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Personal info

Full name
HANLON, Francis Patrick
Date of birth
16 October 1922
Age
21
Place of birth
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Hometown
Nantucket County, Massachusetts

Military service

Service number
O-799979
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
95th Fighter Squadron,
82nd Fighter Group
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
16 June 1944
Place of death
Near Balaton Lake, Hungary

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
B 41 22

Immediate family

Members
Frank P. Hanlon (father)
Alice J. Hanlon (mother)
Mary J. Hanlon (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
43-28803
Data
Type: P-38J-15 LO
Destination: Vienna, Austria
Mission: Bomber Escort
MACR: 6132

More information

2nd Lt Francis P. Hanlon volunteered for the U.S. Army in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 24 March 1942.

2nd Lt Jack D. Joley:
"I was leading a flight with Lt Hanlon as my #3 man. During the big dogfight north and south of Balaton Lake, Hungary, a ME-109 came in from the rear and shot at me. Tracers passed over the left wing of my wingman. Lt Hanlon called a break to the right. He was the first to break and must have passed through the enemy's line of fire. While in the steep turn to the right, I succeeded in shooting the ME-109 down. Immediately after the E/A blew up, I turned left and saw Lt Hanlon's P-38 hit the ground with its right wing. The P-38 exploded on contact. The fight had started at 200 ft. altitude and was carried down to 20 ft."

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.wwiimemorial.com - Mr. Gerard Cavanaugh, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Pennsylvania Veteran Compensation Application Files WWII, www.fold3.com

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Dominique Potier