Louis Thomas Spence, DFC & Bar (4 April 1917 – 9 September 1950) was a fighter pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

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.

[1][2] 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.

[3] In the first of his five sorties in the Bir Hacheim area on 16 June, Spence, along with Nicky Barr, bombed and strafed a column of German tanks and support vehicles, igniting fires that sent the smell of burning flesh into the cockpits of the low-flying aircraft – a "ghastly horror", according to Spence, that made him physically ill.[13] His many ground-attack missions and two aerial victories earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross.

[1] Rather than resume his banking career after the war, Spence joined the Department of Information in Canberra, initially in administration and later in aviation journalism.

[1][28] He rejoined the RAAF in 1946, receiving a commission as a flying officer (temporary squadron leader) effective from 17 October.

[1][3] On 13 September 1947, he flew to Surabaya, Java, as one of Australia's military observers with the United Nations commission monitoring the ceasefire between Dutch forces and Indonesian nationalists.

[30] That November, he was assigned to the recently formed RAAF College, Point Cook, where he was appointed adjutant and subsequently led the school's Cadet Squadron.

[3][31] In the latter role he inaugurated the college's adventure training, including canoe trips on the Murray River in boats constructed by the students.

[1][33] Based at Iwakuni, the squadron operated P-51 Mustangs as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF).

[34] Occupation duties had been uneventful, the main operational task being surveillance patrols, but the RAAF maintained an intensive training regime and undertook combined exercises with other Allied forces.

77 Squadron flew its initial escort and patrol sorties from Iwakuni on 2 July, becoming the first non-American UN unit to go into action.

[39][40] That day, Spence took eight Mustangs on an escort mission for United States Air Force (USAF) B-26 Invaders attacking a bridge south of Seoul.

[41] Families still living at Iwakuni, pending their repatriation from what had become an operational theatre, could watch the Mustangs depart for missions over Korea.

77 Squadron attacked a train full of US and South Korean troops on the main highway between Suwon and Pyongtaek, inflicting many casualties, twenty-nine of them fatal.

[43][44] Before the mission, Spence had raised concerns that the North Koreans could not have penetrated so far south, but was assured by USAF controllers that the target was correct.

The incident was widely reported in American newspapers but a public statement by Lieutenant General George E. Stratemeyer, commander of the US Far East Air Force, cleared the RAAF of blame.

[47] His increasingly heavy taskload included diplomatic duties and public relations, as well as squadron administration and many combat sorties.

[49] During July and August 1950, equipped with bombs, rockets and napalm, the Mustangs supported UN troops retreating before the North Korean advance.

[45][50] According to the official history of the Air Force in 1946–1971, the squadron's part in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter earned recognition "not only for the RAAF but also Australia at the highest political levels in the United States".

[50][51] General Stratemeyer arrived at Iwakuni a week later to surprise Spence with the award of the US Legion of Merit for "outstanding leadership in the preparation of his unit for combat".

[55] Spence's wife and children were still living at Iwakuni, and his death hastened the departure for Australia of all families on the base.

[58] According to his brother, quoted in the Brisbane Courier-Mail, Spence wrote in his last letter home:[59] The world rapidly seems to be heading towards another war.

"[56] The official history of the post-war Air Force contended that Spence "appeared destined for the highest levels of the RAAF".

[1] Spence was recommended for the Distinguished Service Order for his "outstanding fearless leadership and distinction" in Korea, but the award was changed to a bar to his DFC.

[60][61] His awards of the US Legion of Merit and Air Medal were gazetted on 22 June 1951; the latter was presented privately to Vernon Spence.