logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
51m 25s

The Doolittle Raid: WW2 Bombing of Japan

History Hit
About this episode

If somebody asked you to go on a dangerous mission, no other details, would you volunteer?


Well, in 1942, that's exactly what 120 crewmen of the US Army Air Force did. In this episode, find out how it went and who Jimmy Doolittle was. From an impossible take off, through the first attack on mainland Japan in a millennium, to capture by Japanese forces.


Don is joined once again by Michel Paradis, leading human rights lawyer, historian, and national security law scholar. His book on this topic is 'Last Mission to Tokyo: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raiders and Their Final Fight for Justice'.


Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.


Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AMERICANHISTORY


You can take part in our listener survey here.

Up next
Aug 21
American Traitors: Axis Sally
Is contributing to enemy propaganda treason? In this second episode on American Traitors, we are meeting 'Axis Sally', real name Mildred Gillars.Professor Michael Flamm joins us to explore the life of this American citizen who broadcast American music, scripted dramas and hateful ... Show More
44m 36s
Aug 18
What If Lincoln Hadn't Been Shot?
It's the biggest 'What if?' in American history: What if Lincoln hadn't been shot? The assassination could so easily have failed and things went so wrong in the aftermath (looking at you Andrew Johnson). Could Reconstruction have looked different with Abraham Lincoln at the helm? ... Show More
56m 26s
Aug 14
American Traitors: Benedict Arnold
Is Benedict Arnold the biggest traitor in American History? In this episode, Don is joined by author Stephen Brumwell to examine how Arnold went from hero to villain.How important was he to the Revolutionary cause? Why did he decide to go against it? And do his actions even count ... Show More
53m 38s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2020
Pearl Harbor
On Sunday 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The US Pacific Fleet was devastated and 2403 Americans were killed. But it was not the decisive strike Japan had hoped for, and it awakened a sleeping giant that would tu ... Show More
27m 14s
Aug 5
Was the atomic bomb necessary to end war with Japan?
The decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 remains one of the most controversial moments in modern history. Did the atomic bombs force Japan's surrender in the Second World War? Or is this far too simple a narrati ... Show More
36m 57s
May 20
Mount Hiei: Home of Japan's Warrior Monks
Assassin's Creed: Shadows gives players the chance to visit the imperial capital of medieval Japan. But today, we're heading to a mountain lying just northeast of the capital: Mount Hiei, a sacred site that was protected by a powerful army of warrior monks.Dr Chris Harding, Senio ... Show More
38m 4s
Jan 2025
Sarah Paine Episode 2: Why Japan Lost (Lecture & Interview)
This is the second episode in the trilogy of a lectures by Professor Sarah Paine of the Naval War College.In this second episode, Prof Paine dissects the ideas and economics behind Japanese imperialism before and during WWII. We get into the oil shortage which caused the war; the ... Show More
2h 8m
Mar 2024
#105 The Hiroshima Bombing
📖 Episode Transcripts in Link Below ⬇️ Today, we will discuss the event that forever altered the course of the world: the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. This tragic episode represents a turning point in the history of World War II and humanity as a whole. https://patreon.com/Hist ... Show More
3m 30s
Nov 2024
Prehistoric Japan
From the arrival of the first humans reaching the Japanese archipelago some 50,000 years ago to the enduring Jomon culture, Japan has a fascinating prehistory. This is discovered in the rich archaeological record that includes stone circles, intricate ceramics and evidence of the ... Show More
53m 36s
Sep 2024
How WWII Started
On September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, France and the United Kingdom declared war on the Third Reich. This was the beginning of what would become perhaps the most devastating clash in human history. By the end of the war, tens of millions of people h ... Show More
1h 2m
Jan 2025
Episode 27 : Du projet Manhattan à la capitulation du Japon, la fin de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale
En juillet 1942 est lancé aux Etats-Unis le projet Manhattan destiné à produire la bombe atomique et gagner ainsi la course contre l'Allemagne sur la recherche nucléaire. Les travaux aboutiront le 16 juillet 1945 à l'explosion de la première bombe atomique de l'histoire à l'occas ... Show More
34m 26s
Aug 2020
Episode 195: A Better World Emerges
General Douglas MacArthur aboard his military ship, the USS Missouri sits down the Japanese in Tokyo Bay as they sign the surrender. He later goes on to give a speech that is based on the idea that the future is now filled with hope and that people can live in peace. 
3m 40s