Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

The film dramatizes the training and execution of the 1942 Doolittle Raid, in which B-25 bombers launched from an aircraft carrier to strike Tokyo, following the airmen's harrowing escape through China afterward. It centers on pilot Ted Lawson's real experiences and injuries. The mission's daring nature and its cost to the crews are highlighted.

The Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, launched sixteen B-25 bombers from USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo and other Japanese cities, boosting American morale after Pearl Harbor. Most crews crash-landed in China, and several airmen were captured or killed.

Based on the memoir of pilot Ted Lawson, with generally accurate depiction of the raid's planning and aftermath, filmed with wartime-era enthusiasm.

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Cast: Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Phyllis Thaxter

Positioned at April 18, 1942 within the World War II phase of the war, as part of the Doolittle Raid. This is entry 64 of 150 in the chronological archive.

• Doolittle Raid
• B-25 bombers
• Tokyo raid
• Jimmy Doolittle
• wartime morale film

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  Midway

  June 4–7, 1942

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  Pearl Harbor

  7 December 1941 – 18 April 1942

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  Bataan

  Early 1942

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  Back to Bataan

  1942–1945

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  Midway

  June 4–7, 1942

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  The Thin Red Line

  1942–1943