Download or read book Czechs in RAF Squadrons of World War II in Focus written by Zdeněk Hurt and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Czechs in the Raf in Focus written by Zdenek Hurt and published by Red Kite / Air Research. This book was released on 2004-02 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: En fotografisk beretning om tjekkere der rejste til England under den 2.verdenskrig for at fortsætte deres kamp imod Nazi-Tyskland. Indledningsvis bliv de integreret i RAF eskadrillerne, men fra midten af 1940 blev oprettet eskadriller som udelukkende bestod af tjekker.

Download or read book 311 Squadron written by Pavel Vančata and published by MMP. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of the successful Czechoslovak bomber squadron in the RAF during WW2. No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Bomber Squadron was established as the second Czechoslovak combat squadron within the Royal Air Force during the summer of 1940, and became the only wholly Czechoslovak bomber squadron in the RAF. The Czechoslovak pilots flew Wellingtons and B-24 Liberators on operations, and returned to their homeland with the latter at the end of the war. The book contains: Superb color illustrations of camouflage and markings, rare black and white archive photographs. It is essential reading for aviation enthusiasts, historians and scale aeromodelers.

Download or read book No 312 Czechoslovak Squadron 1940 1945 written by Tomas Polak and published by Philedition. This book was released on 2008-08-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With additional Czech pilots arriving from France during the summer of 1940 the RAF decided, after the formation of No.310 (Czech) Squadron, to establish a second Czech fighter unit as No.312 Squadron. It quickly gained operational status and participated in the last phase of the Battle of Britain before experiencing all the ups and downs of Fighter Command's activities over the following years. It was briefly part of the 2nd TAF and took part in the D-Day landings. During its existence 145 pilots served with the squadron. This is a absolutely necessary companion to the No.310 Squadron book.

Download or read book Radio and the Performance of Government written by Erica Harrison and published by Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press. This book was released on 2023-09-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the Second World War, the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile broadcast over the BBC from London, hoping to reach out to their former compatriots living in a divided and occupied Europe. As the only way of projecting their authority, President Beneš and his colleagues relied on the radio as a stage on which to perform as the government they wished to be, representing a Czechoslovak state they hoped to recreate after the war. Despite a ban on listening to foreign broadcasts in the German-occupied Protectorate and Slovakia, many tuned in to hear ‘London calling’ and the broadcasts provided the strongest connection between the London Czechoslovaks and the audience at home. This work examines this government programme for the first time, making use of previously unstudied archival sources to examine how the exiles understood their mission and how their propaganda work was shaped by both British and Soviet influences. This study assesses the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of the government’s radio propaganda as they navigated the complexities of exile, with chapters examining how they used the radio to establish their own authority, how they understood the past and future of a Czechoslovak nation, and how they struggled to include Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia within it.

Download or read book A Fighter Pilot s Call to Arms written by Stanislav Fejfar and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-07-13 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World War II memoir of a Battle of Britain fighter ace who escaped Czechoslovakia to serve in France and with the RAF in England. Stunned into action by the rapid collapse of his country in 1938, Czech pilot Stanislav Fejfar escaped and traveled through Poland to serve initially with the French Foreign Legion, then as a sous-lieutenant with the French air force in early 1940. After the demise of that country, he fled to England in July 1940 to join the RAF. Posted to 310 Squadron, he saw much feverish action and he rapidly became an ace during the Battle of Britain but was to lose his life on 17 May 1942, shot down over Boulogne flying his beloved Spitfire. Until recently it was not known that throughout his short career, Stanislav kept a full day-by-day diary which has been translated by Henry Prokop and is the basis for this book. Augmented by the diligent research of Norman Franks and Simon Muggleton in unearthing previously unpublished combat reports, letters and other articles of memorabilia, together with their annotated comments, this is an extremely valuable and moving account by a man who gave his life defending freedom. A book which will be sought out by anyone interested in the history of the Battle of Britain.

Download or read book Air Force Combat Units of World War II written by Maurer Maurer and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1961 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book No 313 Czech Squadron 1941 1945 written by Phil H. Listemann and published by Philedition. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A deep study of this unit which includes history, the men who flew with it, details on losses, claims, statistics with plenty of photos - 50 including two in colour - and colour profiles - 7.

Download or read book Beaufighter and Mosquito Operations in WWII written by Zbyšek Ne?as-Pemberton and published by Air World. This book was released on 2024-04-30 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zbyšek Ne?as was just 18, and still a high school student, when he escaped from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia a month before the outbreak of war in 1939. He managed to make his way to Britain where he had a cousin. Ne?as enlisted in the RAF in 1940, initially being posted as an interpreter at the Czech Depot. Some of his early duties involved the interrogation of captured German aircrew. He was, however, determined to fly. That wish came not as a pilot, but as a radar operator. In time, Ne?as was posted to 68 Squadron, which throughout the war had a large number of Czech exiles on its strength – one flight was entirely Czech-manned. In this moving memoir, he details just what it was like to serve as part of an RAF night fighter crew during the second half of the Second World War. From the organization of squadron and operations, to the directing of night fighters in the bomber stream, problems of maintaining contact with the target, the duration of patrols to interception tactics, all, and more, is revealed in this book. Having trained on the Blenheim Mk.IV, Ne?as’ operational patrols began on Bristol Beaufighters, the squadron subsequently converting to de Havilland Mosquitoes. There are of course, the graphic accounts of victory in the air. This includes combat with a Heinkel He 177 Grief over North Sea, or the explosion of a Dornier Do 217 after another successful interception. As well as nighttime intruder operations over Europe, from the summer of 1944, 68 Squadron, Ne?as included, found itself drawn into the battle against Hitler’s V-weapons, particularly the V1. Ne?as’ crew ended the war with three confirmed kills, one probable, and two damaged. After the war, Ne?as returned to his homeland where he received the tragic news that that none of his immediate family had survived the German occupation This is Zbyšek Ne?as’ story of his part in the defense of Britain’s skies and the final victory against the Third Reich.

Download or read book The Hurricane Pilot Who Became a Gestapo Agent written by M J Morgan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2023-12-21 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tucked away in the archives of the Museum for Transport and Technology in Berlin is an old photograph of a Hawker Hurricane on public display. The image must have been taken before the night of 23/24 November 1943, when the museum and the greater part of its collection – including the Hurricane – were destroyed in a RAF bombing raid. The aircraft in the photograph bore a squadron commander’s pennant under the cockpit, had broken propellor blades and carried the squadron markings PA-A on its fuselage, as well as the serial number W9147. Intrigued by what he had seen, the picture launched the author on an investigation that uncovered an incredible story of wartime treachery and betrayal. That tale concerns one man in particular – Augustin Přeučil. Also known to his family and friends as Gustav Přeučil, it was Augustin who had been the Hurricane’s last RAF pilot. A 26-year-old aviator from Czechoslovakia, on first appearances Přeučil had fled his homeland after Nazi Germany took control and created the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia – part of Hitler’s Greater Germany. Having initially traveled to Poland, he then escaped to France and, from there, ultimately reached Britain, where he joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve. Augustin Přeučil seemed to be just like many of the men who had arrived in the UK to continue the fight against Hitler. He appeared to be settled and even married an English girl in July 1941. But on 18 September of that year, he was posted missing, believed killed, while undertaking a training flight off the coast of Sunderland and Hartlepool. Přeučil’s body was never recovered and nothing more was heard of him. His young wife received a war widow’s pension; he was just another sad statistic of the war. However, Augustin Přeučil was far from dead. Having landed the ‘stolen’ Hurricane near Bastogne in Belgium, he was treated by local people as a downed Allied pilot, sheltered and then passed into the care of the local Resistance group. Přeučil repaid their trust by handing himself into the Gestapo – and revealing all he knew. The Gestapo’s response was swift and brutal. For Přeučil, this marked the start of a new career as an undercover agent for the Gestapo, principally in Czechoslovakia. As the author reveals, how he ended up serving Hitler’s Third Reich and betraying his homeland, his adopted country and a new wife, is a story that while strange is completely true. It is also one that ended with his death. Found guilty of High Treason, Přeučil was hanged by the Czech authorities in April 1947.

Download or read book Freedom in the Air written by Hamish Ross and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-11-12 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Deals with a little-known aspect of the war . . . alongside the moving story of one man’s relationship with a very special animal.”—Sqn Ldr Paul Scott, Spirit of the Air This biography tells of the life of Václav Robert Bozděch, a Czech airman who escaped from the Nazi invasion, fought with the French and finally arrived in Britain to fly as an air-gunner with the RAF during World War II. He returned to his homeland after World War II but escaped back to the UK again when the communists gained control. Again he joined the RAF and rose to the rank of Warrant Officer. The unique part of this is that from his time in France, throughout World War II and until halfway through his second tour with the RAF, Bozděch was inseparable from his Alsatian dog, Antis, who became famous and was awarded a dog equivalent to the VC. Antis flew with his owner on many bomber raids, became the squadron mascot and was officially a serving RAF dog. He played an amazing part in the second escape from the Czech communist regime, when Bozděch was lucky to make it over the border to the US zone in Germany. “The main hero of the book is not Bozděch himself, but his Alsatian, Antis . . . This book makes clear the extent of wartime and post-war suffering endured by Czechs and others fulfilling their roles in the overall search for freedom.”—Aircraft Owner & Pilot “This absorbing account of flying in WWII is based on the inseparable bond between man and dog. It is a moving story with humor and sadness. A Great Read that is Highly Recommended.”—Firetrench

Download or read book Home Run written by Richard Townshend Bickers and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1992-08-01 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the Second World War, the first duty of Allied airman brought down in enemy territory was to evade capture and make good their return to Britain. Preventing this was a major preoccupation of the Germans-both sides new that it took too much time and expense to train pilots and aircrew. Home Run collects the dramatic stories of some of those who succeeded in evading their hunters. They are stories of great courage and endurance, not only of the escapers, but also those who helped them; the penalty for those who hid, succoured and guided downed airman, if they were caught, was death. Inevitably, there were rotten apples among the helpers; one of the most fascinating pieces in this book tells of a British confidence trickster who, while he certainly helped some of the evaders on their way, equally certainly betrayed others- and many of his collogues- to the enemy. Here, too, is the engaging story of another confidence trickster, this time a Luftwaffe officer, who conned his way to freedom- and decoration by Adolf Hitler for deeds he had done. Richard Townshend Bicker's latest book is a very readable collection of accounts which, if we did not know them to be true, would be almost impossible to believe. It is also a tribute not only to the triumph of the human spirit over every kind of adversity, but also to the almost limitless extent of human ingenuity and daring.

Download or read book No 310 Czechoslovak Squadron 1940 1945 written by Tomas Polak and published by Philedition. This book was released on 2008-08-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No.310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron was among the first of the foreign volunteer squadrons to be formed during the summer of 1940. In June 1940, many Czechoslovakian pilots who had been fighting with the French decided to escape to the United Kingdom to continue the struggle against the Nazis. These pilots were, after a short period of retraining, and despite many problems of tactics and language, rushed into the Battle of Britain one month after their arrival in the UK. After the Battle of Britain, this unit continued to operate against the Germans and performed well until the war's end. However it was always restrained by a shortage of replacement pilots and occasionally it had to be based far from any German aerial activity to avoid irreplaceable losses. Like all the booklets of this series, it is divided into three parts, history, appendices (comprising all the claims, losses including accidental, awards, maps and the operational diary) and pilot's roster. Almost 170 pilots were either posted, or attached, to this unit including five British, one New Zealander, one Rhodesian and one Pole. This publication is a complete history of the squadron.

Download or read book A Question of Honor written by Lynne Olson and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Question of Honor is the gripping, little-known story of the refugee Polish pilots who joined the RAF and played an essential role in saving Britain from the Nazis, only to be betrayed by the Allies after the war. After Poland fell to the Nazis, thousands of Polish pilots, soldiers, and sailors escaped to England. Devoted to liberating their homeland, some would form the RAF’s 303 squadron, known as the Kosciuszko Squadron, after the elite unit in which many had flown back home. Their thrilling exploits and fearless flying made them celebrities in Britain, where they were “adopted” by socialites and seduced by countless women, even as they yearned for news from home. During the Battle of Britain, they downed more German aircraft than any other squadron, but in a stunning twist at the war’s end, the Allies rewarded their valor by abandoning Poland to Joseph Stalin. This moving, fascinating book uncovers a crucial forgotten chapter in World War II–and Polish–history.

Download or read book With Great Sacrifice and Bravery written by Glenn Knoblock and published by Merriam Press. This book was released on 2004-05 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work is presented to the reader with several ideas in mind. First, it is the author''s hope that, in some small way, it will help preserve the memory of a little known pilot who fought, not only for his own country, but also for France and England during the early, dark days of World War II. While Waclaw Lapkowski was an experienced pilot who became one of Poland''s aces during the war, his early demise, like that of so many others, has relegated his achievements to the back pages of history, making them nearly forgotten. However, in referring to pilots such as Lapkowski, the great British ace Robert Stanford-Tuck cites the many men "who were credited with six, seven, or eight victories", pilots that "formed the bulk and guts of our fighter force." The second reason for producing this work is the unique use of official combat and operations reports from the Royal Air Force (RAF). Many of those who are interested in World War II aviation and fighter aces have read the biographies, and first-hand accounts of air combat contained within, of such men as Douglas Bader, Witold Urbanowicz, Adolph Galland, and Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, to name just a few. But what of those "aces" that did not survive to tell their story? How are they to be remembered? In the case of those who served with the RAF, the answer is, in part, through the use of official combat reports and related documents. While these official RAF and Polish Air Force (PAF) records do not sound particularly exciting, a glance at the surviving records quickly proves otherwise. Indeed, the title of this book consists of a borrowed phrase from one such report, and is a small example of the many dramatic events recorded within, often in the pilot''s own words. While these reports have been an important source for many works on the RAF and PAF and its achievements during the war, never before, to the author''s knowledge, have official combat reports been presented to the reading public in their original form. Though not originally intended for public view, they nonetheless make for exciting and informative reading and will be of interest not only to those with a passing interest in World War II aviation, but to the serious student as well. While the author was unable to obtain combat reports for all of Lapkowski''s flights, those that were procured for September 1940 and June 1941 are of particular interest as they highlight all of the "kills" that he made while serving in the RAF. The final reason for choosing to write about Waclaw Lapkowski is due to the availability of wartime artifacts connected with his service in the RAF. About a year ago the author came in contact with a man who owned a portion of Lapkowski''s Hurricane fighter, which was legally excavated in 1979. The author subsequently obtained a small piece of the wreckage for his personal collection, while the collector retained the remains of its Merlin engine, the prop boss, its Browning machine guns, and other items formerly on display at an aviation museum. Once this artifact was in the author''s possession, he became interested in finding out about Lapkowski, his career, and his subsequent fate. While this work gives much information about 303 Squadron, it is not, however, a squadron history. While a book entitled Squadron 303 was published in London in 1942, written by Arkady Fiedler, it was not intended as an exacting history of the unit. Instead, it was a nice work of wartime public relations to help explain the Polish contribution in general terms during the Battle of Britain. Despite its shortcomings, Fiedler''s book deserves its own place in the annals of aviation history. Copies by the thousands were smuggled into Nazi-held Poland and served not only to show that those who had left Poland were still fighting for their country, but served as an inspiration to those left behind to continue their resistance. No definitive squadron history has yet been translated into English. What the author found out, from the official combat reports, and various published sources, uniquely combined with available archaeological artifacts, was fascinating. What emerged from the records is a story worth telling. Waclaw Lapkowski, though not famous like such other Polish aces as Stanislaw Skalski, Jan Zumbach, or Urbanowicz, had an interesting and distinguished career. He was in the thick of battle at the outset of the war, when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and saw subsequent service during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain in 1940. He achieved air victories in two out of three of these campaigns, and is one of only a handful of men, less than 150 in number, who served in all three campaigns. To borrow a phrase from the British, Waclaw Lapkowski truly was one of "The Few", men whose skill and bravery helped stem the tide of German aggression and made Allied victory possible, at the cost of their own lives.

Download or read book World Focus written by and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Army Air Forces in World War II Men and planes written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: