Louis W Rheaume
Military13-Jun-42 Assigned as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 42-5434 [PU-J] "Lady Luck" 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. Neither the date of his arrival at Molesworth, UK nor the aircraft on which he arrived there could not be determined from 303BG records.
26-Feb-43 His first combat mission was as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24559, 303BG/360BS but mechanical failures of the aircraft forced the pilot to abort the sortie.
6-Mar-43 Shot down in B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. The aircraft crashed into Bay of Biscay off of Penmarch Point, France after a FW-190 attack that knocked out engines 1 and 2. Copilot and LWG killed instantly. The other 8 survived in leaky rafts for 12 hours before a German boad hauled them aboard to become Prisoner of War (POW)s.
Participated in 4 Operations (2 were Aborted) See Biography events.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Ooold Soljer
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Bobs Boudoir : Lady Luck
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 6 March 1943
- Date: 4 March 1943
- Date: 26 February 1943
- Date: 14 February 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 13 June 1942 | Assigned as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 42-5432 "Lady Luck", 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
|
Other Mission #1, SSGT Louis W. Rheaume, w/B-17F 41-24559, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Hamm, Germany | 14 February 1943 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24559 "Ooold Soljer", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany. Severe cold and weather forced Wing Command to recall the entire 303BG formation. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #2, SSGT Louis W. Rheaume, w/B-17F 41-24559, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 26 February 1943 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24559 "Ooold Soljer", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #3, SSGT Louis W. Rheaume, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS |
Rotterdam, Netherlands | 4 March 1943 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rotterdam, Holland RTB OK. |
|
Other Prisoner of War - Camp 1 |
Moosburg, Germany | 6 March 1943 - 13 October 1943 | Held at Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Bavaria. 13-Oct-43 Moved to Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems) Austria until liberted by American forces on 15-Apr-45. |
|
Other Mission #4, SSGT Louis W. Rheaume, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS - POW |
Lorient, France | 6 March 1943 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat peans at Lorient, France. The aircraft was shot down by fighters asn ditched into the Bay of Biscay. He managed to get into a liferaft, but was captured as a Prisoner of War. POW. |
|
Other Prisoner of War - Camp 2 |
Krems an der Donau, Austria | 14 October 1943 - 15 April 1945 | Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria until liberated by the 3rd Army (Patton) on 15-Apr-45. |
|
Other Last Report Date - Discharged |
20 July 1945 | Evactuated to the US after he was liberated and dischraged from the USAAF. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Correcting typo in Summary Biography.
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Last Report date event per NARA WWII POW database records.
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Prisoner of War - Camp 2 event per NARA WWII POW database records.
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Prisoner of War - Camp 1 event per Stalag 7A records.
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 6-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/020.pd
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 4-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/019.pd
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Corrected Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 14-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/015.pdf. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 26-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/017.pd
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303Bg website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 26-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/017.pd
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-43. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Loyd D. Griffin crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/360griffin.html
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-2016. Added Mission participations statment to Summary Biography.
Lee Cunningham 29-Feb-43. Added nickname; Added initial assignment info to Summary Biography; Made connections to Place, Aircraft (through 12-Mar-43) and Missions (Through 12-Mar-43) per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Loyd D. Griffin crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/360griffin.html
Lee Cunningham 3-Jul-2015. Added Decoration and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Made connections to Place and Mission wihtin existing website data; Added A/C model letter and Unit association to Description per MACR 15536.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15536 / MACR 15536, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. 1, pp. 88-89 by Bishop & Hey . 303rd web site mission report. / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database