Lloyd L. Eadline
Second Lieutenant Lloyd L. Eadline of Collingswood, NJ.
Rank: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Serial Number: O-2005855
Unit: 83rd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group
Hometown: Collingswood, New Jersey
Died: , Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Memorial: Tablets of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands
Awards: Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters
Second Lieutenant Lloyd Londower Eadline was born on March 4, 1922, in Haddon Heights, NJ. He had lived at 9 Fraser Avenue in Collingswood, NJ, before entering the Army Air Force. He graduated high school in Phoenixville, PA, and before entering the service he worked for the Goodyear Rubber Company. He entered the Army in September 1942, qualified for flight duty in March 1943, graduated flight school and was commissioned in January 1944, and was sent overseas in August 1944.
A fighter pilot, Lt. Eadline flew a P-51D Mustang, serial #44-63248, designated HL-Y in his squadron. The Camden Courier-Post reported in January 1945 that Lt. Eadline had been cited for completing 25 combat missions, and during his time in combat he shot down at least one enemy aircraft.
On February 24, 1945, one of four brothers then in the service, Lt. Eadline was attacking a barge on a canal believed to be north of Hamm, Germany, when his aircraft was hit by intense anti-aircraft fire. His plane was struck in the left wing tank and he attempted to fly back to England on one tank. The last radio contact with Lt. Eadline confirmed that he was bailing out over the Zuider Zee. A pilot from the 4th Fighter Group who happened to be in the area searched for him at low level over the Zuider Zee but was unable to locate him due to heavy overcast and haze. He was never found.
Four days later, on February 28, 1945, his younger brother Allan B. Eadline, serving in the infantry in the Philippines, was also killed in action.
Lloyd Eadline was survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Eadline, of 9 Fraser Avenue, Collingswood; brother George Eadline, a First Lieutenant with the Army Signal Corps in Europe; and brother RT2C Herbert S. Eadline, in the Navy. Herbert Eadline’s brother-in-law, Edgar Crouthamel, was killed in a plane crash while serving with the Army Air Force in England in 1944. His name appears on the World War II War Memorial at Knight’s Park in Collingswood, NJ.
Photos
Lloyd L. Eadline.
Intelligence Combat Report — October 15, 1944
Lt. Eadline’s report on shooting down a Fw 190 on October 15, 1944, signed October 17, 1944:
I was flying Cargo Red two position, when “Bogies” were reported at two o’clock. Red leader, Lt. Reems, peeled off to the right and I crossed over on his right wing. He then turned to the left and bounced two Fw 190’s. The plane he bounced did a half roll and a very short turn. After the e/a rolled out, Lt. Reems hit him and he went straight into the ground, bursting into flames. We then broke left and proceeded to climb. I lost my leader in the haze. When I broke out on top of the haze, I joined another P-47 flown by Lt. Harrington. We joined up with the other two in our flight. Four more bandits were reported on the deck and we bounced them. I took the e/a on the extreme right, closed in on it and gave him a short burst. I could see strikes after which the e/a started to smoke. The 190 then broke to the left. I gave him another short burst and his canopy came off. The e/a then broke to the right. I stayed on his tail and gave him some more bursts until he crashed into the ground, bursting into flames. I then pulled up to join the flight. Flak at this time was very heavy.
During combat, I used the K-14 sight. The shots I made were all astern, of very small deflection. I did not use the lever on the throttle. All I did was to hold the pip on the a/c’s canopy. Since I did not get him right in deflection shooting, I can not say more about it. I very much like the fact that you can put pepper on plane and not worry about lead.
Mission Records
Mission records and Missing Air Crew Report for Second Lieutenant Lloyd L. Eadline, including a map showing the area over the Zuider Zee where he was last seen on February 24, 1945.