Henry Bruce Compton
MilitaryShot down 5 April 1943 in B-17 #42-5431 "Lil Abner". Crew bailed out and saw their plane explode. Landing in the Antwerp area, in and around a factory, most of them were quickly gathered by Germans. Prisoner of War (POW) in Stalag Luft 3, Sagan/Zagan, Poland. Force-marched from there to Stalag 7A Moosburg, Germany. Liberated there by US troops on 29 April 1945. Prisoner of War (POW).
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 11044073 at enlistment, then O-724020
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18060772 at enlistment, then O-726196
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 38069648
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18057854 at enlistment, then O-726216
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16009590
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: L'il Abner
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 5 April 1943
Places
![A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group wave to Picture Post Girls in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24471) nicknamed "Four of a Kind" at Thurleigh in December 1942. Image stamped on reverse: '"Picture Post" [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 11 Dec 1942.' [stamp], '238038.' [Censor no.] Handwritten in censor's blue pencil on reverse: 'American Flying Fortress crew are introduced to the girls they will meet at Picture Post Xmas Party.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379028.jpg.webp?itok=6Gc6iR0j)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bedford
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Floyd, Floyd County, Virginia, United States | 22 January 1915 | Floyd, Floyd County, Virginia, United States |
|
Enlisted |
17 November 1941 | Camp Lee, Virginia | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
5 April 1943 | Interned at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan/Zagan, Poland. Returned to Military Control 20 July 1945 | |
|
Died |
10 July 1958 | Virginia | |
| Floyd, Virginia |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 100, First Over Germany by Russell Strong pp 81, NARA