No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF
No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Hussite battle cry) | |
Insignia | |
Squadron badge | A thresher and a morning star in saltire, the halves fracted. |
Squadron codes | KX (July 1940 – April 1942)[1] PP (1945 – February 1946)[2] |
Aircraft flown | |
Bomber | Vickers Wellington Consolidated Liberator |
No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF was a Czechoslovak-manned bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. It was the RAF's only Czechoslovak-manned medium and heavy bomber squadron. It suffered the heaviest losses of any Czechoslovak formation in the RAF. In the Second World War 511 Czechoslovaks serving in Allied air forces were killed. Of these 273 (53%) died while serving with 311 Squadron.[3]
After the end of the war, 311 Squadron was disbanded as an RAF unit and became the 6 letecká divize ("6th Air Division") of the reformed Czechoslovak Air Force.
History
Bomber Command
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Three_Wellington_Mk_ICs_of_No._311_%28Czechoslovak%29_Squadron_RAF_based_at_East_Wretham%2C_Norfolk%2C_March_1941._CH2265.jpg/220px-Three_Wellington_Mk_ICs_of_No._311_%28Czechoslovak%29_Squadron_RAF_based_at_East_Wretham%2C_Norfolk%2C_March_1941._CH2265.jpg)
The squadron was formed at
The squadron was equipped initially with Vickers Wellington Mark I medium bombers, which were soon succeeded by the improved Wellington Marks IA and IC.[5]
From 16 September 1940 the squadron was based at RAF East Wretham in Norfolk as part of Bomber Command's No. 3 Group,[9] The group's commanding officer was Air Vice-Marshal John Baldwin who said that 311 Squadron "put up a wonderful show" and had "the finest navigators in Bomber Command".[10]
On 18 January 1941 HM King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth visited the squadron at East Wretham.[11]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1972-019-88%2C_Beuteflugzeug%2C_Vickers_Wellington.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1972-019-88%2C_Beuteflugzeug%2C_Vickers_Wellington.jpg)
On 6 February 1941 six of the squadron's Wellington Mk IC aircraft took part in a raid on
On 20 June 1941 the squadron gave a dinner for the President of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, Edvard Beneš. Other guests included Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk and Defence Minister, General Antonín Hasal-Nižborský.[15]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Czech_Wellington_crew_WWII_IWM_CH_2187.jpg/220px-Czech_Wellington_crew_WWII_IWM_CH_2187.jpg)
311 Squadron was with Bomber Command for 19 months. In that time it flew 1,029 sorties, attacked 77 targets, dropped 2,492,600 lb (1,130,600 kg) of explosive bombs and 95,438 incendiary bombs.[16] It attacked targets in Germany, Italy, and occupied Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Its most frequent targets were Cologne, Hamburg and Kiel in Germany and Dunkirk, Brest and Boulogne in France.[17]
The squadron deployed 318 airmen formed into 53 aircrew. 94 were killed on operations and 34 were captured: a loss rate of more than 40%.[16] Unlike crews drawn from Britain or the Commonwealth nations, there were no Czechoslovakian replacement crews arriving to fill the ranks of the lost. To keep the squadron functional, it would have to be put to a different use.
Coastal Command
At the end of April 1942 the squadron was transferred from Bomber Command to
Throughout July and August the squadron's Wellingtons remained in night bomber Temperate Land Scheme camouflage: dark green and dark earth above, and black below. This was unsuitable for maritime patrols, but not until September 1942 were the aircraft repainted in Coastal Command's Temperate Sea Scheme: dark slate grey and extra dark sea grey above, and white below.[22]
In April 1943 the squadron was partly re-equipped with five Wellington Mark X aircraft.[23] This could carry two torpedoes or 3,999 lb (1,814 kg) of bombs,[24] but it was primarily a Bomber Command variant, not designed for maritime patrol work. Air Vice-Marshal Karel Janoušek, Inspector-General of the Czechoslovak Air Force, eventually convinced the British Air Ministry to re-equip the squadron with Consolidated Liberator 4-engined heavy bombers, as these had radar and a longer range, both of which made them more suitable for maritime patrols.[21] Retraining flights began on 25 May[21] and continued until August.[25]
On 26 May 1943 the squadron moved to
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/German_freighter_burning_in_Bay_of_Biscay_Dec_1943.jpg/170px-German_freighter_burning_in_Bay_of_Biscay_Dec_1943.jpg)
On 21 August 1943 the squadron began maritime patrols with Consolidated Liberator GR Mk V aircraft and continued anti-submarine work, but now over the Bay of Biscay.[5][25] On 10 November Liberator BZ774/D, led by Flight sergeanrt Otto Žanta, attacked German submarine U-966 with rocket projectiles (RP's) off the Galician coast. The submarine ran aground and her crew abandoned her.[26]
On 27 December 1943 Liberator BZ796/H, led by Plt Off Oldřich Doležal, attacked the German blockade runner Alsterufer in the Bay of Biscay. Doležal's crew set the cargo ship on fire with five RPs and a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb, and she sank the next day.[27]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Coastal_Command_CH18520.jpg/220px-Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Coastal_Command_CH18520.jpg)
In February 1944 the squadron was re-equipped with nine Liberator C Mk VI aircraft.[5][28] On 23 February it moved to RAF Predannack in Cornwall. On 24 June Liberator FL961/O led by Flying Officer Jan Vella, along with the Tribal-class destroyers HMS Eskimo and HMCS Haida, attacked and sank U-971 just west of the English Channel.[29][30]
On 7 August 1944 the squadron transferred to
In February 1945 the squadron was re-equipped, again with Liberator C Mk VI aircraft but now equipped with anti-submarine Leigh Lights.[34] In March the entire squadron took part in the "Chilli-II" and "Chilli-III" raids on German submarine training areas in the Baltic.[35]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Scholz_R_StokeRow_StJohnE.jpg/170px-Scholz_R_StokeRow_StJohnE.jpg)
311 Squadron was with Coastal Command for 38 months, in which time it flew 2,111 sorties.
Peacetime transport
After the End of World War II in Europe, on 26 May 1945 the Czechoslovak government-in-exile formed the Letecká dopravní skupina ("Air Transport Group"), and recruited most of its personnel from 311 Squadron. Its initial aircraft were two Avro Anson C XII aircraft bought from the RAF. On 12 June 1945 the unit began flights to Ruzyně Airport, Prague.[40] By October the Letecká dopravní skupina had also acquired a number of Siebel Si 204D aircraft seized from Germany as war reparations.[41]
On 25 June 1945 the remainder of 311 Squadron was transferred to RAF Transport Command's No. 301 Wing. It too flew transport flights to Ruzyně Airport, the first being on 30 July from RAF Manston in Kent,[40] where the squadron was based from 3 August.[42] On 21 August the squadron relocated to Ruzynĕ.[43] The squadron first transferred military equipment and personnel from the UK to Czechoslovakia. It then repatriated Czechoslovak civilians.[44]
Czechoslovak runways were found to be unsuitable for Liberators. Therefore, in December 1945 all those of 311 squadron were returned to the UK, landing at RAF Valley in Wales.[45]
311 Squadron was officially disbanded as an RAF unit at RAF Milltown in Moray, Scotland on 15 February 1946.[5][46][47] Most of its personnel had transferred to the Czechoslovak Air Force in August 1945, and in Czechoslovakia the unit was officially disbanded on 15 January 1946, but its personnel were not officially discharged from the RAF until 30 June 1946.[47]
On 15 January 1946 311 Squadron became the Czechoslovak 6 letecká divize ("6th Air Division") at Havlíčkův Brod in southeastern Bohemia. In May it was divided into Letecký pluk 24 and Letecký pluk 25 ("24th and 25th Air Regiments"). Letecký pluk 24 was given the name Biskajsky ("Biscay") and initially equipped with de Havilland Mosquito FB Mk VI fighter-bombers. Letecký pluk 25 was given the name Atlantický ("Atlantic") and equipped with Petlyakov Pe-2FT aircraft.[47]
Squadron codes
This squadron displayed the squadron code letters "KX" and later "PP" on its Wellingtons and "PP" on its Liberators.[5][48]
Commanding officers
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Karel_Mares_1929.jpg/170px-Karel_Mares_1929.jpg)
From | To | Name |
---|---|---|
July 1940 | November 1940 | W/Cdr John Griffiths, DFC[49] |
July 1940 | March 1941 | W/Cdr Karel Toman-Mareš |
1941 | 1941 | Sqn Ldr Percy Charles Pickard, DFC[50] |
March 1941 | July 1941 | W/Cdr Josef Schejbal |
July 1941 | April 1942 | W/Cdr Josef Ocelka, DFC |
April 1942 | January 1943 | W/Cdr Josef Šnajdr, DFC |
January 1943 | August 1943 | W/Cdr Jindřich Breitcetl, DFC |
August 1943 | January 1944 | W/Cdr Vladimír Nedvěd, MBE, DFC |
January 1944 | August 1944 | W/Cdr Josef Šejbl, DFC |
August 1944 | February 1946 | W/Cdr Jan Kostohryz, DSO |
Squadron bases
Period | Name |
---|---|
29 July 1940 – 16 September 1940 | RAF Honington |
16 September 1940 – 28 April 1942 | RAF East Wretham |
28 April 1942 – 12 June 1942 | RAF Aldergrove
|
12 June 1942 – 26 May 1943 | RAF Talbenny |
26 May 1943 – 23 February 1944 | RAF Beaulieu |
23 February 1944 – 7 August 1944 | RAF Predannack |
7 August 1944 – 6 August 1945 | RAF Tain
|
6 August 1945 – 21 August 1945 | RAF Manston |
21 August 1945 – 15 February 1946 | Ruzyně Airport, Prague |
Aircraft operated
Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1940–43 | Vickers Wellington | I IA IC X |
Twin-engined medium bomber |
1943 1943–45 1945–46 |
Consolidated B-24 Liberator | IIIA V VI |
Four-engined heavy bomber |
Notable incidents
1942 Wellington crash
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Vickers_Wellington_-_RAF_Bomber_Command_1940_HU104763.jpg/220px-Vickers_Wellington_-_RAF_Bomber_Command_1940_HU104763.jpg)
On 18 October 1942 Wellington 1C aircraft of 311 Squadron crashed and burst into flames at South Ruislip, Middlesex, on approach to RAF Northolt. The aircraft was en route to a debriefing and was carrying nine passengers as well as its usual crew of six. Everyone aboard was killed, along with four children and two mothers on the ground.[52][53][54]
1945 Liberator crash
On 8 October 1945 a Liberator GR.VI aircraft of 311 Squadron suffered an engine fire, crashed and burst into flames[41] in a field at Elvetham, near Hartley Wintney, Hampshire. Five minutes earlier it had taken off from RAF Blackbushe on a flight to Ruzyně Airport, Prague. All 23 people aboard were killed: five crew, 17 passengers and one stowaway. The passengers included nine women and five young children,[45] the latter ranging from 18 months to three years old.[55][56]
Legacy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/American_Aircraft_in_Royal_Air_Force_Service_1939-1945-_Consolidated_Liberator_GR_Mark_IIIA._CH9582.jpg/220px-American_Aircraft_in_Royal_Air_Force_Service_1939-1945-_Consolidated_Liberator_GR_Mark_IIIA._CH9582.jpg)
In 1964, 311 Squadron veteran Richard Husmann, writing as Filip Jánský, published his novel Nebeští jezdci, portraying the lives of Czech and Polish airmen in the wartime RAF. In 1968 a
In 1999 the Air Café commemorating No. 311 Squadron RAF opened in Brno, South Moravia. It is in the early 17th-century Dietrichstein Palace, which also houses the Moravian Museum.[58] The café exhibits a small collection of memorabilia connected with the Czechoslovak-manned squadron.[59]
In February 2016 the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group, USAF, Kabul, Afghanistan, was renamed 311th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, to follow in the traditions of the squadron, under Czech Air Force command.[60] This 311 Squadron was disbanded in February 2019.[61]
See also
- Charles Pickard
- Jindřich Svoboda
- Arnošt Valenta
- Tomáš Lom
- List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
References
Notes
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 64.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 83.
- ^ Ludikar, Marcel (18 September 2014). "A short history of the Czechoslovak Air Force in WW2 and the Post-War Period". Free Czechoslovak Air Force. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ Halley 1988, p. 362.
- ^ a b c d e f Lewis 1968, p. 96.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 4.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 3.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 5.
- ^ "311 Squadron". History RAF Formations. Ministry of Defence.
- ^ Janoušek 1942, p. 12.
- ^ Vančata 2013, pp. 15–16.
- ^ "Arnost Valenta – One of the Fifty". Free Czechoslovak Air Force. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 16.
- ^ Vančata 2013, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 20.
- ^ a b Vančata 2013, p. 41.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 94.
- ^ Vančata 2013, pp. 41–42.
- ^ a b Vančata 2013, p. 43.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 44.
- ^ a b c Vančata 2013, p. 57.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 47.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 54.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 95.
- ^ a b c Vančata 2013, p. 59.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 63.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 64.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 65.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 68.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-971". uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 90.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 77.
- ^ a b Vančata 2013, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 73.
- ^ a b Vančata 2013, p. 74.
- ^ "Not Forgotten – Southern England". Free Czechoslovak Air Force Association. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 92.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 87.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 99.
- ^ a b Vančata 2013, p. 80.
- ^ a b Vančata 2013, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 81.
- ^ Rijnhout & Rennison 1980, p. 92.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 82.
- ^ a b Vančata 2013, p. 83.
- ^ Rawlings 1982, p. 199.
- ^ a b c Vančata 2013, p. 84.
- ^ "No 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
- ^ Hurt 2004[page needed]
- ^ Short 2004[page needed]
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 85.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 51.
- ^ "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 66571". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ Street (24 January 2006). "Wellington Crash October 1942". WW2 People's War. BBC Online. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ "Crash in Hampshire". The Times. No. 50267. London. 8 October 1945. p. 4.
- ^ "Mystery of 23rd body in blazing 'plane wreck". The Scotsman. 8 October 1945.
- ^ Kucera, Pawel (September 2001). "Recreating a Wimpy". Aeroplane Monthly: 72–75.
- ^ Moravian Museum
- ^ Air Café
- ^ "Air unit in Afghanistan renamed to follow in the tradition of 311th Czechoslovak Bomber Squadron RAF". Czech Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ "311 Squadron recognised for their work in Afghanistan". RAF News. Royal Air Force. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
Bibliography
- Bowyer, Michael JF; Rawlings, John DR (1979). Squadron Codes 1937–56. Bar Hill: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Čapka, Jo; MacDonald, Kendall (1958). Red Sky at Night, the Story of Jo Čapka, DFM. London: Anthony Blond.
- Halley, James J (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge: ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Hurt, Zdeněk (2004). In Focus: Czechs in the RAF. Walton-on-Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 0-9538061-9-7.
- Janoušek, Karel (1942). The Czechoslovak Air Force. London: Inspectorate-General of the Czechoslovak Air Force.
- Jefford, Wg Cdr CG (2001) [1998]. RAF Squadrons, A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (second ed.). Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84037-141-3.
- Lewis, Peter (1968) [1959]. Squadron Histories, RFC, RNAS and RAF, Since 1912. London: Putnam. SBN 370-00022-6.
- Moyes, Philip JR (1976) [1964]. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft (new ed.). London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
- Rawlings, John DR (1982). Coastal Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft (new ed.). London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01028-X.
- Rijnhout, Bart M (1979). Het mysterie van de L 7788. Oud-bemanning even terug op plek des onheils... (in Dutch). Leidschendam: House Printing Unit HTM.
- Rijnhout, Bart M; Rennison, John P (1980). The Sky is our Ocean. De rol van het 311 (Tsjechisch) R.A.F.-squadron tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Rotterdam: Wyt Uitgeverij. ISBN 90-6007-141-7.
- Short, K.R.M. (2004). "Pickard, Percy Charles (1915-1944)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/62384. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Vančata, Pavel (2013). 311 Squadron. Sandomierz: Stratus, for Mushroom Model Publications. ISBN 978-83-61421-43-6.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF". RAF Bomber Command 1939 – 1945. RAF Commands. 2013. – movement and equipment history with Bomber Command
- "No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF". RAF Coastal Command 1939 – 1945. RAF Commands. 2013. – movement and equipment history with Coastal Command
- Air Cafe in Brno, a cafe to commemorate the Czech manned squadron with a small exhibition of memorabilia