Raymond Earl Walls
MilitaryRaymond Walls came over to Thurleigh with the 352nd Service Squadron then transferred to the 368th Bomb Squadron on 27 January 1943. He only completed 6 missions before being shot down.
He was Right Waist gunner on B-17 "Montana Power" - Serial 41-24465 when it went down on the 5 April 1943 mission to the ERLA works (Luftwaffe aircraft repair shop) in Antwerp. After landing in parachute in Holland, Walls was helped by Dutch, Belgian and French patriots and reached Spain on 2 June 1943. Brought to Gibraltar, he was flown back from there to England on 16 June and landed in Portreath, United Kingdom the following day. His successful evasion was the work of the Belgian COMET network. See Raymond Walls' page at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fwallsre.html
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
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 491st Bomb Group
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 14071743
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16022965
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16035409 and O-661851
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39826025
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Montana Power
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 5 April 1943
Places
![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 |
Monongah, Marion County, West Virginia, USA | 14 December 1918 | |
|
Enlisted |
Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio, United States | 10 December 1941 | as a Private in the Air Corps |
|
Other Evaded |
Holland, Belgium and France | 5 April 1943 - 16 June 1943 | helped by Dutch, Belgian and French patriots, he got back to England 2 and a half months, thanks to the Belgian evasion network "COMETE" [ www.evasioncomete.be ]. |
|
Died |
Essex, Virginia, United States | 12 September 2011 | |
|
Born |
Monongah, Marion County, West Virginia, United States |
Revisions
Capitalized all the words in the "Role/job" field to aid readability.
Brought in information from duplicate record. Source:
306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition; MACR 15533, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey pp. 99-100, First Over Germany by Russell Strong pp. 81-82 [not POW as indicated], / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia
MACR 15534
NARA WWII Enlistment records
Escape & Evasion Report E&E 39
MACR 15533 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database