Tannehill, Charles O., 2nd Lt

Last Known Activity
Charles O. Tannehill was born in Pennsylvania in 1917 to John F. and Barbara B. Tannehill. The US Censuses 1930 and 1940 both show the family living in Los Angeles.

Tannehill enlisted on October 29, 1941 as an Aviation Cadet at March Field, California. He had completed 3 years of college (unnamed), and his occupation lay within the actor/actress field. (www.Google/search  states he was a University of Southern California graduate, but no confirmation has been located.)

This same source indicates he had married Doris Ann Rogers 6 months prior to being lost. (Again, no confirmation.)

He received training as a navigator, and upon completion of the course, was awarded wings and  commissioned. He received further training before being deployed to England in 1942. After arriving in England, the 32nd Bomb Squadron moved some of its aircraft to bases in North Africa. Tannehill was assigned to the Bruce crew.

He flew on the 6 missions this crew made. On November 28, 1942, the target area was the area of Bizerte, Tunisia. While on the way to the target, the formation was attacked by German fighters. The aircraft Tannehill was in was shot down. It crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. There were no survivors, and no bodies were recovered.

Documents indicate this was the first combat loss of an aircraft by the 301st Bomb Group.

Lt Tannehill is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing in the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.


www.findagrave.com
www.abmc.gov
www.ancestry.com
www.301stbg.com/301st_bombardment_ group.cfm
www.301stbg.com/missions_Macrs.cfm
US Census 1930
US Census 1940
NARA Enlistment Records


 

Comments/Citation
Lt Charles Tannehill was the assigned navigator on B-17F # 41-24363, named "Bad Penny," assigned to the 32rd Bomb Squadron.

Missing Air Crew Report 16197 was issued to cover this loss. Mission loading lists show the crew as:

Cpt John B. Bruce  p
2 Lt Robert Earl  c-p
2 Lt Charles Tannehill  nav
2 Lt CHarles Knop  bomb
SSgt Henry P. Hughes, Jr.  eng/tt gun
Sgt  Leonard McGriff  r/o
SSgt Alpheus Backus  wg
Sgt  Samuel Scott  wg
SSgt Merle Gilger  tail gun

Ranks and grades as of mission date.

The mission list shows Gilger's name as "Merle." All other sources have it as "Merril."

The only known crew photo is one in England of King George VI meeting the crew. Individual identifications are not given.

The aircraft's name was from an old axiom that a "Bad Penny Always Comes Back."