TSgt Harley W. Fields, radio operator 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 the navigator, Lt Roach, gave the bailout order. Fields jumped out the bomb bay but a piece of the wing from the exploding plane collapsed his parachute. It never reopened and he was sent plummeting to the ground where he died on impact. The B-17 continued its descent and crashed into the village of Les Morandières of Saint-Père-en-Retz. Fields’ body was initially buried in the Pont du Cens cemetery before being repatriated to the US.