Henry R Legge
Military9-Feb-42 Assigned as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK. 303BG records do not indicate that he was in the original complement of aircraft and crews of the 303BG at Molesworth, UK in October 1942. It seems likely that he was part of a replacement crew and was processed through one of the Combat Crew Replacment Centers prior to his assigment with the 303BG.
6-Mar-43 SHot down in B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/36-BS while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. The aircraft crashed into Bay of Biscay off of Penmarch Point, France after a FW-190 attack that knocked out engines 1 & 2. Co-Pilot and LWG killed instantly. The other 8 survived in leaky rafts for 12 hours before a German boat hauled them aboard to become Prisoner of War (POW)s
Participated in 4 Operations (1 was Aborted) See Biorgarphy events.
POW
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
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 6 March 1943
- Date: 27 February 1943
- Date: 26 February 1943
- Date: 14 February 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 9 February 1943 | Assigned as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK. |
Other Mission #1, TSGT Henry R. Legge, W/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Hamm, Germany | 14 February 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany. Severe cold and weather forced Wing Command to recall the entire 303BG formation. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #2, TSGT Henry R. Legge, W/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 26 February 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #3, TSGT Henry R. Legge, W/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Brest, France | 27 February 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Baot pens at Brest, France. RTB OK. |
Other Prisoner of War - Camp 1. |
Moosburg, Germany | 6 March 1943 - 13 October 1943 | Held at Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Bavaria. 13-Oct-43 Moved to Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems) Austria. |
Other Mission #4, TSGT Henry R. Legge, W/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS - POW |
Lorient, France | 6 March 1943 | Served as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. Aircraft was shot down by fighters but the pilot managed to ditch the aircraft into the Bay of Biscay. He and 7 other airmen were able to get in rafts and were eventually captured by the Germans. Two other crew were KIA in the attack. |
Other Last Report Date - Discharged |
6 June 1945 | Evacuated to the US after he was liberated from Stalag 17B and discharged from the USAAF. | |
Other Prisoner of War - Camp 2 |
Krems an der Donau, Austria | 14 October 1945 - 15 April 1945 | Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria until liberated by the 3rd Army (Patton) on 15-Apr-45. |
Born |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Last Report Date event per NARA WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 6-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/020.pdf
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 27-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/018.pdf
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 26-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/017.pdf
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 14-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/015.pdf
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Martin E. Ploucher crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/360plocher.html
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Made connections to Place, Aircraft and Missions; Added initial assignment info and Participations statement to Summary Biography per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, 303BG Personnel Roster; http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 3-Jul-2015. Added Decoration and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Made connections to Place and Mission wihtin existing website data; Added A/C model letter and Unit assocition to Description per MACR 15536.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15536 / MACR 15536, 3 Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. 1, pp. 88-89 by Bishop & Hey . 303rd web site mission report with quotes from Legge. / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database