Pilot’s Log

During the war I kept a Pilot’s Log to document all of my flying time independent of the plane I was flying or the reason for our flight. Below, is are the entries during our time in Europe at Horsham St. Faith. I’ve listed all flights including combat missions, practice missions, and fuel runs. I have also added some important dates.

I flew 36 missions with the first on 6/14/44 and the last on 12/28/44. The crews’ missions were usually with me but varied slightly. For example Don flew his 1st mission on another plane with another pilot on 6/1/44.

Details of most of the dates, especially missions, are further described in Don Shannon’s Combat Diary which he kept during the war. You can view this by clicking on any interesting date below or read it from start to finish.

The log excludes the history of other pilots and crew members flying the Howling Banshee except for 11/14/44 when the tail of the Howling Banshee was replaced with the tail of another plane.

DateTargetDur.DescriptionMission
05/27/44Practice2:00Test Guns & C-1 
05/28/44Practice3:30Test C-1 
05/30/44Practice3:00  
05/31/44Practice2:45  
06/01/44Stand down Don’s 1st Mission on another plane 
06/06/44Stand down Beginning of Allied Invasion of France   
06/08/44Scrubbed     
06/12/44Practice1:45  
06/14/44Azon 1 Ham Aire, France5:006 Bridges just back of Abbeyville
1st Azon Mission
1
06/15/44Azon 2
Arras, France
7:25Yesterday’s targets2
06/20/44Aborted
Pas de Calais
 Engines on 2 planes failed before takeoff. Aborted during takeoff  
06/21/44Stand down Notified to add Bronze Star to Theater ribbon    
06/22/44Practice4:25  
06/23/44Transport 2:00Fly to manchester for modifications to Azon equipment  
06/28/44Stand down  Don’s description of a typical mission day.   
06/29/44Practice2:45   
07/04/44Practice2:50Germans celebrating the 4th with heavy firework over London 
07/05/44Practice3:45  
07/06/44Practice3:50  
07/07/44Lutzhendorf7:30Oil plant near Halle, 75 miles SW of Berlin3
07/08/44Practice3:00  
07/09/44Practice2:00  
07/11/44Aborted
Munich
2:00Engine ran away while assembling, aborted and landed in Shipdahm, England.   
07/13/44Saarbrucken6:15Marshaling Yards on German/French border4
07/14/44Practice2:40   
07/16/44Saarbrucken6:40Don earns the Air Medal5
07/20/44Eisenach7:30South of Leipzip
Primary Target – Aircraft engine plant
Alternate Target – Marshaling Yard
Don took photos
6
07/22/44Practice3:20   
07/23/44Test Hop0:50   
07/24/44Weather Ship3:00   
07/25/44St. Lo, France5:00German support troops7
07/30/44Practice4:30   
07/31/44Ludwigshaven6:15Chemical works plant, poisonous gas8
08/01/44Bois de Queue Comtesse, Belloy Sur Sommme5:50First “No-Ball” – Buzz Bombs
Don’s T. Sgt. rating came through
9
08/05/44Brunswick7:25Messerschmidt jet plane assembly plant10
08/06/44Hamburg6:40Synthetic Oil Refinery on south bank of Elbe
Erickson’s (Swede’s) pants torn off
Don receives an Oak Cluster
11
08/08/44Clastres A/F5:00St. Quentin, France – Airfield12
08/09/44Saarbrucken6:00Stuttgart – ball bearing factory but went back to marshaling yards in Saarbrucken13
08/10/44Stand down Arnold became 2nd Lt. 
08/13/44Practice1:35     
08/14/44Dale/Tavaux7:15Airfield on French/Swiss border
Don took photos of Swiss Alps
14
08/15/44Vechta5:40Airfield near Dummes Lake in Germany15
08/17/44Azon 3
Eaternay
7:30Bridge 18 miles east of Romily Sur Seine, just east of Paris. 1st Azon mission since it became operational again in the squadron. Only the 753rd went up . Return with bombs.16
08/18/44Woippy8:15Aircraft engine works at Metze, France. Initial run was Nerddun17
08/24/44*Aborted
Hanover
5:00Headed for Oil refinery at Mizburg near Hanover but trouble over Channel. On our own and dropped bombs over a heavy industrial area.18
08/25/44Azon 4
Moerdijk, Belgium
3:40Bridge19
08/26/44Azon 5
Moerdijk, Belgium
3:20Same Bridge20
08/29/44Practice2:00   
09/01/44Azon 6
Ravestein, Holland
3:10Bridge
Flew “Silver Chief”
21
09/03/44Ferrying1:00To Hetchel   
09/14/44Practice1:45   
09/15/44Practice3:00   
09/17/44Practice4:00   
09/18/44Ferrying Gas3:30Trucking gas to Patton in France..a field just south of St. Quentin   
09/19/44Ferrying Gas5:20Deliver gas to Chartes A/F, near St. Quentin  
10/05/44Padeborn5:50Airfield which offered ground support for the Seigfried line.22
10/08/44Koblenz5:45Primary target – marshaling yards at Geissen
Secondary target – yards at Koblenz
Flew with a Command Pilot to lead formation
23
10/13/44Practice4:00  
10/14/44Cologne6:45Marshaling yards24
10/15/44Ferrying2:00Ferry trip to Greencastle, Ireland
 
10/17/44Stand down Joe and Don slow time “Table Stuff” 
10/19/44Mainz, Germany6:45Marshaling yards near Frankfurt25
10/24/44Practice3:50  
10/26/44Minden, Germany6:00Aqueduct26
11/01/44Weather Ship4:10Piskin made 1st Lt. 
11/02/44Bielefeld, Germany6:20Marshaling yards27
11/05/44Karlsruhe8:20Marshaling yards
Emergency landing in Lille, France for gas
28
11/09/44Metz6:30Strong fortification29
11/14/44Stand down “Table Stuff” ran into the “Howling Banshee”. Going to join the front of Howling Banshee to the rear half of another plane. 
11/21/44Hamburg7:00Oil Refinery near the town of Haarburg30
11/26/44Bielefeld5:50Railway Aqueduct31
11/28/44Practice Mission4:30  
11/30/44Homburg7:00Marshaling yards near Straasburg32
12/02/44Test Hop1:00Receive Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) 
12/24/44Schonecker6:40Railroad intersection33
12/25/44Pronsfeld5:00Railroad crossing34
12/27/44Neunkirchen6:00Marshaling yards just south of Saarbrucken
Don’s last mission
35
12/28/44St. Wendel6:00Marshaling yards
Arnold’s last mission
36