Description

James Harold Doolittle sits in the cockpit of a small airplane. An inset photo in the upper right reads "Directional Gyro, Gyro Horizon, Gyro instruments guided Doolittle". Text on recto reads "1929 - James Doolittle made first blind landing".

Original Caption: "The First 'Blind Landing' of an aircraft using instruments-only was made by Lt. General James H. 'Jimmy' Doolittle flying a NY-2 trainer plane at Mitchel Field, New York, on September 24, 1994 [sic -- should be 1929]. General Doolittle established himself as one of America's leading aviation pioneers. In 1935, he set a speed record flying a seaplane faster than anyone had ever done before, he helped develop fog-flying equipment in 1928, which led to wide-spread use of artificial horizon and directional gyroscopes, and he served as Army advisor on construction of Floyd Bennett Airport in New York City. After he received his doctorate in aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he won the Schneider Cup race of 1925 and received the Mackay Trophy. He led the April 18, 1942 B-25 raid on Japan, for which he received the Medal of Honor. After W.W. II, he returned to civilian life as the vice president of Shell Oil. General Doolittle was Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board from 1956-1959. (USAF Photo)".