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Military
Lieutenant-Colonel Shannon Christian of the 351st Fighter Squadron, with a P-47 Thunderbolt of the 353rd Fighter Group. Image stamped with station censor: 'Not for publication. Passed for personal use only.' Veteran's handwritten caption on reverse: ' Lt Col. Christian.'
Pilots of the 351FS, 353FG pose in front of a Republic P-47 at an airbase in England. Sept 44. Standing L-R: Lt Strobell, Lt Biddy, Lt Hungate, Lt Tumlin, Lt Milligan, Lt Toppel, Lt Thistlethwaite, Lt Weaver, Lt Perpente, Capt Leatherman, Lt Hunter, Lt Stump, Lt Stanley, Lt Edwards, Lt King, Capt Lefebre. Kneeling L-R: Lt Frank, Lt Trudeau, Lt Mincik, Lt Maguire, Lt Terzian, Major Christian, Capt Emory, Lt Field, Lt Ahles, Capt Byers. Nara Ref 3A47475-3A47999.
Lt Col. Shannon Christian. Headquarters Unit. P-47D 42-8395 YJ-S "Cookie".
Major Shannon Christian P-47 pilot 351FS, 353FG, 8AF.
Major Shannon Christian and his brother pose by the nose of Republic P-47D 42-76103 "Cookie II" 351st Fighter Squadron, 353rd Fighter Group, "somewhere in England". Major Shannon's younger brother was a Lt in the 2nd Armoured Division.
Assigned to 351FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to HQ, 67FW, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 351FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF. Ended Tour of Duty (ETD).
Awards: WWII Victory, EAME.
Group
The 353rd Fighter Group was assigned to the Eighth Air Force on 7 June 1943. The group flew P-47 Thunderbolts, and from October 1944, P-51 Mustangs, as escorts for bombing missions across occupied Europe and to strafe targets on the ground. Tactical...
Squadron
Headquarters
P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47D-2-RE #42-8395 [YJ-S] "Cookie" was asssigned to the 353FS/351FS at Metfield, UK. On 25 November 1943 the aircraft, piloted by LTC Loren G. McCollom (Commanding Officer 353FG), was despatched with other P-47s from the 353FG to attack the German...
P-47 Thunderbolt
Assigned to 351FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 410FS, 373FG, 9AF USAAF.
P-47 Thunderbolt
Assigned to 351FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF.
Military site : airfield
Although never used as such, Raydon was built during 1942-43 as an Eighth Air Force bomber base, with three concrete runways, 50 loop and one pan hardstandings, and two dispersed T2 hangars. Initially on loan to the Ninth Air Force, it was first...
Military site : non-airfield
Bought by the Dearden family in 1891, during the Second World War the Hall was used as an RAF operations room remote from conjoined RAF Wittering and RAF Collyweston. From December 1943 the 67th Fighter Wing took over, using the Hall as a command and...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Monroe County, MS, USA | 12 February 1917 |
| Enlisted | Jackson, MS, USA | 15 October 1940 |
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Enlistment Date: 15 Oct 1940 |
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| Enlisted | 12 July 1941 | |
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Enlistment Date: 12 Jul 1941 |
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| Crashed | Owens Field Skate Park, 1351 Jim Hamilton Blvd, Columbia, SC 29205, USA | 20 October 1941 |
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Landing Accident Mech Failure Owens Field, Columbia, SC Cat 3 damage Capt Shannon Christian, 20-Oct-41. P-39D 41-6777 - 35PS 8PG |
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| Crashed | Piedmont Dam, Piedmont, OH 43983, USA | 8 January 1942 |
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Baled Out Engine Failure Near Piedmont Dam, OH Cat 5 damage Capt Shannon Christian, 8-Jan-42. P-39D 41-6831 - 35PS 8PG |
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| Based | Raydon | October 1942 – 9 September 1943 |
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Assigned to 351FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Promotion | Raydon, Ipswich IP7 5LL, UK | October 1942 |
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Promoted to Major. |
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| Based | Walcot Hall | 9 September 1943 – February 1944 |
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Transferred to HQ, 67FW, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | Metfield, Harleston IP20 0LH, UK | 23 September 1943 |
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Taxiing Accident Metfield/Sta 366 Cat 3 damage Capt Shannon Christian, 23-Sep-43. P-47D 42-22477 - 351FS 353FG 8AF |
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| Based | Raydon | February 1944 – 21 July 1944 |
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Transferred to 351FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Promotion | Raydon, Ipswich IP7 5LL, UK | 10 May 1944 |
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Promoted to Lt Colonel. |
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| End Tour of Duty (ETD) | England, UK | 21 July 1944 |
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Ended Tour of Duty (ETD). |
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| Crashed | Neubiberg, Germany | 15 July 1947 |
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Crashed on Take off Engine Failure Neubiberg AB Cat 3 damage Capt Shannon Christian, 15-Jul-47. P-51D 44-73311 - 60FS 33FG AFE |
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| Buried | 1988 | |
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Arlington National Cemetery |
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| Died | Montgomery, AL, USA | 4 July 1988 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 12 January 2018 19:11:55 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number, highest rank, role, biography, awards, events, unit associations, place associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/528065680-shannon-christian-1917 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:25:05 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list |
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