#42-96199 took off from station 162 Chipping Ongar, Essex UK on a mission to bomb Chartres’ airfield. Around 1755, just as the plane, part of the first bombing group, was starting its run, a flak barrage scored a direct hit on the No.2 engine. The latter plummeted free of the aircraft and landed near the town church. The plane itself went into a slow dive. The pilot dropped both 900 kg bombs in order to free the bay door for a potential bail out. The rest of the group thought it to be the attack signal and dropped theirs as well. The damage caused was enormous, killing about 50 civilians and setting the town library on fire.



Crew: First-Lieutenant Robert Nathan Smith (Pilot), First-Lieutenant Neil G Bartholme (Co-Pilot), Second Lieutenant Walter L Wright (Bombardier), Staff-Sergeant George R Farfaras (Radio Operator), Staff-Sergeant William L Brown (Gunner), Staff-Sergeant Clyde S Morton (Mechanic).