Louis Thomas Spence, DFC & Bar (4 April 19179 September 1950) was a fighter pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). During World War II, he flew with No. 3 Squadron, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), and commanded No. 452 Squadron, receiving a Mention in Despatches. He led No. 77 Squadron in the opening months of the Korean War, and was awarded a bar to his DFC, the US Legion of Merit, and the US Air Medal, for his leadership. Born in Bundaberg, Queensland, Spence worked in a bank before joining the RAAF in March 1940. In August the following year he was posted to North Africa with No. 3 Squadron, which operated P-40 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks against German and Italian forces; he was credited with shooting down two German aircraft. Spence commanded No. 452 Squadron in 1944, flying Supermarine Spitfires in defence of Australia's North-Western Area against the Japanese. After a brief return to civilian life following World War II, he rejoined the RAAF in October 1946. He took command of No. 77 Squadron, operating P-51 Mustangs as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, in February 1950. The squadron went into action within a week of the outbreak of the Korean War in June. Spence was killed during a low-level mission over South Korea in September 1950. Early life Born on 4 April 1917 in Bundaberg, Queensland, Louis Thomas Spence was the fifth child of Robert John Spence, a farmer, and Louise Margaretta Marie, Koob. His ancestry was Irish on his father's side and German on his mother's. Spence attended Longreach State School from 1924 to 1931 and Thornburgh College in Charters Towers from 1932 to 1934. Successful academically, he also excelled at sports including cricket, rugby league, and tennis. His light-blond hair earned him the nickname "Silver". He was employed as a clerk at the Queensland headquarters of the Bank of New South Wales in Brisbane, and studied at the Bankers' Institute of Australasia. World War II Spence joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on 6 March 1940. After flying training at Point Cook, Victoria, and Archerfield, Queensland, he was commissioned as a pilot officer on 26 August. On 28 October, he was allotted to No. 25 Squadron in Perth, Western Australia. The squadron operated CAC Wirraways. Spence was promoted to flying officer on 26 February 1941. He married