Basil Frederick Lowry
Military
Object Number - UPL 61152 - S/Sgt Basil F. Lowry
He flew on Andrew Kata crew. Reported to the ETO on 27 apr 1944.
Shot down by flak and crashed near Caen on 8/8/44 in B-17 #42-102669. POW at Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobb
Awards: DFC, AM (OLC), POW, EAME, WWII Victory.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: 39565010
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Damyankee
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft VI, Heydekrug
![A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group wave to Picture Post Girls in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24471) nicknamed "Four of a Kind" at Thurleigh in December 1942. Image stamped on reverse: '"Picture Post" [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 11 Dec 1942.' [stamp], '238038.' [Censor no.] Handwritten in censor's blue pencil on reverse: 'American Flying Fortress crew are introduced to the girls they will meet at Picture Post Xmas Party.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379028.jpg.webp?itok=6Gc6iR0j)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bedford
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
17 February 1924 | BornMemphis, Tennessee | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
8 August 1944 - 1 May 1945 | Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) 54-16 | |
|
Died |
2 September 1975 | ||
|
Buried |
5 September 1975 | InterredOakridge CemeteryClarksdale, Coahoma County, Mississippi |
Revisions
I am the granddaughter of Basil Fredrick lowry. I made a change to his medals and added his Purple Heart. My grandfather earned his Purple Heart when the plane was taken down. When he parachuted out his first parachute did not open properly and his reserve opened so close to the ground that upon impact he broke both his legs, one of which was a compound fracture, these injures probably would have been worse but he landed on a dead cow in a field. He then crawled to a fence near a road where German soldiers picked him up. He escaped prison camp while marching to a different camp. Him and another individual escaped into a beet field and farmers took care of them. I will be as soon as I have the opportunity I will be uploading the western union telegraphs my dad has framed informing the family of his missing in action and when he was discovered to be alive.
Added POW camp info to the POW event from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added a connection to Stalag Luft IV.
306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition MACR 8434, 306th BGA Collection, Russell Strong Index Cards, Combat Crews pg. 55 & 57, / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8434 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / http://www.306bg.org/crewphotos/Crew%20Pictures%20Adam-Rector/Crew%20Pi…
