British Squadron Leader Lance C. Wade, leading a group of eight Supermarine Spitfire Mark VIIIs, was not expecting to encounter enemy aircraft as his Royal Air Force patrol neared the Italian coast near Termoli on October 3, 1943. Suddenly the RAF fliers sighted Focke Wulf Fw-190As at 12,000 feet. Wade led his fighters from 6,000 feet in a climbing turn in hopes of approaching the enemy planes from their blind spot in the rear and below. After gaining this position and approaching unseen to within 200 yards, Wade destroyed the rearmost Fw-190 with a burst of cannon fire. He then moved behind the next fighter, and with another burst sent the enemy plunging earthward.

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.

Lance Wade, shot down over 40 Axis aircraft. 40-plus kills were in Wade's logbook, but not his official record. Some of these were not confirmed, as Wade had flown in the desert war of North Africa, and many of his kills had lacked witnesses. Because of this the RAF only credited Wade with 25 confirmed victories.
(5 years and 2812 days ago)