Henry Lee Gurley was was in the 418th night fighter squadron with the U.S. Army Air Corps. His last mission into Japan was to support and help prepare for the dropping of the first atomic bombs which was a detail he and his crew were not aware of at the time. What follows is the time timeline of events for Henry’s last flight and the events that followed.
Henry Lee Gurley departed at 9:15 p.m. on August 4, 1945 from Okinawa’s Kadena Airstrip B in a P61B-15 NUMBER 42-39591. He was pilot in command of a crew of 3 on a mission to Kanoya Airdrome on Kyushu, Japan. The mission was to drop two non-precision bombs on the Kanoya Airdrome. After departing Okinawa Henry and his crew were never heard from again. Henry Lee’s plane would have returned to base about 2:45 a.m.on the morning of August 5, 1945, which is the very same date that Mr. Logan departed on the exact same mission.
Stanley E. Logan took off on August 5, 1945 at 10:30 p.m.. Mr. Logan returned to Kadena Airbase, on Okinawa, at 4:00 a.m. on the morning of August 6, 1945. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima the morning of August 6, 1945 at 8:15 (0815) a.m.. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima just a little over 4 hours after Mr. Logan returned to base on Okinawa.
The second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Nagasaki is about 75 miles NE of Kanoya Airdrome, the location of the mission of these two 418th pilots. The Japanese announced their formal surrender on August 15, 1945. The formal surrender documents were signed, in Tokoyo Bay, on the USS Missouri, on Sunday, September 2, 1945.
Information provided by: Rob Walker
Henry Lee Gurley departed at 9:15 p.m. on August 4, 1945 from Okinawa’s Kadena Airstrip B in a P61B-15 NUMBER 42-39591. He was pilot in command of a crew of 3 on a mission to Kanoya Airdrome on Kyushu, Japan. The mission was to drop two non-precision bombs on the Kanoya Airdrome. After departing Okinawa Henry and his crew were never heard from again. Henry Lee’s plane would have returned to base about 2:45 a.m.on the morning of August 5, 1945, which is the very same date that Mr. Logan departed on the exact same mission.
Stanley E. Logan took off on August 5, 1945 at 10:30 p.m.. Mr. Logan returned to Kadena Airbase, on Okinawa, at 4:00 a.m. on the morning of August 6, 1945. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima the morning of August 6, 1945 at 8:15 (0815) a.m.. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima just a little over 4 hours after Mr. Logan returned to base on Okinawa.
The second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Nagasaki is about 75 miles NE of Kanoya Airdrome, the location of the mission of these two 418th pilots. The Japanese announced their formal surrender on August 15, 1945. The formal surrender documents were signed, in Tokoyo Bay, on the USS Missouri, on Sunday, September 2, 1945.
Information provided by: Rob Walker
Henry Lee Gurley was was in the 418th night fighter squadron with the U.S. Army Air Corps. His last mission into Japan was to support and help prepare for the dropping of the first atomic bombs which was a detail he and his crew were not aware of at the time. What follows is the time timeline of events for Henry’s last flight and the events that followed.
Henry Lee Gurley departed at 9:15 p.m. on August 4, 1945 from Okinawa’s Kadena Airstrip B in a P61B-15 NUMBER 42-39591. He was pilot in command of a crew of 3 on a mission to Kanoya Airdrome on Kyushu, Japan. The mission was to drop two non-precision bombs on the Kanoya Airdrome. After departing Okinawa Henry and his crew were never heard from again. Henry Lee’s plane would have returned to base about 2:45 a.m.on the morning of August 5, 1945, which is the very same date that Mr. Logan departed on the exact same mission.
Stanley E. Logan took off on August 5, 1945 at 10:30 p.m.. Mr. Logan returned to Kadena Airbase, on Okinawa, at 4:00 a.m. on the morning of August 6, 1945. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima the morning of August 6, 1945 at 8:15 (0815) a.m.. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima just a little over 4 hours after Mr. Logan returned to base on Okinawa.
The second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Nagasaki is about 75 miles NE of Kanoya Airdrome, the location of the mission of these two 418th pilots. The Japanese announced their formal surrender on August 15, 1945. The formal surrender documents were signed, in Tokoyo Bay, on the USS Missouri, on Sunday, September 2, 1945.
Information provided by: Rob Walker
Henry Lee Gurley departed at 9:15 p.m. on August 4, 1945 from Okinawa’s Kadena Airstrip B in a P61B-15 NUMBER 42-39591. He was pilot in command of a crew of 3 on a mission to Kanoya Airdrome on Kyushu, Japan. The mission was to drop two non-precision bombs on the Kanoya Airdrome. After departing Okinawa Henry and his crew were never heard from again. Henry Lee’s plane would have returned to base about 2:45 a.m.on the morning of August 5, 1945, which is the very same date that Mr. Logan departed on the exact same mission.
Stanley E. Logan took off on August 5, 1945 at 10:30 p.m.. Mr. Logan returned to Kadena Airbase, on Okinawa, at 4:00 a.m. on the morning of August 6, 1945. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima the morning of August 6, 1945 at 8:15 (0815) a.m.. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima just a little over 4 hours after Mr. Logan returned to base on Okinawa.
The second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Nagasaki is about 75 miles NE of Kanoya Airdrome, the location of the mission of these two 418th pilots. The Japanese announced their formal surrender on August 15, 1945. The formal surrender documents were signed, in Tokoyo Bay, on the USS Missouri, on Sunday, September 2, 1945.
Information provided by: Rob Walker
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