James H Lentz
Military ROLL OF HONOUR15-Jul-42 Assigned as Tail Gunner on B-17F #42-2967 [PU G] "Shak Hak", 303BG/a60BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. 16-Oct-1942 Arrived at Molesworth, UK aboard "Shak Hak".
Shot down 16-February-1943 in B-17F #42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS while serving as Tail Gunner. The aircraft was attacked by fighters and crashed into the English Channel on return from a mission to St. Nazaire, France. Killed in Action (KIA)
Participated in 7 Operations (NO Aborts) See Biography events.
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
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
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Thumper
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Yardbird II
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Shak Hak
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 16 February 1943
- Date: 13 January 1943
- Date: 3 January 1943
- Date: 30 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 23 November 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 15 July 1942 | Assigned as Tail Gunner on B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
Other Arrived in UK |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 16 October 1942 | Arrived at Molesworth, UK as Tail Gunner aboard B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS. |
Other Mission #1, SSGT James H. Lentz, w/B-17F 42-2967, 303BG/360BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 17 November 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #2, SSGT James H. Lentz, w/B-17F 42-2967, 303BG/360BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 18 November 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #3, SSGT James H. Lentz, w/B-17F 42-2967, 303BG/360BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 23 November 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #4, SSGT James H. Lentz, w/B-17F 41-24602, 303BG/360BS |
Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24602 "Yardbird", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #5, SSGT James H. Lentz, w/B-17F 42-2967, 303BG/360BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1943 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #6, SSGT James H. Lentz, w/B-17F 41-24579, 303BG/360BS |
Lille, France | 13 January 1943 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24579 "Thumper", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the Lille Fives Locomoative Works at Lille, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #5, SSGT James H. Lentz, w/B-17F 42-2967, 303BG/360BS - KIA |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 16 February 1943 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. The aircraft was shot down by fighters and crashed into the sea. He was Killed in Action (KIA). |
Born |
Kansas, USA | ||
Other Commemorated |
Saint-James, France | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Brittany American Cemetery. | |
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
English Channel | 16 February 1943 | Killed when aircraft was shot down by enemy fighters and crashed into the English Channel. His remains have never been recovered. |
Revisions
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 16-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/016.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Mission #6 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 13-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/010.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 3-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 23-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/004.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 18-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/002.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report to 17-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/001.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, William H. Breed crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-breed.html
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, William H. Breed crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-breed.html
Lee Cunningham 26-Feb-2016. Added initial assignment and arrival in UK info to Summary Biography; Made connections to Place, All AIrcraft and all Mission per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, William H. Breed crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-breed.html
Lee Cunningham 19-Feb-2015 . Added SN, corrected crew position, added KIA event per MACR 15116; Added decorations and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; Made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Added crew position and minor edits to Biography based on 303rd Bomb Group website, historian Gary Moncur.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15116, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Heys pp. 77-78 / MACR 4697 & 3302 A / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database