William Vale

Infobox Military Person
name= William "Cherry" Vale
lived= 3 June 1914 – 29 November 1981
placeofbirth=Chatham, Kent, England
placeofdeath= Brackley, Northamptonshire, England


caption=
nickname="Cherry"
allegiance=flag|United Kingdom
serviceyears= 1931–1946
rank= Squadron Leader
branch= air force|United Kingdom
commands=
unit= No. 33 Squadron RAF
No. 80 Squadron RAF
battles= World War II
awards= Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar
Air Force Cross
laterwork=

Squadron Leader William "Cherry" Vale DFC & Bar, AFC (3 June 1914 – 29 November 1981) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who, during the Second World War, shot down 30 enemy aircraft and shared in the destruction of three others, 6 damaged and another two shared damaged. His 10 victories while flying the Gloster Gladiator made him the second highest scoring biplane pilot (second to Marmaduke Pattle) in the RAF. [Thomas 2002, p. 9.]

Entry into RAF

Born in Chatham, Kent, William Vale entered the RAF in 1931 as a Fitter and then as a Gunner. In 1935 he was posted to No. 33 Squadron RAF in Egypt, equipped with the Hawker Hart.In 1936 he began training as a pilot at 4 FTS, Abu Sueir. He returned as a pilot to 33 squadron in late 1937. In March 1938 the unit converted to the Gloster Gladiator.

World War Two

Combat Operations

Based in Egypt at the beginning of the war, Vale encountered mostly Italian aircraft over the Libyan border. In July he was commissioned and posted to No. 80 Squadron. Between 1 July 1940 and 28 February 1941 Vale claimed 10 "Regia Aeronautica" aircraft in the Gladiator.He would see much action over Greece and the Balkans in late 1940 and early 1941, and flew to Crete in May 1941, in defence of the island. He then flew operations over Syria against the Vichy French.

Between 3 March 1941 and 12 June 1941 Vale claimed another 20 kills, all claimed in the Hawker Hurricane. Three of his kills were over Vichy French Air Force aircraft.With the chaotic retreats from Greece and Crete official RAF records were destroyed including combat reports, making many pilot's kill totals impossible to verify. However Vale's claim total appears to be around 30 with 3 shared destroyed , 6 damaged and 1 shared damaged. [Shores and Williams 1994, p. 603.] During active operations Vale fought in the North African Campaign, Greek Campaign and the Battle of Crete. [ [http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/commonwealth_vale.htm Squadron Leader William "Cherry" Vale] ]

Awarded the DFC and bar, in July 1941 Vale was posted to RAF Haifa as Operations Officer, returning to the United Kingdom in April 1942 to become CFI at 59 OTU. In March 1943 Vale attended the Central Gunnery School at Sutton Bridge, then commanded 11 AFC at Fairwood Common until the end of the war. Thus Vale was not to particpate in combat operations for the remainder of the war.

Post War

Vale retired from the RAF in 1946. He was killed in a road accident on 29 November 1981. [ [http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/commonwealth_vale.htm Squadron Leader William "Cherry" Vale] ]

References

* Thomas, Andrew. "Gloster Gladiator Aces". Osprey Publishing. London. 2002. ISBN 978-1-841762-89-0
* [http://acesofww2.com/UK/UK.htm English / British & Other RAF Aces of WW2]
* [http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/commonwealth_vale.htm Squadron Leader William 'Cherry' Vale AFC DFC and Bar]
* [http://www.oldframlinghamian.com/images/articles/SQUADRONLEADERWILLIAMVALEAFCDFCANDBAR1923-30.pdf Squadron Leader William 'Cherry' Vale AFC DFC and Bar]