For their
next 'RAF, Dominion & Allied Squadron' book, RAF-in-Combat has chosen what is
probably one of the least successful fighter squadrons to operate in the RAF
during WWII. When Czechoslovakia was annexed by the Germans in 1938, many Czech
Air Force pilots and crew fled the country. Some went to Poland while others
went to France. Especially in France, they were quite successful against the
German Air Force and several pilots racked up some commendable scores. With the
fall of France, the only place left in Europe that was fighting was the British
so these men did what they could to escape to the UK.
While there, they formed two fighter and one bomber squadron. There were
enough men to properly man these three squadrons. However, as often happens,
politics comes into play and the Czech government in exile wanted to add another
fighter squadron so there could be a Czech fighter wing.
Unfortunately, there were not enough Czech pilots to fill their needs
and so RAF pilots and ground crew were used to help to make up for the
shortages. The unit was formed in 1941 and while they did get the most modern
Spitfires, their
success in
the air was singularly unremarkable. It was only in 1942, while flying the
Spitfire V that they got any air to air victories and that amounted to 17
planes. Later, during the V-1 assault, they managed to shoot down a single
example. When the Soviets started forming Czech squadrons, many Czech pilots
left the RAF to join these units, putting manning at an even more perilous
level. As with most foreign units, after the war the squadron was disbanded and
sent home.
This book follows pretty much the same scenario as others in this series
with a brief history of the unit and then images of pilots and planes. This
includes some superb color profiles as well as some rare color photographs.
There is a victory list, a list of aircraft lost on operations and several other
tables. In all, an excellent study on this unit.
September 2015
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