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Posted on 09/25/2005 9:55:02 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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One of Britain's most decorated and highest-scoring fighter pilots was a former mule skinner from east Texas.  The remaining German pilots broke in all directions, trying to escape. Diving after a fleeing Fw-190, Wade heavily damaged it, but he did not see it crash. German records subsequently revealed that III Gruppe of Schlachtgeschwader (battle wing) 4, or III/SG.4, had lost at least one of its Fw-190 fighter-bombers in that fight, and the pilot, Sergeant 1st Class Peter Pellander, had been killed. With the confirmation of those two victories, Wade ended his second combat tour. His score had risen to 25, making him the leading Allied fighter ace of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations at that point.  FW-190 A I first encountered Lance Wade by accident several years ago, when I was searching for World War II history books and visited a used book store owned by Henry Johnson. That day turned out to be lucky for me in more than one way. I found several new books for my library, and I also learned about an American-born ace who had slipped through the cracks in books about World War II. As I was rummaging through works on the European air war, Johnson said to me: "My Uncle Bill Wade's son was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot in World War II. His name was Lance Wade, and he shot down over 40 Axis aircraft." I listened politely but initially attached little credibility to his claim, for I had already been studying the air war for many years and thought I could readily recognize the names of high-scoring Allied fighter aces. Johnson went on to tell me that the 40-plus kills were in Wade's logbook, but not his official record. He also explained that these were not confirmed, as Wade had flown in the desert war of North Africa, and many of his kills had lacked witnesses. But Johnson claimed that the RAF had credited Wade with 25 confirmed victories.  I listened to the bookstore owner's story, still in doubt, then told Johnson I was not familiar with any pilot named Wade and asked if he knew of any books about him. Johnson explained that because Wade remained in the RAF after the United States joined the war, and he died in a flying accident before the conflict ended, the young pilot's achievements had not been widely publicized after his death. When I returned home, I could not get Johnson's tale off my mind. Going to my bookshelves, I picked up Edward H. Sims' The Greatest Aces, which contains the semiofficial records of air warfare. As expected, I did not find Lance C. Wade listed in the American aces of World War II, nor in the listing of RAF aces. But then I spotted a footnote at the bottom of a page: "This list does not contain one of the Royal Air Force's greatest fighter aces, Lance C. Wade, an American who volunteered in 1940 to fly and fight for England." Sims added that Wade was one of the highest-scoring Americans in the air war, with 25 confirmed kills, also noting that he died in an accident in 1944.  A product of the east Texas hill country who came of age during the Depression, Lance was born in 1915 in Broadus, a small farming community near the Texas–Louisiana border. The second son of Bill and Susan Wade, he was actually given the name L.C. at birth. In fact, he became Lance C. Wade only after the RAF demanded that he list a name rather than initials -- he called himself Lance Cleo Wade just to satisfy regulations. In 1922 the family moved to a small farm near Reklaw, Texas, where he went to school and helped with the farm work. Family members recalled that whenever an airplane flew over, Wade would stop whatever he was doing and say, "Someday I will fly." In 1934 at age 19, Wade traveled to Tucson, Ariz., to take advantage of a New Deal program, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which provided jobs for young men. For Wade, however, the CCC work turned out to be much like the farm work he thought he had left behind -- driving a team of mules, building roads and planting trees in a national forest. With war clouds looming, Wade earned a pilot's license and acquired 80 hours of flying time. License in hand, he tried to join the U.S. Army Air Corps, only to be turned down because of his lack of education. Undeterred, he was soon plotting to join the RAF.  Ground crew of 33 Squadron Due to heavy losses during the Battle of Britain, the RAF had started recruiting American pilots for its war effort. Fearful that he might be rejected again, Wade submitted a fictitious résumé in which he claimed that he had learned to fly at age 16, when he and three friends had purchased a plane and a World War I flying buddy of his father's had taught them to fly. Wade also said that his father had been an ace in World War I. Years later, on hearing that story, Wade's cousin Henry Johnson laughed and said that the highest Uncle Bill (Wade's father) had ever been was the top rail of his fences, and that the family was unaware of Wade's ever owning an airplane. Whatever the facts, in December 1940 Wade was accepted by the RAF. Britain's recruitment program resulted in 240 American pilots who flew and fought for England. Most of those men served with Nos. 71, 121 and 133 "Eagle" squadrons, which were made up of American volunteers. In the course of their service, members of the Eagles destroyed 731¼2 Axis aircraft and earned 12 Distinguished Flying Crosses (DFCs) and one Distinguished Service Order (DSO). The battle-tested Eagles also provided the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) with valuable combat experience after the United States joined the war. Wade, however, did not serve with the Eagle squadrons but with the regular RAF squadrons, and as a result his awards and victories are not included in the Eagle tally.  Soon after being accepted in the RAF, Wade was sent to No. 52 Operational Training Unit (OTU). Units such as these provided pilots a few weeks' training in the aircraft that they would fly in combat -- in Wade's case, the Hawker Hurricane. After completing his OTU training, Wade flew a land-based Hurricane Mark I off the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal to the beleaguered island of Malta. His was one of 46 Hurricanes sent as reinforcements to the island. Because of the need for fighters in North Africa, 23 Hurricanes were flown to Egypt, where Wade joined No. 33 Squadron in September 1941 as a pilot officer. After the unit received replacement pilots and aircraft, it was deployed to Giarabub airfield, located in the Libyan desert, a fly-infested wasteland of sand, rocks and brush. The mission of No. 33 Squadron was to provide close air support for the upcoming British offensive, dubbed Operation Crusader, scheduled to be launched on November 18, 1941, against the German Afrika Korps.
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The Airspeed Oxford was a small twin engine aircraft that was used for bomber training, light transport duties and the like. Similar to a twin engine Beech. Hmm will have to try and look further into this.
Nice WW-II color shot, I think, of a Hurricane Mk IV, Also known as the "Flying Can Opener"
And here is a shot a Spitfire Mk Vb taking off. Note the Polish insignia on the lower edge of the engine cowl.
All for now, have to get my nap in as I have to work tonight.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
*zounds*
Shows how much I know about aircraft, good catch!
Good grief, look at the angle of those flaps on the Spit in the last image. They look more like speed brakes.
One other likely twin engine candidate would be the Avro Anson. An Aircraft very similar to the Oxford.
Well I am off for the nap now, really I mean it this time.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
With a lot of the information still classified I guess we'll never know how or what really happened.
Afternoon folks. Nice article. :-)
I've been pounding the pavement looking for the perfect up and coming job. Got lots of leads and possibilities but still exploring. Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. We didn't get any weather at all from the storm.... but my daughter in Alabama called yesterday afternoon to say they were getting our weather. She and the kids were shut in the bathroom due to tornados in the area. They're all fine. And fortunately she's not skeered of that kind of stuff. But, gees, I needed the rain!
Sam and I were just saying perhaps we should pick up and move to Poland and open our backyard birding supply store there!
You have added a ton of cool information to this topic today! Thanks. :-)
Awesome outstanding news from Poland! Thanks!
Hi Wneighor, hope your job hunt is successful.
2nd Lt Frank Luke Jr.
Amazing show of bravery, thanks Iris7.
Lots of good information here today, thanks again.
Scandihoovian Engineers, Ole and Sven, were standing at the base of a
flagpole, looking up. A blonde woman walked by and asked what they were
doing.
"Ve're supposed to find the height of the flagpole," said Ole, "but ve don't
have a ladder."
The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a few bolts, and laid the
pole down. Then she took a tape measure from her pocket, took a measurement,
announced, "eighteen feet, six inches;" and walked away.
Sven shook his head and laughed. "Ain't that just like a dumb blonde! Ve ask
for 'da height, and she gives us 'da length
Hiya Darksheare.
Auster IV - V /J-1 - J-5
Background
The Auster was developed from a licence built version of the American Taylorcraft cabin monoplane. The Taylorcraft was created in the US, although the designer, C.Gilbert Taylor was originally from Nottingham. Taylor's original company had been acquired by William Piper, for whom he designedthe E-2 Cub. They parted company in 1935, and Taylor went on to form the Taylor-Young Aeroplane Co. which produced the Taylorcraft.
The initial British version, the Model Plus C which flew in May 1939, was an adaption of the American Model B. Around 20 had been sold when the war broke out. Fitted with a 90hp Cirrus Minor I in place of the original 55hp Lycoming O-145-A2, the aircraft was utilised by British forces for artillery observation. In 1941, in line with Ministry of Aircraft police, the aircraft was named 'Auster', the latin name for a warm southerly wind.
Utilised as a liason and reconaissance aircraft, the Auster Air Observation Post (AOP) underwent development and modification to enhance performance. The initial AOP.3 was upgraded to the 130hp Lycoming O-290-3 Mk.2, and the 130hp Gypsy M ajor 1 Mk.3 (which also introduced flaps). Changes were also made to the aircraft's structure to improve strength and pilot visibility, and add refinements like a tailwheel. The AOP.4 (or Model G) also used the 130hp Lycoming O-290-3. The 1944 AOP.5 (Model J) is considered the definative AOP Auster. This also featured a 130hp Lycoming O-290-3/1 engine and brought together the refinements of the earlier models. 790 of this model were eventually produced, and many survived onto the civil register.
Development did not cease however, and the AOP.6 appeared in May 1945. Again this had a stronger structure, as well as lengthened undercarriage and the more powerful Gypsy major 7 allowing an increased maximum weight. This aircraft was also fitted with floats and skis. A dual control version of the AOP.6 was designated the T.7, and one aircraft NZ1707 (described below) a T.7c was modified for Antarctic use. The final military variant which appeared in March 1954, was the AOP.9. This had an all metal contruction, and was powered by the 180hp Cirrus Bombardier engine. This served with the British, Indian, and South African forces. An AOP.11 prototype (featurning a 260hp Continental IO-470-D) was produced in 1961, but by that time its role had been taken over by helicopters, and it did not go into production.
In 1945 Auster Aircraft ltd was formed when the original Taylorcraft license expured. The company continued with development and production of the Auster. The 1946 J/1 Autocrat was a civilian version of the Auster Mk.5 incorporating a 100hp Cirrus Minor II engine and some cabin changes. The 'J' label follows the original company's internal designations. This was a three seater like the earlier AOP versions. In 1950 the J/1B Aiglet incorporated the more powerful 130hp Gypsy major 1, with a shorter undercarriage and larger tailfin and rudder. Some J/1's were later modified to J/1B, and some were factory altered. The 1956 J/1N Alpha is another J/1 conversion and is generally externally similar to the J/1B, apart from the addition of an oil cooler.
More...
http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/auster.html
Hi!
Nice graphic Victoria, thanks.
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