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The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940-1945

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The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940-1945 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON UNITED KINGDOM The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940-1945 Alan Brown Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 1998 Produced for the Faculty of Arts (Department of History) ABSTRACT THE CZECHOSLOVAK AIR FORCE IN BRITAIN, 1940-1945 After the defeat of France in1940, the surviving service personnel of several occupied European nations were evacuated to Britain where they reconstituted air and army units under the military control of the Allied High Command. Politically, however, they were the responsibility of their own national governments which were also exiled as Germany consolidated its gains in Europe, and this diversity of interests often produced sharp conflict. This study examines the political, military and social experiences of one such unit. The central thesis is that the Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain was first and last a political tool to be used by the governments of both nations; first by the British as a means of international propaganda; then by the Czechoslovaks as a means of gaining prestige and influence while in exile; and last by the British again as a foil to the Soviets. To test the thesis, the study is divided into three parts, each of which is sub-divided into a series of themes through which the émigré experience can be explored. Part One examines the escape of the air personnel from France; the serious effect their arrival had upon the political relationship between the British Government and the Czechoslovak National Committee headed by Edvard Beneš; the complex development of a military agreement between the two parties; the formation of the first two fighter squadrons; and the internal dissent and rebellion within the air contingent itself. Part Two examines the social and practical aspects of émigré life, concentrating on the provisions made by the Air Ministry and the British Council for the training and welfare of the men. Also examined are the two primary problems which faced the Czechoslovak Air Force throughout the war: the lack of recruitment and the quest for fully independent status. Part Three is concerned with the Czechoslovaks' attempts to break free from British control and return to their homeland; first as combatants in the Slovak Uprising of 1944, and second as heroes returning to liberated Czechoslovakia in 1945. On both occasions, the British raised obstacles, and the section concludes with an examination of the British efforts to use the air contingent to gain a political foothold in the post-war Soviet sphere of influence. Overall, the study demonstrates that the British political and military establishments maintained an attitude of distrust and sometimes contempt for the Czechoslovaks. Political friction often affected the military context, and examples of hypocrisy and blatant deceit illustrate that the public and private views of this small Allied force were sharply at variance. The study also demonstrates that the existing interpretations of the recognition of the Provisional Czechoslovak Government in 1940 are flawed in that they do not sufficiently take into account the military pressures of the time. CONTENTS Abbreviations Introduction 1 PART ONE: 1940 11 Escape from France to England 11 The Provisional Czechoslovak Government 29 The Anglo-Czechoslovak Military Agreement 47 Further developments 55 Discontent and rebellion 61 PART TWO: 1941-1943 70 Hearths and minds 70 Recruitment (1): the problems 85 Recruitment (2): the effects 108 The independence question 115 PART THREE: 1944-1945 138 The return (1): Aid to Slovakia 139 The return (2): ‘Let them go back forthwith.’ 148 Demobilisation 164 The way ahead 171 CONCLUSION 183 Bibliography 201 Appendix Comparative squadron deployment, Polish and Czechoslovak. ABBREVIATIONS (n.b. In all cases within the text, the abbreviated form is given after the first mention of the full title, rank or name, therefore this list is for occasional reference only.) 2TAF Second Tactical Air Force AA Air Attaché AACU Army Air Co-Operation Unit AC2 Aircrafthand (Second Class) AC Air Commodore ACAS Assistant Chief of the Air Staff + (P) Policy; (I) Intelligence; (O) Operations ACM Air Chief Marshal ADC Aide-de-Camp ADGB Air Defence of Great Britain ALG Advanced Landing Ground AFC Air Force Cross AFOSC Allied Forces (Official) Sub-Committee AG Air Gunner AM Air Marshal AMP Air Member for Personnel AMPC Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps AMRD Air Member for Research and Development AMT Air Member for Training AMSO Air Member for Supply and Organisation AOC Air Officer Commanding ATAF Allied Tactical Air Force ATFERO Atlantic Ferry Organisation AVM Air Vice-Marshal BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BMR British Military Representative CAS Chief of the Air Staff CB Companion of the Order of the Bath CBE Commander of the British Empire CIGS Chief of the Imperial General Staff CNC Czechoslovak National Committee CO Commanding Officer COS Chiefs of Staff C-in-C Commander-in-Chief CsL VB Czechoslovak Air Force in Great Britain DAAC Director(ate) of Allied Air Co-Operation DAFL Director(ate) of Allied Air Co-Operation and Foreign Liaison DCAS Deputy Chief of the Air Staff DFC Distinguished Flying Cross DGO Director General of Organisation D of O(I) Director of Operations (Intelligence) D of M Director of Manning D of O Director of Organisation D of Plans Director of Plans D of P Director of Postings DPS Director of Personal Services DSO Distinguished Service Order EATS Empire Air Training Scheme ERPC Expansion and Re-Equipment Policy Committee F/Lt Flight Lieutenant FO Foreign Office (British) F/Sgt Flight Sergeant GCB Knight Grand Cross Order of the Bath GDB General Duties Branch GCMG Knight Grand Cross of St.Michael and St.George GHQ General Headquarters GOC General Officer Commanding GC (G/C) Group Captain GR General Reconnaissance GRU General Reconnaissance Unit HFU Home Ferry Unit HO Home Office (British) JIC Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee KG Knight of the Garter KGMG Knight Commander of St.Michael and St.George LAC Leading Aircraftman LB Light Bomber MAC Mediterranean Air Command MAP Ministry of Aircraft Production MNO Ministry of National Defence (Czechoslovak) MP Member of Parliament (British) MRAF Marshal of the Royal Air Force NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NCO Non-Commissioned Officer NFU Night Fighter Unit OC Officer Commanding ORB Operational Record Book OTU Operational Training Unit PAF Polish Air Force PCG Provisional Czechoslovak Government PM Prime Minister PO Pilot Officer POTU Polish Operational Training Unit PRO Public Record Office (London) PRU Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF Royal Air Force RAFVR Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve RCAF Royal Canadian Air Force RFC Royal Flying Corps RT Radio Telephone SAO Senior Air Officer SASO Senior Air Staff Officer SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force SHAPE Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe SEF Single-engined fighter S/Ldr Squadron Leader TEB Twin-engined bomber TEF Twin-engined fighter USAAF United States Army Air Force USAF United States Air Force VCAS Vice Chief of the Air Staff VE Victory in Europe VHA Military Historical Archive (Prague) VKPR Military Office of the President (Czechoslovak) INTRODUCTION This study is concerned with the émigré Czechoslovak Air Force which served in Britain under Allied High Command during the Second World War. The primary focus is upon the 'visible' air contingent; that is, the four squadrons formed between July 10th 1940 and May 10th 1941.1 These were the units which received most of the political and military attention and 'flew the flag' for the troubled Republic of Czechoslovakia. There were, however, other Czech and Slovak nationals who served in small groups (as with the specialist night-fighters in 68 Squadron) or as individuals in British or other Allied units. There was also a small contingent sent to the Soviet Union in early 1944. Few in number, these men and their activities fall outside the scope of this volume, though occasional references are made to their existence and their duties. Omission, though, should not imply an ignorance of their efforts or their sacrifices, but it is to be hoped that the story to be told here will demonstrate why only the main four squadrons have been given prominence. Most of the exiles arrived in the summer of 1940 between the defeat of the French and the Battle of Britain, the vast majority of them rescued from continental shores as the Germans consolidated their victory. However, it was a difficult time for the British to receive so many uninvited guests, for not only did Czechoslovaks arrive at this time, so too did thousands of service personnel from Poland, France, Belgium and Holland. The British policy towards foreign nationals of all kinds was confused. It had moved from a general pre-war policy of no internment of alien refugees; to a selective system of internment mainly concentrated on German and Austrian nationals; then to a much wider policy which saw the deportation of some 8000 enemy aliens to the Dominions.2 Thousands more were 'encouraged' to emigrate or continue their journeys to other countries (particularly the USA), but it was the disaster of the Arandora Star which caused a groundswell of public and parliamentary opinion against the Government's overall policy.3 Even so, the official attitude regarding Germans and Austrians also included Czech and Slovak nationals for a while. The day following the outbreak of war, the British Home Secretary announced that tribunals would review the individual cases of refugees from all of these areas to determine whether internment should 1 These were 311 (Bomber) and 310, 312, 313 (Fighter) squadrons. 2 The time-scale for this shift of policy extended from the early months of 1939 to the summer of 1940, though it should not be inferred that camp-based internment was widespread. By January 1940, only 528 enemy aliens were detained; a further 8,356 were placed under various restrictions, while approximately 60,000 were free of detention or restriction.
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