Crosby, Harry Herbert, Lt Col

Deceased

Service Photo

Service Details

Last Rank
Lieutenant Colonel

Last Primary AFSC/MOS
AAF MOS 1034-Navigator

Last AFSC Group
Air Crew (Officer)

Primary Unit
1943-1945, AAF MOS 1034, 100th Bombardment Group, Heavy

Service Years
1942 - 1945

Last Photo

Personal Details

Home State

North Dakota

Year of Birth
1919

This Military Service Page was created/owned by SSgt Robert Bruce McClelland, Jr. to remember Crosby, Harry Herbert, Lt Col.

If you knew or served with this Airman and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.

Contact Info

Home Town New England, North Dakota; Oskaloosa, Iowa	Last Address Lynn/Essex, Massachusetts

Date of Passing Jul 28, 2010
Location of Interment East Parish Burying Ground - Newton, Massachusetts	Wall/Plot Coordinates Not Specified

Official Badges

Unofficial Badges

Additional Information

Last Known Activity
He was Group Navigator for the 100th Bomb Group, "The Bloody Hundredth", of the 8th AF in WWII and flew 32 combat missions over Europe.
He was cremated and buried beside his first wife in the East Parish Burying Ground, the Old Newton Cemetery.

Other Comments:
Sources:

https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=4&cat=WR26&tf=F&q=harry+h+crosby&bc=sl&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=1387492&rlst=1965432,2623465,5008051,1387492

https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&id=1082&Itemid=334

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-newton/obituary.aspx?pid=144452617

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=55821862

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=104766316

Books:

"Masters of the Air", Donald Miller, Simon & Schuster, 2006.
"The Alabama Bomber Boys", Donald E. Wilson, Heritage Books, 2008.

Photo Album (More...)

Service Photo

100th BG officers

With crew

Service Photo

World War II/European-African-Middle Eastern Theater/Air Offensive, Europe Campaign (1942-44)
From Month/Year July / 1942	To Month/Year June / 1944
Description (Air Offensive, Europe Campaign 4 July 1942 to 5 June 1944) Pre-war doctrine had held that waves of bombers hitting enemy cities would cause mass panic and the rapid collapse of the enemy. As a result, the Royal Air Force had built up a large strategic bomber force. By way of contrast, Nazi German air force doctrine was almost totally dedicated to supporting the army. Therefore, German bombers were smaller than their British equivalents, and Germany never developed a fully successful four engined heavy bomber equivalent to the Lancaster or B-17, with only the similarly sized Heinkel He 177 placed into production and made operational for such duties with the Luftwaffe in the later war years. The main concentration of German raids on British cities was from September 7, 1940 until May 10, 1941 in the most famous air battle of all time, known as the Battle of Britain. Facing odds of four against one the RAF held off the mighty Luftwaffe forcing Hermann Wilhelm Göring to withdraw his forces and more importantly indefinitely postpone invasion plans. This proved the first major turning point of the War. After that most of the strength of the Luftwaffe was diverted to the war against the Soviet Union leaving German cities vulnerable to British and later American air bombings. As a result of the victory, Great Britain was used by U.S and other Allied forces as a base from which to begin the D-Day landings in June 1944 and the liberation of Nazi-occupied Western Europe. From 1942 onwards, the efforts of Bomber Command were supplemented by the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Air Forces units being deployed to England to join the assault on mainland Europe on July 4, 1942. Bomber Command raided by night and the US forces by day.