Josef Frantisek
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Sergeant Josef František, (October 7 1914 - October 8 1940) was a Czech 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. Most of them then left Poland for France, but František with a few fellows decided to stay and join the Polish Air Force to fight with the Germans.
During the Polish September Campaign in 1939, after the German attack on Poland, František flew reconnaissance missions in an unarmed training plane RWD-8, what may not be entirely true as some sources credit him with three confirmed victories over Poland in 1939. On September 19 and 20 he even threw hand grenades on enemy columns. On September 20 he was shot down, but was saved by the Polish crew landing 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 cause was a conflict with one Czech officer, trying to arrest him for insubordination). It is not clear if he was combat flying in France, or if he shot down any aircraft there. It was suggested, but there are no official French documents to confirm it, but there were witnesses that claimed he downed 11 German planes while serving in France under a different name.
After the fall of France, František got to Britain and was assigned to the 303 Polish Squadron, basing in Northolt and flying on 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 a following month, he shoot down 17 German aircraft and 1 probable, becoming the best allied fighter pilot of the whole Battle of Britain. Many times he fought against more numerous enemy. His last victory was on September 30, 1940.
On October 8, 1940, František's Hurricane crashed in Ewell, Surrey, during a patrol. The reasons of the crash are not explained, 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 with several decorations, among others Virtuti Militari 5th class and Distinguished Flying Medal with Bar, as the first foreigner.
External links:
- Sergeant Josef Frantisek - The Battle of Britain Hero (http://www.sweb.cz/pisis.eaw.page/czFrantisek.htm)
- Biography (http://cz-raf.hyperlink.cz/bio/frantise.html)
- Very detailed biography (in Czech) (http://www.ambros.cz/josef.html)cs:Josef František