caption serviceyears laterwork branch death_place death_date birth_place allegiance image_size battles birth_date alt rank image article_title name
flight `` dambusters '' raid with no . & nbsp ; lieutenant 617 squadron raf , may 1943 shannon shortly before taking part in the 1940 -- 45 business executive royal australian air force sydenham , south london , england 8 april 1993 unley park , south australia australia 220 world war ii 27 may 1922 informal and peaked cap head-and-shoulders portrait of man in dark-coloured battle jacket squadron leader suk10670 dave shannon 1943 -lrb- cropped -rrb- . jpg dave shannon
 david john -lrb- dave -rrb- shannon
dave shannon

david john -lrb- dave -rrb- shannon , dso & bar , dfc & bar -lrb- 27 may 1922 -- 8 april 1993 -rrb- was an australian bomber pilot of world war ii , best known for his part in the `` dambusters '' raid on the night of 16/17 may 1943 .
born in south australia , he joined the royal australian air force -lrb- raaf -rrb- 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 -lrb- dfc -rrb- in january 1943 .
in march he 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 -lrb- dso -rrb- 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 .
