Killed in Action (KIA). B-17 42-30647 'Polly Ann' collided with two other B-17s that had been on their return flight from their bombing mission to and from Nantes France where it had come under enemy ground fire. Severe damage caused the aircraft to remain in the air but it was sluggish to respond. Another B-17 in the 1Lt's squadron (1Lt Drouin was the lead aircraft) notified 1Lt Drouin of the damage and stayed with him on the return flight. Upon reaching the airfield at Chelveston, Northamptonshire, 1Lt Drouin attempted to land Polly Ann but likely could not control the aircraft as he banked left coming in for the landing. From the ground they could see that the aircraft was badly damaged and likely not easily controlled. The result was a rapid shift in the aircraft that caused it to suffer a mid-air collision with the two other B-17s. The other aircraft were damaged but managed to land safely. The Polly Ann, already badly damaged, crashed into the airfield. The report on this incident remained classified until 12 Jan, 1987. Up until that point, this incident had been misrepresented as simply a crash over the airfield and according to the original incident report only stated "S-4. One A/C crashed at base due to reasons unknown. All crew members were killed." (D-A-9, 23 Sept, 1943). And while it was not directly attributed to pilot error, it none the less could have been misinterpreted that way. But the declassified documents offer a very different story.

Awards: AM (OLC), PH.