career. In flight. In early which was the same 97 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,479 Speaker 1: year that he earned his doctorate, he set a world 98 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,679 Speaker 1: record for a seaplane of two hundred thirty two miles 99 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,720 Speaker 1: an hour, and the Schneider's Seaplane Race in Baltimore, Maryland. 100 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: He had fitted an existing racing plane that had been 101 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: developed cooperatively with the Army and the Navy with pontoons 102 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: to enter the seaplane race. The day after the race, 103 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: he took the craft out again and beat his own 104 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,679 Speaker 1: world record that he had just set, putting it pushing 105 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: it up to two hundred forty five miles an hour. 106 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: This turned out to cause some sour grapes. That race 107 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,479 Speaker 1: had historically been dominated by Navy pilots, so they weren't 108 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,599 Speaker 1: really thrilled to lose the title to an Army guy 109 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: who would just decided on a whim that he wanted 110 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 1: to fly seaplanes. Yeah, he was, you know, kind of 111 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: one of those people that was extraordinary and that when 112 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 1: he set his mind to do something, he was usually 113 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: shockingly good at it. Uh Later in he got permission 114 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: for a six month long leave from his military career, 115 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: and this was to work as an aircraft demonstrator in 116 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: South America, showing off the quality and maneuverability of Curtis 117 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: P one Hawk fighters. He headed first to Santiago, Chile 118 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: in x so he'd gotten the permission in twenty five, 119 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: but he actually left in twenty six. Uh, and there 120 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: he got in a dog fight competition, like a competition flight, 121 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: not an actual dog fight, against German ace Ernst von 122 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: Schonbeck of the riktof In Flying Circus. That name rings 123 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: a bell. It was not actually a circus. It was 124 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: a World War One German fightery unit nicknamed for using 125 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: very colorful airplanes. So Doolittle was going up against really 126 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:46,359 Speaker 1: stiff competition and he managed to win, which might be 127 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: impressive enough on its own, but there's actually more to 128 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: the story. Yeah. At the time of this competition, Doolittle 129 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 1: was flying with two broken ankles. Uh. He had fallen 130 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: from a window during a party, attempting to show off 131 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: that he could do similar swashbuckling stunts to those of 132 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: screen star Douglas Fairbanks. And if you're wondering, yes, alcohol 133 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: was involved in this poor decision making. After the fall, 134 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: Doolittle had attached his boots to the rudders of his 135 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: plane so that he could continue to fly and do 136 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: the job that he had traveled to South America for. 137 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: And that was the state he was in when he 138 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: was challenged by this German pilot. I kind of want 139 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: to look into whether he and Luis Alvarez knew each other, 140 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: because it seems like from our episode on him, which 141 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: is long ago in the archive, at this point, they 142 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: probably would have gotten along, I would think. So, Yes, 143 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: it sounds like lots of people got along with Jimmy Doolittle. 144 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: He sounds like a fabulous and fascinating gent to know. 145 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: So after he went back to the United States, the 146 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: doctors at Walter Reid rounded him and really really grounded him. 147 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: He wasn't allowed to do much of anything for six 148 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: months because flying in casts using the workaround setup that 149 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: he had figured out had really done serious damage to 150 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: his legs. But being the man that he was, he 151 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: did not just sit around doing nothing during that time. 152 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: And we're going to talk about what he worked on 153 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: while he was recuperating, but first let's pause and take 154 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: a quick break to talk about one of our much 155 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: loved sponsors. So, instead of sitting idle while on forced rest, 156 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: Dolittle use his convalescence to return to the subject that 157 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: he had written his dissertation on, which was pilots blacking 158 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: out during extreme maneuvers, and he started to think specifically 159 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,680 Speaker 1: about stunt flying in blackouts. So prior to this time, 160 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: and I really feel compelled to mention that at this 161 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: point flying planes had only been happening for a little 162 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: more than two decades. Uh, this was the mid twenties 163 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: and the Wright Brothers and their Kill Devil Hills adventures. 164 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: We're in the early nine so it's a really tight timeframe. 165 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: So he was thinking about stunt flying and the fact 166 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: that only inside loops had been performed in flight up 167 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: to this point, and an outside loop was considered too dangerous. 168 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: So if you don't know what those are, an inside loop, 169 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: if you were to draw a picture on a piece 170 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: of paper of a plane doing a loop, like a 171 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: loop to loop and inside loop, the pilot would always 172 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: be inside the circle, like that's where the cockpit is, 173 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: always facing up into the circle, whereas an outside loop, 174 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: the pilot would be on the outside of the plane 175 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: or on the outside of the circle facing outward. He 176 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 1: was really fascinated by the idea of an outside loop, 177 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: and he took advantage of this forced downtime at Walter 178 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,439 Speaker 1: Read to speak with other pilots who are being treated 179 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: there and get their thoughts on outside loops. He pondered 180 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: the idea from an engineering standpoint, trying to figure out 181 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: just what might happen to the human body during that 182 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: kind of a stunt. So, of course, the minute he 183 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 1: was clear to fly again, he started testing out his ideas. 184 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: He ran various partial loop tests before becoming the first 185 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: known pilot to successfully complete an outside loop in Never 186 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: one to rest on his laurels, clearly, he continued to 187 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 1: do some innovative and adventurous things, and two years later, 188 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 1: on September twenty nine, nine nine, Jimmy Doolittle made the 189 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 1: first blind flight using instruments only in Nassau County in 190 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 1: New York. Prior to that, pilots were depending on visuals 191 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 1: a great deal on what they could actually see out 192 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: the cockpit window, but he had developed a beacon system 193 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 1: to give pilots a sense of location when no visuals 194 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 1: were possible, and with that he basically kicked off the 195 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: development of the modern cockpit. He also received the Daniel 196 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: Guggenheim Medal for Advancing Aeronautics and the Harmon Trophy for 197 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,959 Speaker 1: Outstanding Aviation as well for having done this amazing thing. 198 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 1: The following year, which was nineteen thirty, Jenny Jimmy Doolittle 199 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,719 Speaker 1: retired from active duty with the Army Air Corps. He 200 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: spent the next decade taking home trophies for when winning 201 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 1: speed races and working at Shell Oil while the company 202 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: developed high octane fuel that would eventually become the standard 203 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: for military aircraft. After ten years away from the military, 204 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 1: James Doolittle was recalled for active duty in nineteen forty 205 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 1: Or Hitler invaded Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, and France. 206 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:06,320 Speaker 1: He was forty three at the time, and he was 207 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: tasked with fulfilling the Army Air Corps need to produce 208 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 1: fifty thousand planes each year, rather than the two thousand 209 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: that they had been producing, because even though the US 210 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 1: at this point had not joined the war, they wanted 211 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: to be ready working with Detroit car manufacturers. Despite neither 212 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: the auto industry nor the army being particularly keen on 213 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: that kind of partnership, Doolittle was able to succeed in 214 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: this mandate. By the end of one Ford was producing 215 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: the consolidated B twenty four bomber. But even though this 216 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 1: was really a huge feather in his cap and he 217 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 1: had performed above and beyond what had been expected or 218 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 1: hoped for, Doolittle was pretty miserable he just didn't like this. 219 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: He didn't like a desk job, and he wanted to 220 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: return to really active duty, and he made requests for 221 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: a transfer to go to a combat unit through all 222 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: of the appropriate channels, but he basically got turned down 223 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 1: every time and got constant resistance. But then finally in 224 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 1: January of ninety two, he received a call and was 225 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: tasked with a secret mission, and his job was to 226 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 1: plan and execute an air raid against Japan. The attack 227 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,079 Speaker 1: on Pearl Harbor that we talked about at the top 228 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: of the show and the events that came after it 229 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: set the United States on edge and the Pacific. US 230 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: troops did not fare well against the Japanese and things 231 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: weren't really going well in Europe either. Something had to 232 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: be done to neutralize Japan's forces if the United States 233 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 1: is going to make any headway in the Pacific. After 234 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: several months of planning, Dolittle and his men were ready. 235 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: On April eighteenth of n two, sixteen B twenty five 236 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 1: Mitchell bombers with a total of eighty volunteer crewmen launched 237 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,680 Speaker 1: from the aircraft carrier Hornet. Their flight began six hundred 238 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 1: and twenty miles away from Japan, and the original plan 239 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: had called for a takeoff from the Hornet at approximately 240 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 1: four hundred miles from Japan's coast, but because a fishing 241 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: boat spotted the carrier, things had to be revised at 242 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: the last minute. Because their position had been called in, 243 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: the Bent had been fitted with extra fuel tanks, which 244 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 1: meant that they lost armament in the process. Because the 245 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:19,079 Speaker 1: airplanes weren't originally intended to take off from an aircraft carrier, 246 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: there also had to be really significant changes in the 247 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,199 Speaker 1: takeoff procedure. Pilots were trained to take off not at 248 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 1: the usual ninety miles an hour, but it's sixty miles 249 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: per hour. You know a lot about how planes take off. 250 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 1: Speed is essential. This is tricky. They also had a 251 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: lot less runway than would normally be available aboard each 252 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 1: or five men the pilot, the co pilot, a bombardier, 253 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: a navigator and a gunner. And as a personal side note, uh, 254 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: the practice runs for these takeoffs were performed in an 255 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: auxiliary field to Egglynn Field in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, 256 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:54,840 Speaker 1: which is where my dad was stationed for a really 257 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:58,200 Speaker 1: long time, so I know that area well. Uh. The 258 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: teams flew low. On their approach, they were about two 259 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,079 Speaker 1: hundred feet over the water, and as they reached the 260 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: Japanese coastline, they dropped very low, some of them coming 261 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: in just a few dozen feet above the ground, and 262 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: they made their way to their intended targets, which were 263 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: military and industrial sites in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, Nagoya, and Osaka. 264 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: And as they rose into the air to about twelve 265 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: hundred feet over their targets, they dropped their bombs and 266 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 1: then they headed to air faields on the Chinese mainland 267 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: to land. The wrap up of this mission, which was 268 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: basically successful, didn't go as planned. We're going to talk 269 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 1: about exactly what happened right after we pause for another 270 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: Reek word from one of our sponsors. You and I 271 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: have both made our own websites using squarespace. That is correct, 272 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: and we both found it extremely easy and painless. That 273 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: is also correct. And for my part, it was possibly 274 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: the most easy and painless thing so far about planning 275 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 1: my wedding. It was super easy, super into it if 276 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: I basically did all of it while sitting with my 277 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: laptop on my bed in my pajamas. Got something in 278 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: a couple of hours that looked exactly like I wanted 279 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: with all the things that I wanted to have on 280 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: It makes it extremely easy for the parts that I 281 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: want to be just for invited guests to be password 282 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: protected for our guests, and the parts that I'm comfortable 283 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: being public out there for the whole world to see. 284 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: All of that extremely easy. With square Space. You don't 285 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: have to have coding knowledge, you don't have to know 286 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,440 Speaker 1: a lot about the elements of design. Squarespace has easy 287 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: to use, beautiful templates that give you professional results regardless 288 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: of what your experience level is. It is awesome. So 289 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: with square space you can make a website that looks 290 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 1: professionally designed regardless of what your skill level is. All 291 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: the tools are really intuitive and easy to use, and 292 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: you get a free domain if you sign up for 293 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: a year, which I did. Uh start your free trial 294 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: today at square space dot com. And when you decide 295 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: to sign up for square space, make sure to use 296 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: the offer code history to get ten percent off your 297 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: first purchase square Space. You should. So going back to 298 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: the Dolittle raid, while this raid had the intended effect 299 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: of scaring Japan and undermining their confidence, it really took 300 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 1: its toll on Doolittle's team. The planes did not make 301 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: it to the emergency airfields that they had been planned 302 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: to land at because of their very early takeoff, they 303 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: were all running out of fuel, and to make matters worse, 304 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 1: a nasty bit of weather was moving in. Doolittle described 305 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: in his autobiography actually seeing sharks in the water below 306 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: as they were flying and thinking that that would be 307 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: an absolutely terrible place to bail out. And eventually they 308 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: got a little bit of tail win and they were 309 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: able to get a little bit closer to their intended mark. 310 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: Every one of the used in the raid was lost. 311 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: The soldiers and them had to bail out over China. 312 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 1: Three crews successfully crashed, landed in China and made their 313 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: way to safety, but there were also a number of casualties. 314 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: UH Before we go on, I want to have a 315 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:05,159 Speaker 1: brief side note on terminology. So my understanding about the 316 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 1: word soldier is that it is usually used for army, 317 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,879 Speaker 1: whereas Air Force would normally be called airmen. And you 318 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: could make the argument that these guys should be considered 319 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 1: airmen because they were in the Army Air Corps before 320 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 1: the Air Force was founded, but just for the sake 321 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: of simplicity, we're sticking with soldiers here, So if you 322 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: are an airman, please don't be offended. I'm not trying to, 323 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: you know, do any dicey misnomering. But you know, we're 324 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,400 Speaker 1: in that that weird phase where it's the air Force 325 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: doesn't exist yet, So that's the scoop uh. One soldier 326 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,960 Speaker 1: died during the bailout, and while swimming across a lake 327 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: to evade Japanese occupation forces. Two men drowned. Eight men 328 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: were captured, and of those, three of them were executed. 329 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: Another of the remaining five died of starvation while in 330 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: custody of the Japanese. One plane landed in the Soviet Union, 331 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 1: where their bomber was taken and the crew was interned. 332 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: The Soviets event really moved them to another location near 333 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: the Iranian border and managed to bribe someone to smuggle 334 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: them across the border to the British consulate. According to 335 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: Soviet documents that were later declassified, this entire smuggling operation 336 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 1: was actually the work of Soviet authorities. They wanted to 337 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: move the United States soldiers out of the Soviet Union, 338 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: but they couldn't violate the neutrality pack they had with 339 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,400 Speaker 1: Japan in order to do it. In fact, the United 340 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:26,680 Speaker 1: States military had originally tried to work out a deal 341 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 1: with the Soviet Union to land there after the raid 342 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: rather than in China, but again because of the relationship 343 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:35,200 Speaker 1: they had with Japan, the request to do that had 344 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,200 Speaker 1: been denied. And as for Doolittle's immediate crew on his plane, 345 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,880 Speaker 1: after parachuting into China, they were assisted by American UH, 346 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: by an American missionary and UH both Chinese military people 347 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,400 Speaker 1: and civilians, and they were able to get home. There's 348 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 1: actually some very wacky stories and Dolittle's book about him 349 00:18:55,119 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: convincing some of the Chinese people he was encountering that yes, 350 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: he was an American soldier and he was who he 351 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 1: said he was. But UH, Dolittle thought when he got 352 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: home he was actually going to face a court martial 353 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:09,719 Speaker 1: for losing all the aircraft. He would later write quote, 354 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 1: I sat down beside a wing, and I looked at 355 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,360 Speaker 1: the thousands of pieces of shattered metal that had once 356 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: been a beautiful airplane. I felt lower than a frog's posterior. 357 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,159 Speaker 1: This was my first combat mission. I had planned it 358 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: from the beginning and lead it. I was sure it 359 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,879 Speaker 1: was my last As far as I was concerned, it 360 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:27,879 Speaker 1: was a failure and I felt there could be no 361 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: future for me in uniform. He was happy, though about 362 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: his parachute landing. He had some real concerns about his 363 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 1: ankles being injured again, because I mean, even though a 364 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: parachute slows your fall down, you still land pretty hard, 365 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 1: and his ankles had previously been broken. Uh. Fortunately, Slash, 366 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: I was gonna say, but unfortunately, but it's all fortunate. 367 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: He wound up landing in manure, which is not ideal, 368 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:58,600 Speaker 1: but it is better than rebreaking his ankles. Yeah, he's Uh. 369 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: He was very thankful would be smelly for a little 370 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:04,960 Speaker 1: while rather than have to be in casts again. So 371 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,919 Speaker 1: the Doolittle raid had two immediate effects. First, it was 372 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,200 Speaker 1: a huge morale boost for US troops, civilians at home, 373 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: and the Allies. And second, as we mentioned earlier, it 374 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: really sent a shock wave through the Japanese military. The 375 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:20,919 Speaker 1: thought in Japan up to this point had been that 376 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: the US lacked real firepower in the Pacific, since so 377 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: many vessels and planes had been destroyed at Pearl Harbor 378 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: and so many other assets were already deployed in Europe. 379 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: As Doolittle wrote in his autobiography quote the bombs could 380 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: only do a fraction of the damage the Japanese had 381 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 1: inflicted on US at Pearl Harbor, but the primary purpose 382 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 1: of the raid against the main island of Japan was psychological, 383 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 1: and immediately the Japanese forces scrambled to fortify their defenses 384 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: in the Pacific. Their carrier fleet in the Indian Ocean 385 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 1: was called home to protect the islands of Japan. Aircraft 386 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,439 Speaker 1: that has been spread throughout the South Pacific by Japan 387 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,639 Speaker 1: we're all recalled to patrols at home to defend against 388 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: another possible attack from US bombers. This shift of Japan's 389 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 1: military assets back to the Japanese islands, along with the 390 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: United States victories at the Battle of the Coral Sea 391 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 1: in May nineteen forty two and the Battle of Midway 392 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: in June of that year, enabled the United States to 393 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,960 Speaker 1: launch a campaign against Japan at Qualcanal in August of 394 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: nineteen forty two. This would have been impossible before the 395 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: Japanese defensive stand in the Pacific had been crippled and 396 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: immediately after the raid. Of course, Doolittle was not course 397 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: court martialed as he expected, and he was instead promoted. 398 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: He had been a lieutenant colonel when he led the raid, 399 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: but the very next day he was made a brigadier general, 400 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,639 Speaker 1: skipping over the rank of full colonel completely. Doolittle was 401 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,159 Speaker 1: also awarded the Medal of Honor for his efforts and 402 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: honor he was given a month after the raid. The 403 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,679 Speaker 1: citation stated the reason for his awards simply and clearly, 404 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:54,160 Speaker 1: and put into perspective just how dangerous the Doolittle raid 405 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: had been. It read quote, with the apparent certainty of 406 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: being forced to land in an enemy territory or to 407 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,680 Speaker 1: parish at see. Colonel Doolittle personally led a squadron of 408 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: Army bombers manned by volunteer crews in a highly destructive 409 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,840 Speaker 1: raid on the Japanese mainland. Doolittle would go on to 410 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: command the Strategic Air Forces, the twelfth Air Force in 411 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: Britain and the fifteenth Air Force in North Africa and Italy. 412 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,959 Speaker 1: He later commanded the Eighth Air Force, which was instrumental 413 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,680 Speaker 1: enforcing Nazi surrender at the end of World War Two, 414 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,359 Speaker 1: and after the war, James Doolittle returned to work at 415 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: Shell Oil. He was eventually named the president of the 416 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: Institute of Aeronautical Science, and he served on the President's 417 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: Scientific Advisory Committee. In night three, Doolittle was made the 418 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: twenty five recipient of the United States Military Academy sylvanest 419 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: Fair Award, given for distinguished military service. Dolittle dine on 420 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 1: September seven, nineteen ninety three, at Pebble Beach, California, at 421 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: the age of ninety six. He had had a stroke 422 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: earlier in September, and he spent his last several weeks 423 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 1: in his son's home before he passed, and I'm so 424 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:05,479 Speaker 1: awed by his life and what I really loved. One 425 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:07,320 Speaker 1: of the things that came up when I was researching 426 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: this was that at one point somebody had referred to 427 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,639 Speaker 1: him as the Da Vinci of flight, and he said, 428 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,119 Speaker 1: I think they mean more like I'm the Rube Goldberg. 429 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 1: That's not the direct quote, but it was kind of 430 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: like that, like he was just like, no, I'm just 431 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,879 Speaker 1: I'm just busy trying stuff, which I sort of loved. 432 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:30,199 Speaker 1: It was so uh, sort of humble and wonderful and 433 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: witty at the same time. So that is the story 434 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 1: of James Doolittle on the Doolittle Raid. I guess I 435 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,960 Speaker 1: have a listener mail, I do this one made me 436 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,000 Speaker 1: laugh so hard that Tracy knew immediately that it was 437 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: going to be red on the air. Oh yeah, yes. 438 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,840 Speaker 1: And then it's such a great email that it came 439 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:51,639 Speaker 1: in on a weekend and I happened to read it 440 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: on the weekend and we had Brench and I was 441 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: telling the people at Brench it's so great. So this 442 00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 1: is from our listener, Ben. He says, Dear Holly and Tree, 443 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 1: see in the Courier Mind Disaster episode, Holly asked why 444 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: they thought it was the cold dust and not the 445 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 1: methane from the horses that caused the explosion. Uh, yeah, 446 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: it wasn't clear. I mean, there was obviously cold us 447 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,400 Speaker 1: that was a problem, but I didn't understand why they 448 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:17,680 Speaker 1: had always been rated so clean in terms of firedamp 449 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,919 Speaker 1: like the mind gases, when they had horses that were 450 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,679 Speaker 1: underground making methane. And Ben says, I was intrigued by 451 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,120 Speaker 1: this question, so I decided to finally put my engineering 452 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:30,240 Speaker 1: degree to good use calculating horse farts. The Courier mine 453 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:33,680 Speaker 1: disaster extended along a hundred and ten kilometers of tunnels, 454 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: and assuming the tunnels are two meters wide and tall, 455 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: that gives us a volume of four hundred and forty 456 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 1: thousand cubic meters. A mixture of air and methane is 457 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 1: only flammable if it is at least five percent methane, 458 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:49,360 Speaker 1: so the horses needed to make twenty two cubic meters 459 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 1: of methane. A single horse produces roughly thirty two cubic 460 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: meters of methane per year, so you would need around 461 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: six hundred and ninety horses farting for an entire year 462 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,360 Speaker 1: to make the mind flammable. At this point you might 463 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,919 Speaker 1: think this is possible. Ninety horses might be reasonable for 464 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,240 Speaker 1: a large mine. However, the methane could only build up 465 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: to dangerous levels if there was no ventilation. If the 466 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:14,879 Speaker 1: ventilation in the mind was removed, the oxygen in the 467 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:18,000 Speaker 1: mind could only support those horses for three months at most, 468 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,199 Speaker 1: and that's with no people also breathing the oxygen. So 469 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: an air tight mind would be a really bad idea. 470 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: But as you mentioned, the mind was actually ventilated, sending 471 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 1: all those horse farts out into the French country side. 472 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: As cool as horse farts are, the coal dust was 473 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 1: the more likely. Culprit Yours and Flatulens Ben he gives 474 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:44,119 Speaker 1: a ps that he's sorry for using metric. Don't be sorry. 475 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: This is the most brilliant piece of writing maybe ever. 476 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:49,920 Speaker 1: I want to give some sort of award to Ben 477 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: for this. I could not be more delighted by this email. 478 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: So now we know about the math of horse farts. 479 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Ben. That was just spectacular. If 480 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us with your mathematics 481 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 1: of flatulence or anything else, you can do so at 482 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: history Podcast at how stuff works dot com. You can 483 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:11,719 Speaker 1: connect with us at Facebook dot com, slash mist in history, 484 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,720 Speaker 1: on Twitter at miss in history, at pinterest dot com, 485 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,639 Speaker 1: slash miss in history at miss in history dot tumbler 486 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: dot com, and on Instagram at miss in history. If 487 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: you would like to learn a little bit more about 488 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 1: what we talked about today, you can go to our 489 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,919 Speaker 1: parents parents site how stuff Works. If you do a 490 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: search for the Doolittle raid uh, the one of the 491 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 1: things that comes up is the North American B twenty 492 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: five Mitchell bombers, so you'll get a little more information 493 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,000 Speaker 1: on the planes that they were actually taking out into 494 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: this raid. Uh. If you would like to visit us, 495 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:41,640 Speaker 1: you can do that at misston History dot com where 496 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: you can look at show notes for all of the 497 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 1: episodes that Tracy and I have worked on together, as 498 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: well as an archive of every episode of the podcast 499 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,320 Speaker 1: there has ever been, so we encourage you to come 500 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,159 Speaker 1: and visit us at how stuff works dot com and 501 00:26:53,200 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 1: Missed in History dot com are on this and thousands 502 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: of other topics because at how stuff works dot com. 503 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: Mmm m