Tag Archives: Battle of Britain.

CZ Salutes WWII Free Czech RAF Squadrons

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CZ is marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II with a salute to the often unsung “Free Czechs” who served with the Allies with a special Spitfire-themed CZ 75.

Occupied by Germany on the eve of the conflict, just months before the shooting started, thousands of Czechs escaped to continue the fight against a common enemy.

Some 2,500 Czechs served in the British RAF during WWII, filling three fighter squadrons (No. 310, 312, and 313), one bomber squadron (No. 311), and one night fighter squadron (No. 68) as well as flying alongside British pilots in other squadrons. They also played a vital role in No. 138 Special Squadron, an outfit that dropped agents and supplies into occupied Europe– including Czechoslovakia.

A Czech Spitfire pilot of No. 313 Squadron
A Czech Spitfire pilot of No. 313 Squadron in conversation with his rigger and fitter at Hornchurch, 8 April 1942. (Photo: Imperial War Museum)

 

These men, exiles far from home, chalked up over 28,000 fighter sorties (at least 16 Czech “aces” flew with the RAF), dropped 2.6 million pounds of bombs on enemy targets, and made a difference from the Battle of Britain to the beaches of Normandy and beyond. Nearly 500 were killed in action.

The CZ 75 RAF special edition
The CZ 75 RAF special edition emulates the famed Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft, which was flown by many of the Czech fighter pilots serving with the British during the war. (All photos unless noted: CZ)
The CZ 75 RAF special edition
The CZ 75 RAF includes lightening cuts in the slide that recall the exhaust stacks of the Spitfire’s Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, as well as a finish that includes “riveted” body panels. 
The CZ 75 RAF special edition
The grips include a set of Czech aviator’s wings. 

 

The CZ 75 RAF special edition
The serial number sequencing starts with one of the Czech RAF squadrons, in this case, No. 310 Fighter Squadron. Note the British “bullseye” roundel. 
The CZ 75 RAF special edition
And it is repeated on the front of the slide. 
The CZ 75 RAF special edition
The magazine base has a stylized RAF. 
The CZ 75 RAF special edition
The RAF’s Latin motto, going back to 1918, “Per Ardua ad Astra,” which translates to “Through Adversity to the Stars,” is carried. 
The CZ 75 RAF special edition
Note the Czech roundel, which is still carried on the country’s military aircraft.
The CZ 75 RAF special edition
The CZ 75 RAF is a thing of beauty. 
The CZ 75 RAF special edition
Besides the pistol itself, its unique case recalls the avionics panel on the Spitfire, while its key is in the shape of the aircraft. Also included are an embroidered squadron badge patch and a hand-painted and signed Spitfire illustration by the well-known Czech painter and illustrator Jaroslav Velc.

 

Price? Availability? Just 56 CZ 75 RAF models will be created and will be offered…soon.

On a side note, as CZ now owns Colt, it would be neat to think that, at some point in the future, there may be a similar line of 1911s that salute famed American military units. Send those emails, folks!

Last of ‘The Few’ Turns 105

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Group Captain (ret’d) John Allman “Paddy” Hemingway, DFC, AE, just turned 105 years young on the 17th.

Joining the RAF at 21, he flew No. 85 Squadron Mk I Hurricanes over the beaches at Dunkirk and in the Battle of Britain. As noted by the RAF, “Paddy is the last verified surviving pilot of the Battle of Britain.”

He was one of just 3,000 Fighter Command pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain. This force included a hodgepodge of 145 Poles, 88 Czechoslovaks, 29 Belgians, 13 Frenchmen, and a single Austrian from Nazi-occupied Europe– as well as 10 Irishmen. Some 544 Fighter Command pilots lost their lives in the three-month campaign.

Speaking to Parliament on 20 August 1940, Churchill famously said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” when characterizing the efforts of those brave young men from throughout Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.S. who held off the Luftwaffe and went a long way to dashing Hitler’s Unternehmen Seelöwe plans.

Breakdown of aircrews for the Battle of Britain

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The RAF Benevolent Fund put out this rather interesting infographic commemorating the Battle of Britain’s 75th Anniversary. It seems the campaign was rather symbolic of the World War itself.  Less than 80 percent of the aircrews were from the UK.

75th anniversary battle of britian

Of deference to the graphic however, some 244 Americans served with the three Eagle Squadrons in RAF service between Sept. 1940 and 29 Sept. 1942 when they were absorbed into the USAAF’s Eight Air Force, although only a fraction flew in the Battle of Britian. (Interesting 31 page USAF pdf here on the subject)

No.249 Squadron Typhoon

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typhoon and hurricane

(Hattip Daily Mail) Flying over the green fields of England in World War Two camouflage, two fighter aircraft evoke the brave men who fought and died in the Battle of Britain. One of them, the Hurricane, was the mainstay of the RAF as it defended Britain from the might of the Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940. The other is the ultra-modern Typhoon. The jet was painted with the 249 Squadron number of the only Fighter Command pilot awarded a Victoria Cross during the battle – Flight Lieutenant James Brindley Nicolson.

typhoon and hurricane 2
No. 249, founded in 1918 as a seaplane squadron that was shuttered the next year. It was reformed 16 May 1940 with Spitfires, then quickly switched out to Hurricanes with which they became legend in the Battle of Britain. Finishing the war in Mustangs, they later transitioned to Mosquitoes then Tempests and Vampires before flying Venoms out of Kenya before their final disbanding in 1969.

We covered the Canadian CF-18 Battle of Britain tribute plane here.