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Gen Vlastimil Vesely DFC AFC

The youngest son Vlastimil was born to a surveyor Mr Erazim Vesely and his wife Zofie on Sep 20, 1913. He launched his school attendance at the Habro elementary school on Sep 16 1919, in the same year when his mother died. As Vlastimil Vesely said to the author of this text later in his Australian exile ´the matter of importance was  that his man teacher had made him greet and the things he had learnt at the Horice Sokol Youth Sports Club´. From his childhood Vlastimil was eager to fly and his father had to sign an responsibility form on his behalf. Without that he could not undertake flying courses. Vlastimil graduated from the Prostejov Aeronautical College in 1935 assessed exceptionally, where his classmates were among others the RAF fighter pilots to be Bartos, Fejfar, Kloboucnik and Fajtl. as one of the first Cz airmen Vlastimil crossed the Polish border on May 18, 1939. Later he got to France via the Foreign Legion and wearing a French uniform Vlastimil chalked up his first sure kill. He downed a Savoia Marichetti Italian S. M. 79 bomber over the Mediterranean Sea on June 17, 1940. That was the only victory achieved by a Czechoslovak fighter pilot serving with the French Air Force against the Italian one. 

Following the fall of France Vlastimil sailed together with other Cz pilots from Gibraltar to England. Cz men of arms ready to fight against Hitler gathered at Cholmondeley Park. Like many other Czech COs Vlastimil was enlisted in the RAF. As a fighter pilot he flew a Hurricane  of a Cz Sqn first. But Vlastimil longed for nocturnal fighter ops which he had been in Czechoslovakia trained for. He succeeded in achieving his goal not before Dec 11, 1940 and early 1941 he asked for posting to No 96 Night Fighter Sqn stationed at Cranage together with F/O Kloboucnik. Both these pilots are regarded to be founders of the Cz Night Fighter Operations.

On Mar 12, 1941 was F/O Vesely downed due to his gunner´s inexperience - an young and probably terrified Canadian. While attacking a He 111 bomber this gunner reacted to neither second order to open fire. So a German rear gunner shot the attacking Defiant down whose seriously wounded pilot fainted for a while but succeeded in landing with a hundred and fifty hits in his aircraft !  Vlastimil Vesely was awarded DFC for his act of airmanship – the highest English Air Force Award presented in person by His Majesty !

 

 To be precise there is necessary to let you know, that also Vlastimil´s older brother Erazim Vesely was shot down as a Wellington twin bomber´s navigator. He survived as this op as the war too, sadly as a POW, when the captured Cz airmen were imperilled by death FROM the hands of the Germans.

Having recovered Vlastimil Vesely flew various types of aircraft among others a Blenheim twin engine bomber and was posted to No 68 British-Czechoslovak Sqn. Flying excellent Beaifighter twin engine fighters he achieved as his further successes and kills as becoming a CO of the Cz Flight. He was promoted to the rank of a General by President Vaclav Havel for the latter. Probably S/L Vlastimil Vesely´s  and his navigator Zbysek Necas´kill was achieved on July 24, 1942 - a new German bomber Heinkel 177 Greif.

Vlastimil Vesely was caught by the end of hostilities at the Cz Air Force Inspectorate in London. He was promoted to S/L on Mar 3, 1945, later as W/C he commanded the Plzen Air Regiment on May 15, 1946. As commonly known – the RAF airmen were persecuted and lots of them arrested by the Communist Regime. Having been warned by his classmate, a member of the Intelligence Service – later called   Counter-Espionage men – Vlastimil left his Motherland on Sep 15 probably at the last moment. He got back to England via Germany. He was re-enlisted in the RAF on Nov 11, 1948. Serving there in CO appointments in various countries he retired in 1968. Afterwards Vlastimil Vesely left for Australia where he passed away in 2001 aged eighty eight. An hounourable citizenship was awarded to him by his native town of Horice a year prior to his death.. In 2003 a film ´The pilots of the Prostejov Military Air Academy in WWII´ was shot to the Prostejov Municipality´s order. Vlastimil is one of the five pilots mentioned here.  

Jaroslav Vesely