In the subsequent reports Rice was described as displaying calm and quick thinking. The tail empennage of Skeeter was torn completely off and it was last seen spinning down into the cloud. Rice pulled his aircraft up instantly, but before he could gain any altitude there was a sickening crash as the tail of Skeeter sliced along his wing and into the port propeller blade of TS Ticket. Suddenly, Thorn’s Marauder, which had broken formation, reappeared under the left wing of Rice’s B26. Rice who was flying 42-95797-P, TS Ticket, alongside Edwards in 42-95102-X.Ĭaptain Thorn then dropped behind the formation and Second Lieutenant Rice pulled his ’plane up to take up a new position in row three. Thorn at the controls of 42-95802-P, coded T6-P named Skeeter, whilst the fourth row four was Second Lieutenant Elma Z. The third row consisted of Captain David H. At the controls of the front aircraft, 42-95811-G nicknamed Ruthless, was pilot Sellars behind him, in 42-95747-T, was pilot Dexter, his aircraft being alongside 42-95815-R Bun Steer, piloted by Cassiday. The lead flight of the second box of eighteen Marauders consisted of six aircraft. As the formation approached the English Channel all the aircraft began to experience low fuel levels. The USAAF formation then turned north-east for the outward flight. Between 15.53 and 15.58 hours, the lightly-defended defences were hit by a total of 464 260lb fragmentation bombs.
Just over two hours after they had taken off, the bombers were over the target. The meteorological forecast predicted hazy but cloudless conditions over Pont-Scorff. This raid was at extreme range of the B26 and fuel usage would turn out to be a critical factor. From 572nd Bomb Squadron of the 391st Bomb Group, which was known as “The Black Death Group”, the bombers’ target were coastal defences near Brest at Pont-Scorff near Roscanvel on the Crozon Peninsula. At 13.40 hours on 25 August 1944, thirty-six Martin B26 Marauders took off from their airfield at Matching Green in Essex and set course for northern France.
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