2nd Lt Harry Edwin Roach, Jr., navigator of the B-17 42-5780 “Black Swan”, took off from station 107 Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, UK on a bombing mission over St Nazaire’s submarine pens with two 2,000lbs bombs. It was the crew’s third mission together. They were at the rear of a 19-plane formation tasked to destroy the naval harbor. Of those 19, one had to RTB, one jettisoned its bombs, six never dropped theirs, and only 10 made a 10-second bomb run over the target, resulting in poor performance. The formation ran into moderate AA fire but was also attacked by dozens of enemy fighters painted to resemble P-47s that dive-bombed with pre-fused aerial bombs. A flak shell damaged the “Black Swan” ’s No.3 engine, causing the bomber to trail out of formation and allowing the fighters to work it over. Multiple bombs exploded in the bomber’s fuselage and Roach gave the bailout order. He went out the forward escape hatch with shrapnel wounds between his eyes and a back injury. The B-17 continued its descent and crashed into the village of Les Morandières of Saint-Père-en-Retz. Roach was taken in by the Brideau family, who later used his parachute to make a dress for one of the village girls to wear to her brother’s first communion. Roach was smuggled out through the Spain-Gibraltar route and returned to England on June 29th, 1943 per E&E report #44. He was later killed during pilot training when landing in Sioux City, Iowa, his pilot Sterling’s hometown.