Harry L Lewis Jr
MilitaryNose Gunner
Crew #778 - Elmer Anderson Crew
466th BG - 787th BS 466th Bomb Group collection
Cropped from image media-32753.jpeg (media id 33220)
466th BG Archives - Harry L. Lewis Collection
Flew 14 missions in 1945
Retired as a Senior Master Sergeant from the USAF
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-2057209
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Judy Sue
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Carioca-Bev
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Lady
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Hard Luck
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 493rd Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron 862nd Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 19 April 1945
- Date: 18 April 1945
- Date: 15 April 1945
- Date: 15 April 1945
- Date: 12 April 1945
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
5 November 1925 | ||
Other 466th BG Combat Tour |
7 March 1945 - 18 April 1945 | Completed 14 combat missions | |
Other 1st Combat Mission |
7 March 1945 | Saw my first flak today - sort of fascinating. I also did a little praying. I'd been planning it for quite a while. Mission time - 6:05 hours Bombs - 12 500 lbs. Incendiaries Ship - #255 "Lady" | |
Other 2nd Combat Mission |
8 March 1945 | Hit the target. It was a very nice day about the 10/10 clouds. Saw the vapor train of a V-2 bomb headed for England. Saw some Nazi fighters. One hole in the ship. Mission time - 6:30 hours Bombs - 12 - 500 lbs Incendiaries Ship - #42-50666 | |
Other 3rd Combat Mission |
11 March 1945 | The waist gunner knelt beside is waist gun and prayed for us all. Himself too I imagine. It is one of the roughest targets in Germany. Couldn't see the bombs hit because of clouds. It was a very rough day. The flak was intense and accurate. There were 44 holes in the aircraft. Mission time: 6:30 Bombs - 52 - 100 lbs GP Aircraft: #42-50791 "Judy Sue" | |
Other 4th combat mission |
17 March 1945 | Flak was accurate and intense. Clouds were 10/10th, thank God for that. These last two missions have really been something. The target today was a tank factory. On the way back today we passed close to Magdeburg and Hamburg. Those places had been hit while on our way there and on our way back. Smoke coming up from both places up to 18,000 feet. I'll never forget that for the rest of my life. More Nazi fighters. Taylor shot at one. Three fighters were shot down by our group. We lost three ships. There were 12 holes in our aircraft. Mission time: 6:30 Bombs - 12 500 lbs RDX Aircraft: #42-50791 "Judy Sue" | |
Other 5th combat mission |
24 March 1945 | Today was my first visual mission. Quite exciting. I sort of liked it. Not so much flak. The target was just across the Dutch border in Germany. Saw a lot of activity on the ground today. It looks like the British are about to move. On the way back we saw a ship ditch in the North Sea. One hole in our ship. Mission Time: 6:45 Bombs - 34 - 150 lbs GP Aircraft #42-50791 "Judy Sue" | |
Other 6th combat mission |
25 March 1945 | A very rough day for the crew as Mello, Bell and Carr had the "G.I.'s" It's really no fun at altitude. No flak, but enemy fighters were in the area. On our way back, two B-24's collided and crashed in the English Channel. (this probably happened on the way out as two B-24's of the 392nd BG collided and crashed near Skeyton.) No navigator on this mission. Mission time: 6:42 Bomb Load: 28 - 250 lbs GP | |
Other 7th Combat Mission |
7 April 1945 | First mission as a navigator. I really sweated this one out. I learned a lot today. It was visual. One ship got knocked out of the air by flak, I didn't see it however. I dread the day that I see one go down in flames. This navigation deal sure puts a guy in a rough spot! Three ships shot down out of our squadron. I still haven't seen them go down. I was too busy with navigation. Nine holes in the ship, missed me by a hair. I was really scared. Mission Time: 6:50 Bomb Load: 17 - 500 lbs GP Bombed from 21,000 feet | |
Other 8th combat mission |
9 April 1945 | Well today I saw what I always dreaded; I saw a B-24 go down and only seven men bailed out. Then she blew up. The last three men didn't have a chance. Their chutes opened by were set afire by the explosion and sent those boys down to their death. (this wasn't a 466th BG ship). Just before the target we had to feather the #1 engine. Then I really sweated out our navigator - me! But the pilot followed the bomber stream back and everything was well. We saw another aircraft land in the Channel (probably a B-17 from the 390th BG) and a British gun boat throwing out depth charges. One of our aircraft crashed on takeoff (it was a blown tire on B-24J #42-95194. Everyone was safe) . No flak holes thank GOD! Mission Time: 7:15 Bomb Load: 12 - 500 lbs GP | |
Other 9th combat mission |
10 April 1945 | I saw a B-17 knocked down. No one got out. Flak was there, but not in the right place. Visual bombing as they all have been since my 4th mission. The missions seem to be getting longer with each one. Today we had one bomb hang up and Jes kicked it out about 10 miles from the target and it just smashed the hell out of a farm house. I pity the guy who it landed near. More Nazi fighters but our P-51's scared the hell out of them. Only one hole in the ship today, through the wing. Mission Time: 7:40 Bomb Load: 5 - 1000 lbs GP Bombed from 21,000 feet Aircraft: "42-95255 "Lady" | |
Other 10th combat mission |
11 April 1945 | We did a very good job of bombing today. When our bombs hit we must have hit a tanker because we really saw a lot of smoke. Today we weren't very high over the front lines and we really saw some torn up ground. I don't see how the German people take what they do. Flak. This was rough target. Our B-24 really got it. Scared me. The flak was too rough. We had 27 holes in our ship. I just don't know how no one gets hit. Mission Time: 8:15 Bomb Load: 6 - 1000 lbs GP Aircraft: "Joyce" | |
Other 11th combat mission |
14 April 1945 | The target was a peninsula where 122,000 Nazis have been holing up since the beginning of the war. There was no flak. We hit gun positions. The whole 8th AF was there and it sure got hit hard. We saw Nazi fighters but they were manned by Poles and French. We were told not to shoot at any aircraft. Mission Time: 7:55 Bomb Load: 3 - 2000 lbs GP Bombed from 14,000 feet. Low, but we could really see the bombs hit Aircraft: #42-95255 "Lady" | |
Other 12th combat mission |
15 April 1945 | Target was a town near yesterday's target. The new bomb (napalm) when it hits throws fire for a 60 yard area. Our altitude today was 14,000 feet again & the bombs when they hit sure do raise hell. We could see specks on the ground running in all directions. On our way out from the target we saw the British had battlewagons hurling shells into the peninsula. They sure went through hell for two days straight. On our way back we flew formation over England at 50 feet! It sure was swell. No holes in the plane for the last two missions. Mission time: 9:10 Bomb load - Napalm Aircraft: #42-95255 "Lady" | |
Other 13th combat mission |
17 April 1945 | Very nice day. No flak, no fighters, no nothing. We had the best bomb hits I've ever seen! Our group sure had some swell bomb hits. I am still flying as navigator. Mission time: 7:15 Bomb load: 12 - 500 lbs GP Aircraft: #44-40253 "Hard Luck" | |
Other 14th and Final combat mission |
18 April 1945 | Targeted the marshaling yards. Another beautiful hit. I like these kind of missions. No flak. No fighters. I'm now beginning to wonder how many more missions I will have to fly as the infantry is moving so fast, we don't know where to drop our bombs. I sure hope this war doesn't last to long. Mission time: 8:10 Bomb Load - 5 - 1000 lbs GP Aircraft: 42-95255 "Lady" | |
Other End of War |
8 May 1945 | War Over! Everyone is either happy or drunk. | |
Enlisted |
1 December 1945 | This was a re-enlistment after the war, keeping his rank of Staff Sergeant. | |
Died |
20 March 2006 | ||
Buried/ Commemorated |
23 March 2006 | Congregational Church of Brookfield Mem Garden Brookfield Center Fairfield County Connecticut, USA Plot: 44A |
Revisions
Added " / " in the "Role/job" field as a separator to aid readability.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self