RETURN OF AIRMEN TO PRAGUE (AUGUST 1945)
Around 2,400 Czechoslovaks served in the British Royal Air Force during the Second World War, 531 of whom tragically died. They returned to their homeland gradually after the end of the war in Europe on 8 May 1945. The Czechoslovak fighter wing was ceremonially welcomed at Prague-Ruzyně Airport on 13 August 1945. 54 fighter pilots arrived in their homeland that day. They had been leaving for exile shortly after the occupation of the country in March 1939. By various, often harrowing, routes.
Some six and a half years had passed since the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany on 15 March 1939 before Czechoslovak airmen from Great Britain could return to their homeland. They fought for freedom in the Czechoslovak No. 310, 312 and 313 fighter squadrons, the No. 311 bomber squadron, the No. 68 night fighter squadron, the 1429 operational-training squadron (No 1429 Czechoslovak Operation Training Flight) and other units of the British Royal Air Force. And then there are members of the ground staff, about whom not so much is written or talked about, who remain somewhat forgotten, although they deserve recognition without any doubt.
The first to arrive was the commander of the Czechoslovak fighter wing, Jaroslav Hlaďo. His personal aircraft, a Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX passenger plane with the code letters HL was met at the Ruzyně airport by the Minister of National Defence, Army General Ludvík Svoboda, accompanied by the commander of the Czechoslovak air force in Great Britain, Divisional General Karel Janoušek. Their presence was recorded on a film strip by Karel Lamač, a popular director of comedy films from interwar Czechoslovakia, which still find their audience to this day. Lamač was active in the Czechoslovak army in Great Britain and is the author of several documentaries and feature films from the time of the global conflict. The most famous of these is his anti-Nazi satire Švejk bourá Německo [Švejk Is Destroying Germany], which he made in 1943.
The ceremonial parade of Czechoslovak fighters was personally led by the head of the Czechoslovak General Staff Divisional General Bohumil Boček. Boček was the Chief of the Main Staff of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces. The ceremony was attended by a number of Czechoslovak senior officers who fought against Nazism. Among others, Divisional General Alois Vicherek, Czechoslovak Military and Air Envoy in Great Britain Colonel Josef Kalla, Divisional General Karel Janoušek and Brigadier General Mikuláš Ferjenčík.
All of the Spitfire fighters that landed at Ruzyně Airport belonged to the LF Mk. IXE version. The Spitfire was famous for its elliptical wing, but this version had its wings chopped off and was adapted to low-flying operations, distinguishing it from most of the aircraft of this type. One of the Spitfire fighters that landed at Ruzyně is on display in the Transportation Department of our Museum.
Relatives of the airmen and a number of civilians watched the festivities at the airport. Among them were soldiers of the Red Army. When the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia after February 1948 with the help of the Soviet Union, most of the former Czechoslovak airmen of the British Royal Air Force were persecuted, tortured and imprisoned. From the Communists’ point of view, they fought for freedom on the wrong side. This is how the lives of so many heroes ended up!