Military
![US and British Officers look out for the return of B-17 Flying Fortresses from the top of the Control Tower at Grafton Underwood after the 8th Air Force's first heavy bomber raid on 17 August 1942, over the Marshalling Yards at Rouen.
General Carl A Spaatz stands to the left of the ladder, Beirne Lay behind the guide rope and Fred Castle on the near corner. Many other officers from 8th Air Force Bomber Command are also present.
Image stamped on reverse: 'Photo Supplied Photopress Central.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 18 Aug 1942.' [stamp], 'USA (BRI) CCC.' [written annotation] and '216036.' [Censor no.]
Printed caption on reverse: 'Picture shows: Aerodrome Personnel on the Control Tower watching for the return of the planes from the raid.' Handwritten caption on reverse: 'USAAF 1, 17/8/42 A.'](https://www.americanairmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/freeman/media-379323.jpg?itok=NiDZY1-A)
US and British Officers look out for the return of B-17 Flying Fortresses from the top of the Control Tower at Grafton Underwood after the 8th Air Force's first heavy bomber raid on 17 August 1942, over the Marshalling Yards at Rouen. General Carl A Spaatz stands to the left of the ladder, Beirne Lay behind the guide rope and Fred Castle on the near corner. Many other officers from 8th Air Force Bomber Command are also present. Image stamped on reverse: 'Photo Supplied Photopress Central.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 18 Aug 1942.' [stamp], 'USA (BRI) CCC.' [written annotation] and '216036.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'Picture shows: Aerodrome Personnel on the Control Tower watching for the return of the planes from the raid.' Handwritten caption on reverse: 'USAAF 1, 17/8/42 A.'
Lieutenant Colonel Frank P. Bostrom, Lieutenant Colonel Beirne Lay Jr , Philippa Ludwell (Lee) Lay, and Lieutenant Colonel John Veerling of the 487th Bomb Group at a party in the Officers Club at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico.
100th aircraft in Africa LD-U - 42-30066 'Mugwump' - Charles Cruikshank/ John Egan, EP-A, Thomas Murphy & Beirne Lay Jr (Foreground) this is the famous "PICADILLY LILLY," 42-5864, XR-J 42-5861 Cowboy Roane - "LADEN MAIDEN," XR-D, 42-30611 Henington - "HORNY" (100th Photo Archives)
Beirne Lay assumed command of the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico on February 28, 1944, his wife was Philippa Ludwell Lee.
Lay was Shot down on 11 May 1944 in B-24H #41-29468 'Peg O' My Heart', and evaded capture. See the story of his evasion at the COMET evasion network website’s page https://www.evasioncomete.be/flaybe.html
Lay served as one of the six original staff officers under Gen. Eaker at the beginning of the war and flew in the 97th, 100th and 487th Bomb Groups. He later wrote "Twelve O'clock High" with Sy Bartlett, another 8th Air Force veteran. He also wrote "I Wanted Wings".
Author of many other aviation films screenplays, Beirne Lay wrote about the 11 May 1944 mission and his evasion in his book "I've Had It: The Survival of a Bomb Group Commander", published by Harper Brothers in 1945 and re-issued in 1980 by Dodd, Mead & C° under the new title "Presumed Dead: The Survival of A Bomb Group Commander". A French version, "Merci, Paysans de France", had been published in New York by the Editions de la Maison Française. Beirne Lay is mentioned in many books, among which "Eighth Air Force", by Donald L. Miller (Simon & Schuster Inc., New York - 1946). He died in Los Angeles in 1982 and donated his body to the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 487th Bomb Group
B-24 #42-52652 'Bashful Marion'Shot down 11 May 1944 in B-24H #41-29468 'Peg O' My Heart'. Prisoner of War (POW) at Luft IV.
POW, EAME, WWII VM, GC, Am. Theater Ribbon,
Military | Lieutenant General | Commanding Officer; Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Commanded 97th BG from 31 July 1942 to 27 September 1942.
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Military | Colonel | Chief of Supply
Beasley was one of 6 staff officers to accompany General Eaker to England in February 1942. He was commissioned into the military after working as an executive of Lockheed Aircraft Company.
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot & Tail Gunner during the mission | 487th Bomb Group
Shot down over occupied France on 11 May 1944 in B-24H #41-29468 'Peg O' My Heart'. After bailing out, Lt Walter Duer landed near Coulonges-les-Sablons, Orne, France, about 15 kilometers to the Northwest of Nogent-le-Rotrou, Eure-et-Loir Department,...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 487th Bomb Group
Shot down 11 May 1944 in B-24H #41-29468 'Peg O' My Heart'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Captain | Bombardier | 487th Bomb Group
Shot down 11 May 1944 in B-24H #41-29468 'Peg O' My Heart'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Brigadier General | Combat Intelligence Officer
Hull was one of 6 Staff Officers to accompany General Eaker to England in February 1942.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 487th Bomb Group
Shot down 11 May 1944 in B-24H #41-29468 'Peg O' My Heart'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 487th Bomb Group
Shot down 11 May 1944 in B-24H #41-29468 'Peg O' My Heart'. Evaded.
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 487th Bomb Group
B-24H #41-29468 'Peg O' My Heart'.
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Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Group
The 487th Bomb Group began operations as preparations for D-Day were reaching their crescendo and played their part by bombing airfields in northern France. Like the 486th Bomb Group, the 487th switched to B-17 Flying Fortress for missions from 1...
Group
The 490th Bomb Group, like the 486th and 487th Bomb Groups transitioned from flying B-24 Liberators to B-17 Flying Fortresses, which were used in combat missions from late August 1944. Based at Eye, Suffolk, the Group were focused in the early months...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
11 May 1944
Military site : airfield
Lavenham was built as a standard USAAF bomber airfield, with fifty hardstandings, T2 hangars and 2,000 and 1,400 feet runways. John Laing and Son Ltd. carried out the work in 1943, and the airfield opened in April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group occupied...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Berkeley Springs, Morgan County, West Virginia, United States | 1 September 1909 |
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The son of Beirne Lay and Minnie Colston Lay |
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| Evaded | 11 May 1944 – 12 August 1944 | |
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As highest-ranking officer on board, Lt Col Beirne LAY replaced Lt Frank Vratny at the controls and jumped last at only 1000ft. He landed near Coulonges-les-Sablons, Orne Department, France, about 15 kilometers to the Northwest of Nogent-le-Rotrou, Eure-et-Loir Department, France. He soon met 2nd Lt Walter Duer and both men were helped by French citizens until taken in charge by the underground. They were last helped and sheltered near the village of Mazangé, near Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher Department, France, from where they were led to an US Armored unit liberating the region. Both were flown back by a C-47 to England where they landed on 15 August 1944. |
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| Died | 26 May 1982 | |
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Westwood, Los Angeles County, California, United States |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 29 May 2021 20:05:06 | ED-BB | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Updated evasioncomete website address |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 February 2020 10:34:53 | ED-BB | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
- Personal research for Beirne LAY’s page at the COMET evasion network website’s page http://www.evasioncomete.org/flaybe.html; |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 February 2020 12:52:54 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
"Eighth Air Force", By Donald L. Miller. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 June 2019 13:55:43 | Emily | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Transferred biographical details pertaining to Lay incorrectly added to photo caption of FRE 2047 by user PaulWebber |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 January 2019 11:02:34 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to surname, suffix, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from: |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 December 2014 14:36:48 | ED-BB | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) # 4750. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 December 2014 14:12:00 | ED-BB | Changes to service number, biography, events, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) # 4750. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 December 2014 13:59:01 | ED-BB | Changes to surname and middlename |
| Sources | ||
MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) # 4750. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 December 2014 13:56:49 | ED-BB | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) # 4750. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:04:20 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 4750 / http://www.487thbg.org/Photos/BeirneLay.shtml , http://www.487thbg.org/Photos/CommandCrew.shtml |
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