8x10" photo shows Doolittle posing wearing flight helmet and beside a Navy racer Curtiss R3C-2 seaplane w/pontoons. Doolittle won the Schneider Cup trophy in 1925 by flying the pictured plane the fastest it had ever been flown, averaging 232 MPH. The race took place at the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore, MD. Lower right corner has text reading "Curtiss Schneider Cup Racer R3C-2 - Lt. JH Doolittle Pilot USA." Aside from numerous aeronautical feats and records, Doolittle is best known as the planner/commander of the Doolittle Raid while in the US Army Air Forces. The Doolittle Raid was the first air raid by the US to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. It provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for US retaliation after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The photo shows some handling wear, w/five .25" or less tears at margins which could be easily matted out for an Exc. display. Additional pencil notation on reverse.