Francis Stuart Low

Following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Low came up with the idea that twin-engined Army bombers could be launched from an aircraft carrier, after observing several at a naval airfield in Norfolk, Virginia, where the runway was painted with the outline of a carrier deck for landing practice. Low sold the idea to Admiral King, who respected Low's opinion and forwarded it to the chief of the Army Air Forces, General Henry H. Arnold, who supported the plan.

 

The operations later became known as the Doolittle Raid, the first air operation to strike the Japanese Home Islands. It demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attack, served as retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and provided an important boost to American morale.