30 Seconds Over Tokyo

This is the story of the famed raid over Tokyo in April 1942 led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle. The film concentrates on Lt. Ted Lawson the commander of a B25, the RUPTURED DUCK, and its crew. Having accepted the mission without really knowing what they need to do, their first task is to learn to take off with only 500 ft. of runway. They also have to learn to drop bombs without the use of their Norden bombsights. The plan is to launch B25s from an aircraft carrier 400 miles from Japanese soil. Once they've dropped their bombs on various Japanese targets, they are to fly on to a part of China that is not under Japanese control. For Lawson and his crew, the raid itself goes well but they are forced to crash land in China. The men are cared for by a kind group of Chinese villagers, but Lawson has to have his leg amputated.