Robert W Harrington
Military
Pilot - Crew #747
466th BG - 787th BS
Shot Down 15 August 1944
Successfully evaded
466th BG Historian
Object Number - UPL 16726 - 2LT Robert W. Harrington Pilot - Crew #747 466th BG - 787th BS Shot Down 15 August 1944 Successfully evaded
Bob Harrington piloted the B-24 "Troublemaker" (#42-95067), stationed at Attlebridge in the summer of 1944. After nine missions with Troublemaker, on August 15, 1944 he was called up to fly an unfamiliar aircraft, Ramblin' Wreck (#41-28932), with a crew he did not know. They successfully bombed a Luftwaffe airbase at Vechta, but on the way home were shot down by Me-109 fighters and crashed at Gelderingen, Netherlands. Most of the crew managed to bail out and were captured as POWs; he and Bob Borst successfully evaded. Harrington was sheltered by various Dutch families in Steenwyck until the town was liberated in April 1945. He returned to the US, married Betty Elscott, became a building engineering consultant, and lived a long life in San Francisco, California, passing away in October 2009 at age 89.
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-716705
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37540431
- Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32209729
- Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12131112
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade)
- Role/Job: Flight Engineer
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Ramblin Wreck
- 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: Troublemaker
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Lady Too
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 784th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Black Cat
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 784th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 24 December 1944
- Date: 6 December 1944
- Date: 30 November 1944
- Date: 26 November 1944
- Date: 14 October 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
- Site type: Aircraft crash site
Related videos and documents
- Media Type: Video
- Object Number: UPL 28096
- Description: Bob Harrington discusses the crew of his B-24 "Troublemaker" in a 2004 interview.
- Media Type: Video
- Object Number: UPL 28097
- Description: Bob Harrington describes his final mission, August 15, 1944, in a 2004 interview.
- Media Type: Video
- Object Number: UPL 28110
- Description: Bob Harrington describes his aircraft and flying combat missions, from a 2004 interview.
- Media Type: Video
- Object Number: UPL 28111
- Description: Bob Harrington describes the attack on his substitute aircraft, "Ramblin' Wreck," on August 15, 1944, following a successful bombing attack on a...
- Media Type: Video
- Object Number: UPL 28112
- Description: Bob Harrington describes bailing out of his crippled B-24, "Ramblin' Wreck," and evading capture in occupied Holland with the assistance of Dutch...
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Newton, IA 50208, USA | 17 November 1920 | |
|
Enlisted |
Des Moines, IA, USA | 6 July 1942 | |
|
Other Evaded |
Steenwijk, Netherlands | 15 August 1944 - 17 April 1945 | |
|
Died |
San Francisco, CA, USA | 9 October 2009 | |
|
Other Shot Down |
Gelderingen, Steenwijkerwold, Netherlands | 15 August 1944 |
Revisions
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
466th BG Archives - Report on Mission No 155, Gerolstein, Germany - 24 December 1944
NARA Research provided by Brad Sullivan
Report on Mission 150 - Bielefeld, Germany - 6 March 1944
466th BG Archives
466th BG Archives - Report on Mission No. 146, Neunkirchen, Germany - 30 Nov 1944
NARA Research provided by Brad Sullivan
466th BG - Report on Mission No 144, RR Viaduct, Bielefeld, Germany, 26 Nov 1944
NARA Research by Brad Sullivan
466BG Archives - Mission Report for 14 October 1944
NARA document research by Brad Sullivan
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8430 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / self, 8th AF News, September 1999, MACR 8430, nephew Oct. 2010
