Lloyd Vernon "Chad" Chadburn DSO & Bar, DFC (21 August 1919 – 13 June 1944) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

Biography

Early life

Lloyd Chadburn was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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, on 21 August 1919, later moving with his parents to Oshawa, Ontario, as an infant. He grew up there and in

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. He attended Aurora Public School and Aurora High School and completed his secondary education at Northern secondary school. He worked as a bank clerk at the Bank of Toronto and as a salesman for the Red Rose Tea Company.

Career

Chadburn applied to enlist in both the Army and Navy in 1939, but was turned down both times. After a spell working for General Motors and with the Bank of Toronto, he was accepted by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as an Air Gunner in April 1940, but re-mastered as a Pilot. He graduated from the Number 2 Flight Training School in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

on 9 October 1940 as a Pilot Officer. In December 1940 Chadburn was posted to ''Number 112 (Army Cooperation) Squadron'' flying

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

s and made his first operational flight in March 1941. He was posted to the

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in 1941, and joined ''412 Squadron (RCAF)'' in June 1941, moving to ''19 Squadron (RAF)'' in September. In February 1942 Chadburn was posted to ''Number 416 (RCAF) Squadron'' in

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as a Flight Lieutenant. Days later he took over command of the squadron, becoming the first graduate of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to lead a Fighter Command squadron. He was also the youngest Squadron Leader in the RCAF at the age of 21. “When we were flying with the City of Oshawa Squadron, there wasn’t a guy who ever asked Chad where we were going. When he told us we were off for a scramble we jumped to get going. We didn’t care where. If he was leading us we just naturally tag along" - Flight Lieutenant John Arthur “Jackie” Rae, CM, DFC. Promoted to squadron leader, Chadburn and ''416 Squadron'' flew defensive missions over Dieppe on 19 August 1942, covering the Canadian and Allied raid and claiming his first air victories. He was then awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After a period of leave in Canada, he was posted to ''No. 402 Squadron'' and then ''No. 403 Squadron'', prior to his promotion to wing commander for the RAF Digby Wing in June 1943. He led the Wing in flying escort to American bombers and the RAF medium bombers of No. 2 Group. He was supposedly dubbed ''The Angel'' for his escort would assure the bomber crews a safe passage to and from the target. On 3 November 1943 the Wing claimed seven Bf 109's of II./ JG 3 (five were actually lost), with Chadburn claiming two personally. By the time Chadburn left the ''Digby Wing'' in December he had received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

twice, the first RCAF officer to be so decorated and was one of only four in history. In early 1944, he was appointed wing commander, Fighter Operations at RCAF Group Headquarters Overseas. He was sent back to Canada for a war bond drive in the spring and upon his return was made wing commander of ''Number 127'' Wing RCAF, comprising 403, 421 and 416 Squadrons.

Death

On 13 June 1944, Chadburn was killed in a mid-air collision with another Spitfire pilot while taking off from a landing strip in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. He was 24 years of age.

Honours

Chadburn's record includes five enemy airplanes destroyed (three shared), five aircraft probably destroyed (one shared), seven aircraft damaged (two shared), two E-boats destroyed, and another two damaged, as well as a destroyer damaged. Chadburn was made a Chevalier (

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

) in the French Légion d'honneur and awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Palme. Only three RCAF officers received the Légion d'honneur, and Chadburn was the only one to receive the Croix de Guerre. His name is listed on memorials in both Aurora High School and Northern Secondary school in Toronto Ontario which he attended. Chadburn is featured i
True Aviation Comics No. 10

Sources

Gone is the Angel - Biography of Lloyd Chadburn

References

External links

Resting place {{DEFAULTSORT:Chadburn, Lloyd 1919 births 1944 deaths Canadian World War II flying aces Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Military personnel from Montreal Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Canadian Air Force officers Canadian military personnel killed in World War II Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Northern Secondary School alumni