SSgt William F. Mooney, tail gunner of the B-17 42-5053 "Bloody Tangier Show", took off from Chevelston, UK on a bombing mission to Château-Bougon’s airfield and bomber parts production plant for Heinkel. "Bloody Tangier Show" was one of the 62 planes assigned to this target. After having successfully dropped their bombs, the plane came under heavy AA fire and suffered a hit to its engine, causing it to lose altitude. Three Focke-Wulf fighters exploited their position and strafed the plane repeatedly. The pilot gave the order to bail out at noon. The radioman and right waist gunner were already dead, and the left waist gunner, wounded in both legs, had to be pushed out by his comrades at 25000 feet. The plane crashed in Saint-Colomban during its religious service. The eight parachutists landed in Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu. Six of them, including Mooney, were immediately taken prisoner. Mooney was sent to Stalag 17B in Austria. He was freed on May 3rd, 1945 when US troops liberated the camp and returned to the UK to be with his fiancée.