We are currently working on a site-wide upgrade which will be completed in September 2022
You will not be able to search, add or edit information in the American Air Museum archive while this takes place.
You can find out more about our plans here
Military
Grave marker for Major William Kelly Charles Collonan US Army and 1st Lt Dean R Burns. Pilot and Observer in P-38 'Droop Snoot' Lightning 44-23162. Both MIA/FOD 9-8-44.
Pilot P-38 'Droop Snoot' 44-23162, flew recon of Mortain area, due to overcast reduced altitude and A/C was hit by flak in starboard engine, lost control and baled out along with Observer
Major William K Collonan 2 x MIA/FOD. MACR 7862.
Awards: PH.
Military | Major | Observer / Navigator
Observor P-38 'Droop Snoot' 44-23162, flew recon of Mortain area, due to overcast reduced altitude and A/C was hit by flak in starboard engine, pilot 1st Lt Dean R Burns lost control and both baled out. 2 x MIA/FOD. MACR 7862.
Group
Group
The 405th Fighter Group was a fighter bomber unit of the United States Army Air Force in World War II. They group flew P-47 Thunderbolts in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) starting with the buildup to the Invasion of Normandy on "D-Day", ...
Squadron
Squadron
P-38 Lightning
Point of departure was A-11 airfield, Saint-Lambert, for recon of Mortain area, due to overcast reduced altitude and was hit by flak in starboard engine, pilot lost control and both occupants baled out, one parachute snagged tailplane and went down...
Military site : airfield
Andover was built in the First World War and used by the Royal Flying Corps, then the RAF. Home to the 370th Fighter Group in 1944, it was then handed back to the RAF. The airfield closed in 1976, and the site has since been used by the British Army.
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Kansas, USA | 1922 |
|
Harold Daniel and Nellie Lucille [Haggart] Burns. |
||
| Lived in | Chelan County, WA, USA | 1940 |
| Enlisted | 4 January 1942 | |
|
Seattle, Washington |
||
| Died | 50140 Mortain, France | 9 August 1944 |
|
Flew recon of Mortain area, due to overcast reduced altitude and A/C was hit by flak in starboard engine, lost control and baled out along with Observer |
||
| Buried | Golden Gate National Cemetery San Bruno, San Mateo County CA | 3 April 1950 |
|
Re-interred |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 24 December 2021 15:50:57 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 10 November 2021 12:18:25 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to place associations |
| Sources | ||
Information from a list of signatures suggested to be of airmen in the 405th Fighter Group, 511th Fighter Squadron, at St. Dizier, France, supplied by Don Scott of Ventura, California, in September 2021 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 03 November 2021 16:05:37 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number, biography and events |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/29441711 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 03 November 2021 14:25:09 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Information from a list of signatures suggested to be of airmen in the 405th Fighter Group, 511th Fighter Squadron, at St. Dizier, France, supplied by Don Scott of Ventura, California, on September 2021. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 January 2016 10:28:21 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, service number, highest rank, role, biography, events, unit associations, place associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Burns&GSfn=Dean&GS... |
||
