Everyone knows about the December 7th Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that pulled the United States into World War II.
But,  in one of the war’s most audacious secret missions—one that shifted momentum and stunned Japan—Minnesota played a role so quiet it nearly disappeared from history.

Without it, the Doolittle Raid would never have flown.

In early 1942, after Pearl Harbor, Jimmy Doolittle was tasked with pulling off the impossible: launching Army bombers from an aircraft carrier to strike Japan. The aircraft chosen were B-25 Mitchells, but they needed major modifications to make the mission work.

That’s where Minnesota comes in.

The Doolittle Raid B-25s and their crews were quietly staged in Minneapolis for about a month before the mission. While here, the aircraft were modified at the MSP airfield. These changes were critical—without them, the bombers would never have had the range to reach Japan.

The crews lived and trained locally, keeping a low profile, while their aircraft were transformed from standard medium bombers into long-range strike platforms. After leaving Minnesota, the B-25s moved on to final training and were then loaded onto the USS Hornet, launching the first U.S. bombing of the Japanese home islands on April 18, 1942.--