| Jan K Ambrus | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 May 1899 Gorna Mitropolia, Bulgaria |
| Died | 2 January 1994 (aged 94) Chicago, USA |
| Allegiance | Czechoslovakia |
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1939-1946 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Unit | No. 310 Squadron RAF No. 312 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | OBE |
Wing Commander Jan K Ambrus (1899–1994)OBE was a Czechoslovakian fighter pilot who flew with the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain.[1]
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Ambrus was born in Gorna Mitropolia, Bulgaria in 1899. After leaving school, he studied at the Budapest Academy Lodovika Military Academy. Upon graduation in 1923, he was commissioned as an officer in the Czechoslovakian Air Forcem.[2]
In 1938, Ambrus was commanding officer of the Czech Air Force Test Group in Prague. He was a highly resepcted pilot and had won awards at aerobatic competitions, inclding at Vincennes in 1934, and at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Among the medals award to Gen. Ambrus was the Order of the British Empire.
In 1939, he became a squadron commander in Prague. After serving in France in mid 1940, Squadron Leader Ambrus was posted to command No 312 (Czech) Squadron RAF at Duxford in September 1940.
He was posted to the Czech Ministry of Defence in December 1940 and became the Czech Air Attaché in Canada during 1943-45 with the rank of Wing Commander, settling there after the war.
After the war he became commander of the 4th Aviation military wing.
He left Czechoslovakia after the Communist takeover. Ambrus emigrated to the USA in 1948, and settled in Chicago.He worked as a design engineer, planning for highways, airports, air-pollution control systems and chemical plants.
He died, aged 94, at the Bohemian Home for the Aged in Chicago, where he had been resident since 1985.[3] After his death his remains were repatriated to his homeland and buried in the Slavičím valley, near Bratislava (in the present-day Slovak Republic).[4]
Ambrus was awarded the following:[5]