Gladiator Ace: Bill Cherry Vale, the RAF's Forgotten Fighter Ace

WWII History magazine
Born of military roots, his father a retired Royal Marine sergeant major, William Vale, or Cherry to his fellow Royal Air Force pilots, had an extraordinary record in World War II. When the conflict erupted in 1939, he was dispatched to Egypt and became involved in aerial combat flying a Gloster Gladiator, the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft.

While a member of No. 80 Squadron, Vale downed 10 enemy planes from July 1940 until February 1941. His aerial skills served him well over Crete, the Balkans, and in the skies over Syria, battling the Vichy French. In just a three-month span in early 1941, Vale also had another 20 kills while piloting the Hawker Hurricane, a single-seat fighter plane used extensively by the Royal Air Force. For his heroic actions, Vale was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Tragically, he was killed in an automobile accident in November 1981.

The author has done a meticulous job of tracing Vale's early life and entry into the RAF. Cull's account of Vale's life adds much to the history of the Mediterranean air campaign during World War II.