Miroslav Štandera (5 October 1918 – 19 February 2014) was a Czech

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

who flew combat missions for the

French Air Force 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 Army; ...

and the Royal Air Force during World War II. Štandera was one of the final two surviving Czech combat pilots who flew for the Allies throughout the entire period of World War II. He was also the last surviving Czech pilot who had flown for France during the war.

Biography

Early life

Štandera was born on 5 October 1918. In 1936, he enlisted in the Czechoslovak Air Force and became an air force pilot after completing aviation school.

World War II

He fled from Czechoslovakia to France in 1939 following the German invasion and occupation of the country. Standera joined the

and fought against the Nazi German pilots during the invasion of France in May 1940. In June 1940, Štandera was seriously wounded during an aerial dogfight, but survived the crash landing. Štandera was evacuated to the United Kingdom for medical treatment following the

Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

. There he became one of the founding members of the

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 ...

, a Royal Air Force

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

made up of exiled Czechoslovak fighter pilots. In 1940, he was one of 87 Czechoslovak fighter pilots who defended the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain. He piloted twin-engine fighter bombers for nighttime bombing raids into Germany and occupied France throughout the war. In total, Štandera flew 1,320 hours of combat during World War II. He also protected the air space over Allied forces during the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

in June 1944.

Post-war life and career

Miroslav Štandera returned to his native Czechoslovakia following the end of World War II. However, he was expelled from the Czechoslovak Air Force by the new Communist government after the

1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état In late February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia. It marked the onset of four decades of the party's rule in the country., sk, Február 1948) or ...

. The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was seeking to purge members of the armed forces who had served for Western European countries during the war. Štandera fled to the United Kingdom in 1948, where he rejoined the Royal Air Force. Štandera retired from the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1955. Štandera became a silversmith in Britain after retiring from the RAF. He took and apprenticeship and repaired silver teapots. He retired in the early 1980s. In 1984, Štandera moved from Britain to Bavaria, West Germany. He returned to the Czech Republic in 1994 to live with his daughter's family in

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

. In 2000, President Vaclav Havel bestowed Štandera with the honorary rank of brigadier general. He also received two Czechoslovak War Crosses and three Czechoslovak Bravery Medals for his service during World War II. In 2006, he was honored with the

Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk ( cz, Řád Tomáše Garrigua Masaryka) is an Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the diss ...

. Miroslav Štandera died in Plzeň, Czech Republic, on 19 February 2014, at the age of 94. His death was announced by officials from the Plzeň city hall. His funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew in Plzen on 26 February 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Standera, Miroslav 1918 births 2014 deaths Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Czechoslovak Air Force officers Czechoslovak military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Czechoslovak expatriates in the United Kingdom Czechoslovak expatriates in France Czechoslovak expatriates in Germany Czechoslovak exiles People from Plzeň The Few