Josef František
Sergeant Josef František, (October 7 1914 - October 8 1940) was a Czechoslovak fighter pilot, a flying ace of the Polish Air Force of the World War II.
Josef František joined the Czechoslovak airforce in 1936. In 1938 he became a fighter pilot, serving in the 40th squadron in Prague. After Czechoslovakia fell under German occupation (March 15, 1939) he escaped to Poland, like many other Czechoslovak airmen (despite a popular version, it was not an escape by plane). Most of them then left Poland for France before the World War II, but František with a few fellows decided to stay and join the Polish Air Force to fight the Germans.
During the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, František initially was evacuating training aircraft from Dęblin base. From September 7 he flew reconnaissance missions in an unarmed training plane RWD-8. On September 19 and 20 he even threw hand grenades on enemy columns near Kamionka Strumiłowa. On September 20 he was shot down near Złoczów, but was saved by a Polish crew that landed nearby under fire. On September 22, František was ordered to withdraw with the remaining aircraft of his unit to Romania. Like most Polish airmen, he managed to flee from an internment camp in Romania and broke through to France in October 1939.
In France, František decided to stay with fellow Poles, instead of joining the Czechoslovak airforce (a probable reason for this decision was a conflict with a Czech officer, who tried to arrest him for insubordination.) It is not clear if he flew combat in France, or if he shot down any aircraft there. Though there are no official French documents to confirm it, there were several witnesses who claimed he downed 7 to 11 German planes and damaged some while serving in France under a different name. He might have been also mistaken for František Peřina.
After the fall of France, František got to Britain and was assigned to the 303 Polish Squadron, based in Northolt flying Hawker Hurricane fighters. The squadron entered action in the last phase of the Battle of Britain. The first confirmed victory of Sgt. František was a German Bf 109E fighter on September 2, 1940. During the following month, he shot down 17 German aircraft and 1 probable, becoming the top scoring allied fighter pilot of the Battle of Britain. His last victory was on September 30 1940.
On October 8, 1940, František's Hurricane crashed in Ewell, Surrey during a landing approach after a patrol. The reasons for the crash are not known, but according to some theories, he may have been making aerobatic figures to impress his girlfriend, or it might have been a result of battle fatigue and physical exhaustion. He was buried in a Polish military cemetery. He was awarded several decorations, among them the Virtuti Militari 5th class and he was the first foreigner awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal with Bar.
References
- Jiří Rajlich: Josef František in: Lotnictwo Wojskowe nr 2/1999 (in Polish)