May 1943 can hardly be considered a part of our operational history, even though the mission of the 29th to St. Nazaire is carried on our books as Combat Wing mission No. 1. Our annex on that mission was simplicity itself. The 381st Group had arrived at Ridgewell, but it hadn’t gone operational. All we did was tell the 91st and 351st to get together on a line from Cambridge to St. Albans and then follow a prescribed route to Hertford, the point specified in the field order. General Armstrong signed the annex while the Boss ran out and jumped into an airplane.

 

We didn’t know too much to do with it, but it was a successful operation. The Bomber Command narrative said that we “successfully bombed the submarine installations in the Bassin de St. Nazaire and the Bassin de Penhoust”. Our Wing lost 1 airplane of the 351st Group. Of a total of 44 aircraft dispatched, 7 returned early. That word “abortive” had raised its ugly head!