Looking for an article this week I started looking at something completely different, however, on one document I found the hint of a brilliant story. I was originally trying to find details of a wellington that suffered a mishap on a bombing mission, when google lead me to this document, which is worth a read of itself.
In it there is a brief account of a fighter sweep over Belgium, which reads:
'One Hurricane was intercepted near Hazebruck by four Me. 109's, one of which was destroyed, but the combat was carried out at such a low level that the tail of the Hurricane hit the ground and the aircraft crashed through a high-tension cable.'
Which all sounds very exciting, so I switched to that. However, after a few hours work I had only the barest pieces of information. The Hurricane belonged to 601 Squadron, and was flown by Flight Sergeant Frantisek Mares, who was born in Libětice, in Czechoslovakia in July 1919. How he got to the UK I have not been able to find out, indeed the above incident is the first concrete mention of him I can find. As part of 601 sqdrn he would have taken off from RAF Northolt on the 12th of April 1941. There were a large number of squadrons involved in this fighter sweep, as there are records indicating quite a lot of planes got shot down in that area, and F/s Mares found himself alone, and then set upon by the BF109's.
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| Hurricane at low level, although it is in Burma |
What is interesting is there appears to be no record of how he got back to the UK. At first I thought it might be through escape lines such as the Comet Line. However, they do not appear to have been operating at this time. I did find one source that suggested his plane crashed in the channel, and if so he may have been picked up by the RAF Search and Rescue operation, if so he was one of the lucky ones. It maybe this exploit was how he won his Distinguished Flying Medal. F/s Mares is also reported as being injured on this mission.
On the 10th of August 1941 601 Sqdrn was converted to P-39 Airacobra's, the only such RAF squadron in the UK to do so, and F/s Mares was one of the first to fly the plane. They used it operationally for a few missions before it was pulled from service a month or two later, and the squadron was back to Hurricanes.
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| A 312 sqdrn Spitfire all marked up ready for D-day |
In March the Squadron converted to Spitfires, a month later they were sent to north Africa. However, F/s Mares did not go with them, he transferred to No 312 Squadron, which were still on Spitfires. At 1908 on the 23rd of June, 1942, No 312 sqdrn was scrambled to intercept a German raid, however, while taxiing F/s Mares' plane rammed that of Pilot Officer Staihavka, writing both planes off, although neither pilot was harmed. Later in 1942 he took part in the Dieppe raid, providing air cover for the operation.
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| A Spitfire ready for the Dieppe raid, with the first rendition of invasion stripes. |
After that we have no further information on his war career. There are snippets that suggest his war ended in 1942, or that eventually he'd end up with 610 Squadron. One source suggests that he was credited with one kill, and four assists. After the war he appears to have remained in the UK joining the RAF volunteer reserve in May 1946. He is recorded as dying in 2008 in Yelverton in the UK.
I have been told he has a memoir called Mission Accomplished about his war time experiences, however, I've not got a copy of that.
So for our benefit, does anyone have a copy? Or can anyone fill in the blanks for us? This is really just idle curiosity, as it seems like a hell of a story, especially the 4vs1 low level dogfight over Belgium.
Edit:
It's been pointed out to me in the comments by some kind sole who is unknown, that F/s Mares was interviewed by the IWM. His recordings can be found here:
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80027320
The 4v1 dogfight starts at 27mins 30 seconds of Reel three, and continues on Reel 4.
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ReplyDeleteAppalled at the German occupation of his homeland in 1939, Frank Mares determined to assist his country in their battle for freedom in the only way he could – as a fighter pilot. Unable to do so from Czechoslovakia he began his mission, navigating his way through Poland to France, through manned borders, guarded stations and hostile territory, in order to assist the offensive against their common enemy.
Armed with fake identities, evading arrest and faced with uncertainties and frustrations at every turn, his journey was one of courage and fortitude. Narrowly avoiding a five-year enlistment in the foreign legion, Frank eventually made it into the French Air Force and finally, following the withdrawal of France from the war, joined 601 Squadron with the British RAF.
Patriotic and determined, he was involved in numerous dogfights and had many engagements with the enemy, flying Hurricanes, of which he was particularly fond. In all of the battles that he fought in the skies with German Luftwaffe pilots, he was never shot down. In 1942 he was decorated with the DFM and Czech War Cross.
The IWM have a set of tapes narrating his story;
ReplyDeleteREEL 1 Background in Czechoslovakia, 1919-1937: family; education; early interest in aviation; learning to fly, 1935; awareness of German interest in Sudentenland. Aspects of period as pilot with Czechoslovakian Air Force in Czechoslovakia, 1937-1939: becoming national service pilot; reaction to surrendering to Germans, 3/1939; return to civilian employment; decision to leave Czechoslovakia for Poland; crossing into Poland, 1939. Aspects of period as aircraftsman with French Air Force in France, 1939-1940: attempts to join French Air Force in Paris; escape from train taking his group to North Africa to join Foreign Legion; return to Paris. REEL 2 Continues: enlistment in French Air Force; decision to go to GB, 1940; arrest by French squadron commander on requesting aircraft to fly to GB. Aspects of period of training with RAF in GB, 1940: arrival in Liverpool, 25/6/1940; degree of flying training, 9/1940-10/1940; importance of becoming fighter pilot; influence of Winston Churchill's speeches. Recollections of operations as pilot with 601 Sqdn, RAF in GB, 1940-1942: joining squadron at Exeter; learning English for flying duties; opinion of air control staff. REEL 3 Continues: reforming of squadron at Exeter; nature of squadron operations, 1940-1941; personal morale during operations; reaction to sight of bombers exploding in mid air; role defending aircraft; female voice reads out Mare's service record, 1940-1942; character of Rhubarb operations; volunteering for first Rhubarb operation; story of coming under attack by four Messerschmitt Me 109s during Rhubarb operation. REEL 4 Continues: low level escape across Channel and landing; treatment for wound in hand; use of gyro compass; flying in low cloud; squadron comradeship; wish to fly Supermarine Spitfire; character of Bell P39 Airacobra; test flight in Bell P39 Airacobra; opinion of Bell P39 Airacobra. REEL 5 Continues: opinion of leadership of squadron. Aspects of operations as pilot with 313 Sqdn, RAF in GB, 1942-1944: background into joining squadron; question of rank in RAF and Czechoslovakian Air Force; hospitalisation for eye wounds; dangers of flying delivery flights; story of crash landing in Hawker Hurricane in poor weather; operations over D-Day beaches, 6/6/1944. Demobilisation and return to civilian life from 1945. REEL 6 Continues: further details of civilian employment. Reasons for not returning to Czechoslovakia and remaining in GB.
Now I'm irritated that Google didn't find that when I was frantically searching. As It'll have all the relevant bits in it. Thank you!
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