Royan is a small city, located along the French atlantic coast, and at the mouth of the Gironde.
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In all, according to the Air Force Historical Studies Office, "1,161 heavy bombers destroyed 22 defensive installations consisting of AA and arty positions and strongpoints covering the Gironde estuary"(1).

Other official records indicate that of that force, "480 of 490 B-17s hit 15 strongpoints and flak batteries in the Bordeaux/Royan, Pointe Coubre and Pointe Grave areas (...), and " 338 of 341 B-17s attack 4 strongpoints and flak batteries in the Bordeaux/Royan area without loss."(2).

German soldier at Royan:
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Of the April 14th raid, in which the Pink Lady participated, Lieutenant Glaskin of the 100th Bomb Group wrote in his diary that, "The mission was a direct request from the ground troops to knock out the naval guns guarding the estuary entrance to Bordeaux at Royan. . . Hit target at 1043 (by squadron bombing) from 20,000 feet on a heading of 340. Beautiful visual day. No flak. No fighters. "(3)
Royanbunker.jpgOn a darker note, the bombing of Royan would be the Eighth Air Force's only use a new weapon in an attempt to kill Germans in their bunkers: napalm (1, 4). Known as a Class-C Fire Bomb, each napalm bomb contained 108 Gallons of the petrolium substance, and they were only used in a few missions. A B-17 only carried 4 of them (5).

Another member of the 100th BG (the Pink Lady was with the 511th) wrote of the bombing run of that day:

(...)the author lost the Bomb tag for this mission, time over target is unknown. However, author recalls that the bomb load consisted of some P-51 wing tanks filled with napalm with an igniting device. Emitting fumes that even penetrated the crew's oxygen masks, the bomb bay doors were opened slightly to allow the fluid napalm to go out into the slip stream. One can conjecture that the personnel responsible for filling these tank did not take into consideration that by filling the tanks to the brim at ground level, the fluid would expand at altitude and over flow. As I recall the tactic of using napalm was to simply burn the Germans from their bunkers. I always wondered why I did not have a bomb tag for this mission; one answer could be that because we were dropping P-51 wing tanks and not conventional bombs, arming pins were not needed or overlooked? Larry Lazzari recalls that the P-51 wing tanks were attached to wires and due to the wires getting tangled some of the bombs malfunctioned. (...)" (4).

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As a result of the conventional and napalm bombing of the city of Royan, the city was totally destroyed, with one report citing that only nine houses remained standing (6). Among the destructive figures is cited that 1,700 French civilians were killed (7).

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The military success of the operation was minimal, and an official Air-Force report of the mission concluded that, "The sole operational employment of napalm bomb by Eighth AF is carried out against German ground installations (pillboxes, gunpits, tank trenches, and heavy gun emplacements) in defensive pocket at Royan by nearly 850 HBs. Results are negligible and HQ recommends its discontinuance against this type of tgt. (...)" (1).

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Ultimately, however, the bombing of the German forces would help regain control over the port area, curring off access to the Atlantic ocean by the German U-boats and destroyers stationed along the Gironde. freeroyan.jpg

The town would later be totally rebuilt by French architects (6). As you can see in the photo below:

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Photos: Le Musée de la Poche de Royan (public domain)