Harlan Oakes
Military
Assistant Group S-2 officer - 466th BG
Oakes dressed as a German soldier to test security at Attlebridge. The MP's nor anyone else on base ever questioned his garb!
466th BG Historian
Object Number - UPL 19133 - Captain Harlan G. Oakes Assistant Group S-2 officer - 466th BG Oakes dressed as a German soldier to test security at Attlebridge. The MP's nor...
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Headquarters
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
Missions
- Date: 11 June 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Combat Mission |
41000 Blois, France | 11 June 1944 | "I was an S-2 Intelligence officer in the 466th BG. We were restricted from flying on missions because of the nature of our job. However having flown so many practice missions stateside, and having my private pilot;s license, I was afraid the war would be over before this airman got to go on a mission! I asked my good friend Warren Burt if I could sneak a ride on his next mission. He agreed. Little did I know it was a "top secret" effort that was briefed after we were airborne! The target was to be visually confirmed destroyed at all costs. Blois bridges were the target, and as I recall our group led the misson with Colonel Cisco flying lead and Captain Merket as lead bombardier. I was sandbagging the ride in the waist of Burt's plane as an observer, but I did have a K-20 camera with me. Because the ceiling for visual bombing had dropped to between 5000 and 5500 feet, we had to come in at the lowest level our unit had bombed from heretofore. Because our automatic cameras were set to come on at "bombs away" for altitudes ranging from 18,000 to 25,000 feet, no photo results were expected. I was asked if I can photograph the results with my K-20. I did so while leaning out of the rear escape hatch with "Pop" Julian holding my parachute straps so I wouldn't fall out!" - Harlan G. Oakes. Mr. Oakes did not indicate in his write up of this mission whether or not he got in trouble with his superiors when he returned to Attlebridge! |
| Chicago, IL, USA | 75 East Wacker Drive | ||
| Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, CA, USA |
Revisions
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources
466th BG Archives - Letter written by Harlan Oaks dated 3 December 1995
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit roster in the book ATTLEBRIDGE DIARY by Wassom & Brassfield, page 349 & Page 368 in the book 2ND AIR DIVISIONby Turner Publishing Company, 1998 edition (D790.A2S45)
