Val R Hannon
Military1-May-42 Assigned to the 303BG/427BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho as an Aerial Gunner but records do not indicate an aircraft assigment at that time. Based on his limited mission participation it is likely that he was just a "spare" gunner, probably assigned to some ground duty. It is likely that he arrived in the UK aboard a ship with the ground eschelon and the traveled by lorry to Molesworth.
On 23-Jan-43 in B-17F #41-24584 "Susfu" while serving as a substitute for the regular Left Waist Gunner. The aircraft was shot down by enemy fighters on return from mission to Lorient, France. Aircraft crashed at Abbey Pleyben near Edern, France. He parachuted to safety and was captured as a Prisoner of War (POW).
He participated in 2 Operations (1 was aborted) See Biography events.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 23 January 1943
- Date: 20 December 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Utah, USA | 8 February 1914 | |
|
Enlisted |
Fort Douglas, Salt Lake City, UT 84113, USA | 12 March 1942 | |
|
Other Assigned to Unit |
Boise, ID, USA | 1 May 1942 | Asssigned as an Aerial Gunner with the 303BG/427BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho, but no record could be located indicating that he was assigned to an aircraft at that time. |
|
Other Mission #1, SGT Val B. Hannon, w/ B-17F 42-2966, 303BG/427BS - Aborted |
Romilly-sur-Seine, France | 20 December 1942 | Served as Left Wasit Gunner on B-17F 42-2996, 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot ot abort the sortie. |
|
Based |
Molesworth | 22 January 1943 | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Krems an der Donau, Austria | 23 January 1943 - 12 June 1945 | Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 12-Jun-45. |
|
Other Mission #2, SGT Val B. Hannon, w/ B-17F 41-224584, 303BG/427BS - POW |
Lorient, France | 23 January 1943 | Served as Left Waist Gunner on B-17 41-24584 "Susfu", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Loreint, France. The aircraftwas shot down by enemy aircraft but he managed to bale out and was captured as a Prisoner of War. |
|
Died |
Monroe, UT 84754, USA | 19 August 1971 | |
|
Buried |
Monroe City Cemetery, Monroe, UT 84754, USA | 22 August 1971 | |
| Monroe, UT 84754, USA | |||
|
Other Arrived in UK |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | Arrived at Molesworth UK with the ground eschelon. |
Revisions
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Lee Cunningham 9-Jan-2016. Corrected initial assigment to location and Assigned to Aircraft location per 303BG records, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 7-Jan-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 23-Jan-43 http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/011.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Jan-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42 http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Jan-2016. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 7-Jan-2016. Added Assigned to Unit event pere 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 7-Jan-2016. Added intial assignment to Summary Biography, made connections to aircraft and mission participation based on my research of 303BG Mission Reports, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 28-Jan-2015. Added POW event location per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.
Changed middle initial from 'B' to 'R' based on the 303rd Bomb Group roster (http://303rdbg.com/rost-hij.html#H) and enlistment record: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=…
Findagrave record: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=hannon&GSfn=val&G…;
Note: had been recorded in Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor data as 'Val R Nannen'
Lee Cunningham 22-Jan-2015. Added SN per MACR 15571; Added POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data: Crafted Biography per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://303rdbg.com/rost-hij.html#H