František Fajtl
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Lieutenant General František Fajtl (20 August 1912 - 4 October 2006) was a Czech fighter pilot during World War II. He commanded a squadron in the Royal Air Force, and led a group of Czechoslovak fighter pilots who flew Soviet aircraft from 1944. He was dismissed from the Czechoslovakian Air Force after the Communists came to power in 1948, and was only fully rehabilitated after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. He wrote many autobiographical books about his wartime experiences, and was an inspiration for the 2001 film Tmavomodrý svět (Dark Blue World).
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[edit] Early life
Fajtl was born in Donín in northern Bohemia, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until after the First World War, and now is in the Czech Republic. He trained at the military academy in Hranice na Moravě from 1933, in what had become by then the state of Czechoslovakia. He became lieutenant pilot in the Czechoslovakian Air Force in 1935, flying observation biplanes with No. 63 Squadron in the 2nd Air Regiment, based at Olomouc in Moravia.
[edit] Second World War
After Nazi Germany annexed first the Sudetenland in September 1938 and then the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Fajtl escaped via Poland to France, where he briefly flew Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighters with the French Air Force in May 1940. He escaped to North Africa after the defeat of France, and moved on to the UK, where he joined the RAF in September 1940. He went on to shoot down four German airplanes during the Battle of Britain. He was a member of No. 1 Squadron at RAF Northolt and then No. 17 Squadron, flying Hawker Hurricanes. He transferred to No. 313 Squadron, which was formed at RAF Catterick in May 1941 from Czechoslovakian pilots flying Spitfires. The squadron moved to Cornwall to escort bombers attacking north-west France, and then squadron to RAF Hornchurch in December 1941, to conduct ground attack operations in the Pas de Calais.
Despite some apprehension at the foreign pilots flying in the RAF, his leadership was recognised, and he was promoted to Squadron Leader to command No. 122 Squadron in 1942. He was shot down near Hazebrouck in northern France on 5 May 1942, while escorting bombers attacking Lille. He escaped via Paris, through Vichy France, over the Pyrenees. He was captured in Spain and held in the camp at Miranda de Ebro; after a few weeks, he was released to Gibraltar, and returned to the UK. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in November 1942, and promoted to Wing Commander. He commanded the fighter station at RAF Skeabrae in the Orkney Islands, but dropped a rank to return to command No. 313 Squadron, flying Spitfires from RAF Ibsley.
In January 1944, he led a group of 21 other Czechoslovak airmen to the Soviet Union, to form a unit that flew Lavochkin La-5 fighters in the 1st Czechoslovak Fighter Air Regiment from June 1944. The new unit saw action in late 1944 and early 1945, in support of the Slovak National Uprising and also in Moravia.
[edit] Post-war
Fajtl was treated as a hero on his return to Prague in 1945, but was dismissed from the Czechoslovak Air Force after the Communists came to power in 1948. He was arrested by the Stalinist government in 1950, because of his connections to Britain. He spent 17 months in a labour camp at Mírov. For many years, he was forced to live outside Prague and was subject to many other restrictions. He was partially rehabilitated in 1964, but was only restored to his rank after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. As a result of his wartime service, he held four Czechoslovak War Crosses (Československý válečný kříž), the British Distinguished Flying Cross, the French Légion d'honneur, the Order of the Slovak National Uprising, First Class (Řád Slovenského národního povstání, 1. třídy), and the Czech Victory Medal (Řád Za vítězství). He was awarded the highest Czech honour, the Order of the White Lion, Military Division, Third Class (Řád bílého lva) by Czech President Václav Klaus in 2004.
He wrote many autobiographical books about his wartime experiences, including Bitva o Británii ("Battle of Britain", 1991), Létal jsem s Třistatřináctkou ("I flew with the 313rd", 1991), Sestřelen ("Shot down", 1991), Generál nebe ("General of the sky", 1992), První doma ("Home for the first time"), Opět doma ("Home again"), Vzpomínky na padlé kamarády ("Memories of comrades killed in the war"), Boje a návraty ("Fighting and coming home"), Dva údery pod pás ("Two deep hits"), and Pouta nebes ("Shackles of heaven"). He was an inspiration for the 2001 film Tmavomodrý svět (Dark Blue World).
He died in Prague, survived by his wife, Hana, and two daughters.
