Albert W Helsley
MilitaryAlbert W. Helsley Crew
466th BG - 787th BS
Standing Left to Right: James S. Fennell (R/O), George E. Williams (G), Francis Zeuli (G), Robert A. Stuart (FE), William H. Conrad (G), Edgar J. Cooley (G)
Kneeling Left to Right: Andrew Bozony (B), Aurelio Gualteri (N), Robert Cuccaro (CP), Albert W. Helsley (P)
This crew completed a 32 combat mission tour. Helsley flew 33 combat missions.
Attlebridge Arsenal - Brassfield & Wassom
Preferred to fly the Ford built B-24's.
Good friends with Lt. Robert Harrington who's room was across the hall and Lt. Robert Greenwood who took over Harrington's crew when he (Harrington) was shot down flying with a make up crew.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
- Role/Job: Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
- Role/Job: Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33669829
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade)
- Role/Job: Radio Operator Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Earthquake McGoon
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Peggy Ann
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Lady
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 23 March 1945
- Date: 13 January 1945
- Date: 7 January 1945
- Date: 2 January 1945
- Date: 28 December 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Knoxville, TN, USA | 24 November 1920 | |
Other 466th Combat Tour |
RAF Attlebridge | 28 July 1944 - 13 January 1945 | Pilot of Crew #740. Completed a 33 mission tour. It appears he led his crew on 32 missions and flew one additional mission with another crew. - Albert Helsley |
Other Combat Mission |
Cologne, Germany | 18 October 1944 | On the Cologne mission I had to leave formation due to flak damage. The bomb bay doors were loose and flapping in the wind. I had a damaged engine, the radios were out and I couldn't get the right altitude on the instruments. We tagged onto another group and let down over the North Sea. We broke out of the cloud right above the water. From there I was able to fly back to base. |
Died |
Beaverton, OR, USA | 20 July 2006 | |
Buried |
Portland, OR, USA | 24 July 2006 | Willamette National Cemetery Portland Multnomah County Oregon, USA Plot: Section X Site 212 |
Rogersville, TN 37857, USA | 416 McKinney Avenue |
Revisions
466th BG Archives - List of officers present at Attlebridge 10 May 1945
466th BG Archives - Report on Mission No. 146, Neunkirchen, Germany - 30 November 1944
NARA Research provided by Brad Sullivan
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit roster in the book ATTLEBRIDGE ARSENAL by Wassom & Brassfield, page 346