RAF No 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron

RAF No 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron Spitfire photographs

Hurricane MkI RAF 310Sqn NN  D P3143 Duxford 7 Sep 1940 IWM CH1299

Spitfire MkIX RAF 310Sqn NN  C FSgt Valdimir Nedelka MA235 England 1944 01

Spitfire MkVb RAF 310Sqn NN during the Dieppe landing England Aug 1942 Military Revue Sep 2013 P15

Spitfire MkVb RAF 310Sqn NN  W FLt Emil Foit AD325 at RAF Perranporth Cornwall England Dec 1941 to Feb 1942
by Eduard 0A

Info Eduard: Emil Foit was born in 1913 in Brno and, after graduating from business academy and military schools, became a fighter pilot. Following the occupation of Czechoslovakia in May 1939, he escaped through Poland, Sweden, and France, arriving there in August and joining the French Foreign Legion. He subsequently served in Tunis, Blida in Algeria, and Oran before the fall of France forced him to flee once more, travelling via Casablanca and Gibraltar to Great Britain. In August 1940, Foit joined the Royal Air Force, completed conversion training on Hawker Hurricane fighters, briefly served with No. 85 Squadron RAF, and in October 1940 transferred to No. 310 Squadron RAF at Duxford.

From February to November 1942, Foit served as commander of B Flight, and from January 1943 until January 1944 he commanded No. 310 Squadron itself. During his combat career, he was credited with three enemy aircraft destroyed and five damaged. His wartime service earned him numerous honours, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. Returning to his homeland in 1945, he was appointed commander of the 10th Air Regiment at Kbely. Following the Communist takeover in February 1948, he again went into exile in Great Britain, where he rejoined the RAF. Foit died in England in 1976.

The Supermarine Spitfire AD325, which Foit flew during the transition period between 1941 and 1942, was a newly delivered aircraft supplied to No. 310 Squadron as the unit converted to the Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb. The aircraft carried the donation inscription “WESTMORLAND II” on its fuel tank cover and most likely also displayed the Czechoslovak national emblem on the engine cowling.

Spitfire Database: AD325 Vb CBAF M45 12MU 29-11-41 310S 13-12-41 154S 23-5-42 312S 8-6-42 332S 3-8-42 Damaged by Fw190 and abandoned off Dieppe 19-8-42

Spitfire MkVb RAF 310Sqn NN  A FLt František Trejtnar AR423 at RAF Ibsley Hampshire England Sep 1943 to Feb 1944
by Eduard 0A

Info Eduard: František Trejtnar was born on March 7, 1917, and graduated from the aviation school at Prostějov before becoming a pilot in the Czechoslovak Army. After the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia in 1939, he escaped to Poland and soon afterward travelled to France, where he joined the French Foreign Legion. Following the outbreak of war with the German attack on Gdańsk on September 1, 1939, he was transferred to the forming Czechoslovak Army in France and retrained as a pilot. After the collapse of France, Trejtnar departed from Port-Vendres for Gibraltar and then sailed aboard the Neuralia to Liverpool. At the end of July 1940, he joined the Royal Air Force and in early November was posted to No. 310 Squadron RAF at Duxford, where he served throughout the remainder of the war. During his combat career, he was credited with one Focke-Wulf Fw 190 destroyed and two damaged.

On June 23, 1942, during a dogfight with an Fw 190, Trejtnar and his opponent pursued each other deep into British airspace. Trejtnar was eventually shot down and forced to bail out, breaking his leg upon landing by parachute. Meanwhile, the disoriented German pilot, Armin Faber, mistakenly landed his Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-3 at the RAF base at RAF Pembrey, astonishing British personnel. The RAF thus obtained a completely intact Fw 190A-3, which was later subjected to extensive testing and mock combat trials.

Trejtnar regularly flew the Supermarine Spitfire AR423 between September 1943 and February 1944 while serving as B Flight Commander of No. 310 Squadron. The aircraft carried the donation inscription “The ROBINSON Fighter” on its fuel tank cover.

Spitfire Database: AR423 Vb West M46 38MU 13-4-42 485S 16-6-42 121S 17-6-42 FAAC 15-7-42 ros 121S 28-7-42 CB ops 2-9-42 VASM 24-10-42 fuel syst mods wing stiff 118S 19-3-43 131S 310S 306S 1651CU SOC 26-3-45