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Henry J. Smith

Gunner · 409th Squadron
HometownScranton, PA

Assigned to 93rd Bomb Group, 409th Sqdn. Flew 25 missions — 16 over France (including D-Day invasion beachhead, June 6, 1944) and nine over Germany. On Sept. 11, 1944 (Magdeburg raid), the plane was hit by flak and caught fire; bailed out and was captured. Held as prisoner of war in Pomerania until Feb. 6, 1945 when the Russian Army invaded; approximately 8,000 Air Force enlisted crew walked 500-600 miles east and south. Liberated at Bitterfeld, Germany on April 26, 1945.

Prisoner of War

Sortie Log

2 CATALOGUED SORTIES
11 SEP 1944 — 11 SEP 1944

The sorties below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.

8AF Mission
Date
Target
Aircraft
№ 623
11 SEP 1944
Magdeburg
B-24J serial number 42-50989 was flying as Group Lead on 11 September 1944, piloted by Captain Louis Novotny. The aircraft had no nickname recorded. The aircraft was hit by flak over the target at Magdeburg at approximately 1235 hours. The ship swung off to the left with bomb-bay doors open. An eyewitness (Capt. W. M. Bryan, flying as deputy lead) saw seven men exit the aircraft - four from the waist escape hatch, one from the rear of the bomb-bay, one from the forward bomb-bay, and one from the top escape hatch. Three parachutes were observed opening by gunners. The aircraft was subsequently seen to explode to the rear of the formation. The MACR was prepared on 14 September 1944 by 1st Lt. George I. Meisel, Statistical Officer. Unmatched crew (not in DB): Novotny (pilot, RTD), Hudnyk (co-pilot, MIA), Mushrush (navigator, RTD), O'Donnell (Mickey operator, RTD), Hansen (engineer, RTD), Braden (tail gunner, POW), McCafferty (aircraft commander, RTD).
42-50989
№ 623
11 SEP 1944
Magdeburg
B-24J serial number 42-50989 was flying as Group Lead on 11 September 1944, piloted by Captain Louis Novotny. The aircraft had no nickname recorded. The aircraft was hit by flak over the target at Magdeburg at approximately 1235 hours. The ship swung off to the left with bomb-bay doors open. An eyewitness (Capt. W. M. Bryan, flying as deputy lead) saw seven men exit the aircraft - four from the waist escape hatch, one from the rear of the bomb-bay, one from the forward bomb-bay, and one from the top escape hatch. Three parachutes were observed opening by gunners. The aircraft was subsequently seen to explode to the rear of the formation. The MACR was prepared on 14 September 1944 by 1st Lt. George I. Meisel, Statistical Officer. Unmatched crew (not in DB): Novotny (pilot, RTD), Hudnyk (co-pilot, MIA), Mushrush (navigator, RTD), O'Donnell (Mickey operator, RTD), Hansen (engineer, RTD), Braden (tail gunner, POW), McCafferty (aircraft commander, RTD).
42-50989
§ Personal Record
Before the War

Born Oct. 7, 1924 in Scranton, PA. Volunteered in USAAF Feb. 5, 1943. Gunnery training at Laredo, TX. Assigned to B-24 crew; trained at Peterson Field, Colorado Springs, CO. Flew to Prestwick, Scotland via southern route.