Which operation involved the surprise bombing of Tokyo using B-25 bombers?

• A. Doolittle Raid
• B. Battle of Midway
• C. Pearl Harbor Attack
• D. Iwo Jima Operation

Answer: (A)

This question tests recognizing a bold use of carrier-based air power to strike the Japanese homeland. The operation involved sending Army Air Forces B-25 Mitchell bombers off an aircraft carrier to bomb Tokyo in 1942, a daring raid that proved long-range land-based bombers could reach Japan from a carrier.

The plan, led by General James Doolittle, launched from the USS Hornet and aimed to boost American morale after Pearl Harbor. The raid achieved only limited physical damage, but it had outsized strategic and psychological effects: it pressured Japan by showing its home islands were vulnerable, and it demonstrated the potential—and risks—of projecting air power from carriers over great distances.

This differs from the other events: Midway was a pivotal naval battle, not a bombing raid on Tokyo; Pearl Harbor was the Japanese surprise attack on American bases in 1941; Iwo Jima was a 1945 amphibious invasion.