'Executive Sweet' arrives

  • Published
  • By John Cochran
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
John Wiebener, a retired Air Force officer, is the pilot of a B-25 Mitchell World War II-era medium bomber called "Executive Sweet," which landed at the Albuquerque International Sunport at noon Tuesday for an overnight stop.

The aircraft and 10-member crew were on the way from Camarillo, Calif., to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, for the April 19-20 reunion of the Doolittle Raiders.

The bomber was parked at the Cutter Aviation main ramp, where free tours were available from noon until 6:30 p.m. to military members in uniform.

The B-25 took off Wednesday at 10 a.m.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force fact sheet provides details on the Doolittle Raid.

In the spring of 1942, America's morale slumped from numerous Japanese successes, and the country desperately needed a victory. Capt. Francis S. Low, a U.S. Navy submariner, suggested an attack against the heart of Japan using U.S. Army Air Forces medium bombers flown from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. The top secret plan called for the B-25s to take off about 450 miles from Japan, bomb selected targets at such locations as Yokohama and Tokyo, and then fly another 1,600 miles to friendly airfields in mainland China.

The operation was risky -- medium bombers had never been flown from a carrier, and sailing so far into enemy territory endangered the U.S. Navy task force.

The Chief of the Army Air Corps, Lt. Gen. Hap Arnold, selected Lt. Col. James Doolittle to lead Special Aviation Project No. 1, the bombing of Japan.

The crews selected for the mission trained at Eglin Field, Fla.

The U.S. Army Air Forces chose the North American Aviation B-25 Mitchell medium bomber for the Doolittle Raid because it was the only aircraft available with the required range, bomb capacity and short takeoff distance.

The newly built aircraft carrier USS Hornet was chosen to carry Doolittle's B-25s toward Japan.

In March, it sailed to Alameda Naval Air Station, near San Francisco, to load the Army Air Forces aircraft, 72 officers and 64 enlisted men.

The B-25Bs and 24 trained volunteer crews came from the 17th Bombardment Group, Pendleton Field, Ore.

Although the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, caused only minor damage, it forced the Japanese to recall combat forces for home defense, raised fears among the Japanese civilians, and boosted morale among Americans and our Allies abroad.

Doolittle flew the "Executive Sweet," which was selected as one of 25 aircraft to attend what's being billed as the last Doolittle Raiders Reunion.

The "Executive Sweet" will also stop in Albuquerque at 12:30 p.m. April 22 on its return trip, again parking at Cutter Aviation. Tours will be available from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The aircraft will depart westward at 10 a.m. April 23.