Frantisek Dolezal – One of the Few

* 14.09.1909, Česká Třebová.

† 04.10.1945, Bučovice.

The Early Years:

František Doležal was born on 14 September 1909 at Česká Třebová near Ústí nad Orlicí, where his father worked as a train driver for the Austrian railways. After completing his secondary education in 1928 he attended the prestigious Czech Technical University [ČTO) in Prague where he studied Mechanical Engineering. He left prematuarlly in 1933, after completing ten semesters, to undertake his compusory military service. For that he was assigned to the School for the Education of Light Artillery Officers in reserve in Josefov. On completion of that service, he decided on a career in the military, rather than return to ČTO to complete his studies.

Czechoslovak Air Force:

In 1934 to 1936, he was a cadet at the Military Academy at Hranice. On graduation he was posted to the Military Aviation Academy at Prostějov where he trained as an aerial observer and pilot. On graduation in 1937, at the rank of poručík [2nd Lieutenant], he was posted to the 36th Fighter Squadron of the 2nd (Dr E Beneš) Air Regiment at Olomouc. The squadron was equipped with Avia B-534 biplane fighter aircraft.

At the time of the mobilisation, in Autumn 1938, František held the rank of nadporučík [1st Lieutenant] of that squadron, which was deployed in northern Moravia. He did very well in his service with his squadron commander writing his appraisal at that time: “He has fighting spirit and a very good influence on his subordinates.” By the time of the German occupation, on 15 March 1939, he had achieved 470 flying hours.

German Occupation:

Following the Munich Agreement of 30 September 1938, when the Germans were ceded the Sudeten regions of Czechoslovakia, the Germans completed their occupation of the country on 15 March 1939. In a meeting the day before, Hitler told Dr Emil Hácha, the Czechoslovak president, that German troops would commence occupation of Czechoslovakia at 06:00 that morning and that he had two options; either surrender Czechoslovakia to Germany, in which case the “entry of German troops would take place in a tolerable manner” and “permit Czechoslovakia a generous life of her own, autonomy and a degree of national freedom”, or if he refused “resistance would be broken by force of arms, using all means”.

Under such pressure, Emil Hacha had ordered all Czechoslovak military to stand down, remain in their barracks and not resist the entry of German military when they crossed over the border into Czechoslovakia, on 15 March, to complete their occupation. The Germans quickly disbanded the Czechoslovak military and all personnel were dismissed. Germanisation of Bohemia and Moravia began immediately with the Slovakia region being given ‘independence’ but it was, in reality just a puppet state of Nazi Germany.

For many of the military personnel and patriotic Czech citizens, this was a degrading period. Many wanted to redress this shame and humiliation and sought the liberation of their homeland. Just four days later, on 19 March 1939, former Senior officers of the now-disbanded Czechoslovak military started to form an underground army, known as Obrana Národa [Defence of the Nation]. This organisation 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 Czechoslovakia’s Ostrava region which was adjacent to the Polish border.

To Poland:

František was one of the many who decided to escape and enlist in one of those units. On 20 June 1939, he covertly crossed over the border into Poland, and then travelled to Kraków, where he reported for duty at the Czechoslovak Consulate. He was transferred to Bronowice Małe, a then derelict former Polish Army barracks from the Austro-Hungarian era, on the outskirts of Krakow which was then being utilised as a temporary transit camp for the escaped Czechoslovak military.

Disappointment in Poland:

At this time, the Polish Authorities, whilst recognising the new puppet State of Slovakia, showed little support for the Czechoslovak military who were escaping into their country. They would not allow independent Czechoslovak units to be established on its territory as they were concerned about antagonising neighbouring Nazi Germany. Thus, with this disappointment and uncertainty about their future, the morale amongst the escapees was low.

Only after lengthy negotiations between Czechoslovak Diplomats in France and Great Britain, and the French Government, did the French agree to admit 4,000 Czechoslovaks into the French Foreign Legion – French law did not allow for foreign military units to be on its territory in peacetime, and the Czechoslovak escapers would be required to join the French Foreign Legion for a five-year period with the agreement that, should war be declared, they would be transferred to French military units. The alternative was to be returned to occupied Czechoslovakia and face German retribution for escaping – usually imprisonment or execution with further persecution of their families.

They were billetted at Bronowice Małe barracks, which were in poor condition, and were already full of other escapees whilst arrangements were made for their transportation, by sea, to France.

František arrived at Bronowice Małe on 1 July and on 25 July 1939, he and 189 other Czechoslovak military escapees boarded the express train at Kraków railway station and travelled to the Polish Baltic port of Gydnia for their onward travel to France. This latest group of Czechoslovaks was the fourth to depart to France. At Gdynia they airmen were approached by Polish Officers who asked that they stay, and join the Polish Air Force – but would only offer them non-commissioned military ranks, which the Czechoslovak Officers refused to accept.

To France:

The following day the Czechoslovaks boarded the ‘SS Kastelholm’, a 921 tonnage Swedish coastal-cruising ship and they sailed to France. Part of the voyage down the Baltic Sea was very rough, even to airmen who were used to flying in turbulent conditions, and so the ship’s stop at the Danish port of Frederikshaven to re-supply was a welcome relief for the Czechoslovaks onboard. After a five-day voyage, they arrived in the early hours of 30 July 1939 at Calais, France.

French Foreign Legion:

Initially, František and his fellow escapees were transferred to Place Balard, the French Foreign Legion’s recruitment depot at Paris, to undergo medical checks, whilst the necessary documentation was prepared for their enlistment into the Legion pending their transfer to its training base at Sidi bel Abbes, Algeria. During this period they attended French classes and any free time was usually spent in Paris exploring the sights and practising their newly learnt French with the girls they met.

l’Armée de l’Air:

War was declared on 3 September 1939 and the Czechoslovaks at Place Balard, were released from their Foreign Legion contract with the airmen being transferred to the l’Armée de l’Air at their B117 recruitment centre at Dugny, near Paris.

On 9 October, at the rank of sergeant, František, was posted to the l’Armée de l’Air training airbase at Chartres for re-training on French MS-406 fighter aircraft.

The Germans commenced their Blitzkreig invasion of Western Europe on 10 May 1940 by invading Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg and then continuing Westwards into France. By this time, František had completed 36.30 flying hours in training at Chartres, but there was now an urgent need for operational fighter pilots to defend France. On 17 May, along with fellow Czechoslovaks, Stanislav Plzák, Václav Šikl, and Josef Kopřiva, he was posted to GC II /2 who were deployed at Plessis-Belleville airfield, some 40 km West of Paris and equipped with MS-406 fighter aircraft.

The rapidity of the German Blitzkreig caused GC II/ 2 to frequently change their airfields as they retreated westward and by mid-June they were at Fréjorgues airbase near Montpellier in Southern France.

During the Battle of France with GC II /2, František had flown 19 operational hours and had achieved 3 confirmed kills and 1 probable – the unit’s first combat victories:

Date	Time	Aircraft	Action
21/05/40	06:30	MS-406	a Me110 proble shared, near Crévecouer le Grand, France.
01/06/40	13:05	MS-406	a Hs 111 destroyed near La Tour-du-Pin, France.
08/05/40	11:30	MS-406	a Hs 126, destroyed near Forged-les-Eaux, France.
15/05/40	15:40	MS-406	a Do 17 destroyed 50 km North of Neufchâteau, Belgium.

Evacuation to Britain:

With the French capitulation imminent, the Czechoslovak airmen were released from their l’Armée de l’Air service. On 21 June, the Commander of GC II /2 had the Czechoslovak airmen in his unit flown to Perpignan, in Southern France near the Mediterranean coast, in a Lockheed Electra transport aircraft. From Perpignan they travelled by car to Port Vendrés, about 30km away on the coast from where, on 24 June, they boarded the ‘Général Chanzy’ which sailed to Oran, Algeria.

From Oran, the Czechoslovak airmen travelled for four days by train across the Sahara Desert to Casablanca from where they boarded the ‘Gib-el-Dersa’ which sailed at 15:12 on 29 June 1940, to Gibraltar, arriving at 11:00 on 30 June. Here they changed ships to the ’Neuralia’ and sailed on 2 July, in a convoy of about another 30 ships, for Liverpool, England, arriving on 12 July 1940. Along with most of the Czechoslovaks, František’s path first led to the Czechoslovak resettlement camp at Cholmondeley Park, near Chester.

RAF:

After security vetting and registration formalities had been completed, František was, on 2 August, accepted into the RAF Volunteer Reserve at the rank of P/O and on 5 August transferred to the Czechoslovak Airman’s Depot at Cosford, near Wolverhampton., On 6 August, František, along with nine other Czechoslovak P/Os and 14 Sgts, was posted to the newly formed 310 (Czechoslovak) Sqn who were deployed at Duxford near Cambridge. They were equipped with Hurricane Mk I aircraft and commanded jointly by S/Ldr Alexander Hess, the first Czechoslovak to command an RAF squadron, and S/Ldr George D.M Blackwood.

After rapid re-training on Hurricanes and some basic English lessons for the Czechoslovak pilots, 310 Sqn was declared operational on 17 August and made its first operational patrol at 14:10 on 18 August.

Battle of Britain:

Due to a surplus of pilots at 310 Sqn, on 27 August 1940, František, along with fellow Czechoslovak pilots P/O František Hradil, Sgt Stanislav Plzák and Sgt František Marek, were sent on attachment to 19 Sqn at nearby Fowlmere, 5km West of Duxford, where they retrained on Spitfires Mk IAs. They were noted as being very keen and eager to have a crack at the Luftwaffe. After their Spitfire retraining, František and Plzák were cleared to undertake operational flying, thus becoming the first Czechoslovaks to fly Spitfires operationally.

František made his first operational patrol in the Battle of Britain on 2 September, flying Spitfire R6924, in the squadron’s ‘B’ Flight. It was a 65-minute uneventful patrol over Debden at 15,000 feet with no Luftwaffe aircraft sighted. That day he was to make a further operational flight.

On 5 September, 19 Sqn was ordered to patrol the Kent and Sussex area. They took off at 15:40, with František flying Spitfire P7379 in B Flight. During that patrol several Luftwaffe aircraft were encountered, and over the Chartham-Ashford area, he attacked a Me109, firing 1192 rounds but the Me109 managed to evade being shot down. František landed back at Fowlmere at 15:50.

During the battle he achieved combat success, the first being a Me110 on 7 September, flying Spitfire P985 whilst the squadron were on patrol over the North Weald. Take off was at 16:45, and the Me110 was destroyed 15 miles East of Margate, at 14,000 ft. In his combat report he wrote:

We sighted an enemy formation near Hornchurch and at once attacked. I fired about 4 times at different Me 110. Approaching Margate I got onto an Me 110 who then made a left turn after another Spitfire. I turned after it and gave it a full burst. It at once fell into spiral dive ending in the sea. I made a further attack on a section of three He III and hit one which omitted heavy smoke from the starboard motor. It broke off combat and glided slowly southwards towards the Belgian coast. Having exhausted all my ammunition, I could not follow it.

That day the squadron achieved 20 combat successes against the Luftwaffe. František achieved further successes during the Battle of Britain:

Date	Time	Aircraft	Action
11/09/40	16:05	N3046	a Me110 probable shot down at 14,000 feet, 15 miles north of Margate.
10/09/40	16:05	N3046	a Me109 damaged at 20,000 feet, over London.
18/09/40	17:15	X41766	a He III destroyed at 15,000 feet, 20 miles east of Sandwich.

During his combat flight on 11 September, he was slightly wounded, which prevented him from operational flying for the next few days. In his combat report he wrote:

I sighted the enemy formation to port, right over central London. I attacked an Me 109 which turned after a Spitfire. – I got between the Me 109 and the Spitfire, flying towards the former, and gave it a burst of 3 seconds. Black smoke poured from the e/a and it turned away to port. I turned after it but in doing so got a full burst from the rear. My cockpit became full of oil and I had to break away and land at the aerodrome, being slightly wounded in the right knee by a splinter. My aircraft suffered the following damage: undercarriage pump shot through and trim cable shot through.

With 19 Sqn, František made a total of 19 operational flights before returning to 310 Sqn on 29 October.

After the Battle of Britain:

The Battle of Britain was deemed finished on 31 October 1940, and František had made no further operational flights. After the battle, he remained with 310 Sqn but engagement with the Luftwaffe was now infrequent. The squadron’s role was still patrolling the South-East of England, interspersed with ‘Kipper’ patrols to protect British fishing boats in the North Sea against Luftwaffe attacks. On 12 December, he was appointed ‘A’ Flight Commander, a post he held until 7 April 1942.

He was promoted to the rank of F/O on 27 December 1940. In February 1941, the squadron commenced offensive sweeps over northern France and also night patrols. These were to continue until July when the squadron was re-deployed to Martlesham Heath, near Ipswich, Suffolk, coming under 11 Group Fighter Command.

For their rest period, the squadron was redeployed to Dyce in North-East Scotland on 19 July 1941 which was a quieter operational area when compared to Southern England. There the squadron’s role was to protect the port of Aberdeen against Luftwaffe raids and also to carry out convoy patrols.

A highlight of many non-eventful patrols had been the escort of an aircraft flying a VIP passenger to the Shetland Islands on the 9th August and also on its return flight two days later. Shortly after the squadron were informed that the VIP they had been escorting was King George VI.

In late 1941 the squadron converted to Spitfires and on 20 December, 310 Sqn returned south when it was re-deployed to Perranporth, Cornwall, as part of 10 Group Fighter Command. At Perranporth, 310 Sqn was mainly flying convoy patrols and also escorting Photo Reconnaissance Unit Spitfires to the Brest peninsular. Occasionally this routine would be broken with the interception of incoming Luftwaffe intruders.

310 Sqn Commanding Officer:

On 11th January a taxiing collision between F/O Bohuslav Kimlicka, who had landed on an incorrect runway and S/Ldr František Weber resulted in Weber being injured, which put an end to his operational flying. On 7 April 1942, following Weber’s accident, František was appointed the squadron’s C/O, at the rank of F/Lt, and the following day promoted to the rank of Acting S/Ldr. The squadron was now also escorting Hurricanes and Whirlwinds on offensive raids to northern to France.

During this period, František was to achieve further combat success including those during Operation Jubilee, the ill-fated Allied landing at Dieppe, France:

Date	Time	Spitfire	Action
05/06/42	15:10	AD338	a Fw 190a, damaged, near Ile de Batz, France.
19/08/42	11:05	EP452	a Do 217e, probable, near Dieppe
19/08/42	11:10	EP452	a Fw 190a, damaged, near Dieppe
28/08/42	09:50	AR495	a 109f, destroyed near Exmouth.
03/05/42	15:30	EP461	a Fw 190a, damaged, near Ile de Batz,France.

Operation Jubilee – 19 August 1942:

For Operation Jubilee, 310 Sqn flew from Exeter to RAF Redhill, just South of London. On 19 August, the 12 Spitfires from the squadron led by František, flying Spitfire EP452, took off at 07:55 for a Rodeo?? fighter sweep. The squadron, with 312 Sqn and the Kenley Wing, had been given the job of escorting 24, four-Cannon Hurricanes sent out to attack enemy ‘E’ boats said to be en-route from Boulogne travelling towards Beachy Head, thus potentiallypresenting a danger to the Allied invasion ships at Dieppe. Rendezvousing with the Hurricanes over Beachy Head, the formation set course for Boulogne at sea-level at 08:05 continuing to within some 10 miles South-West of Boulogne harbour, then climbing off the French coast to 20,000 feet. Stationary fishing boats were seen and attacked. Two merchant ships of some 500 tons each 3 miles west of Le Touquet, were also seen, though not attacked. But the ‘E’ boat targets were not seen and 310 and 312 Sqns returned to Redhill, with no further incident and no sighting of Luftwaffe aircraft, landing at 09:20.

František’s second sortie that day at 10:20 was more successful. Again, flying Spitfire EP452, he led 12 Spitfires from the squadron, along with 3 other squadrons from Biggin Hill which were detailed to patrol, as fighter protection screen for Dieppe. Rendezvous was made over Beachy head and at 10:30 the formation set a course of 160 flying at sea level for Dieppe, climbing near the French coast to 6,000 ft. Over Dieppe at 10:50 many British aircraft were seen already in combat with Luftwaffe aircraft, and 310 Sqn went straight into the fray. At 11:05, František engaged a Do215 approaching the harbour and claimed it as a probable destroyed. Five minutes later he had an encounter with a Fw190 which was chasing a Spitfire. František fired a burst at it and claimed this as damaged as he observed strikes on fuselage and starboard wing.

The following day 12 Spitfires from 310 Sqn, led by František, took-off at 09:55 after being ordered to make a search of the sea for survivors. In line abreast, starting from Newhaven on a course of 160, a 2 mile-wide sweep was made up to the French coast, , but nothing of interest was seen and the squadron returned to Redhill, without incident by 11:05.

Whilst ‘Operation Jubilee’ was ill-fated, it had been a successful day for 310 Sqn: 1 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed, 3 probables, 6 damaged; František was awarded a DFC for his role that day.

At 14:25 that day, 17 Spitfires from the squadron took off and returned to Exeter, all landing safely by 15:05.

Commanding Officer of the Czechoslovak Wing:

On 1 April 1943 František was promoted to the rank of Acting W/Cmdr and appointed Commander of the Czechoslovak Wing, comprising the three Czechoslovak fighter squadrons – 310, 312 and 313 – which were now deployed at Exeter. He was appointed Senior Czechoslovak Liaison Officer for 19 Fighter Wing based at North Weald.

Czechoslovak Inspectorate General:

František’s next posting, on 15 May 1944 was to the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General, in London for Staff training and duties in the Research Department there. Two days later he was promoted to the rank of W/Cmdr.

To the USA:

On 11 August 1944, František sailed to the USA where he attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. One of his projects was a feasibility study into the invasion of the Philippines, which was eventually implemented as a result of his work. On graduating from there, he toured various aircraft factories, including the Consolidated Aircraft factory at San Diego, California, where B24 Liberators were built, the Lockheed works where P38 Lightnings were produced and finally to Farmingdale, New York on Long Island where Republic Aviation Corporation had their factory where P-47 Thunderbolts were built.

Return to the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General:

František returned to England on 23 December 1944 and was to learn that, because of his escape to join the Allied forces in, 1939 many of his relatives had been interned in Svatobořice camp, in Moravia, during WW2. He was posted to the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General with the duty of Liaison Officer to their Study Group. On 3 March 1945, he was released from his RAF service to the Czechoslovak Air Force, at the rank of Major. With the end of the war imminent, his role was to initiate plans for the return of the Czechoslovak RAF personnel to their homeland.

Return to Czechoslovakia:

He returned to Czechoslovakia on 17 May 1945, on Dakota KG780 from 147 Sqn. Take-off from Croydon was 08:45 and the plane was piloted by F/Lt Václav Foglar. On board was a delegation representing the Czechoslovak government in Exile in London and a military delegation, which included František. En-route, their first stop-over was at Brussels Evere airfield, landing at 10:25, refuelling and taking-off at 11:10, landing at Plzen at 14:05, again for refuelling. For the final leg of the trip, take-off from Plzen was at 15:15 and landing at Ruzyně, Prague at 16:00. It was the first aircraft to arrive at Prague from England following the end of the war in Europe.

On 1 August 1945 František, was promoted to the rank of podplukovník [Wing Commander] in the Czechoslovak Air Force. His role now was the reestablishment of that Air Force in post WW2 Czechoslovakia, it was however due to be short lived.

Fateful Flight:

On 4 October 1945 he flew as a passenger on a military flight from Ruzyně Airport, Prague, to Zlín in a Siebel Si 204D twin-engine airplane. Take-off was 09:05 and the pilot was former RAF airman Josef Kuhn, DFM. The weather was bad but for reasons unknown, at about 10:00, the aircraft crashed into the side of a hill, partially digging itself into the hill at Větrník, Bučovice about 16 miles East of Brno. All eight airmen – Josef Forman, František Lacina, Vladislav Spurný, Stanislav Tvrdík and former RAF airmen Josef Kuhn, Vratislav Sajver, and Alois Strouhal together with František, were killed.

Due to the extent of the damage to the aircraft, the exact cause of the crash was never discovered, with one theory being that the crew lost control of the aircraft, possibly due to wings icing up. However, the possibility that the aircraft crashed as a result of wartime sabotage by Czech workers, who built these aircraft for the Luftwaffe during that time, was not ruled out by the Czechoslovak Air Force.

The joint funeral of František, Forman, Spurný, Tvrdík and Sajver took place on 12 October 1945 from the Štefánik barracks at Smíchov, Prague at the church of St. Ludmila in Vinohrady.

Podplukovník [Group Capitan] František Doležal DSO, DFC, C de G, was 36 years old and was interred at Vinohrady cemetery, Prague.

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Medals:

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Czechoslovakia :

Válečný kříž 1939 x4

Za chrabrost x 2 bar

Za zásluhy I.stupně

Pamětní medaile se štítky F–VB

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British :

Distinguished Service Order

Distinguished Flying Cross

1939 – 45 Star with Battle of Britain clasp

Air Crew Europe Star

Defence Medal

War Medal

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France:

Croix de Guerre avec 2 palmes et 2 etoiles de vermeil

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Remembered:

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Czech Republic:

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Praha 1 – Klárov :

In November 2017, his name, along with the names of 2533 other Czechoslovak men and women who had served in the RAF during WW2, was unveiled at the Winged Lion Monument at Klárov, Prague.

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Praha 9 – Černý Most :

In the Černý Most, Prague 9 District a street, Doležalova, is named after him.

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Great Britain :

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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:

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Hawkinge:

Alexander 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.

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London – Battle of Britain Memorial:

He is also commemorated on the London Battle of Britain Memorial:

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Article last updated 31.10.2025.