The Doolittle Raid was a U.S. air raid during World War II that targeted major cities in Japan. It occurred on April 18, 1942. The attack aimed to lift Allied spirits and incite fear in the Japanese population in retribution for the recent Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During the operation, which Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle planned and led, 16 aircraft launched from the carrier USS Hornet and bombed targets in Japan, and 13 of the aircrews reached safety in China afterward.