2nd Lt John H. Hendry, navigator of the C-47 42-23638, took off from Barkston Heath, Lincolnshire, UK in order to drop parachutists over the Amfreville sector. However, coming over the Cherbourg peninsula, the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire, injuring Pvt Stout, who later died in the crash. The plane lost its formation in the overcast, dipping down to 700 feet to drop the 18 unwounded paratroopers, after which it turned back to England. But the controls went awry and landed them back over Normandy in the middle of four searchlights and a flak battery. Sustained fire knocked out the left engine and scored two hits on the nose. The pilot gave the order to bail out at 2500 feet. It was 0320. Hendry opened his chute at 2000 feet, landing in an orchard near Valognes where he left the chute caught in a tree. He wandered around cautiously until hiding in a hay bale at 0630. That evening he encountered a French farmer. Upon trying to communicate his need, the farmer simply looked at him for about five minutes before putting him up for the night. He then passed from house to house until ending up in an abandoned German dugout, where another US aviator, Cpt Downing, joined him on June 17th. They stayed there until June 20th, when they were able to link up with a US patrol that sent them to get debriefed. They returned to the UK on June 21st from the Carentan airstrip in a C-53. Hendry’s full E&E report #781 can be found at http://media.nara.gov/nw/305270/EE-781.pdf.