Leonard H Smith

Military
media-7040.jpeg UPL 7040 Lt. Len Smith (Left) & Lt. Lou Loevsky (Right) standing beside the tail of a destroyed German a/c after being liberated from Stalag Luft III - April 1945
Notice Loevsky's "salute" to the Germans!
466th BG - 786th BS 466th Bomb Group collection

466th BG Historian

Object Number - UPL 7040 - Lt. Len Smith (Left) & Lt. Lou Loevsky (Right) standing beside the tail of a destroyed German a/c after being liberated from Stalag Luft III - April...

Connections

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Units served with

Three little girls hold up a balloon celebrating the 100th mission of the 466th Bomb Group in front of a B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-95592) nicknamed "Black Cat". Handwritten caption on reverse: 'On our 100 Mission party Day- 18 Aug 1944, Attlebridge, 466th- wouldn't it be something if we could identify these girls? How could I do it?'

466th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Louis Loevsky

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-698451
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

William Jefferson Terry

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-532947
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

41-29434

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Terry & The Pirates
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Aerial photograph of Attlebridge airfield, looking north, the fuel store and a T2 hangar are in the upper centre, 31 January 1946. Photograph taken by No. 90 Squadron, sortie number RAF/3G/TUD/UK/51. English Heritage (RAF Photography).

Attlebridge

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Shot Down/Captured

Berlin, Germany 22 March 1944 Shot down on his (and the group's) first mission. His B-24 was hit by flak and then collided with another group B-24. Smith landed on a rooftop and rolled off only to have his parachute fortunately snag on the parapet. After some tense moments where the German soldiers inside the building kept pushing him away from the building, Smith came crashing through the window feet first. He had been injured in the foot and had frostbitten hands, but survived the ordeal to become a POW.

Other

POW

Zagan, Poland Stalag Luft III Moved to Nuremburg near the end of the war

Born

Indiana, USA
Perry, Indiana Hillside Drive

Revisions

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

"Attlebridge Arsenal" - Brassfield & Wassom, page 242-243
https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=Leonard+H_Smith&event=_Indiana&pg…
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=rEH1304&_phstart=suc…

Leonard H Smith: Gallery (1 items)

Object number: UPL 7040 - Lt. Len Smith (Left) & Lt. Lou Loevsky (Right)...