Pilot’s Log – Howling Banshee

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.

Date	Target	Dur.	Description	Mission
05/27/44	Practice	2:00	Test Guns & C-1
05/28/44	Practice	3:30	Test C-1
05/30/44	Practice	3:00
05/31/44	Practice	2:45
06/01/44	Stand down		Don’s 1st Mission on another plane
06/06/44	Stand down		Beginning of Allied Invasion of France
06/08/44	Scrubbed
06/12/44	Practice	1:45
06/14/44	Azon 1 Ham Aire, France	5:00	6 Bridges just back of Abbeyville 1st Azon Mission	1
06/15/44	Azon 2 Arras, France	7:25	Yesterday’s targets	2
06/20/44	Aborted Pas de Calais		Engines on 2 planes failed before takeoff. Aborted during takeoff
06/21/44	Stand down		Notified to add Bronze Star to Theater ribbon
06/22/44	Practice	4:25
06/23/44	Transport	2:00	Fly to manchester for modifications to Azon equipment
06/28/44	Stand down		Don’s description of a typical mission day.
06/29/44	Practice	2:45
07/04/44	Practice	2:50	Germans celebrating the 4th with heavy firework over London
07/05/44	Practice	3:45
07/06/44	Practice	3:50
07/07/44	Lutzhendorf	7:30	Oil plant near Halle, 75 miles SW of Berlin	3
07/08/44	Practice	3:00
07/09/44	Practice	2:00
07/11/44	Aborted Munich	2:00	Engine ran away while assembling, aborted and landed in Shipdahm, England.
07/13/44	Saarbrucken	6:15	Marshaling Yards on German/French border	4
07/14/44	Practice	2:40
07/16/44	Saarbrucken	6:40	Don earns the Air Medal	5
07/20/44	Eisenach	7:30	South of Leipzip Primary Target – Aircraft engine plant Alternate Target – Marshaling Yard Don took photos	6
07/22/44	Practice	3:20
07/23/44	Test Hop	0:50
07/24/44	Weather Ship	3:00
07/25/44	St. Lo, France	5:00	German support troops	7
07/30/44	Practice	4:30
07/31/44	Ludwigshaven	6:15	Chemical works plant, poisonous gas	8
08/01/44	Bois de Queue Comtesse, Belloy Sur Sommme	5:50	First “No-Ball” – Buzz Bombs Don’s T. Sgt. rating came through	9
08/05/44	Brunswick	7:25	Messerschmidt jet plane assembly plant	10
08/06/44	Hamburg	6:40	Synthetic Oil Refinery on south bank of Elbe Erickson’s (Swede’s) pants torn off Don receives an Oak Cluster	11
08/08/44	Clastres A/F	5:00	St. Quentin, France – Airfield	12
08/09/44	Saarbrucken	6:00	Stuttgart – ball bearing factory but went back to marshaling yards in Saarbrucken	13
08/10/44	Stand down		Arnold became 2nd Lt.
08/13/44	Practice	1:35
08/14/44	Dale/Tavaux	7:15	Airfield on French/Swiss border Don took photos of Swiss Alps	14
08/15/44	Vechta	5:40	Airfield near Dummes Lake in Germany	15
08/17/44	Azon 3 Eaternay	7:30	Bridge 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
08/18/44	Woippy	8:15	Aircraft engine works at Metze, France. Initial run was Nerddun	17
08/24/44*	Aborted Hanover	5:00	Headed for Oil refinery at Mizburg near Hanover but trouble over Channel. On our own and dropped bombs over a heavy industrial area.	18
08/25/44	Azon 4 Moerdijk, Belgium	3:40	Bridge	19
08/26/44	Azon 5 Moerdijk, Belgium	3:20	Same Bridge	20
08/29/44	Practice	2:00
09/01/44	Azon 6 Ravestein, Holland	3:10	Bridge Flew “Silver Chief”	21
09/03/44	Ferrying	1:00	To Hetchel
09/14/44	Practice	1:45
09/15/44	Practice	3:00
09/17/44	Practice	4:00
09/18/44	Ferrying Gas	3:30	Trucking gas to Patton in France..a field just south of St. Quentin
09/19/44	Ferrying Gas	5:20	Deliver gas to Chartes A/F, near St. Quentin
10/05/44	Padeborn	5:50	Airfield which offered ground support for the Seigfried line.	22
10/08/44	Koblenz	5:45	Primary target – marshaling yards at Geissen Secondary target – yards at Koblenz Flew with a Command Pilot to lead formation	23
10/13/44	Practice	4:00
10/14/44	Cologne	6:45	Marshaling yards	24
10/15/44	Ferrying	2:00	Ferry trip to Greencastle, Ireland
10/17/44	Stand down		Joe and Don slow time “Table Stuff”
10/19/44	Mainz, Germany	6:45	Marshaling yards near Frankfurt	25
10/24/44	Practice	3:50
10/26/44	Minden, Germany	6:00	Aqueduct	26
11/01/44	Weather Ship	4:10	Piskin made 1st Lt.
11/02/44	Bielefeld, Germany	6:20	Marshaling yards	27
11/05/44	Karlsruhe	8:20	Marshaling yards Emergency landing in Lille, France for gas	28
11/09/44	Metz	6:30	Strong fortification	29
11/14/44	Stand down		“Table Stuff” ran into the “Howling Banshee”. Going to join the front of Howling Banshee to the rear half of another plane.
11/21/44	Hamburg	7:00	Oil Refinery near the town of Haarburg	30
11/26/44	Bielefeld	5:50	Railway Aqueduct	31
11/28/44	Practice Mission	4:30
11/30/44	Homburg	7:00	Marshaling yards near Straasburg	32
12/02/44	Test Hop	1:00	Receive Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
12/24/44	Schonecker	6:40	Railroad intersection	33
12/25/44	Pronsfeld	5:00	Railroad crossing	34
12/27/44	Neunkirchen	6:00	Marshaling yards just south of Saarbrucken Don’s last mission	35
12/28/44	St. Wendel	6:00	Marshaling yards Arnold’s last mission	36