The Air Force football program will honor the Doolittle Raiders with its annual Air Power Legacy Series alternate uniforms, which will be worn at Navy on Oct. 21.
The Doolittle Raid was an aerial bombing campaign conducted in April 1942 against targets in Tokyo and other military locations on the Japanese mainland, marking the first American air operation against the country during World War II.
Under the direction of Lt. Colonel James Doolittle, 16 B-25 bombers were launched from the U.S.S. Hornet roughly 650 nautical miles from Japan after being spotted by a Japanese patrol boat. They bombed 10 targets before heading toward China.
The aircraft sustained minimal damage from enemy fighters but ran low on fuel, so the crews bailed out over China or crash-landed along the coast, though one flew to the Soviet Union rather than ditch the plane in the middle of the East China Sea.
Though the raid only killed 50 people and caused slight damage to targets, it raised American morale following the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Of the 69 airmen who participated, three were killed in action and eight were prisoners of war, with three executed and another dying in captivity.
The events of the Doolittle Raid were heavily fictionalized for the 2001 film “Pearl Harbor” and are considered the most historically inaccurate portions of the film. That includes the end, where the airmen encounter Japanese soldiers upon crash-landing.
As for the uniforms, the feature a chrome silver helmet with an image of the B-25 bombers on the ride side, the Doolittle Raiders emblem on the left side, “B-25” on the front bumper and names of nine of the 16 planes on the back bumper. The others were unnamed and are represented by “Doolittle” on the back bumper.
The insignia – which includes the bomber, seven Maltese Crosses (17th Bombardment Group), the Thunderbird (34th Squadron), the Kicking Mule (95th squadron), the Tiger Head (37th Squadron) and the Winged Helmet (89th Reconnaissance Squadron) – can also be seen on the left sleeve of the white jersey.
The jersey features steel gray typography, including the Air Force wordmark across the chest and the riveted numbers. The tail number of the aircraft that flew in the mission can be seen on the right shoulder, while the U.S. flag is on the right sleeve.
The uniform is complete “Doolittle Raiders” on the back nameplate, as well as the military aircraft roundel on the right hip and “Ever into Peril” down the sides of the white pants in both English and French (Toujours au Danger).
This marks the eight iteration of the Air Power Legacy Series uniforms, Air Force celebrated Tiger Shark nose art in 2016, the F-35 Lighting II in 2017, the AC-130 “Spooky” gunship in 2018, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III in 2019, the Tuskegee Airmen in 2020, B-52 Stratofortress in 2021 and Space Force in 2022.
The Falcons are 14-1 all time when wearing their Air Power Legacy Series uniforms, including wins over Navy and New Mexico last fall.
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