Jaroslav Šrámek

Colonel Jaroslav Šrámek (3 May 1929 – 16 February 2015^[1]) was a Czechoslovak fighter pilot, active during the Cold War. He is known as the only pilot from the Czechoslovak Air Force ever to have shot down an enemy jet-propelled plane.^[2] He flew more than 2,000 operational hours during his career, which spanned 1951 to 1989.

Career

Early career

Šrámek had an interest in aviation from a young age, making model aircraft as a child. After graduating from secondary school, he attended the Czechoslovak Air Force Academy, a move which began his career in aviation.^[3]

Air battle over Merklín

On 10 March 1953, Šrámek had been flying close to the town of Domažlice in the west of Bohemia.^[2][4] His unit was assigned to patrol the edge of Czechoslovak airspace, close to the frontier with West Germany.^[4] Šrámek, who was flying a MiG-15, encountered two American F-84 Thunderjet planes above Merklín, a small village within Czechoslovak territory.^[4] The two American aircraft split, and one escaped. The remaining craft was piloted by Lt. Warren G. A. Brown, a veteran of the Korean War.^[5] No missiles were fired; Šrámek fired two cannon shots. The American plane sustained two hits, with the second one, from the N-37 cannon, causing a fire to break out.^[4][5] Brown ejected from the aircraft, which crash-landed in German territory, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the border, and survived.^[4]

Late career

Later in his career, Šrámek became the first Czechoslovak to fly the MiG-23.^[3] He flew in the Czechoslovak Air Force until the 1980s, where he piloted MiG-23 aircraft. He described the MiG-23 as the best aircraft he had flown, because "it was the fastest".^[5] Šrámek ended his career with a total of 2,353 flight hours.^[3]

References