Retired Col. Bill Bower, the last surviving pilot among the Doolittle Raiders, has died in Boulder, Colo. Boulder’s Daily Camera reports that Bower died Monday in his south Boulder home at age 93. “He was an exceptional human being,” said his son Jim Bower. As a first lieutenant, Bower piloted Fickle Finger, the 12th of 16 B-25 bombers that took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet on April 18, 1942, to bomb Tokyo, just four months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. He and his crew bailed out over China and reached safety after the mission. Bower continued to serve during World War II and remained in the Air Force until 1966. With his death, there are now five surviving Doolittle Raiders, including two co-pilots. The most recent Doolittle Raiders reunion took place last April in Dayton, Ohio. (Daily Camera Bower obituary)
Navy CCA Program’s Shape Coming into Focus
Oct. 17, 2025
In announcing its Navy Collaborative Combat Aircraft contract, General Atomics has provided some clues as to where the service is heading with its version of an armed, autonomous fighter escort. It will likely be quite different from the Air Force version.
