Robert A Gray
Military ROLL OF HONOURPersonal effects of Robert A. Gray owned by submitter, Steve Russell.
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lynn Gray
16 October 1940 - Registered for Draft at Southeastern State College, Weatherford, OK.
28 April 1941 - Enlisted as a Flying Cadet
30 April 1941 - Shipped for Flight Instruction at Cal-Aero Academy, Ontario, California
--Primary Flight Instruction in PT-17, May 1941
--Additional Flying Instruction in BT-15, July 1941
--Graduated Primary Instruction, 2 September, 1941, 28 of 43 initial students graduating.
January, 1942 - Advanced Ground Instruction, Ellington Field, Texas
March 1942 - Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Victorville, California. 2nd Class at new base.
--Pilot and Bombardier training at Victorville. Also qualified as bombardier.
Commissioned 2nd Lieut., US Army Air Forces, June 1942.
June 1942 - Assigned to 364th Bomb Squadron, 305th Bomb Group, at Wendover / Salt Lake City.
June 1942 - Moved with 305th Group to Spokane, WA for coastal defense.
July 1942 - Moved with 305th Group to Muroc, California, Lt. Col. Curtis LeMay commanding. Tent city, full of dust. Using 3 B-17Fs for training.
August 1942 - Moved with 305th Group to Syracuse, NY.
October 1942 - Moved with 305th Group to Grafton-Underwood, England.
Missions in "Carter's Little Pills" - B-17 41-24588 Marked WF - A. Ship's name came from Capt. Joe Carter, the pilot, also from Oklahoma (Lawton).
Called ‘Old #588’ by Gray and the crew. Gray flew the majority of missions as bombardier, except when David Cox was not flying as co-pilot.
Mission #1 - 18 Nov 1942 - Diversion
Mission #2 - Diversion
Mission #3 - 22 Nov 1942 - Lorient, France. Returned with bombs due to weather
Mission #4 - 23 Nov 1942 - St. Nazaire, France, U-Boat Pens. CPT Sault co-pilot. David Cox goes anyway as a waist gunner. 1 FW190 damaged
Mission #5 - Date unknown
Mission #6 - 6 Dec 1942 - Fives-Lille Steel Company, Lille, France.
Mission #7 - 12 Dec. David Cox does not fly it
Mission #8 - 20 Dec 1942 - Romilly-sur Siene, France. Airplane Park & Hangars
Mission #9 - St. Nazaire, U-Boat Pens
Mission #10 - 13 Jan 1943 - Fives-Lille Steel Company, Lille, France
Mission #11 - 27 Jan 1943 - Wilhelmshafen, Germany. U-Boat Pens. First raid on Germany for 305th
Mission #12 - 4 Feb 1943 - Hamm, Germany
Mission #13 - 12 Feb 1943 - Hamm, Germany, 305th separated & returned without completing mission
Mission #14 - 16 Feb 1943 - St. Nazaire, France.
Mission #15 - 26 Feb 1943 - Wilhelmshafen, Germany
Mission #16 - 4 Mar 1943 - Rotterdam, Holland
Mission #17 - 6 Mar 1943 - Lorient, France
Mission #18 - 8 Mar 1943 - Rennes, France, Marshalling Yards
Shot down 8 March 1943 in B-17F 41-24588 [WF:A] 'Carter and His Little Pills', 305BG/364BS while serving as Co-Pilot. Aircraft ditched into the English Channel on return from bombing the railroad marshalling yards at Rennes, France. The entire crew perished in the sea. Killed in Action (KIA).
Robert A Gray was promoted First Lieutenant in February 1942. He was awarded three Air Medals and a posthumous Purple Heart.
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-431855
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Carter and His Little Pills
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 8 March 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Altus, Oklahoma | 27 July 1917 | Lived in Oklahoma City. |
Other Commemorated |
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7PH, UK | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. | |
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
English Channel | 8 March 1943 | Killed when aircraft was ditched into the English Channel on return from bombing the railroad marshalling yards at Rennes, France. His remains have never been recovered. |
Revisions
Personal letters from Robert A. Gray to his mother and family in my possession. Missions source from masters thesis of Michael Norwood McDowell entitled "War Eagles: A Bird’s Eye View of the 305th Bomb Group and the Eighth Air Force from the experiences of David C. Cox and Joseph B. Boyle.," North Carolina State University, 2005. The thesis was based on letters and interviews of Cox and Boyle. Missions are confirmed to February 12th, 1942 from one of Gray's letters. SDR
Lee Cunningham 31-Jul-2015. Added Map location to COmmemorated event.
Lee Cunningham 21-Jul-2015. Corrected typo in Summary Bisography.
Lee Cunningham 31-Jul-2015. Added Decorations and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) records; Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Added KIA event note, SN anf Rank per MACR 15718; Edited Summary Biography with A/C model letter, radio call letters, unit association, crew position, loss details and target based on "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces," Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15718 / MACR 15718, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey p. 89 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database