Eldon Leroy Slanker
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
From my private collection
Object Number - UPL 16063 - Lt Eldon L Slanker, 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force. Killed in a mid air collision with Lt Edward B Lightfoot, 61st...
While on a training flight on 12 April 1945, Lt Eldon Slanker was killed as a result of a mid-air collision with a P-47 of the 56th Fighter Group, flown by Edward B Lightfoot. His P-51 crash landed at Hintlesham, Suffolk.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
![Ground crew of the 356th Fighter Group congratulate the pilot of a P-47 Thunderbolt nicknamed "Zombie" at Martlesham Heath air base. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'ZOMBIE yellow, black outline. [illegible text] black white common practice of 361st FS.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-377162.jpg.webp?itok=Cj8CR9kY)
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: The Brunette Bunny
- Unit: 356th Fighter Group 361st Fighter Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born Killed in Action (KIA) |
Trotwood, OH, USA | 26 January 1922 | |
|
Enlisted Promoted |
Columbus, OH, USA | 23 November 1942 | |
|
Died |
Hintlesham, Ipswich, Suffolk IP8, UK | 12 April 1945 | Killed in a mid air collision over Hintlesham, Suffolk at 15:10 while flying P51D-15-NA, 44-15073, QI-M, 'The Brunette Bunny', named for his wife. |
|
Buried |
Tipp City, OH, USA | Originally interred at Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley but returned to the U.S. post war and is buried with his parents at Maple Hill Cemetery, Tipp City, Ohio. |
Revisions
Added Eldon L Slanker's name to the digital Roll of Honour in the American Air Museum at IWM Duxford, England.
From my private collection, provided by Lt Slanker's widow, Sara 'Bebe' Gaines.
Information obtained from Lt Slanker's family over 15 years of research.
356th FG Assoc data / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list
