Karel Mrázek – One of the Few

* 29.11.1910, Náchod.

† 05.12.1998, Jablonec nad Nissou.

Pre WW2

Karel Mrázek was born on 29 November 1910 in Náchod, a rural town 130km north-east of Prague and close to the Polish border. He was the fourth of Emil and Juliana née Šimáková’s seven children. His father was employed there as a stationmaster by Czechoslovak State Railways, but he and his wife, a housewife, were originally from Křenovice, a small village, some 15km south-east of Brno, in the Moravia region of Czechoslovakia. Due to his father’s employment, the family relocated multiple times.

By 1916 his father was now station master at Náměšť nad Oslavou, and it was there that Karel enrolled in 1921 for 5 years for his primary schooling and in 1926 for 1 year of secondary schooling at the Municipal school. The family returned to Křenovice where his father later became a senior inspector for the railways for the Brno district, and there Karel completed a further 3 years at the Municipal School.

In 1925 he left school and started as an apprentice at Elektromotor SVET, a prominent electrical engineering company in Brno which specialised in Three-Phase Electric Motors. As part of his apprenticeship, he continued his education for a further 4 years at Brno Technical College where he studied Electrical Engineering, graduating with Honours in 1930. Unfortunately, the Great Depression was now having a deep effect on the European economy and he found himself unemployed. For the next 2 years he had to resort to manual labouring and other casual work to earn a little money. With that and a little financial help from his parents he managed to scrape by. However, he realised these measures were only short term and he would have to reassess the direction of his life.

Czechoslovak Air Force

On 1 January 1932, for his mandatory military service, he joined the cadet college at the Military Aviation Academy at Prostějov. He graduated in May 1933 as an aerial observer and was posted, at the rank of četař [Sgt] to the 10th Squadron of the 3rd ‘M. R. Štefánik’ Air Regiment, which was deployed at Nitra airbase, Slovakia, and equipped with Letov Š-328 dual-seat biplane reconnaissance aircraft.

On completion of that service, he decided to make his career in the military and was accepted for pilot training at the Military Academy at Hranice. He graduated from there on 1 July 1935, at the rank of poručík [P/O] and was posted to the 14th Observation sqn of the 2nd ‘Dr. Edvard Beneš‘Air Regiment who were deployed at Olomouc airbase.

Later he was posted to the Regiment’s 35th Fighter Sqn, who were equipped with Avia B-534 biplane fighter aircraft, the most advanced fighter used by the Czechoslovak Air Force.

There he finished his training as an operational fighter pilot by 1 April 1937 and had also completed a night flying training course. His leadership qualities had been noted by his superiors and on 31 August 1937 he was appointed interim Commander of the Regiment’s 33rd Fighter Squadron who were equipped with Avia B-534 biplane fighter aircraft. At the age of 26 he had become the youngest Commander in the Czechoslovak Air Force.

By March 1939 he had achieved by operating as a student pilot, observer, pilot, instructor and night-fighter, a total of 597.31 flying hours in 2067 flights.

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. Within a few days of their occupation, the Germans disbanded the Czechoslovak military and all personnel were dismissed.

Resistance

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 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 escape 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. Usually, this was by crossing the border from the Ostrava region into Poland.

Like many of his former Air Force colleagues, Karel could not reconcile himself to the Munich surrender and subsequent occupation. Amongst the now demobilised former members of the Czechoslovak military, rumours were being heard that Czechoslovak military units were being formed in Poland for the purpose of fighting for the freedom of their homeland. Karel responded to this news and investigated further. He was put in contact with the Obrana Národa. Karel was one of the many Czechoslovak airmen and soldiers who saw it was their patriotic duty to voluntarily go to Poland, from where they could participate in efforts to achieve the liberation of Czechoslovakia.

At the time of the occupation, the Czechoslovak Air Force had around 2,500–3,000 officers, NCOs and airmen (combat and ground). Between 1,200 and 1,500 Air Force personnel succeeded in escaping abroad in 1939–1940.

To Poland

With four other former Air Force colleagues – Egon Nezbeda, Jaroslav Podroužek, Felix Zbořil and Stanislav Zimprich – Karel made his decision to escape. The group travelled to Bílý kříž near the Slovak border and then posing as hikers went on foot, through the forests, and crossed over the border into Poland, near Horní Lomná, on 29 May. Their guide was Cyril Mach, a patriotic teacher from Rožnov pod Radhoštěm who also covertly guided military escapees to Poland.

There they were briefly interned at the border town of Cieszyn by the Polish Authorities before being transferred to Krakow on 3 June 1939 where they reported for duty at the Czechoslovak Consulate.

Disappointment in Poland

However, there Karel was 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, he learnt that Vladimír Znojemský, the Czechoslovak Consul, had, via his counterpart 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, they would be released from the Legion and transferred into French military units. The alternative was that they would be sent back to Czechoslovakia, now a German protectorate, where execution or deportation to a concentration camp would be the most likely outcome. Karel decided that his best choice was to go to France.

Initially, Karel and his fellow escapees were accommodated at the ‘Dom Turystczny’, a cheap tourist hostel near the Czechoslovak Consulate while preparations were made for their onward journey to France. The hostel was now overfull with Czechoslovaks, so they were then transferred to Bronowice Małe, a derelict former Polish Army barracks from the Austro-Hungarian era, on the outskirts of Krakow. This was then being utilised as a temporary transit camp for the escaped Czechoslovak military prior to their transfer to France. Karel arrived there on 3 June 1939, the 222nd Czechoslovak escapee to arrive. The barracks, which were in poor condition, were already well inhabited by Czechoslovak escapees who stayed while arrangements were made for their transportation, by sea, to France. In the meantime, there was very little for the escapees to do there apart from being patient, keeping fit, exercising and when possible, playing football against local teams.

With other Czechoslovak military colleagues, Karel and 138 other escapees left Małe Bronowice by train for the Polish Baltic port of Gdynia where, on 17 June 1939, they boarded the ‘SS Sobieski’, a Polish passenger ship which sailed via Dover, where the Czechoslovak military were not permitted to disembark, to Boulogne in France, arriving on the night of 19/20 June.

France

The Czechoslovak escapees were met at Boulogne by the Air Attaché from the Czechoslovak Consulate, Paris. Each escapee was given 20 francs to cover their immediate needs and after two days there, they travelled by train to Place Balard, Paris, the Legion’s recruitment centre. Here medical examinations were undertaken and documentation prepared for their enlistment. While there they were required to attend French classes and so any free time was usually spent in Paris exploring the sights and practising their newly-learnt French with the girls they met.

French Foreign Legion

Karel was accepted into the French Foreign Legion, at the rank of Sergent, and transferred to their transit centre at Fort St Jean at Marseille, on the French Mediterranean coast. On 7 August Karel and other Czechoslovaks boarded a transport ship which sailed to Oran on the Mediterranean coast of Algeria. At Oran they marched to the Legion’s barracks there where they awaited transport to the Legion’s training base at Sidi-bel-Abbès, some 35 miles south of Oran. There, Karel was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the Legion’s 1st Regiment.

L’Armée de l’Air

Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, and two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany as their ultimatum to Germany to withdraw from Poland had been ignored. With war now declared, the Czechoslovaks were released from their Legion service contract and transferred to French military units. On 6 September, Karel was released to the l’Armée de l’Air and transferred, at the rank of Sergent, to their Colonial Air Force at their airbase in Tunis, and from there on 10 September to their BA140 airbase at Blida, Algeria. Next posting was on 20 October to Centre d’Instruction de Chasse at La Senia airbase at Oran, Algeria, for training on MS-406 aircraft. He completed his retraining on 1 December and was awarded his l’Armée de l’Air pilots wings.

On 28 April he was posted to Groupe d’Instruction de Chasse at No 1, 2nd escadrille where he underwent advanced training and was a flying instructor. On 1 May 1940 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

The transfer planned for Czechoslovak airmen in Algeria, to join operational combat units on mainland France was delayed and only commenced when Germany invaded France on 10 May 1940. Karel sought to be posted to a unit which was now fighting on the front line and managed to get transferred to join GC I/6 at Lognes airbase, Paris, but he only managed to reach the Marignane airbase, at Marseille where, on 11 June 1940, he was instead posted to the GR4 /108 Reconnaissance unit. Karel was with the unit just 10 days, completing just 2 operational flights before France capitulated. On 22 June 1940, the day France capitulated, Karel was evacuated aboard a LEO-451 aircraft back to Oran, Algeria.

Evacuation to England

When France capitulated, Czechoslovak airmen were released from l’Armée de l’Air service. Karel and other Czechoslovak airmen, departed on a 4-day train journey to Casablanca, Morocco, and after a 5-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’ 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 at Liverpool, Karel’s first path, as for most of the Czechoslovaks, 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 8 miles to Cholmondeley Castle. Here they were housed in the grounds in a tented camp where they were security vetted.

Four days later he was posted to RAF Duxford to join the newly formed 310 [Czechoslovak] Squadron who were equipped with Hawker Hurricane Mk I’s fighter aircraft. Here he was assigned to the squadron’s reserve pool of pilots who were due to do their re-training to Hawker Hurricanes with the squadron.

With 310 Sqn becoming operational on 17 August 1940, it was no longer possible for re-training to be undertaken within the squadron due to shortages of aircraft and instructors. The reserve-pool pilots of 19 Czechoslovak pilot, including Karel, were posted to 6 OTU at RAF Sutton Bridge, on 17 August to continue their re-training.

There, Karel progressed to flying solo on a Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft and, having completed the re-training course, was awarded his RAF pilot’s wings.

The Battle of Britain was now in progress and there was an urgent need for fighter pilots. As a trained pilot he was quickly transferred to the Czechoslovak RAF Depot, Cosford, where, on 2 August 1940, he was admitted to the Volunteer Reserve of the RAF, with the rank of P/O, and began his RAF training and also English language classes.

Battle of Britain

Karel completed his retraining on 11 September and was posted to 43 Sqn at RAF Unsworth, near Sunderland, north-east England. The squadron had provided aerial defence in the Dunkirk evacuation and the early part of the Battle of Britain, and on 8 September, redeployed to RAF Unsworth to re-equip and recuperate. Karel, however, wanted a more active role and a week later he was posted to 46 Sqn at RAF Stapleford Tawney, near Romford, Essex which was the satellite airfield to RAF North Weald, where he was assigned to their ‘A’ Flight.

Karel made his first operational flight in the Battle on 22 September. That day at 16:50, ‘A’ flight were scrambled to intercept a low flying Luftwaffe Ju88 in the vicinity of the airfield but with the clouds they were unsuccessful in locating it. Karel was flying Hurricane N2480 but due to the bad visibility landed at RAF Martlesham Heath, near Ipswich at 17:50.

During the Battle of Britain, he achieved combat success. On 27 September, 46 Sqn attacked a formation of 20 Ju 88’s, from JG III /LG I, over North Kent at about 13:00. Karel was flying Hurricane V3429 on that patrol and in the dog-fight he achieved a probable Ju 88 near Horsham. But, later in the same dog-fight he was shot down by a Me 109 but managed to make a forced landing, with his engine damaged by enemy fire, at 13:10 near Rochester, Kent.

After the Battle

With the Battle of Britain officially finished on 31 October, 46 Sqn’s role was now operational patrols over south-east England and convoy patrols for Allied vessels in the Thames Estuary. During this period Karel was to achieve further combat success.

On 1 November 1940, 12 Hurricanes from 46 Sqn took-off, from RAF Stapleford, at 12:25 for a rendezvous over North Weald with 249 Sqn and 257 Sqn to patrol over the Maidstone area at 15,000 ft. Karel was flying Hurricane V3429. At about 13:30, in the vicinity of Hawkinge, Kent nine Me109’s, in loose vics formation of threes were sighted by red leader flying north-west at 32,000 ft. One of the Luftwaffe vic’s dived to attack – red leader and his section turned towards them in response. Thus, B flight lost sight of the leading section and became separated. In the resulting dog-fight, Karel made a quarter beam attack from above on a Me109 and damaged it, but was unable to press home the attack as he was forced to break away as he had another Me109 on his tail. Karel landed back at base at 14:00.

Karel was posted to the newly formed 313 (Czechoslovak) Sqn on 17 May 1941, at the rank of Acting F/Lt, and appointed Flight Commander of ‘A’ Flight. The squadron was based at Catterick who were equipped with Spitfire Ia’s.

On 15 December 1941 he was promoted to S/Ldr and appointed Commanding Officer of 313 Sqn. With 313 Sqn he achieved combat success:

Combat with the Regia Aeronautica

On 9 November 1940, 46 Sqn redeployed to nearby RAF North Weald. Two days later, whilst flying Hurricane V7610, Karel downed two Cr42 biplane fighter aircraft, of the Regia Aeronautica [Italian Air Force], into the North Sea off Orford Ness, Suffolk.

That day 12 Hurricanes took-off at 13:00 to patrol the coasts off Foulness Island, Essex. At about 14:00, whilst flying north-east in the vicinity of Northordness, the squadron received orders to climb above cloud to 12,000 ft and intercept approaching enemy aircraft.

Nine Italian bombers [Fiat Br 20’s] were sighted approaching the coast in a large V formation of seven, led by two others some considerable distance ahead. Somewhat delayed by the investigation of an approaching fighter squadron, which proved friendly, 46 Sqn had to make a wide circuit to attack the bombers. The other squadron, [257] was attacking from the enemy’s starboard [right-hand side], so the Hurricanes attacked from the port [left-hand side]. At that time 20 – 30 Fiat Cr42 fighter escorts then attacked the Hurricanes from above and behind. A general dog flight followed, resulting in a complete rout of the Italian aircraft. It was a memorable combat for 46 Sqn, six of the Italian aircraft were shot down, 3 Br20 and 3 Cr42’s, two of which were downed by Karel. A further two Cr-42’s were damaged with no losses to 46 Sqn.

Karel recalls: “I sighted a number of twin-engined bombers in five sections of three and I identified them as Fiat Br 20. The Italians veered eastwards towards Southend then making a slanting dive to Margate, the Dover straits and Calais. As they turned away, I saw 3 Br20’s go down in flames followed by their crews in parachutes. At that moment I saw about 30 to 40 unknown biplanes which I realised was a gaggle of CR42’s supposedly protecting the bombers. As they (the CR42’s) crossed my path without seeing me, I gave the second a short burst at full deflection – it went down like a fire ball. The other turned to fight – due to its great manoeuvrability, it kept getting on my tail, but after a series of successive bursts, I saw it begin to smoke and flame.”

The 1st Cr42 fell into the sea 4 miles from Orford Ness, and the 2nd, 3 miles from Orford Ness. After the 1st claim, he also noticed another CR32 crash into the sea nearby. Apparently, the one attacked by Gauce. After the combat, he had to put the Hurricane nose down and re-cross the coast to land at Rochester with empty fuel tanks and 10 bullet holes in the wing and fuselage. He refuelled and returned safely to North Weald at 15:10.

On 29 November Karel was joined at 46 Sqn by fellow Czechoslovak pilots Josef Gutvald and Lladislav Uher and on 15 December by Sgts Prokop Brazda and Jiří Řeznicek. Karel’s next promotion, to F/O, was on 27 December 1940.

In May 1941, 46 Sqn was withdrawn from front line duties in preparation for redeployment to the Middle East. The Czechoslovak Inspectorate General [CGI] in London had previously restricted its personnel to only the United Kingdom for operational duties. This meant that the squadron’s Czechoslovak pilots were posted to other squadrons: Brazda to 43 Sqn, Gutvald to 3 Sqn, Řezníček I can’t find the accented letters on my pc to 17 Sqn, Uher to 257 Sqn and Karel to 313 Sqn.

To 313 [Czechoslovak] Sqn

Date	Time	Spitfire	Action
28.03.42	17:25	P8531 ‘R’	a Me 109E victory, near Guines-Calais, France.
12.04.42	13:35	BM117 ‘A’	a Fw 190A damaged, near Hazerbrouck, France.
23.06.42	19:10	BM419 ‘A’	a Fw 190A damaged at 19:10, near Ilde de Batz, France.
28.08.42	09:50	AR502	a shared Me 109F4 victory over the English Channel.

Following the loss of W/Cmdr Alois Vašátko, the Commanding Officer of the Czechoslovak Fighter Wing at Exeter, in combat on 26 June 1942, Karel was promoted to W/Cmdr and given command of the Wing.

Czechoslovak Fighter Wing

The Czechoslovak Fighter Wing comprised the three Czechoslovak fighter squadrons – 310, 312 and 313 – and were deployed at RAF Exeter, Devon. They were equipped with Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb’s. The Wing’s role was to provide fighter protection to Allied bombers on bombing raids, known as ‘Ramrods’ or offensive fighter sweeps, known as ‘Rodeo’s, over Northern France.

For Operation Jubilee, the ill-fated assault on the Channel port of Dieppe, France, the Wing, led by Karel, redeployed to RAF Redhill, just South of London on 16 August. On 19 August 1942, with other RAF squadrons, provided fighter cover for the Allied ships of that raid. The following day the Wing returned to RAF Exeter.

On 18 December 1942, Karel was the first Czechoslovak to be awarded the British Distinguished Service Order [DSO] medal.

As with some other pilots, operational flying was affecting Karel’s health, and for medical reasons, he was unable to continue flying. He was posted from 313 Sqn on 31 March 1943 for a ground duty role. In RAF service, he had flown 338 hrs 40 min operational hours in 261 sorties; 143 of these hours, in 93 sorties, had been over enemy territory.

On 1 April 1943 he was posted to RAF Culmhead, near Church Stanton, Somerset, as Station Commander, a post he held till 24 May 1943. He was then posted to the RAF Staff College at Gerrards Cross, some 20 miles north-west of London for staff duties.

Czechoslovak Inspectorate General

On 1 April 1945 he was posted to the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General [CIG] where, at the rank of Acting Group Captain, Karel was appointed Czechoslovak Liaison Officer with RAF Fighter Command in their Operations Department.

Return to Czechoslovakia

Karel returned to Czechoslovakia on 1 July 1945 at his final RAF rank of W/Cmdr. There he was reunited with his family, who with the exception of his brothers had survived the war. Emilian, his youngest brother had been killed whilst in RAF service in 1943 and Rudolf his eldest brother had been killed by Soviet shelling during the liberation of Brno in March 1945. This survival was mainly because Emil, Karel’s father, had taken proactive measures during the Nazi occupation, which were instrumental in safeguarding his family. When his sons Karel and Emilian had escaped from Czechoslovakia in 1939 to join the resistance abroad, Emil had reported their disappearance to the Nazi authorities, portraying them as wayward sons. This strategic move helped shield the family from Nazi persecution.

On returning to Czechoslovakia, Karel was posted to the Czechoslovak Air Force HQ in Prague, where he served in the Operations Department. On 1 August 1945, he was promoted to the Czechoslovak Air Force rank of podplukovník (W/Cmdr) and on 28 October 1945 was appointed Commander of the 3rd Air Regiment in Brno, but two days later, he was recalled to Prague to attend a course at the Air Force Staff College. Karel graduated from the course on 14 July 1946 and on 22 July, he returned to the 3rd Air Regiment as its Commander at the rank of plukovník [G/Cpt].

During the period leading up to February 1948, Karel had reservations about the post-war political developments in Czechoslovakia and the adoption of Soviet models in the rebuilding of the Czechoslovak military. He was openly critical of the rising influence of Soviet Russia on Czechoslovakia.

Communist putsch

Following the Communist takeover 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. In Karel’s case, he was relieved of his Command on 27 March 1948 and on 1 May, placed on waiting leave from the Air Force.

Due to suspicion of preparing to escape to the west, he was arrested by the StB – Státní bezpečnost, the state secret service – and detained for two months at the Loretta at Hradčany, Prague, awaiting trial. Due to lack of evidence, the case was dismissed. Despite that, he was not re-instated back to the Air Force and instead was demoted and dismissed on 1 November 1948. This was a situation of particular bitterness to Karel as the person who signed his dismissal notice at the Ministry of Defence was General Ludvik Svoboda, a man that had previously been one of his favourite tutors and who he had respect for.

In 1949, on the advice of his doctor, he moved from Brno because of the unhealthy air there and moved to Jablonec nad Nisou, some 90km north-east of Prague. There after several menial jobs, Karel managed to find employment, in 1952, as the Head of the tool management department at Autobrzdy, a company manufacturing vehicle brake components. He remained there until his retirement in 1974.

He was an active member of Svazu protifašistických bojovníků.[Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters] like many of his former RAF colleagues. In that capacity he was permitted by the Czechoslovak authorities to attend several RAF re-unions in England. However, despite his case being dismissed in 1948, the StB maintained a constant observation on Karel as ‘political unreliable and an enemy of the people’. in the category PO (person under investigation) due to suspicion of collaboration with a foreign intelligence service. The suspicion was not confirmed and the file was only archived on 5 June 1985.

After the Velvet Revolution, in November 1989, Karel was fully rehabilitated, and on 1 May 1990, together with fellow former RAF colleagues František Fajtl and Pavel Kocfelda, he was promoted to the rank of Generálmajor ve výslužbě. [Major General in retirement]. He was one of the instigators in the re-establishment of the Svazu letců [Airmen’s Union], which had been banned during the Communist regime, and was awarded the Order of General M. R. Štefánik, grade III. From April 1990, he became the Honorary Chairman of Svazu letců. In 1992, the Mayor of the city awarded him the title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Jablonec nad Nisou.

Wing Commander Karel Mrázek died on 5 December 1998 at Jablonec nad Nissou, Czech Republic, aged 88.

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Medals Awarded

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British:

Distinguished Service Order

Distinguished Flying Cross

1939 – 45 Star with Battle of Britain clasp

Air Crew Europe Star

France and Germany Star

Defence Medal

1939-1945 War Medal

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Czechoslovakia:

Válečný kříž 1939 and 3 bars

Za chrabrost and 2 bars

Za zásluhy I.stupně

Pamětní medaile se štítky F–VB

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France:

Croix de Guerre avec palme

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Remembered

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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:

Karel 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:

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Czech Republic:

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Nachod:

At Nachod, his birth town, a memorial plaque for him was unveiled on 29 August 2024.

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Prague 1 – Klárov:

In November 2017, his name, along with the names of 2524 other Czechoslovak men and women who had served in the RAF during WW2, was unveiled at the Winged Lion Monument at Klárov, Prague 1.

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Article last updated: 30.10.2025.