In late February and early March 1942, twenty-four volunteer aircrews arrived at Eglin Field, Florida in the utmost of secrecy. None knew the details of the mission they had signed on for. The arrival of naval aviator and instructor Lt. Henry Miller to train the men in quick takeoff techniques confirmed what some had begun to figure out: they would be flying their B-25’s off a carrier.

Miller preached a simple concept for making this minimum speed take-off: “Pull back on the yoke until you feel your spine!” At the beginning of their training, the pilots refused to believe a fully loaded B-25 could take off at 50 knots in less than 500 feet. By the time of the mission, all they needed was 350 and a 40 knot headwind.

William Phillips