1st Lt Elton Hoyt III, pilot of the B-17 42-29876 “Battlin’ Bobbie” (named after his wife), took off from station 117 Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, UK at 1030 on a bombing mission over Nantes. However, perhaps due to the high volume of radio chatter they had to use due to overcast conditions on their way to the target area, German fighters intercepted them at 1500. While not concentrating their fire on the “Battlin’ Bobbie”, the fighters did score some hits on their left wing, setting it on fire. Rockets took out No. 1 and 2 engines. Hoyt decided to pull out of formation to the right and ordered the crew to bail out, struggling to keep the plane steady as the AFCE was out. He jumped out last at 20000 feet, landing in a field filled with dubious Frenchmen. A young peasant boy led him to a house and took all his belongings, Hoyt falsely believing he was in the Resistance. A few minutes later Sgt Dulberg was brought in in civilian clothes, which were also given to Hoyt. A continuous stream of people came in to see them. Finally, they were hidden in a ditch until the Resistance could arrange their journey. They escaped back to the UK through the Bourgogne/Pyrenees/Gibraltar route, arriving back on February 24th 1944. Hoyt’s full E&E report can be read at http://media.nara.gov/nw/305270/EE-409.pdf.