* 27.06.1914, Roudnice nad Labem.
† 24.01.1980, Plzeň.
Pre WW2
On 27 June 1914, Jiří Vojtěch Kučera was born into the family of František Kučera, a school teacher, and his wife Alžběta, née Bendová, at Roudnice nad Labem, a small rural town some 40km north of Prague. They had four other sons.
In 1928, on completion of his schooling in Roudnice nad Labem, he continued his education at the business school in Ústí nad Labem, graduating in 1930. In 1931, Jiří joined as a trainee, W. Pischel Naftospol, a company in the automobile industry, then he worked as a sales representative for the Kočovský company in Všetaty . In 193x, he moved to Prague to join Walter a spol, an established company that at that time were producing engines for light aircraft.
Like many young men of that time he was captivated by aviation and wished to become a pilot. This aspiration became a reality when he started a training course to fly light aircraft from which he graduated with his flying licence for that aircraft type.
Czechoslovak Air Force
In July 1936 he enrolled in the cadet college at the Military Aviation Academy at Prostějov, from where he graduated on 31 March 1937. Jiří was selected for fighter-pilot training and posted to the Military Aviation Academy at Hradec Králove for initial training. He was then posted to 4th Air Regiment, deployed at Prague-Kbely airbase for further training. He graduated from the course in April 1938, with the rank of četař (Sgt). He was posted to the Regiment’s 43rd Fighter Squadron at that airbase, who were equipped with Avia B-534 biplane fighter aircraft, the most advanced fighter used by the Czechoslovak Air Force. During the 1938 mobilization he served with his unit at Kralupy nad Vltavou and Veltrusy airbases, both north of Prague. By March 1939, he had achieved 515 flying hours.
German Occupation
After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, on 15 March 1939, the Czechoslovak Air Force was disbanded by the Germans and all personnel dismissed. Germanisation of Bohemia and Moravia began immediately.
Resistance
But just four days later internal resistance organisations were being established. On 19 March 1939, former Senior officers of the now-disbanded Czechoslovak military had started to form an underground army, known as Obrana Národa [Defense 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 into Poland. Jiří was one of the many Czechoslovak airmen and soldiers who clearly saw it was their duty to go to Poland from where they could participate in the work to achieve the liberation of Czechoslovakia.
To Poland
Jiří, like many of his former Air Force colleagues, could not reconcile himself to the Munich surrender and subsequent occupation and was determined to leave home to go abroad to fight for the liberation of his homeland. He was amongst the first who voluntarily went to Poland. He first tried to escape to Poland on 23 April 1939 but was detained at the Polish border and returned. His next attempt was successful. With the help of the Airman’s Association of Czechoslovakia, he escaped to Poland, over the Beskydy mountains, south-east of Ostrava, on 13 May 1939 with fellow airmen Václav Jícha, Josef Adam and Bohumil Votruba and reported for duty at the Czechoslovak Consulate in Krákow.
Polish Disappointment
However, there they were informed that the formation of Czechoslovak military units in Poland were just rumours because the Polish authorities would not allow Czechoslovak military units to be formed on its territory for fear of provoking Nazi Germany.
Instead, they learnt that Vladimír Znojemský, the Czechoslovak Consul, had, via Štefan Osuský, the Czechoslovak Ambassador in Paris, negotiated with the French Government that the escaped Czechoslovak military would be permitted to travel to France. But there was a condition: as French Law did not permit foreign military personnel on its territory during peacetime, the Czechoslovaks would be required to enlist in the French Foreign Legion for a period of five years – but with the assurance that in the event of war being declared, the Czechoslovaks would be released from the Legion and transferred into French military units. The alternative was that they would be sent back to the German Protectorate of Czechoslovakia, where their execution or deportation to a concentration camp would be the most likely outcome. Jiří and his colleagues decided that their best choice was to go to France.
Initially they were accommodated at the ‘Dom Turystczny’, a cheap tourist hostel near the Czechoslovak Consulate whilst preparations were made for their onward journey to France. Then they billeted at Bronowice Małe, a former Polish Army barracks on the outskirts of Kraków which was now utilised as a temporary transit camp for the escaped Czechoslovak military. In the meantime, there was very little for the escapees to do there apart from being patient, keeping fit, exercising and occasionally playing football against local Polish teams.
To France
Following the completion of those preparations, Jiří received his travel document on 20 May, and with 108 other escapee Czechoslovak military personnel then took a train to Gdynia, a port on Poland’s Baltic coast. There, on May 23, they boarded the Polish ocean liner SS ‘Batory’, which was en route to New York and making a stop at Copenhagen, then passing through the Kattegat and Skagerrak before going to the French port of Cherbourg, arriving there on 26 May 1939.
France
Once in France, they first travelled to Le Bourget airfield, in the north-east district of Paris, where they were billeted pending acceptance into the French Foreign Legion. It was a slow process as the SS ‘Batory’ was the first ship bringing a significant number of Czechoslovaks to France and so only now had the French authorities began to actively address the emerging situation regarding the Czechoslovak escapees. During that period, they underwent medical checks and also took part in French lessons prior to being accepted into the Legion. Jiří was accepted into the Legion at the rank of soldat. The escapees were then transferred the Legion’s base at Fort St Jean at Marseille. From there they travelled by a transport ship which sailed to Oran, Algeria, and then on to the Legion’s training base at Sidi Bel Abbès, where they were assigned to the 1st Battalion of their 1st Regiment.
l’Armée de l’Air
On 2 September 1940 he was transferred to l’Armée de l’Air and posted to their airbase at Tunis, then to their Centre d’Instruction training airbase at Blida, Algeria on 9 September and then on 19 October to Centre d’Instruction de Chasse at La Senia airbase at Oran, Algeria, for training on MS-406 aircraft. On completion of his re-training, he was awarded his l’Armée de l’Air pilots wings and posted to GC I/6 as an operational pilot on 13 December 1939. They were stationed at La Senia airbase and equipped with MS-406C aircraft. Fellow Czechoslovaks also posted with him to GC I/6 that day were Stanislav Fejfar, Václav Jícha, Stanislav Popelka, Svatopluk Janouch and František Bíeberle.
Two days later GC I/6 redeployed to mainland France and were stationed at Mérignac airbase at Marseille until 8 March 1940 when they redeployed east to Chissey airbase near Dijon. During the Battle of France Jiří flew 70 operational hours and achieved combat success:
| Date | Time | Action |
18.05.40 |
20:00 |
a Do 17z victory south of Amiens |
20.05.40 |
17:00 |
a Do17p victory at Cambrais |
05.06.40 |
11:00 |
a Hs123 shared victory at 11:00 at Chaulnes |
With the rapid advance of the German Blitzkreig, GC I/6 was frequently having to move to airfields further west to escape them. By 19 June they were now at Bergerac in south-west France, their 7th deployment westward since the beginning of May!
Evacuation to Algeria
With the French capitulation imminent, Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, appealed to all the Czechoslovak airmen in the l’Armée de l’Air to come to Britain and continue the fight from there. The Allies were making every effort to evacuate Allied military personnel from the west coast of France and for those in North Africa, from Casablanca on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
The Czechoslovaks with GC I/6 were released from l’Armée de l’Air service and they travelled to Port Vendrés, about 30km away on the Mediterranean coast. France capitulated to Germany on 22 June 1940, when an armistice was signed in the Compiègne Forest, in the same railway carriage that Germany had surrendered to France in November 1918. The armistice to come into effect on 25 June.
At Port Vendrés, the Czechoslovaks and other evacuating military personnel, boarded ‘Général Chanzy’ which sailed to Oran, Algeria on 24 June.
Evacuation to England
From Oran, Jiří, along with other Czechoslovak airmen, departed on a four day train journey around the Sahara Desert, to Casablanca, Morocco, and there, after a five-day wait, they were able to board the ship ‘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’, a former hospital ship converted into a troop transport, and sailed, on 2 July, in a convoy of about another 30 ships, deep into the Atlantic, to avoid any attacks by Luftwaffe aircraft based on the west coast of France. They arrived at Liverpool on 12 July 1940.
RAF
On arrival in Liverpool, Jiří ’s first path, as for most of the Czechoslovak escapees, led to the Czechoslovak resettlement camp at Cholmondeley Park, near Chester. At Liverpool, they boarded a train to Nantwich, Cheshire, some 30 miles away, and from there marched to Cholmondeley Castle, 8 miles away. There they were accommodated in the grounds in a tented camp where they were security vetted.
The Battle of Britain was now in progress and there was an urgent need for fighter pilots. As a trained pilot Jiří was quickly transferred to the Czechoslovak RAF Depot, Cosford, where, on 6 August 1940, he was admitted to the Volunteer Reserve of the RAF, with the rank of Sgt, and began his RAF training and also English language classes.
On 17 August, Jiří was posted, with 19 other Czechoslovak Sgt pilots from RAF Cosford to 6 OTU [Operational Training Unit] at Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, for a conversion course onto Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft. Firstly, they learnt the theory of flying Hawker Hurricanes and then the practical aspect, initially in dual-seater Miles Magister training aircraft. Once they had reached the required standard, the training continued in single-seater Hurricanes. Part of this training period involved undertaking English lessons to enable at least elementary airborne radio communication to the required RAF standard and operational flying training. On completion of his retraining, he was awarded his RAF pilot’s wings. On 12 September Jiří, along with Sgt Vladimír Horský, was posted to 238 Sqn at RAF Chilbolton, Hampshire, a satellite airfield to RAF Middle Wallop. They were the first two Czechoslovak airmen to join the squadron, which was equipped with Hurricane Mk I fighter aircraft and their role was the aerial protection of the docks at Southampton and Portsmouth.
Battle of Britain
Jiří made his first operational flight in the Battle of Britain on 17 September. For that flight, 11 Hurricanes from the squadron had taken-off at 17:32 for a patrol over the south-east of London region at 15,000 feet. Jiří was flying Hurricane P3599. It was an uneventful patrol with no Luftwaffe aircraft encountered The Hurricanes landed back at RAF Chilbolton at 18:23.
During the Battle of Britain he achieved combat success:
| Date | Time | Hurricane | Action |
26.09.40 | 16:45 | P3462 | a Me110c victory at 16:45 near Isle of Wight. |
26.09.40 | 16:45 | P3462 | a Me110c damaged at 16:45 near Isle of Wight. |
26.09.40 | 16:45 | P3462 | a Me110c damaged at 16:45 near Isle of Wight. |
30.09.40 | 16:40 | P3462 | a He III victory at 16:40 near Portland, Dorset. |
Jiří’s most successful day was 26 September when he shot down a Me110 and damaged two others.
That afternoon, 11 Hurricanes of 238 Sqn had taken off from RAF Middle Wallop at 16:14 for a patrol, at 15,000 feet, to protect the south-west approach to Southampton as the Luftwaffe had now commenced daylight raids on the docks and Supermarine Spitfire factory there. Jiří was flying Hurricane P3462 as Red 3 in A flight.
As they were patrolling along the south coast heading towards Southampton, at 11,000 feet, they saw some 30 to 40 Luftwaffe aircraft flying in loose formation, at 16,000 feet. There were some 40 Heinkell He III bombers being escorted by a similar number of Me 110 and Me 109 fighters. Despite the Luftwaffe aircraft appearing to turn back, 238 Sqn attacked and individual combats resulted.
Jiří’s combat report for this encounter reads:
I was Red 3 and followed the section to attack inline astern. I attacked 4 Me110’s and fired at one 3 2sec quarter developing to astern at 300 yards range. No apparent effect. Then I continued the attack on the second E/A, firing a 2-3 sec burst from quarter at 200 yards. A lot of smoke came out of the E/A, but I could not watch as there were others behind me. I then broke away, circled and went into attack on other Me110s’s firing 3-4 sec burst from astern and below 200-300 yards. One of these E/A gave out a large amount of smoke, but again I broke away. Then I continued firing at the second E/A and fired a very long burst. possibly 5 sec from astern at 300 yards, closing to 100 yards. E/A gave out flames from the port engine and dived. I broke away and climbed up to attack another E/A and got into position to attack, but suddenly felt shots in my aircraft and was shot. There were flames in the cockpit and I was going to jump, but when I opened the cockpit the flames died down and so I came back to Middle Wallop, landing at 17:04. A/c damaged CAT 2. No cine camera gun carried. Number of rounds fired: 2,800.
However, his colleague Sgt Vladimír Horský, did not return from that patrol. His Hurricane was shot down into the sea off the Isle of Wight and his body never found. He is commemorated on panel 15 at the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede.
On 8 October, fellow Czechoslovaks Sgts Bernard František and Rudolf Roháček, joined 238 having been posted from 601 Sqn.
During the Battle of Britain Jiří had made a total of 13 operational patrols totalling 14 hours 23 min.
After the Battle
During November, Jiří made 14 operational patrols, during which Luftwaffe aircraft were sighted at a distance, but no engagements took place.
On 30 November, he had taken off from RAF Chilbolton at 13:58, with Sgt Batt, for a patrol flight to Portland, Dorset. No enemy was found in the designated patrol region, and both pilots returned separately. As Jiří was approaching Weymouth, Dorset, his Hurricane suffered an engine failure and crashed badly while making an emergency landing at 15:40 near Buckland Ripers, some 3 miles north of Weymouth. The Hurricane caught fire and burned out. Despite being injured in the crash, Jiří managed to escape from the burning aircraft. He was taken for treatment at Weymouth Hospital and later to the RAF rehabilitation centre at Blackpool for recuperation, from where he was discharged on 17 March 1941.
To 313 Squadron
Jiří was then posted, on 9 May 1941, at the rank of F/Sgt, to 501 Sqn, who were deployed at RAF Filton and converting from Hurricanes to Spitfires. He was there only until 16 May and then posted to the newly formed 313 (Czechoslovak) Sqn, who were at RAF Catterick in North Yorkshire, and equipped with Spitfire Mk Ia’s. On 14 August he was commissioned at the rank of P/O and he remained with 313 Sqn until 27 October 1941.
Having completed his operational tour, for his rest period he was posted to the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General in London for an administrative role. He remained there until 1 May 1942, when he returned to 313 Sqn, now deployed at RAF Fairlop, Essex, for operational flying.
On 6 June, 313 Sqn redeployed to Churchstanton, Somerset, and at the end of that month to Warmwell, Dorset, where their role was to provide fighter escort to Allied bombers on bombing raids on occupied northern Europe.
During one of those escorts Jiří was injured. It was on 5 May 1942 and the action was Circus 157, a raid on the Sequedin power station, at Lille, Northern France, by 6 Boston twin-engined bombers from 242 Sqn escorted by 36 Spitfires from 64 Sqn, 122 Sqn and 313 Sqn. For that escort, Jiří was flying Spitfire Mk Vb BM509. On returning from Lille the formation was attacked by Fw 190’s from I/ JG 26. In the resultant dog-fight, he attacked several Fw 190’s claiming one as probably destroyed, but had to rely on evasive manoeuvring to escape the danger of being shot down.
His combat report for this action:
I was Blue 1, and after breaking formation over Lille, I saw 4 F/W 190’s about to attack our section, I turned to starboard, and then to port and saw 6 F/W 190’s also about to attack. I approached one of these e.a. from the left, made a slight turn to starboard, and fired a short burst from an opening range of 200 yards closing to 100 yards. This was a quarter port attack at a height of 18,000 feet. I immediately saw a large part of the wing fall off the e.a., and white then black smoke poured from it. I was about to follow, but had to pull out as several e.a. were behind me. I last saw the F/W 190 that I had attacked at 15,000 feet, still smoking and in a vertical dive. At this time, I observed a F/W 190 going down in smoke followed by a Spitfire. I could not locate my squadron, and formed up with 122 squadron. I claim the e/a as a probable destroyed.
The eventful day however was not over yet. He successfully managed to fly back to England, crossing the coast at Dungeness, Kent but he ran short of fuel. He made a forced landing near the village of Bonnington, near Ashford, Kent, In the crash he suffered injuries to his forehead and leg and was taken to nearby RAF Hawkinge to receive treatment from the Doctor there. After twenty days of treatment, he returned to 313 Sqn, where he gradually rose to become deputy squadron Commanding Officer.
With 313 Sqn, he achieved further combat success with a Luftwaffe Ju 88 damaged on 6 July 1942 at 21:30 near Lyme Regis, Dorset, whilst flying Spitfire AR432 ‘K’. Jiří’s next promotion, to the rank of F/O was on 28 October and he remained with 313 Sqn until 15 June 1943 when he had completed his 2nd operational tour. As an operational fighter pilot, he had flown 260 hours and had achieved 5 confirmed kills and 3 aircraft damaged.
Czechoslovak Inspectorate General
For his mandatory rest period, he returned to the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General, in London for a non-operational role. On completion of that rest period, he volunteered to fly photo-reconnaissance missions and was posted, on 29 November 1943, at the rank of F/Lt to the Service Flying Training School [SFTS] at RAF Cranwell for re-training for RAF twin-engine aircraft and a refresher course. He completed the training on 19 January 1944. On 18 February he was posted to 9 OTU, at RAF Crosby on Eden, near Carlisle for training on twin-engined Bristol Beaufort and Bristol Beaufighter aircaft, which he completed on 20 March 1944. He then returned to the Czechoslovak Depot at RAF Cosford pending posting. Jiří’s next posting was on 6 June 1944 to No 8 OTU, at RAF Dyce, north-west Scotland, to attend No 45 [Mosquito] training course which he completed on 7 August 1944. There he crewed up with fellow Czechoslovak F/Lt Oldřich Filip as his navigator.
To 544 Squadron
The two were then posted, for operational flying duties, to 544 Sqn, a photo-reconnaissance squadron based at RAF Benson and equipped with de-Havilland Mosquito XXXII’s. From there they flew over occupied Europe, and even over Czechoslovakia!
Specifically, on 22 March 1945, Jiří took off from RAF Benson in Mosquito XVI RG115, at 12:10, to photograph targets in Germany at Sassnitz, Ruhland, Rusa, Chemnitz and Karlsbad and continuing onto San Severo airfield, some 130km east of Naples, Italy. They took photographs of the Ruhland area, but Sassnitz was clouded over and a fighter patrol was spotted. Photographs of the other targets were not taken due to enemy and Allied activity. However, from Chemnitz, Jiří then flew over Czechoslovakia with the route of – Roudnice nad Labem – Kralupy nad Vltavou – Hradec Králové – Pardubice. He could not resist the temptation and descended to ground level above his hometown of Roudnice nad Labem. He flew in an arc over his home and waved to his father, who was working in the garden at the time. After a five-hour flight, he landed at the San Severo airfield in Italy at 17:15.
He remained with 544 Sqn until the end of the war having flown 170 operational hours during 44 missions with them.
Post WW2
Jiří relinquished his RAF commission and at the rank of kapitán in the Czechoslovak Air Force. e returned to Czechoslovakia on 22 October 1945 and was assigned repatriation duties at Prague- Ruzyně airbase. Further postings followed and by early 1948 he was a Commander at the 3rd Air Division. In May 1946, with 13 other former RAF pilots he returned to 13 OTU at RAF Middle Wallop for an eight-week conversion course to train them to fly de Havilland Mosquito FB Mk VI to a standard sufficient to enable them to fly the aircraft back to Czechoslovakia. They were accompanied by former RAF navigators and ground crew for their respective training.
On completion of the training, they flew the Mosquitoes back to Czechoslovakia to Plzen-Bory airbase, where they became the 2nd Squadron of the 24th Air Regiment and Jiří was appointed its Commander.
Communist putsch
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 many were arrested, imprisoned and subjected to other persecution. On 2 February 1949 Jiří was placed on ‘waiting leave’ from the Czechoslovak Air Force followed by dismissal on 1 November. Nine days later he was arrested and was held in solitary confinement for three months awaiting trial. The case was dismissed in February 1950 Despite having been classed as 40% disabled due to war wounds and a stomach condition he could only find menial employment as a construction worker and a locksmith. After the political conditions became relaxed, he managed to obtain employment at the Škoda factory as a vocational training officer and English teacher at the factory school until his retirement in July 1969.
Jiří Kučera, died aged 65, on 24 October 1980, at Plzeň, Czechoslovakia.
Medals Awarded
1939 – 45 Star with Battle of Britain clasp
Air Crew Europe Star with Atlantic Star clasp.
Defence Medal 1939 – 1945
War Medal 1939 – 1945
Válečný kříž 1939 and 3 bars
Za chrabrost and 2 bars
Za zásluhy I.stupně
Pamětní medaile se štítky F–VB
Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur
Croix de Guerre avec 3 Palm’s, a gold star and a silver star
Remembered
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:
Jiří 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:
Czech Republic:
Prague 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 1.
Prague 9
A street in the Černý Most suburb of Prague is named “Kučerova” in his honour.
Roudnice nad Labem:
He is named on a memorial plaque at his former family home at Roudnice nad Labem.
Article last updated: 31.10.2025.
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