MCLAUCHLAN, Eric Lyle
| Service Number: | 405644 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 April 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Pilot Officer |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Kilcoy, Queensland, Australia, 25 August 1915 |
| Home Town: | Kilcoy, Somerset, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Urai Island, New Britain, New Britain, Pacific Islands, 4 March 1942, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea Bita Paka War Cemetery, Bita Paka, Rabaul, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Pilot Officer, 405644 | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Apr 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 405644 |
Help us honour Eric Lyle McLauchlan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
Hudson A16-165 took off from 7 Mile Strip in New Guinea on a night-time bombing raid on Gasmata, New Britain with four other aircraft, it did not return along with Hudson A16-101
Aircraft wreckage was discovered on Urai Island, New Britain in 1946 and identified as A16-165
One crew member was taken POW and executed the day of the crash - Flight Lieutenant Kenneth James Erwin 261863
The rest of the crew were killed in the crash:
Pilot Officer, Eric Lyle McLauchlan 405644
Sergeant James Watt Simpson 400570
Sergeant Ian Munro Barwick 5810
(the NAA casualty file for Sergeant Barwick contains a comprehensive report on the search for missing airmen and their fate)