The crew of B-24 bomber Harmful Lil Armful
After many months of training spent in the United States, the crew of Lieutenant Philip J. Chase was assigned to the 715th Bomb Squadron of the 448th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. On November 18, 1943, they left their American base at Herington. On December 4, 1943, they arrived at Seething airfield, located in the English county of Suffolk, northeast of London, aboard the B-24H bomber n°42-7709 named Maid of Tin.
The crew was officially engaged in combat operations and carried out its first mission on December 24, 1943, with the B-24H bomber n°42-64444, bombing military installations at Labroye, a French commune located in the Pas-de-Calais department.
On December 31, 1943, the crew was called upon to participate in its second mission, whose objective was the La Rochelle airfield. On that day, the crew of 2nd Lt. Philip J. Chase did not board their usual aircraft at Seething airfield. The bomber assigned to them was the B-24H-1-FO n°42-7754 named Harmful Lil Armful. It was lent to them at the last minute by the crew of 1st Lt. Alvin D. Skaggs because their own aircraft required repairs. Sgt. Anthony Walasik, Ball Turret Gunner, did not participate in the mission either. After the crash, among the wreckage, a Bible bearing the name of S/Sgt. Eugene F. Gaskins was found. He was a gunner in the crew of 1st Lt. Alvin D. Skaggs and had forgotten it inside.
During the mission of December 31, 1943, the crew of the American B-24 bomber Harmful Lil Armful consisted of 9 airmen, each with a very specific role aboard the aircraft:
Photographs of 2nd Lt. Philip J. Chase's crew at Herington Air Base, USA, in October 1943, shortly before their departure for England
Roster of 2nd Lt. Philip J. Chase’s crew at Herington Army Airfield, November 5, 1943
