Ira Milton Wellins

Military
media-33830.jpeg UPL 33830 1st Lt. Ira Wellins, 351st Heavy Bombardment Group, 510th Squadron (sometimes 511th), Polebrook, England. Flew 29 missions in Europe, 7 as navigator and 22 as "Mickey Operator" (radar, then top secret) in the lead (Pathfinder) plane of the squadron or entire group. Came home, got married to Frankie (who hailed from Louisville, KY - eerily predicted by the name of his B-17, "Kentucky Babe"), had two daughters and 3 grandchildren, served his RI community as a pharmacist and zoo docent in retirement, drove 10,000 miles to Alaska and back, camped all over the American West, and sailed a 36-foot craft from Florida to RI in a major storm. Passed away at age 89 after a full and rich life. 351st Bomb Group collection

Ira Wellins's war scrapbook.

Object Number - UPL 33830 - 1st Lt. Ira Wellins, 351st Heavy Bombardment Group, 510th Squadron (sometimes 511th), Polebrook, England. Flew 29 missions in Europe, 7 as navigator...

Assigned to 510BS, 351BG, 8AF USAAF. Flew 29 x missions in Europe, seven as navigator and twenty two as "Mickey Operator" (radar, then top secret) in the lead (Pathfinder) plane of the squadron or entire group.



Ira, the son of impoverished Jewish immigrants, joined to fly planes and to fight Hitler. But he washed out of pilot training for a single error (landing on a taxi strip) and got sent instead to train on the new top-secret technology: Radar. From October '44 - April '45, Ira flew 29 bombing missions-- 22 of them either as 510th Squadron Lead or "C" Group Lead -- calculating the IP and drop point for each mission.



"Mickeymen (who flew on specially-equipped planes called Pathfinders, or PFFs) quickly became a very scarce commodity in combat areas due to the staggering losses of lead crews." Ira beat the odds against survival in the lead plane and, for his service, was awarded the DFC and the Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters. Though proud of his contributions to stopping Hitler, he became increasingly remorseful as the years passed, thinking of the many innocent civilian lives that were lost because of the missions in which he had played a key role.



Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (3 x Battle Stars).



Post war: Ira came home, got married to Frankie (who hailed from Louisville, Kentucky - eerily predicted by the name of his B-17, "Kentucky Babe"), had two daughters and 3 grandchildren, served his Rhode Island community as a pharmacist and zoo docent in retirement, drove 10,000 miles to Alaska and back, camped all over the American West, and sailed a 36-foot craft from Florida to Rhode Island in a major storm. Passed away at age 89 after a full and rich life.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 351st Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-767760
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-34082
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Kentucky Babe aka Ain’t it Gruesome
  • Unit: 351st Bomb Group 509th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

New York City, NY 23 November 1919 Son of Milton R and Anna Wellins.

Enlisted

Hartford, CT 7 October 1942 Hartford, Connecticut

Died

Cranston, RI 26 February 2009

Based

Polebrook Assigned to 510BS, 351BG, 8AF USAAF.

Other

Remains to Medical Science

Donated his remains to Brown University Medical School.

Revisions

Date
ContributorNanWellins
Changes
Sources

US Army records, saved from the fire in St. Louis, MO.

Date
ContributorNanWellins
Changes
Sources

Wartime scrapbooks of 1st Lt. Ira Wellins--data confirmed by 351st Heavy Bombardment Group database (351st.org).

Date
ContributorNanWellins
Changes
Sources

I am the daughter of Ira Wellins and have relied on copies of my dad's citations and on the official records kept by the 351st.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / www.351st.org/ken.harbour/

Ira Milton Wellins: Gallery (4 items)