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.
Plaque Inscription:
V TOMTO DOME SE NARODIL A VYRUSTAL
GENERÁLPORUCÍK ING. DFC
FRANTIŠEK FAJTL
STÍHACÍ PILOT II. SVETOVÉ VÁLKY,
PRÍSLUŠNÍK 1. A 17. PERUTE RAF.
VELITEL 122. A 313. PERUTE RAF
VELITEL 1. CS. STÍHACÍHO PLUKU V SSSR
*20.8.1912 †4.10.2006
Lieutenant General František Fajtl (20 August 1912 – 4 October 2006) was a Czech fighter pilot of World War II. He was a British Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron and wing commander and led a group of Czechoslovak fighter pilots who formed an air regiment under Soviet Air Force command, supporting the Slovak National Uprising in 1944. He was dismissed from the Czechoslovakian Air Force and was held in prison for a year and a half without a trial after the Communists came to power in 1948, and was only fully rehabilitated after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. He wrote many autobiographical books about his wartime experiences, and was an inspiration for the 2001 film Tmavomodrý svet (Dark Blue World).
The memorial plaque is located on the wall of childhood home of František Fajtl.
See also: (
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František Fajtl byl jedním z hrdinu, díky kterým dnes mužeme žít svobodne v naší zemi. Patril k západním letcum, kterí behem druhé svetové války bránili demokracii.
Fajtl utekl z Ceskoslovenska v breznu 1939. Nejdríve bojoval ve Francii, kde byl odveden 20.8.1912, osobní císlo L-25, nadporucík letectva z pov. cs. Poté, co i ona padla do rukou nacistu, se dostal pres severní Afriku do Velké Británie, osobní císlo RAF/82544, 313. cs. perut, pilot. Zúcastnil se bitvy o Británii a sám byl sestrelen. Jeho dramatická pout pak vedla pres Španelsko zpet do Británie, kde se znovu úspešne zapojil do boju.
V roce 1944 spolu s dalšími piloty odešel do Sovetského svazu, aby pomáhal pri osvobození Ceskoslovenska.
Po válce se mu ale jeho vlast zle odvdecila. Byl odsouzen jako neprítel státu. Pozdeji zastával ruzné delnické profese. Cástecné rehabilitace se dockal v roce 1964, plných poct se mu ale dostalo až po pádu komunismu.