Josef František
Born in Otaslavice in 1913,
Josef František joined
the Czechoslovak Air Force in
1934. After basic training he joined the Czechoslovak Air Force Air Regiment 2. In 1935 he was a corporal in Air Regiment 1 and returned to Air Regiment 2 as a sergeant in 1937. In June 1938 he became a fighter pilot serving in the 40th squadron in Prague flying the
Avia B-534 and
Bk-534 fighter. After Czechoslovakia fell under German occupation (15 March 1939), like many other Czechoslovak airmen, he escaped to Poland. Most Czechoslovak airmen then left Poland for France before the start of the Second World War, though František decided to stay and serve with the Polish Air Force.
Avia B-534
Bk-534 fighterDuring
the German invasion of
Poland in
September 1939,
František initially evacuated training aircraft from
the air base at Dęblin. From 7 September he flew reconnaissance missions in an unarmed training plane, a
RWD-8. On 19–20 September he attacked enemy columns near
Kamionka Strumiłowa, throwing
hand grenades on
the German Wehrmacht troops below. On 20 September he was shot down near
Złoczów, but was saved by a Polish crew that landed nearby. On 22 September
František's unit was ordered to withdraw with their remaining aircraft to Romania.
František managed to abscond from an internment camp in
Romania and
reached France via
North Africa in
October 1939.
František flew the RWD-8 during the German invasion of Poland 
In France František elected to remain with the Poles instead of joining the exiled Czechoslovak air force (a probable reason for this decision was a conflict with a Czech officer, who tried to arrest him for insubordination.)
He was flying only old fashioned planes with fixed undercarriage and there are no official French records to confirm he flew combat missions during the Battle of France. After the fall of France
František fled to
Britain and after training
on 2 August was assigned to No. 303 Polish Squadron based at
RAF 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
2 September 1940.
The first confirmed victory of Sgt. František was a German Bf 109E fighter on 2 September 1940A very ill-disciplined pilot, he was seen by his commanding officers as a danger to his colleagues when flying in formation. His British CO Squadron Leader Ronald Gustave Kellett, offered to arrange for
František's transfer to a Czech squadron, but
František preferred to stay and fight alongside his Polish colleagues. As all pilots were valuable, a compromise was created whereby
František was allotted a "
spare" aircraft so he could fly as a "
guest" of
the Squadron as and when he wanted to. Thus,
František fought his own private war – accompanying the squadron into the air,
but peeling off to fly a lone patrol over Kent, patrolling in the area through which
he knew the German aircraft being intercepted would fly on their way back to base, possibly damaged and low on fuel and ammo. During the following month
he shot down 17 German aircraft and
1 probable, of
which 9 were
Bf 109s, becoming
one of the top scoring Allied fighter pilots of the Battle of Britain.
His last victory was on
30 September 1940 and he was awarded
the Distinguished Flying Medal.
The Distinguished Flying Medal
The Hawker Hurricane is one of the stand-out fighters of the second world war, it played a pivotal role during the Battle of Britain and actually outperformed the Spitfire, accounting for 1,593 out of the 2,739 total downed German planes during the conflict.
Josef František shot down 9 German Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aircraftsOn 8 October 1940,
František's Hurricane crashed in
Ewell,
Surrey during a landing approach after a patrol. 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.
