114

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1942-Contin ued

Hornet

with B-25

bombel:' on

board

enroute to

launching

point for

the first

Tokyo raid,

1942

lO6l486

18 April Raid on Tokyo-From a position at sea 668

miles from Tokyo, the carrier Hornet launched 16 B-

25s of the 17th AAF Air Group led by Lieutenant

Colonel Jimmy H. Doolittle, USA, for the first attack on

the Japanese homeland. Hornet sortied from Alameda,

Calif., 2 April, made rendezvous with Enterprise and other

ships of Task Force 16 (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey)

north of the Hawaiian Islands, and proceeded across the

Pacific to the launching point without making port.

18 April A Night Fighter Development Unit was

established to be located at NAS Quonset Point, R.I.

This unit, originally named Project Argus was renamed

Project Affirm to avoid confusion with the electronic

element (Argus Unit) of an advanced base. Project

Affirm's official purpose was development and test of

night fighter equipment for Navy and Marine Corps

aircraft; in addition it developed tactics and trained

officers and men for early night fighter squadrons and

as night fighter directors.

19 April Two tests of the feasibility of utilizing

drone aircraft as guided missiles were conducted in

Chesapeake Bay. In one, Utility Squadron VJ-5, utiliz-

ing visual direction, crash-dived a BG-l drone into the

water beyond its target, the wreck of San Marcos and

a live bomb exploder in the drone failed to detonate.

The second and more successful test was conducted

by Project Fox from CAA intermediate field, Lively,

Va., using a BG-2 drone equipped with a television

camera to provide a view of the target. Flying in a

control plane 11 miles distant, Lieutenant Moulton B.

Taylor directed the drone's crash-dive into a raft being

towed at a speed of eight knots.

-

20 April Wasp on special ferry duty out of Glasgow,

Scotland, entered the Mediterranean and launched 47

RAF Spitfires to Malta. When the operation was dupli-

cated on 9 May, it was the occasion for Winston

Churchill's message, "Who says a Wasp cannot sting

twice?"

24 April A new specification for color of naval air-

craft went into effect. The color of service aircraft

remained non-specular light gray with non-specular

blue-gray on surfaces visible from above. Advanced

trainers were to be finished in glossy aircraft gray with

glossy orange yellow on wing and aileron surfaces vis-

ible from above while primary trainers were to be fin-

ished glossy orange-yellow with gray landing gear.

30 April The Air Operational Training Command was

established with headquarters at Jacksonville, Fla. Four

days later the Naval Air Stations at Jacksonville, Miami,

Fla., Key West, Fla, and Banana River, Fla., and their

satellite fields were assigned to the new command.

4-8 May Battle of Coral Sea-In the first naval

engagement in history fought without opposing ships

making contact, United States carrier forces stopped a

Japanese attempt to land at Port Moresby, Papua, New

Ginea, by turning back the covering carrier force. Task

Force 17 (Rear Admiral Frank 1. Fletcher) with the car-

rier Yorktown, bombed Japanese transports engaged in

landing troops in Tulagi Harbor, damaging several and

sinking one destroyer (4 May); joined other Allied

naval units including Task Force 11 (Rear Admiral

Aubrey W. Fitch) with the carrier Lexington south of

the Louisiades (5 May); and after stationing an attack