Multimedia Gallery
- Search Terms: United States
Harry H. Crosby wore this insignia during his service with the 8th Air Force.
Ernest L. Smith and navigator Emory B. Bronte of the first civilian flight from the U.S. mainland to the Hawaiian Islands.
Princess Löwenstein-Wertheim in flight clothes before her ill-fated transatlantic flight.
Length: 7 Minutes, 3 Seconds
A post-war periscopic sextant often mounted this type of watch.
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).
