1. William Vale was credited with 30 enemy aircraft shot down, shared in the destruction of three others, and claimed 6 damaged and another two shared damaged.
16 Facts About William Vale
1. 2.
William Vale's 20 kills achieved while flying the Hawker Hurricane and his 10 with the Gloster Gladiator made him the second highest scoring Hurricane and biplane pilot in the RAF, in both cases after Marmaduke Pattle.
3.
William Vale returned as a sergeant pilot to No 33 Squadron in late 1937.
4.
Between 1 July 1940 and 28 February 1941 William Vale claimed 10 Regia Aeronautica aircraft in the Gladiator, although several of his victories cannot be traced through fragmented Italian records.
5.
William Vale claimed his first victory on 1 July 1940, a Fiat CR.
6.
William Vale saw action over Greece and the Balkans through late 1940 and early 1941, and flew over Crete in May 1941 in defence of the island.
7.
Between 3 March 1941 and 12 June 1941, William Vale claimed some 20 kills, all while flying the Hawker Hurricane.
8.
William Vale then flew operations over Syria against the Vichy French and three of his kills were Vichy French Air Force aircraft.
9.
William Vale had fought in the North African campaign, Greek Campaign and the Battle of Crete.
10.
William Vale did not participate in combat operations for the remainder of the war.
11.
William Vale was promoted to flying officer on 24 June 1941.
12.
William Vale was posted to RAF Haifa as operations officer, returning to the United Kingdom in April 1942 to become Chief Flying Instructor at No 59 Operational Training Unit.
13.
William Vale was promoted to flight lieutenant on 17 January 1942.
14.
In March 1943 William Vale attended the Central Gunnery School at Sutton Bridge, then commanded 11 AFC at Fairwood Common until the end of the war.
15.
William Vale retired from the RAF as a squadron leader on 3 June 1959.
16.
William Vale lived in Nottinghamshire for some years, and was killed in a road accident on 29 November 1981.