Famous Commonwealth Squadrons of WW2
2 total works
No. 312 Squadron RAF was a Czechoslovakian-manned fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
It was first formed at Duxford in July 1940, equipped with Hurricane I fighters and crewed mostly by escaped Czechslovakian pilots. Its first victory was a Junkers Ju 88 above Liverpool by Alois Vasatko, Denys Gillam and Josef Stehlik on 8 October 1940. It transitioned to Hurricane IIs in May 1941, and to Spitfires in October. The squadron continued flying various marks of Spitfire from UK bases until it was transferred to the Czechoslovakian air force in September 1945.
Among other major operations, it flew in cover of the Operation Jubilee raids on Dieppe in 1943, losing one aircraft.
During its existence 145 pilots served with the squadron. This is an absolutely essential companion to the No.310 Squadron book.
It was first formed at Duxford in July 1940, equipped with Hurricane I fighters and crewed mostly by escaped Czechslovakian pilots. Its first victory was a Junkers Ju 88 above Liverpool by Alois Vasatko, Denys Gillam and Josef Stehlik on 8 October 1940. It transitioned to Hurricane IIs in May 1941, and to Spitfires in October. The squadron continued flying various marks of Spitfire from UK bases until it was transferred to the Czechoslovakian air force in September 1945.
Among other major operations, it flew in cover of the Operation Jubilee raids on Dieppe in 1943, losing one aircraft.
During its existence 145 pilots served with the squadron. This is an absolutely essential companion to the No.310 Squadron book.
No.310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron was among the first of the foreign volunteer squadrons to be formed during the summer of 1940.
In June 1940, many Czechoslovakian pilots who had been fighting with the French decided to escape to the United Kingdom to continue the struggle against the Nazis. These pilots were, after a short period of retraining, and despite many problems of tactics and language, rushed into the Battle of Britain one month after their arrival in the UK. After the Battle of Britain, this unit continued to operate against the Germans and performed well until the war's end. However it was always restrained by a shortage of replacement pilots and occasionally it had to be based far from any German aerial activity to avoid irreplaceable losses.
Like all of this series, this book is divided into three parts, history, appendices (comprising all the claims, losses including accidental, awards, maps and the operational diary) and pilot's roster. Almost 170 pilots were either posted, or attached, to this unit including five British, one New Zealander, one Rhodesian and one Pole. This publication is a complete history of the squadron.
In June 1940, many Czechoslovakian pilots who had been fighting with the French decided to escape to the United Kingdom to continue the struggle against the Nazis. These pilots were, after a short period of retraining, and despite many problems of tactics and language, rushed into the Battle of Britain one month after their arrival in the UK. After the Battle of Britain, this unit continued to operate against the Germans and performed well until the war's end. However it was always restrained by a shortage of replacement pilots and occasionally it had to be based far from any German aerial activity to avoid irreplaceable losses.
Like all of this series, this book is divided into three parts, history, appendices (comprising all the claims, losses including accidental, awards, maps and the operational diary) and pilot's roster. Almost 170 pilots were either posted, or attached, to this unit including five British, one New Zealander, one Rhodesian and one Pole. This publication is a complete history of the squadron.