František Peřina
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
František Peřina (8 April 1911,
Morkůvky Morkůvky is municipality and village in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Morkůvky lies approximately north of Břeclav, south-east of Brno, and south-east of Prague. Notable ...
World War II: Interview with Czech Ace Frantisek Perina
HistoryNet Page1
– 6 May 2006,
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
) was a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
fighter pilot, an
ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
with the French
Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Arm ...
, who also served twice with Britain's
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
.


Biography

Born into a farming family in
South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region ( cs, Jihomoravský kraj; , ; sk, Juhomoravský kraj) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia (an exception is Jobova Lhota which trad ...
, Peřina had not visited the city of Brno until he was 14. He undertook a full elementary school education, before serving an apprenticeship as a machinist. Six months after qualifying he joined the
Czechoslovak Air Force The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia ce ...
.


Czechoslovak Air Force

Reporting to
Prostějov Prostějov (; german: Proßnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is known for its fashion industry. The historical city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural ...
airfield on 1 October 1929 after undertaking army officer training, he trained to fly the
Letov Š-10 The Hansa-Brandenburg B.I was an unarmed military trainer and reconnaissance biplane of World War I, flown by the Austro-Hungarian Air Service. Early models were known internally to the Hansa-Brandenburg firm as the type D, while later models w ...
(nicknamed "Sardinka" /sardine/ by pilots), the
Letov Š-14 The Letov Š-14 was a single-seat, single-engine aircraft, designed and built in Czechoslovakia in the early 1920s. Originally intended as a biplane fighter, it was later modified into a monoplane and entered as a contestant in a speed competit ...
and the Letov Š-18 "Komár" (mosquito). Graduating in 1931 he spent two years as a first class airman before promotion to Sergeant. In 1932 he attended fighter school in
Cheb Cheb (; german: Eger) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. Before the 1945 expulsion of the German-speaking population, the town was the centre of the German-s ...
, training for four months in air-to-air and air-to-ground gunnery and aerobatics on various biplane and single wing fighters. He returned to his unit and was then attached to the 34th fighter squadron at
Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...
on Letov Š-20 biplanes.World War II: Interview with Czech Ace Frantisek Perina
HistoryNet Page2
In 1937 Peřina represented the Czechoslovak air force at the International Air Show in
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...
, Switzerland in an
Avia B-534 The Avia B-534 is a Czechoslovak biplane developed and manufactured by aviation company Avia. It was produced during the period between the First World War and the Second World War. The B-534 was perhaps one of the most well-known Czechoslovakia ...
. There he met the German contingent headed by World War I ace Ernst Udet, the then chief of the Luftwaffe's office of supply and procurement, and
Erhard Milch Erhard Milch (30 March 1892 – 25 January 1972) was a German general field marshal ('' Generalfeldmarschall'') of Jewish heritage who oversaw the development of the German air force (''Luftwaffe'') as part of the re-armament of Nazi Germany fo ...
, second-in-command of the Luftwaffe. The German team were equipped with the
Heinkel He 51 The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a fighter; a seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of th ...
and the new Messerschmitt Bf 109. Peřina took third place in both aerobatics and in the climb-and-dive competition, and fourth in the cross-country flight: behind the German pilots.World War II: Interview with Czech Ace Frantisek Perina
HistoryNet Page3
The 34th fighter squadron was then transferred, and Peřina transferred to the 36th Fighter Squadron when it was rotated to the airfield with reconnaissance pilot
Josef František Josef František, (7 October 1914 – 8 October 1940) was a First Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak Fighter aircraft, fighter pilot and Second World War Flying ace, fighter ace who flew for the air forces of Czechoslovak Air Force, Czechoslova ...
,World War II: Interview with Czech Ace Frantisek Perina
HistoryNet Page7
staying with them through the 1938 German occupation of Czechoslovakia. He was then posted to military school to serve as ''rotmistr'' (warrant officer), and in the aftermath of the
Sudeten Crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
the Czechoslovak air force began to form new squadrons and he joined the 52nd Fighter Squadron. After a border war with Hungary, he married Anna Klimešová on 24 June 1939 and left for Poland without his wife on 26 June (she was delayed through paperwork), with the intention of joining the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
in North Africa.


Armée de l'Air

After the first dissolution of
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
and the annexation of Bohemia and Moravia by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, and after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France declared war on Germany. The
Czechoslovak government-in-exile The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia ( cz, Prozatímní vláda Československa, sk, Dočasná vláda Československa), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechos ...
obtained an agreement from the French Government for Czechoslovak airmen to be transferred from the Foreign Legion to the
Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Arm ...
. Initiated at
Châtres, Seine-et-Marne Châtres () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. History Châtres began as a Roman camp. Its name, formerly ''Chastres'', is derived from Latin ''castrum''. Châtres is documented ...
, Peřina flew a Curtiss H-75A.Frantisek Perina - Czechoslovakia's ace pilot who made his name in the Battle of France
radio.cz - 5 August 2006
On 1 December 1939 Peřina was assigned to the ''1ère Escadrille'' of ''Groupe de Chasse I'', ''Escadre de Chasse 5'' based at Suippes near Reims. The squadron was made up of French pilots who had attended the Zürich air festival, and commanded by Capitaine Jean Accart. His took on the French alias of François Rinopé, in case he was taken prisoner - the Germans would treat a French prisoner much better than they would an exiled Czech.World War II: Interview with Czech Ace Frantisek Perina
HistoryNet Page4
On operations after 10 May 1940, after Germany began implementing its Manstein battle plan against France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, Peřina shot down four planes in two sorties. He was also promoted to ''sergent-chef''. The next day he shot down his fifth, thus becoming the first Czech ace in the Second World War. A day after that he shot down two more planes. Promoted to ''Adjutant'', he became well known throughout France through media coverage of his exploits. Peřina's squadron moved to
Saint-Dizier Saint-Dizier () is a subprefecture Of the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. It has a population of 23,382 (2018 figure) and is a subprefecture of the department. Although Saint-Dizier is marginally the most populous commune in Haut ...
on the
Marne River The Marne () is a river in France, an eastern tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. It is long. The river gave its name to the departments of Haute-Marne, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, and Val-de-Marne. The Marne starts in t ...
on 14 May. In June 1940 as the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
focused on Paris, Peřina and colleagues attacked a bombing formation. While his colleagues attacked the bombers Peřina focused on a fighter escort of 60 Messerschmitt Bf 109's, shooting down one plane but getting badly shot up himself. In interview on his 95th birthday, he recalled:
I had to gain them some time, and I could think of nothing other than to attack. I had to stop them somehow. I distracted them, and I even managed to shoot one down, but then I myself was hit. My plane took 15 cannon hits, 80 by machine gun. My leg and my arm were injured, although I didn't feel a thing. I knew I probably wasn't going to make it back.
After being hospitalised in Coulommiers he left the hospital and escaped to Paris and then Chartres. He then joined GC I/5 at
Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Au ...
, retrieving a Curtiss with a flat tailwheel tire from another airfield and flying to join the
Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...
in Saint-Denis-du-Sig airfield located near Oran,
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
. Having been awarded but never received the customary Croix de Guerre for his first air-to-air victory, the Free French decorated Peřina as a Chévalier de la Légion d'Honneur and also awarded him the Croix de Guerre with six palms. He then travelled by train to Casablanca where he boarded a ship to Britain.


Royal Air Force

After a 29-day boat trip, Peřina was allocated to
No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF No. 312 Squadron RAF was a Czechoslovak-manned fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. History The squadron was formed at Duxford on 29 August 1940. It was crewed mostly by escaped Czechoslovak pilots, but its first c ...
, flying
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...
s. He saw little action before suffering from acute
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...
and was treated at hospital in Ely, Cambridgeshire. He returned to No. 312 on recovery and moved with the squadron to
Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...
, Scotland in 1941 to convert to the Supermarine Spitfire Mk V. On 3 June 1942 while escorting bombers he claimed two Focke-Wulf Fw 190s from a formation of four, one of which was confirmed destroyed and a second as 'probable'. Peřina then served as sector gunnery officer for a year, and then spent the remainder of the war at Fighter Command as part of the Czechoslovak liaison establishment. His victory claims totalled 12, and consisted of 3 solo and 9 shared destroyed, 2 probables, and 1 damaged


Returned to Czechoslovakia

Peřina returned to Czechoslovakia where his wife Anna had been imprisoned from 1942 to 1945. He became the Commanding Officer of a gunnery school and an aerobatic pilot with his own Bücker Bü 131 "Jungmeister" biplane provided by the air ministry. However, as the communists took power and the Cold War developed there was a questioning of the loyalty of those 'westernised' pilots who had served with the Allies. In December 1949 after an argument with
Bedřich Reicin Bedřich Reicin (29 September 1911, in Plzeň – 3 December 1952, in Pankrác Prison in Prague) was a Czechoslovak army officer and politician. Reicin was born into a poor Jewish family (his birth name was Friedrich Reinzinger, sometimes writt ...
, Peřina was expelled from the army and forced to flee. In April 1949 Peřina, his wife Anna and a friend flew to West Germany, belly landing at Passau, from the Soviet zone.


Return to the RAF

After his wife recovered in hospital from injuries received during the crash, he rejoined the RAF for five years, but at the age of 36 was not allowed to fly again. He joined the RAF rifle shooting team. Peřina applied for a United States visa in London in 1949 and emigrated to Canada, even though Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder tried to persuade him to stay.World War II: Interview with Czech Ace Frantisek Perina
HistoryNet Page8


North America

In 1953 while in Canada he gained a job building fibreglass fishing boats, but also trained as a commercial pilot - however being over the age of 42 could not find work. At Christmas 1959 the couple's US residency was confirmed and he joined the new plastics division of
ejection seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rock ...
specialist Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California (later a subsidiary of French-based Zodiac Group). Supervising 347 people, his division made lavatories and kitchens for
Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
, Lockheed and
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
including the Boeing 747 and seats for the Project Gemini space capsules. Following his retirement on 15 March 1979 Peřina and his wife retired to
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
but finding it too hot moved to
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
.


Return to Czech Republic and commemoration

In 1993 Peřina and his wife returned to the Czech Republic following the removal of the Communist regime. Many citizens, not least those in the newly emerging military, greeted him with a 'hero's welcome'. Peřina commented that he simply wanted to die on home soil and that it was the country that he fought for and stressed repeatedly that he loved the Czech countryside. He was made a General of the Czech Republic Air Forces. Peřina died on Saturday 6 May 2006 aged 95 in Prague's military hospital of an unspecified chronic disease and exhaustion. His wife Anna Peřinová (née Klimešová) had died several days before his admission to hospital on 21 April Radio Prague reported. One elementary school in Prague has been given his name. In 2011 the
Niue Island Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tonga ...
issued the 100
NZD The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...
gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Buf ...
depicting and commemorating the ''Legendary fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain, General Peřina''. In 2017, the Czech Mint issued silver and gold commemorative coins (under the authority of
Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...
) paying tribute to František Peřina.


Combat record


References


External links


Obituary from ''The Times'' of LondonZákladní škola gen. Fr. Peřiny (Gen. Fr. Peřina Elementary School)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perina, Frantisek 1911 births 2006 deaths Aerobatic pilots Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Czech generals Czech people of World War II Czechoslovak Air Force officers Czechoslovak World War II flying aces French Air and Space Force personnel Polish Royal Air Force pilots of World War II People from Břeclav District Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Order of the White Lion Royal Air Force officers Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion