Date:	Sunday 28 November 1943
Time:
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII
Owner/operator:	1 Sqn SAAF
Registration:	JF346
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	east of Castel Frentano -   Italy
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:
Destination airport:

Narrative:
After a long period with no real excitement, 1 Sqn SAAF had four Spitfires over the northern sector of the bombline in Sangro area during the afternoon of 28 November 1943, when they spotted five Fw 190s ahead. Col Loftus immediately dived to attack, but Lt Dave Hastie, leading a subsection, spotted four more Fw 190s coming down on them from astern. Warning the others over the R/T, he pulled up, with the leading German firing at him.

As the Fw 190 pulled out of its dive, Hastie got in a short burst, without observed results, but when he broke off the engagement he could see no sign of his No 2, Lt L J Oates. Subsequently two pilots of 2 Sqn SAAF reported seeing Oates’s Spitfire VIII JF346 crash in flames. Meanwhile, Loftus and Spencer had pursued the five fleeing Fw 190s without success, and were themselves jumped by two more, which they evaded by ducking left. In all, 18 Fw 190s were seen during the brief action.

Oates had been shot down and killed by Fw. Georg Rischbucher of 6./SG 4, who claimed a Spitfire shot down east of Castel Frentano at 3,000 m at 1536 hrs.

"Eagles victorious: The operations of the South African forces over the Mediterranean and Europe, in Italy, the Balkans and the Aegean, and from Gibraltar and West Africa", by Henry James Martin and Neil D. Orpen. ISBN: 0868430080
http://www.spitfires.ukf.net/p045.htm
http://www.flyafrica.info/forums/showthread.php?34149-SAAF-January-1920-to-Present/page26
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2205024/OATES,%20L%20J
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_Frentano
http://www.maplandia.com/italy/abruzzo/chieti/castelfrentano/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Nov-2017 10:41	Laurent Rizzotti	Added