Josef Frantisek was a native of Czechoslovakia who joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 after fleeing the Nazis on the European continent. He also piloted fighter planes for Poland and France in their early battles against German invaders. Frantisek was not alone among foreign-born RAF pilots, with men from across the British Commonwealth—including Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, and Rhodesians (from present-day Zambia and Zimbabwe)—filling out depleted squadrons. Pilots from France, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Holland who escaped Nazi occupations of their home countries also formed their own squadrons.
Flying his Hurricane fighter plane, Frantisek was among the highest scoring aces of the Battle of Britain, downing 17 German planes in the skies over England. He was awarded Britain’s Distinguished Flying Medal in September 1940 but was killed just weeks later when his Hurricane crashed in a flight accident.
