Dave Shannon

David John Shannon, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar (27 May 1922 – 8 April 1993) was an Australian bomber pilot of World War II, known for his part in the "Dambusters" raid on the night of 16/17 May 1943. Born in South Australia, Shannon joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1941 and learned to fly under the Empire Air Training Scheme. After further training in the United Kingdom he was posted to No. 106 Squadron RAF, operating Avro Lancaster heavy bombers, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in January 1943.

In March 1943, Shannon was selected by No. 106 Squadron's commanding officer, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, to join the newly formed No. 617 Squadron for Operation Chastise, the attack on the dams of the Ruhr valley. Awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) following the raid, Shannon continued to fly with No. 617 Squadron until October 1944, during which time he earned bars to his DSO and DFC. He was then assigned to transport duties, first with No. 511 Squadron and then, in March 1945, with No. 246 Squadron. Ranked squadron leader, Shannon was demobilised after the war and remained in England, becoming an executive with Shell. He died in South London in 1993, aged seventy.

Early life The son of Howard Huntley Shannon and Phoebe Madeline (née Watson), David John Shannon was born on 27 May 1922 at Unley Park, South Australia. His father was an auctioneer who went on to serve as a South Australian state parliamentarian from 1933 to 1968; his grandfather, John Wallace Shannon, had been a state parliamentarian from 1896 to 1902, and a Federal senator from 1914 to 1920. Shannon attended Unley High School, where he gained his Leaving Certificate. On 4 January 1941 he transferred to the RAAF as an air cadet under the Empire Air Training Scheme. In March he was selected by No. 106 Squadron's former commanding officer, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, to join the newly formed No. 617 Squadron for Operation Chastise, the "Dambusters" raid on the dams of the Ruhr valley. He cultivated a moustache in an attempt to add maturity to his baby face.

On the night of Operation Chastise, 16/17 May 1943, Shannon was among a group of Lancasters led by Gibson in assaults on the Möhne and Eder Dams. Detailed for the first bombing run at the Eder, Shannon took several attempts to familiarise himself with the area and line up his aircraft, so in the meantime Gibson ordered Maudsley to make his attack. Shannon went in next, delivering his bomb on target. Knight then dropped his bomb, and the dam broke.

Shannon landed back at RAF Scampton feeling "terribly elated". His bomb was believed to have caused a crack in the dam's wall, while Knight's completed the breach. Speaking later of the severe losses suffered by the squadron—eight out of nineteen planes—Shannon contended, "I suppose we had become hardened to loss—we could shrug it off. We had to, otherwise we could never have flown again." He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his part in the mission, one of several decorations awarded to the aircrew of No. 617 Squadron for the dams raid and promulgated in The London Gazette with the citation:

No. 617 Squadron remained active as a special-duties unit operating against high-value targets, and Shannon took part in attacks on the Dortmund-Ems Canal and V-weapon sites with bombs in the second half of 1943. He was promoted to flight lieutenant two days later,

Shannon again participated in raids against V-weapon sites in January 1944. The following month, No. 617 Squadron undertook its first sortie under the leadership of Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire. The unit began flying low-level target-marking missions using de Havilland Mosquito light bombers as well as Lancasters. Shannon converted to the Mosquito and started flying it operationally in April. He returned to the Lancaster on 5 June to drop "Window" as a part of the Allies' diversions ahead of the D-Day landings the following day, before again flying Mosquitos against V-weapon sites and in support of the Normandy invasion forces. Having been raised to acting squadron leader, he was awarded a bar to his DSO on 26 September 1944 for "courage of high order on numerous sorties". The full citation in The London Gazette read: His promotion to squadron leader became substantive on 1 January 1945. Three months later he was assigned to No. 246 Squadron, which operated Yorks and Consolidated Liberators.

Later life

Shannon was discharged from the RAAF as a squadron leader on 15 December 1945. His wife Ann died in 1990, and he married artist Eyke Taylor in a civil ceremony at Camberwell, London, on 19 July 1991. On 8 April 1993, shortly before a planned fiftieth anniversary reunion of surviving Dambusters, Shannon died at Denmark Hill, London, following a stroke, and was buried beside Ann at Clifton Hampden, Oxfordshire. In July 2009 Shannon's daughter Nikki made his medals, uniform, and logbook available to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in Canberra, for long-term display. The AWM also holds Shannon's portrait by Sir William Dargie. Shannon is further commemorated by a street in Glenelg North, South Australia.