You Are In Section: Texts and essays

Cz airmen in Polish Sep 1 - 16 1939 campaign

The first one were eight crewmen of three Letov S 328 and one Aero 101 biplanes of the Slovakian State Air Force. The pilots Jan Rudolf Lazar, Jozef Kana, Josef Hrala and Imrich Gablech crewed with the AGs Karel Valach, Frantisek Knotek, Ludevit Ivanic and Joseph Rehak fled from the Piestany AB in Slovakia on Jun 7. The former landed at Deblin the latter near the town of Krakow due to its LESSER duration.

The Cz airmen  ready to embark a Castelholm liner at the port of Gdynia on July 27 were addressed by two Polish officers to join the Polish Air Force. Thirteen of them nodded – F/Sgts Vilem Murcek, Josef Flekal, Karel Richter, Vaclav Smrcka a Jan Mokrejs, Sgts Jaroslav Dobrovolny, Josef Frantisek, Oldrich Kestler, Tomas Motycka, Matej Pavlovic, Zdenek Skarvada and Cpls Jaroslav Vyhnis and Josef Balejka. Frantisek and Skarvada made their decision in a Polish ten grosh coin.

Having passed their courses late Aug in the town of Krakow a group of 72 Cz airmen commanded by St Cpt Bohumil Liska left for the Central Military Aviation Academy at Deblin on Aug 30. A bomb dropped by the Luftwaffe killed F/Os Kurka, Rous and Sandor on Sep 2. Four days later this group departed for Gora Pulawska. On Sep 8 they set out for a walk southwest-bound. Striding days and nights they had only a meal a day. Some of them were ordered to ferry aircraft eastwards meanwhile. This group came to the village of Novosulky on Sep 16.

On Aug 30 the Male Bronowice camp was left by twenty five Cz airmen lead by St Cpt Frantisek Fanta. The departed from Mydlnik to Lesno via Lvov, Zdolbunov, Rovne and Kostopol. This and Lt Col Ludvik Svoboda´s  main group of 860 Cz volunteers arrived at Lesno on the following day. On Sep 11 Lt Col ordered to vacate the Lesno camp. Due to track disruption caused by the Luftwaffe bombardment their train terminated two stops before Tarnopol.

Ninety three Cz airmen, who served with the Polish Air Force prior the WWII outbreak, were deployed in three units :

 1/ Sixty pilots, navigators and AGs were in the No 1 Recce Cz Flight established at the Gora Pulawska air base on Sep 4. Its Potez XXV and RDW-8 planes were flown eastwards day by day. At dusk of Sep 8 three RDW-8 aircraft ran out of petrol NW the town of Lublin nr Belzyce. The pilot Vaclav Kopecky went to get some fuel and an observer Sgt Cadet Vaclav Pesicka guarded their plane. A Polish Gendarm  mistook Vaclav for a German terrorist and shot him dead. The No 4 Cz victim was burried in a Roman Catholic Churchyard at Belzyce nr Lublin in Eastern Poland. Shrinkage of serviceable aircraft went on because of both crashes and an omnipresent lack of petrol.

2/ F/O Zbygniew Osuchowski´s Recce Wing. On Sep 7 Sgts. Joseph Pavlovic, Joseph Frantisek, Zdenek Skarvada and Col Joseph Balejka joined at an Sosnowice Wielke airfield. Skarvada had taken off from the Deblin air base as the last one during  the Sep 2 air raid. While ferrying eastwards an RDW-8 airplane on Sep 5 Sgt Skarvada had to land in a potato field due to dry tanks. He was spotted by Sgt Frantisek flying his plane solo who landed nearby. The front seat of his RDW-8 was filled with equipment. There was only space for Zdenek´s feet there so he had to grab the struts of the upper wing. Luckilly the overloaded RDW-8 succeeded in taking off.

3/ Five Cz NCOs – Alois Stoces, Jaromir Drmelka, Joseph Kopecky, Ladislav Uher and Miroslav Podborsky - joined the Lwow No 6 Air Wing at the Polish rank of Sgt. They had been in a group of lead by Cpt of Gendmarmerie Fratisek Divoky. Bombed by the Luftwaffe they straggled behind. So they came to the town of Lublin separately. The first four of them were posted to No 65 Flight by the Polish HQ and Sgt Kopecky was sent to a standby one stationed at the Kiwerce airfield nr Lublin. On Sep 14 the Polish groundcrew launched destroying their damaged aircraft. Polish one was no match.  

On Aug 30 further 78 airmen were in the Male Bronowice camp nr Krakow commanded by Cpt of Gendarmerie Frantisek Divoky. A large group of 860 Cz volunteers under command of Lt Col Ludvik Svoboda left for Lesno on the same day. The Cpt was ordered to register newcomers and send them to Lesno.  Having entrained , they went from Krakow as far as 6kms BEFORE the town of Tarnow from Sep 3 0745 hrs to Sep 5 0200 hrs. Due to the track destroyed by the Luftwaffe they had to walk the all day of Sep 6 to Radomysl. On the following day again on foot to Mielce. On Sep 8 at noon they departed by train towards Rozwadow but for the bombed track they had to walk FOR the last twenty kms. On Sep 9 their train from Rozwadow was approaching Lublin while the German air raid just was in progress. Till the dusk three more. The next day the group went on foot to Bystricze. They were made to burn all the documents of the Cz Krakov Consulate in a forest near Lublin. They left Bystricze for Lukow at 11 pm. But again because of the damaged track they had to detrain sooner. Walking 50 kms from 7 am to 8 pm on Sep 11 they came to Biala Podlaszka. Hungry they departed at 0430 hrs towards Leszno. Cpt. Divoky was told at the railway station that the Lt Col Svoboda´s group had left for Baranowice. So the former followed the latter. At Baranowice was Cpt Divoky advised of Lt Col´s leaving for Zloczow. That reason for his men went on from Baranowice towards Zloczow on Sep 14 but the track between Brody and Zloczow had been damaged. So they  departed at 2100 hrs for Oszydow. From 6 am this group walked on foot for eight hours the distance of 20 kms to Zloczow on the day of Sep 15. Having entrained they left for Tarnopol at 9 pm. All the stops the train called at there was no one capable to say to Cpt Divoky where the Lt Col Svoboda´s group had got off. So the latter was missed by the former which went on to Trembowle. On Sep 16 Cpt Divoky and his men stayed at Trembowle. On the evening they went on by train to Czortkow. 

Bibliography :

Cz airmen in the 1939 Polish Campaign by Joseph Vana and Jan Rail – The MoD´s AVIS Publ 2003

Zdenek Skarvada Keep floating !  by Jana Horakova, Jaroslav Popelka and Vaclav Kolesa – the Kolesa Publ 2001