* 12.03.1913, Brno.
† 18.06.1976, Newquay, UK.
The Early Years:
Emil Antonín Foit was born on 12 March 1913 in Brno, the former capital city of the Moravian region in south west Czechoslovakia. After completing four years of elementary schooling, he continued his education for a further four years at the Brno Business Academy, graduating in 1932. He was then employed as a trainee accountant at the Machek company in Olomouc for the next two years.
Military Service:
On 16 July 1934 he commenced his compulsory his military service and was posted to the 40th Army Regiment stationed at Valašské Meziříčí. There he attended the infantry officer school from where he graduated in 1935.
He undertook training as an infantry NCO and finished his Military Service in 1936 with the rank of praporčík (W/O). That February, Emil decided he would seek a career in the military and was posted to the Military Academy at Hranice. The following year he was posted to the Military Aviation Academy at Prostějov where he trained as an aerial observer from where he graduated on 31 July 1937 with the rank of poručík (2nd Lieutenant).
He applied, and was accepted, for pilot training. He completed this training, graduating on 1 April 1938, and was then posted as an operational pilot to the 48th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Air Regiment who were deployed at Pardubice and were equipped with Avia B-534 bi-plane fighter aircraft
Mobilisation:
The build-up of military forces by Nazi Germany, along the Czechoslovak borders, caused the Czechoslovak government to declare a partial mobilisation, on 20 May 1938, to counter that threat.
Later that year, the threatening overtures by neighbouring Nazi Germany regarding the Sudeten regions – the German speaking areas – of Czechoslovakia caused the Czechoslovak Government to again declare a mobilisation on 23 September 1938.
Munich Betrayal:
Following this threat, Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, Daladier, the French President, Hitler, German Chancellor and Mussolini, Italian Dictator, met in Munich. The outcome of this was the Munich Agreement of 30 September 1938 wherein the Sudeten regions were ceded to Germany. Eduard Beneš, the Czechoslovak President, was not invited to participate in the discussion concerning the future of his country, instead he was merely told by Chamberlain and Daladier to either accept the agreement or Czechoslovakia would have to defend itself without any support from Britain and France, despite there being a tri-lateral defence agreement between the three countries.
Emil’s 48th Fighter Squadron participated in both mobilisations.
German Occupation:
The Germans occupied Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939. Under pressure, Emil Hácha, the Czechoslovak President, had acceded to their demands. In the early hours of 15 March 1939, he had ordered all Czechoslovak military units to stand down, remain in their barracks and not resist the occupation. By dawn that day, the Germans began their occupation of Czechoslovakia. Germanisation of Bohemia and Moravia began immediately; they were now the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren), while Slovakia in return for its allegiance to Nazi Germany, had become the puppet ‘independent’ state of Slovakia.
Upon occupation, the Czechoslovak Air Force was disbanded by the Germans and all personnel demobilised. The airmen were given the opportunity to enlist in the Luftwaffe or join Lufthansa. Only a handful did.
Resistance:
But just four days later, on 19 March 1939, former Senior officers of the now-disbanded Czechoslovak military had started to form an underground army, known as Obrana Národa [Defence of the Nation]. Obrana Národa also worked in co-operation with Svaz Letců, the Airman Association of the Czechoslovak Republic. One of their objectives was to assist as many airmen and soldiers as possible to get to neighbouring Poland where they could be formed into military units to fight for the liberation of their homeland. These two organisations provided money, courier and other assistance to enable airmen to escape to Poland. Usually, this was by crossing the border from the Ostrava region.
To Poland:
Emil was one of the first to escape to Poland, covertly crossing over the border on 7 May 1939 where he had been advised that Czechoslovak Military units were being formed and would be fighting for the liberation of his homeland.
Polish Disapointment:
Once in Poland, he made his way to Kraków, only to find that there were no such military units and there was no interest from the Polish authorities to have Czechoslovak airmen in the Polish military.
To France:
With other escaped Czechoslovak airmen, arrangements were made for them to travel to England. They went by train to Gydnia, on the Polish Baltic coast, where they boarded the SS ‘Kastelholm’, a 921 ton Swedish coastal-cruising ship, which took them to Kalmar, Sweden, and from there they went by train to Gothenburg. There they boarded the SS ‘Suecia’ and sailed to the British port of Tilbury. However, they found that British military, like the Polish, also had no interest in them and so, at the end of the month they crossed from Dover to Calais, France.
Once in France, they first travelled to Le Bourget, near Paris, where they were based whilst arrangements regarding their future roles were being made. After the arrival of the first ship transporting Czechoslovak military escapees from Poland, to Boulogne on 26 May 1939, the French authorities began to actively address the emerging situation regarding the Czechoslovak escapees.
French Foreign Legion:
French law did not permit foreign military units to be based on its soil in peacetime, thus the Czechoslovak escapees would be required to enlist in the French Foreign Legion for a period of five years but with the undertaking that should war be declared, the Czechoslovaks would be released from their French Foreign Legion service and would join French military units. The alternative was that those Czechoslovak escapees who would not accept these terms would be returned by the Polish authorities to Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and face German retribution for escaping – usually imprisonment or execution with further reprisals to their families.
The Czechoslovak escapees were transferred to the French Foreign Legion’s recruitment centre at Nanterre, near Paris, for medical checks, acceptance into the Legion and also French lessons prior to being transferred to the Legion’s training centre at Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria. Emil was accepted into the Legion at the rank of Sergent, and transferred to Sidi Bel Abbès, arriving on 7 August 1940.
l’Armée de l’air:
On 5 September, two days after war was declared, Emil was transferred to l’Armée de l’air and initially posted to their airbase at Tunis for re-training on French equipment. Five days later he was assigned for further training at their Blida airbase, Algeria. On 9 November 1939, he was posted to GC I/9, stationed at Oran-La-Senia, Algeria, for training on MS-406 fighter aircraft. On completion of his re-training he remained with GC I/9 at Oran until 29 March 1940 when the unit was redeployed to mainland France and stationed at Base Aérienne 108 Marignane Airbase, near Marseille. On 3 April the unit was sent to Dijon and two days later he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. On 1 May 1940, the inactivity of the ‘phoney war’ resulted in GC I/9 being transferred back to Marignane and five days later redeployed to Base Aérienne Militaire de l’Aouina airbase in Tunisia.
The Germans invaded France on 10 May 1940 and in the resultant chaos caused by the rapid advance of their Blitzkreig, GC I/9 was redeployed, on 19 May, back to Marignane and just four days later back to Tunis in anticipation of air raids there by the Regia Aeronautica, the Italian Airforce. These never materialised resulting in Emil not participating in any combat whilst with l’Armée de l’Air.
That rapid Blitzkreig advance resulted in the French capitulation on 22 June. All Czechoslovak airmen were then released from their l’Armée de l’Air service enabling them to make their own way to England by various means. From Tunis, on 2 July 1940, Emil and other Czechoslovak airmen made a four-day train journey to Casablanca where, on 9 July, they boarded the ‘Glasgow’ which took them to Gibraltar. There they transferred to the ‘David Livingstone’ which departed on 21 July 1940, in a convoy of 69 vessels, and sailed westwards far into the Atlantic to avoid attack by Luftwaffe aircraft on their route to the UK, arriving at Cardiff at 05:00 on 5 August 1940.
RAF:
After security vetting, the escapees were initially taken to the Czechoslovak transit camp at Cholmondeley, near Chester. As an airman Emil was admitted into the RAF Volunteer Reserve on 17 August 1940, at the rank of P/O and posted to the Czechoslovak Depot at Cosford for English lessons and basic RAF training. On 28 September, Emil with 18 other Czechoslovak pilots were posted from Cosford to 6 OTU [Operational Training Unit] at Sutton Bridge for conversion course on Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft and operational training.
Battle of Britain:
On 16 October, Emil and fellow Czechoslovak P/O Antonín Velebnovský, were posted to 85 Sqn who were deployed at Church Fenton and equipped with Hurricane fighter aircraft. Six days later, Emil and fellow Czechoslovak pilots Sgt František Březovský, Sgt František Mlejnecký and Sgt Jaromír Střihavka were posted from 85 Sqn to 310 (Czechoslovak) Sqn who were deployed at RAF Duxford and also equipped with Hurricanes. Emil made his maiden operational flight on 28 October 1940, in Hurricane P3148, an uneventful 55 min patrol taking-off at 16:45. He was to make a further two operational flights before the 30 October, when the Battle of Britain is classed as having finished.
310 Sqn was redeployed to Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, on 26 June 1941, and again flew uneventful operational patrols over Southern England. The squadron was pulled out of front-line operations and redeployed to a quieter operational area. They moved to Dyce, Scotland, on 19 July 1941. Here, their operational activities were to protect the Scottish North-East against Luftwaffe attacks from Norway, and in particular Aberdeen and the Royal Navy port at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Isles. Emil’s next promotion, to F/O, was on 5 August 1941.
Whilst he saw no enemy action whilst at Dyce, his deployment there was not without incident. At 10:35, on 31 August 1941, Emil took-off from Dyce in Hurricane Mk IIa, NN-G Z2505 for a for a low flying reconnaissance flight over the Cairngorms. During the flight a fault developed in its cooling system causing the engine to overheat and the engine cowling to become enveloped in flames and he was finally forced to bale-out. The aircraft crashed into Loch Oich, andEmil managed to land hear Invergarry. At the time when Emil bailed-out, the aircraft was at about 1500 feet, and prior to baling-out, the engine had lost all power and flames had entered the bottom of the cockpit with smoke obscuring the instrument panel. Apart from cracking his ribs as he bailed out, Emil was unhurt.
During their period in Scotland there had been little combat activity and their only combat success was a ‘probable’ Ju 88, over the North Sea about 8 miles off Aberdeen, by F/O Bergman on 13th August at 13:15. On 15 December 1941, 310 Sqn was redeployed South to resume frontline operational flying, and was now based at Perranporth, Cornwall as part of 10 Group Fighter Command.
There, 310 Sqn was mainly flying convoy patrols and also escorting PRU – Photo Reconnaissance Unit – Spitfires to the Brest peninsular. Occasionally this routine would be broken with the interception of incoming Luftwaffe intruders.
The squadron redeployed to Exeter on 7 May 1942 where, with fellow Czechoslovak 312 Sqn and 313 Sqn, they became the Czechoslovak Wing. Their primarily role, with other fighter squadrons, was to provide fighter cover for Allied bombers on bombing raids over northern occupied France. These raids, known as ‘Ramrods’ were primarily intended to destroy ground targets and also inflict losses by the escorts on German fighters trying to intervene. They also undertook ‘Rodeo’s which were offensive fighter sweeps over Northern France to tempt Luftwaffe fighters to engage with them so that they could be destroyed in aerial combat.
On 14 February 1942, Emil was promoted to the rank of F/Lt and appointed Flight Commander of the Squadrons ‘B’ Flight, an appointment he held until 15 November 1942.
First FW 190 kill achieved:
On 26 June 1942, Emil was flying with 310 Sqn on Ramrod 23, when he shot down his first FW 190. From his combat report of the success:
When just East of Isle de Batz on return journey, I was flying as leader of Blue section, acting as close escort to port of bombers at about 9000 feet. I saw an FW 190 attacking one of the bombers and then break off downwards to port. I dived on the E/A from above and astern, firing several bursts cannon and M/G (Cine camera carried) from 250 yds closing, seeing strikes and volumes of smoke. E/A dived steeply and I followed down to 5,000 feet. E/A appeared out of control, I pulled out to re-join bombers but by this time they were a long way ahead and above. I set course for base and returned near sea level. I claim one FW 190 destroyed.
Operation Jubilee – Dieppe:
The Czechoslovak Wing, consisting of 310, 312 and 313 Sqns participated in Operation Jubilee – the raid on Dieppe on 19 August 1942 – for which they were re-deployed to RAF Redhill, South of London. That day Emil made three flights. The first was take-off at 07:55 when twelve 310 Sqn Spitfires along with Spitfires from 312 Sqn were tasked with escorting 24, four- cannoned Hurricanes to attack enemy ‘E’’ boats which were believed to be sailing from Boulogne to Beachy Head. It was an uneventful patrol as the ‘E’ boats were not sighted and the Spitfires returned to Redhill at 09:20.
Next flight was at 10:20, when twelve 310 Sqn Spitfires took-off from Redhill, and rendezvoused with the Biggin Hill Wing over Beachy Head and were tasked to patrol, as a fighter protection screen, over Dieppe. Once rendezvous was made, the formation descended to sea level and set course to 160 degrees and headed for Dieppe so that their approach would not be detected by German shore defences. Near the French coast at 10:50, they climbed to 6,000 feet and immediately joined the combat that was taking place over Dieppe. At 11:00, Emil attacked a Do 217 which he hit, seeing it fall into cloud and claimed this as damaged if not destroyed. Ten minutes later, he attacked another Do 217 and saw his bullets strike on its wings and 5 minutes later he again fired at another Do 217 getting bullet strikes on its port engine, after which his ammunition was finished. 310 Sqn re-crossed the French coast at 11:25 and all returned safely to Redhill.
The third sortie that day was at 14:10, when twelve 310 Sqn Spitfires took-off and were ordered to patrol over Dieppe with other squadrons. Rendezvous was made over Brighton at 14:25 at 500 feet. They reached the target area but found no activity due to poor visibility of 8/10ths at 6,000 feet and so started to return and acted as protective patrol for a convoy of British ships heading towards England. 310 Sqn landed at Redhill at 15:50
The following day, 310 Sqn took-off at 09:55 and were tasked with searching the sea between Dieppe and England for any survivors from the ill-fated Dieppe raid. Nothing of interest was sighted and all aircraft returned safely to Redhill by 11:05. At 14:25, 310 Sqn departed from Redhill and returned to Exeter, landing at 15:05.
TOn 15 January 1943, Emil was promoted to the rank of Acting S/Ldr and appointed Commanding Officer of 310 Sqn, taking over from S/Ldr František Doležal, DFC. Emil’s promotion to S/Ldr was on 1 July 1943. Whilst stationed at Exeter, Emil met Joyce Alden, a British WAAF and they married on 26 July 1944. Emil’s tenure as 310 Sqn Commanding Officer finished on 13 January 1944, and S/Ldr Hugo Hrbáček undertook that role from that date.
With 310 Sqn Emil achieved aerial-combat successes:
| Date | Time | Spitfire | Action |
04.02.42 | 14:15 | AD325 ‘W” | a Ju 88 damaged near the Scilly Isles |
28.04.42. | 21:00 | BL591 ‘M’ | a Ju 88D shot down near Bristol |
05.06.42. | 15:10 | BL591 ‘M’ | a Fw 190a damaged near Isle of Batz, France |
23.06.42. | 19:10 | AD325 ‘W’ | a Fw 190a shot down near Isle of Batz, France |
19.08.42. | 11:00 | AR498 ‘W’ | 2 Do 17e’s, damaged near Dieppe, France |
19.08.42. | 11:15 | AR498 ‘W’ | Do 17e, damaged near Dieppe, France |
29.01.43. | 14:30 | AR498 ‘W’ | a FW 190a shot down near Morlaix, France |
Emil completed his 2nd operational tour on 13 March 1944 and was posted to the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General [CIG], who were the liaison point between the Czechoslovak military units in the UK and the British Ministry of Defence. The CIG were based in London and Emil’s appointment there was for Adjutant duties where he remained until the end of the war.
Post WW2 Czechoslovak Air Force:
He returned to Czechoslovakia on 16 August 1945 and was promoted to the rank of major [S/Leader] in the Czechoslovak Air Force. From there, on 31 August he was posted to the headquarters of the 1st Air Division. On 28 October 1945 he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 10 Air Regiment stationed at Prague-Kbely who were equipped with Spitfires.
Emil was promoted to the rank of podplukovník (W/Cmdr), on 1 March 1946 and remained with the 10 Air Regiment for a further 18 months when he was then posted to the Letecká vojenská akademie – Air Force Academy – at Hradec Králove and then to the Stíhací výcvikové středisk – Fighter Training Centre at Český Budějovice. On 30 April 1947, he was appointed Commander of the Operations Department at 1st Air Command HQ.
2nd Exile:
Following the Communist take-over in February 1948, the Czechoslovaks who fought for the Allies in WW2 were regarded as being tainted by Capitalism and this resulted in many being arrested, imprisoned and subjected to other persecution. Before the Communist authorities were able to focus their attentions on him, Emil made arrangements for Joyce to be evacuated along with other British wives by the British Embassy, Prague, to England, while he would follow after by escaping into the American Zone of Germany by covertly crossing over the border near the village of Všeruby on 28 March 1948.
This was achieved with the assistance of the ‘Cyril’ escape organisation, which smuggled prominent people across the border at Všeruby, a small village, near the town of Kdyně, about 1 km from the border into the American Zone of Germany. The escapees would be taken first to Kdyně, either by car or train and then by car to Všeruby. Here they would be met by the Commander of the local Sbor Národní Bezpečnosti – Corps of National Security – station and either he or one of his three subordinates would escort the escapees to the border and handed over to the German border guards. The Czechoslovak border guards received payments for their ‘co-operation’. A key person of that organisation was former RAF F/Lt Josef Hýbler, who organised escapees in Prague and passed them down through the organisation. Josef was known as ‘Blackwood’ to the US Intelligence Agencies who also used the organisation to take selected Czechoslovaks to the American Zone.
Meanwhile, back in Czechoslovakia, Emil was declared a deserter from the Czechoslovak Air Force, on 20 August 1948, demoted to the rank of vojín (Private) and stripped of his Czechoslovak medals.
Re-joins RAF:
After security vetting by the American authorities to ensure that Communist agents were not being infiltrated into the West, Emil passed through several Displaced Persons Camps in Germany while arrangements for their onward emigration could be made. In July he was transferred to Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, where he was able to re-enlisted as an AC2, the lowest rank, back into the RAF. With transit documents, he travelled from RAF Bückeburg to Britain on July 24 with a large group of Czechoslovaks, all former members of the RAF. Two days later they were transferred to No 2 Recruitment Unit at RAF Cardington, near Bedford. Once there, whilst their future roles in the RAF were ascertained, usually a two to four month period, they were kept fully employed. They were required to undertake general service training, including taking instruction on service subjects, physical education, English lessons, but also to undertake menial tasks like sweeping floors, scrubbing tables, dishing up food and cleaning toilets at weekends for new recruits when civilian staff where not available.
After completing the entrance formalities, Emil was offered a Short Service Commission and the rank of F/Lt, on 28 October 1948, which he accepted. He applied for British nationality by naturalisation which was granted on 18 November 1949.
His first posting was that November to RAF Finningley and two months later to No 1689 Ferry Pilot Training Flight at RAF Ashton Down where he retrained on single and twin-engined turbo-prop aircraft like Spitfires and Mosquitos and also including modern jet fighters like Vampires and Meteors. In February 1949 he was posted to No 5 Ferry Pool, who were stationed at RAF Silloth as were No 22 Maintenance Unit. Here, Emil’s role was the flying of new or repaired aircraft to operational squadrons deployed around Great Britain. In June 1950, the unit was disbanded and Emil was posted to No 4 Ferry Pool deployed at Hawarden, Wales, where No 48 Maintenance Unit was stationed, where his duties were as per his previous posting.
In June 1952, he completed an instructor’s course in instrument flying at the Instrument Training Centre at the RAF’s Central Fighter Establishment at RAF West Raynham, Norfolk. From here, he returned to No 4 Ferry Pool and was then posted to the Armament Practice Station in Acklington which operated a diverse number of aircraft to assist with air-to-air firing accuracy over the North Sea where they would ‘attack’ a target drone being towed by an aircraft.
In 1956, now aged 43, he was now no longer to actively fly with the RAF and so Emil moved to a ground role Firstly he was posted to the School of Air Traffic Control, at RAF Shawbury, for a training course as an Air Traffic Controller. On completion of that course, Emil was then posted to RAF Negombo, Ceylon. In 1957, the airbase was taken over by the Royal Ceylon Air Force and its name changed to Katunayakw. However, the British did not completely abandon the airbase, because some security units operated here until the 1960s, including the Ceylon Air Traffic Control Centre, where Emil worked. After returning to the UK, he served his final years in the RAF at RAF Ballykelly in Northern Ireland.
He retired from the RAF, at the rank of S/Ldr, in April 1965 and settled with his family at Newquay, Cornwall.
Emil Foit died aged 63, at Newquay on 18 June 1979
Following the Velvet Revolution of November 1989, he was promoted in memoriam to the rank of plukovník (Colonel) in the Czechoslovak Air Force on 1 June 1991.
Medals:
British :
Distinguished Flying Cross, (28. 12. 1944)
1939 – 45 Star with Battle of Britain clasp
Air Crew Europe Star
Defence Medal
War Medal
Válečný kříž 1939 and 3 bars, (28/10/40, 05/05/43, 26/06/44)
Za chrabrost před nepřítelem and 2 bars, (08/08/41, 26/10/42)
Za zásluhy I.stupně
Pamětní medaile se štítky F–VB
Remembered:
Czech Republic:
Prague 1 – Klárov:
In November 2017, his name, along with the names of the 2533 other Czechoslovak men and women who had served in the RAF during WW2, was unveiled at the Winged Lion Monument at Klárov, Prague 1.
Great Britain:
Capel-le-Ferne:
He is commemorated, along with the other 2940 Battle of Britain aircrew, on the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall at the National Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, Kent:
Hawkinge:
Emil is remembered on the Czechoslovak Battle of Britain pilots memorial at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge, Kent. It was unveiled on 28 October 2025, to commemorate the 88 Czechoslovaks who flew in that battle.
London – Battle of Britain Memorial:
He is also commemorated on the London Battle of Britain Memorial:
London – West Hampstead:
He is remembered on the Memorial Plaque at the Bohemia House, he former Czechoslovak National House, at West Hampstead, London.
Article last updated: 31.10.2025.
1 thought on “Emil Foit – One of the Few”
Leave a reply to John Walker Cancel reply
Widgets
Their Courage and Sacrifice Will Never be Forgotten.