About Czechoslovak pilots during WWII
On 15 March 1939 Germany occupied Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), the Luftwaffe confiscated all Czechoslovak Air Force aircraft. Emigration was strictly controlled and former air force personnel were not allowed to leave the country Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (
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After France capitulated to Germany on 22 June 1940, many Czechoslovak airmen escaped to the United Kingdom. The RAF quickly created new squadrons formed of Czechoslovak pilots. The first fighter unit was No. 310 Squadron RAF (
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Many of the Czechoslovak pilots died during WWII. Their memorials are located in many places in Western Europe, but also in Czech Republic. The monuments have different shapes and sizes. One of the typical forms is the memorial plaque located on the houses where the pilot was born or where they lived for some time.
Jan Roman Irving born Ircing (* March 7, 1915 Lisov - April 24, 1997 Prague) was a Czechoslovak aviator, pilot of 311 of the RAF Bomb Wing. He flew 1024 hours in this squadron, totaling 1125 hours in 115 operational years.
In May 1939, he left Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and volunteered at the consulate in Krakow, Poland. He enrolled in the Foreign Legion and was transported to France. After France joined the war, he joined the French Air Force, where he made several operational flights until the surrender of France.
In June 1940 he was to be evacuated by air to England, due to bad weather conditions and a lack of petrol, his machine had to land in Yugoslavia. Because of this incident, he was considered missing for a long time and was awarded the Czechoslovakian Medal of Valor in memoriam. In Belgrade in September 1940, he enlisted in the Czechoslovak foreign army. The so-called southern route reached Haifa, where he enlisted in the Czechoslovak infantry battalion 11-East. Transferred back to the Air Force in February 1941 and transported to England, he arrived in Liverpool on May 15, 1941.
Here he volunteered for the British Royal Air Force, received training, and in November was already commissioned as a sergeant for the RAF's 311st Czechoslovak Bomb Wing. He fought in the Battle of Britain and took part in night bombing flights over Germany. Since the summer of 1943 he has been actively involved in the Battle of the Atlantic. In June 1944, he had 930 hours, the most of any squadron pilot. He also got first dibs on the number of attacks detected by enemy submarines, striking them a total of eight times. On 28 October 1943 he was promoted to the rank of ensign and then lieutenant. In August 1944 he was transferred to the Bahamas, where he served as an instructor to Czechoslovakian soldiers in combat at sea and also conducted several operational flights against German submarines himself. He returned to Europe aboard the Queen Elizabeth, returning to Czechoslovakia on August 25, 1945.
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Plaque Inscription:
V tomto dome vyrustal a žil
cestný obcan této obce,
genmjr. Jan Roman IRVING
+7.3.1915 - Lisov +24.4.1997 - Praha.
Pilot slavné 311. bombardovací perute
Royal Air Force ve Velké Britanii,
ve 2. svetové válce.
Držitel mnoha cs. i zahranicních vyznamenání
a >>Národního rádu Francie s titulem rytíre<<
hrdina vzdušných i protiponorkových boju
nad neprátelským územím i v Bitve o Altantik
a kapitán Cs. aerolinií
CEST JEHO PAMÁTCE !
The memorial plaque is located on the wall of childhood home of Jan Roman Irving.
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Jan Roman Irving rozený Ircing (* 7. brezna 1915 Lisov – 24. dubna 1997 Praha) byl ceskoslovenský letec, pilot 311 bombardovací perute RAF. V této peruti nalétal 1024 hodin, celkove nalétal 1125 hodin ve 115 operacních letech.
V kvetnu 1939 opustil nacisty okupované Ceskoslovensko a prihlásil se na konzulátu v polském Krakove. Zapsal se do Cizinecké legie a byl transportován do Francie. Po vstupu Francie do války prešel do Francouzského letectva, kde až do kapitulace Francie podnikl nekolik operacních letu.
V cervnu 1940 mel být letecky evakuován do Anglie, pro špatné povetrnostní podmínky a nedostatek benzínu musel jeho stroj pristát v Jugoslávii. Kvuli tomuto incidentu byl dlouhou dobu považován za nezvestného a byla mu udelena Ceskoslovenská medaile Za chrabrost in memoriam. V Belehradu se v zárí 1940 prihlásil do ceskoslovenské zahranicní armády. Tzv. jižní cestou doputoval až do Haify, kde narukoval do ceskoslovenského pešího praporu 11 – Východního. V únoru 1941 byl prevelen zpet k letectvu a byl transportován do Anglie, 15. kvetna 1941 dorazil do Liverpoolu.
Zde se prihlásil do Britského královského letectva, absolvoval výcvik a v listopadu byl již jako rotmistr prevelen k 311. ceskoslovenské bombardovací peruti RAF. Bojoval v bitve o Británii a zúcastnil se nocních bombardovacích letu nad Nemeckem. Od léta 1943 se aktivne podílel v bitve o Atlantik. V cervnu 1944 mel nalétáno 930 hodin, což bylo nejvíce ze všech pilotu perute. Prvenství získal i co se týce poctu napadení zjištených neprátelských ponorek, zaútocil na ne celkem osmkrát. Dne 28. ríjna 1943 byl povýšen do hodnosti podporucíka a poté na porucíka. V srpnu roku 1944 byl prevelen na Bahamské ostrovy, kde sloužil jako instruktor ceskoslovenských vojáku v boji na mori a rovnež sám provedl nekolik operacních letu proti nemeckým ponorkám. Do Evropy se navrátil na palube lodi Queen Elizabeth, 25. srpna 1945 se vrátil do Ceskoslovenska.