Multimedia Gallery
- Navigators & Inventors: Harry H. Crosby
Airsickness was common among new navigators, who frequently had to look at the ground through drift sights and make calculations while maneuvering. Crosby suffered more than most, but it did not stop him from becoming one of the war’s top navigators.
Here, Crosby describes how a bit of trivia he knew about his favorite composer led him to divert a target of opportunity strike on Bonn, Germany, when his primary target was obscured. By happenstance, Bonn was spared from heavy damage afterward. Its intact condition after the war made it the logical choice as the capital of West Germany.
Harry H. Crosby wore this insignia during his service with the 8th Air Force.
Lead navigator of the 100th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force.
After the harrowing losses of 1943, Crosby and his fellow crew members found less opposition in 1944 and 1945. However, navigational challenges increased as missions moved deeper into central Europe.
In early 1941, the Army Air Corps had only 44 trained navigators, mostly from a civilian contract school. By war’s end, the Army Air Forces had graduated over 50,000 navigators from its own schools.
On October 8, 1943, the 100th Bomb Group targeted the heavily defended German industrial city of Bremen. Here, he inspects the remnants of his navigator’s compartment after his B-17 Just a-Snappin crash-landed.
On October 8, 1943, the 100th Bomb Group targeted the heavily defended German industrial city of Bremen. The amazing tale of survival of Crosby and his crew drew media attention (including this illustration from Yank magazine).
Lt. Harry Crosby shortly before he deployed to England for combat in B-17 bombers with the 100th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force.
Less than two months after arriving in England, Crosby had his first major test as a lead navigator on the Eighth Air Force’s most daring mission to date. The target was a German naval installation. It was regarded as a major success, and Crosby received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts.
