THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAROSLAV NOVÁK Copyright © Alena Jirasek - Translation, 2009 2 “Only the nation whose men are prepared to take up arms and fight and, if necessary, die for the freedom of their country - only that nation has a right to live free..” Jaroslav Novák 3 4 Dear Readers, You are about to pick up a book written by one of the participants in the Second World War, a man who had grown up according to the ideals of the first Czechoslovak president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. As a young man patriotic to his country, he did not hesitate to embark on a dangerous path and with his many airmen friends bravely fought against the Nazi Germany of the dictator Adolf Hitler, who had occupied our homeland. The conscience of a nation is like a great book, whose individual pages are written by the actions and sacrifices of those who did not falter in standing up to the enemy in important moments of their country’s history and in giving them a clear answer through physical engagement. During the years 1939 to 1945, in very difficult and dangerous combat situations, the Czechoslovak wartime pilots in the King’s Royal Air Force – the RAF – were the pioneers of freedom for our people at home. One day it will be the pride of the Czech and Slovak nations, that our people took part in the great battle for freedom of the whole of Europe, even if through limited means. One cannot beg for freedom, freedom has to be won by bravery! The Czechoslovak foreign pilots emerged like new-age knights from the Mountain of Blaník to daringly fight from the first to the last days of World War II. Every second one who stepped out on this path left their life or broken wings along the road to freedom. Jaroslav Novák, an active fighter with the No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Bomber Squadron of the RAF was one of the brave. Glory to their memory! Our nation should never forget the costly sacrifice of their young lives! Wing Commander Vladimír Nedvěd O.W.L., C.M.C, O.T.G.M., G.M., M.B.E., D.F.C. Commander of No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Bomber Squadron RAF 5 6 I. Introduction Dear Readers, It is a great honour for me that you are holding my book. Please accept it as a confession of one of the many combat soldiers and airmen, who served in the ranks of our exile Czechoslovak Army and flew with the British Royal Air Force in the time of the Second World War. Our force in England may have been small in number, nevertheless it was quite significant in terms of its achievements. It took part in every decisive action on the Western front. Our fighter pilots had already been active and successful in France from the very beginning of the war. One of these, Staff Captain Alois Vašátko, shot down a record of fifteen enemy planes during that time. Another successful fighter pilot was Franta Peřina with thirteen aircraft to his name and a third was Josef František, destroying eleven planes. Of these three aces of the French front, only one survived to war’s end: František Peřina. Following their evacuation to Britain, five flying squadrons were created within the RAF. Three of these were fighter squadrons, operating mainly on Hurricanes and Spitfires, while our bomber squadron flew on Wellingtons and later Liberators. Our night squadron used mainly Beaufighters. Our boys took part in one of the biggest and bloodiest aerial battles of the entire war, the Battle of Britain, which raged from July – October 1940. In this combat alone, Josef František shot down seventeen German planes. He himself was killed in early October 1940, posthumously receiving a second Distinguished Flying Medal. Staff Captain Vašátko, hero of the French campaign, later became Commander of the Czechoslovak Wing, comprising the three Nos. 310, 312 and 313 Czechoslovak Squadrons. On a return trip escorting English bomber planes to a raid on German airfields in France on 23rd June 1942, our fighters were attacked by German FW 190. In the subsequent aerial fight between the Czechoslovak and German planes, Staff Captain Vašátko collided with an enemy aircraft and both planes fell into the sea. The German pilot managed to parachute from his plane, Staff Captain Vašátko, however, found his grave in the Atlantic Ocean. These fighter planes were manned single-handedly. 7 Our No. 311 Bomber Squadron was founded in July 1940 and was one of the first Allied bomber squadrons that took active part in direct attacks against Germany. On the night of 30th – 31st May 1942, England for the first time sent over a thousand heavy bomber aircraft to Germany on a mission to bomb the city of Cologne in Operation Millenium. Our No. 311 Squadron contributed three Wellingtons and another two Wellington planes were dispatched from our training centre 105. Operational Training Unit. 41 of the 1043 bomber planes that took part in this raid were lost. Fortunately, all our Wellingtons returned and we suffered ‘merely’ one casualty, our instructor, pilot Warrant Officer Oldřich Jambor. Jambor had trained pilots on four engine Stirlings at Dumfries aerodrome in Scotland. I knew him very well from that time. Oldřich Jambor and his crew were shot down by a German ‘night intruder’ fighter on the Dutch border with Germany and they are buried in Holland. In 1942, our No. 311 Squadron was transferred from Bomber Command to Coastal Command and took part in the prolonged, but ultimately successful Battle of the Atlantic. We fought predominantly against German U-boats and surface warships. The Coastal Command did not exclusively guard the English coast, but sometimes flew sorties as far as 2000 km away from England over the Atlantic Ocean. The Battle of the Atlantic was a campaign of vital significance. Had it been lost, Britain could not have continued importing the food, fuel or raw materials necessary for both its survival or for its ability to provide a base for further Allied offensives against Hitler. Apart from these damages to the enemy submarine fleet, our squadron experienced one of its greatest victories by sinking the German blockade runner Alsterufer in the winter of 1943, under Wing Commander Vladimír Nedvěd MBE, DFC. Our night fighter pilots with Nos. 1 and 68 Squadrons were also very effective and one of their best was pilot Karel Kuttelwascher. Karel was an experienced pilot of the Czechoslovak Air Force before Germany had occupied Czechoslovakia. He destroyed eighteen enemy planes during the RAF night time sorties, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross twice within 42 days. No. 1 Squadron’s successful ‘night intrusion’ tactics over foreign bases consisted of targeting slow taxiing enemy aircraft, on departure or arriving exhausted and low on fuel, when they were also less vigilant. These night intrusions were timed a few weeks before and after the full moon, so that maximum visibility was possible. 8 The twin crews of No. 68 Squadron, on the other hand, could not approach within 20 km of the enemy coastline, lest they be captured with a new secret weapon – radar. Their task instead was to defensively survey the British coast and interior, no matter the weather. They were thus able to detect and prevent many enemy attempts to penetrate domestic defences under the cover of darkness. And then came the day that changed the course not only of World War II, but of the whole world. On 6th June 1944, coincidentally also my birthday, the Allied armies landed on the European mainland. And so began the decive battle for Normandy, with three million men, 11,000 planes and 4,000 ships taking part. Our five squadrons were fully deployed in that action. 100,000 men lie buried near the Normandy coast. Our airmen came through this battle with a loss of only five planes - one Liberator and four Spitfires – with two of the Spitfire pilots able to bail out alive. Our air force continued to participate in battles until the end of the war and our boys counted successes until the very last day. The entire Czech and Slovak nation can be proud of the achievements of this small, but extremely effective and brave flying unit based in England during the war. The main reason why you may be able to hold and read this book at leisure today is that, during that all-encompassing and consuming campaign, airmen and soldiers had to lay down their lives for our freedom. Let us, please, not forget about them. I feel that the touching Kohima Battle Epitaph written in a war cemetery in Burma is apt: “When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.” 480 Czechoslovak airmen lost their lives while serving in the RAF. The heaviest losses, a total of 273 men - as well as 34 of 51 Czechoslovak RAF airmen taken captive - came from No. 311 Bomber Squadron. I hope that the following reminiscences at least partially repay my debt of honour to my companions, who have fallen or passed away along the way. It was my great privilege to serve in the Czechoslovak Air Force in Great Britain and to fight for the freedom of my country. 9 II. My Childhood I was born on 6th June 1921 in the small town of Nové Benátky in Czechoslovakia, situated near Mladá Boleslav, approximately 50 km north-east of Prague. My parents were not overly well-off. My father worked as a tinsmith, while my mother only had a basic education. When they got married, they borrowed money in order to purchase a house and moved in.