All hands lost for the first time
Seventy five years ago the first complete crew of a Wellington belonging to Cz No 311 Sqn perished.
T 2519 KX-Y failed to return from a nocturnal raid on Wilhelmshaven. Flown by P/O Antonin Kubiznak and Sgt Bohumil Baumruk the bomber ditched in the North Sea. The Wellington´s navigator was F/O Josef Hudec, a W/O P/O Jindrich Leskauer, a front gunner Sgt Rudolf Bolfik and a rear one P/O Jaromir Kral. Four Wellington bombers belonging to No 311 Sqn stationed at East Wreatham and six ones belonging to No 9 Sqn stationed at Honington combed the North Sea on the following day. Their search for the T 2519´s dinghy was fruitless.
The names of the T 2519´s crew can be seen on Nos 39, 30 and 33 panels of the Runnymede RAF Memorial, Surrey. The name of Sgt. Bohumil Baumruk can be found by you the first one from the top on the Memorial dedicated to fallen airmen at the Plzen - Bory Airfied. The ´Perished for Freedom of their Motherland´ Section. Those had been members of the West Bohemia Air Club. The name of Sgt Rudolf Bolfik used to be seen on a memorial plaque in a local school at his native village. According to a chronicler of Mikulcice Mr Stanislav Rutar this plaque was removed on the orders of the authorities under the Communist regime. The both name and face portrait of this member of the Interbrigade Corps can be seen on the Bolfiks´ gravestone only. Jaromir Kral is remembered on a Memorial dedicated to the victims to as the 1st as 2nd World Wars at Male Hradisko. It is situated opposite to a local pub. Jaromir Kral is ranked a F/Lt there.
R&R :
Mnozi nedoleteli by Frantisek Loucky - The Nase vojsko Publ. 1989
Zit naveky by Jan Rail&Vit Formanek - The Ostrov Publ. 2003
Letec po hvezdach by Pavel Vancata - The Ostrov Publ. 2009
www.vets.cz/vpm/mista/obec/3382-male-hradisko/
www.acr.army.cz/raf/cast/003.htm
NOTES :
There are two discrepancies between the text ´Member of Interbrigades serving with No 311 Sqn´ by Petr Radosta and as No 39 of the ´Zit naveky´ book as the text ´311 Sqn Never Regard Their Numbers´ by Tom Dolezal at www.fcafa.wordpress.com.
1/ whether Sgt Bolfik was a front or a rear gunner
2/ whether T2519 was downed by a Me 110 night fighter flown by Oblt ie F/O Egmont Prinz zur Lippe Weissenfeld or ditched.
This kill of a Wellington on Jan 16, 1941 over the North Sea was not listed by this Luftwaffe´s ace.