Description:

Scarce Czech pilot's combat report from the Battle of Britain, 1p. legal folio, [n.p.], Sep. 15, 1940, marked "SECRET" and submitted by Sgt. Josef Rechka, this copy a translation of his report signed by an officer. As a member of No. 310 (Czech) Squadron, Rechka reports on the shared destruction of an He-111 at 11,000 feet somewhere east of London on September 15, 1940 - the day the Luftwaffe embarked on an all-out attack against London. Around 1,500 aircraft took part in the air battles which lasted until dusk. The action was the climax of the Battle of Britain, and in the aftermath of the raid, Hitler postponed Operation Sea Lion. Pilot Rechka notes: "...I delivered at attack from above on a He. 111 together with two other Hurricanes. After the first burst the enemy aircraft caught fire and went down. I followed him through the clouds and made two more attacks. The He. 111 landed east of London on the beach near Foulness. I saw a crew of two men get out..." One file hole, very good. The squadron was formed on July 10, 1940 at RAF Duxford. This was the first RAF squadron to be raised and crewed by foreign nationals, in this case escaped Czechoslovak pilots. It would later also serve over the landing beaches in Normandy. Josef Rechka was in the Czech Air Force when the Germans took over his country on March 15th 1939. He later went to Poland and joined the Czech Air Force there. When Poland fell he made his way to France and enlisted in the Armee de l'Air in late 1939. After the French collapse in June 1940, Rechka went to England and enlisted in the RAF.

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November 13, 2018 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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