Last update: 10 September 2023

Crew 15

Fifteenth plane to take off from the USS Hornet on 18 April 1942

Datasheet

- Aircraft Squadron:	34th Bombardment Squadron
- Serial number plane:	40-2267
- Name of the plane:	TNT - individual marking : TNT Formula Design
- Take off date:	18 April 1942
- Take off time:	Take off @ 09.15 am ship time USS Hornet
- Place in line to take off:	15th
- Take off direction:	Take off @ about 35 40 N 153 40 E
- Bombs on board:	4 cluster incendiaries
- Bombed area in Japan:	Nagoya (Achi)
- Bombing of Japan - local time:	14:40 pm
- Fate crew - 18 april 1942:	Ditched at sea, coast China at 10:25pm
- Fate plane - 18 april 1942:	Between Ningbo and Taizhou coast, China

The Crew

Mixed crew : 34th Bomb Squadron and 89th Reconnaissance Squadron as part of the 17th Bombardment Group

Target

Nagoya (Achi)

The story of Crew 15

The bombs were dropped @ about 34°40'06.9"N 135°12'57.6"E

The plane crashed in the Zheijan province@ about 29°13'57.1"N 121°58'41.5"E near Shenchang beach.

The crew crash landed their bomber on the shoreline of an island in the East China Sea off the Chinese coast. It was a nice and good landing at sea. The crew was able to safely get out of the plane and paddle a raft to the beach of mainland China. They reached Tantou Island by raft and also by swimming. For days they were hunted by Japanese troops who were looking for them. They were in occupied China.

Finally, with the help of local people, they outsmarted the Japanese and were able to flee to the unoccupied part of China. They went to Chaozhou and from there to Chongqing.

Lieutenant Thomas "Doc/Medic" White heard about the plight of Lieutenant Lawson (crew 7) en route. He left the crew and went to provide medical attention to Pilot Lawson and served to amputate a leg to keep him alive. Crew 15 finally arrived in Chongqing between 18 and 25 April 1942.

Pilot Lieutenant Donald Smith died in a plane crash in England on 12 November 1942. He was buried in Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

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Pictures : Doolittle Raiders in China. Copyright @ nara-usa- public domain

Crew picture : copyright @nara-usa - public domain - colored by : Our colorful history @ https://www.facebook.com/historyrestored - used with permission - Thank you so much for the wonderful crew pictures.