Jindřich Svoboda (23 May 1917 – 17 January 1942) was a Czech

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the 311th Squadron RAF in World War II, who was made a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

posthumously. Jindřich Svoboda was born in Jungmannova Street in

Třebíč Třebíč (; ) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 35,000 inhabitants. The beginnings of the town's history are connected with the establishment of a Benedictines, Benedictine monastery, where the castle is loca ...

. At an early age, his family moved to Zámostí where they lived in No. 119. He was a member of the

Junák Junák – český skaut (''Junák – Czech Scouting''), is the internationally recognized organization of Scouts and Guides of the Czech Republic. Founded in 1911, Junák – český skaut is the largest organisation of children and youth in ...

association (Association of Scouts and Guides of the Czech Republic) and his nickname was ''Horse''. In the year 1936 he attended the Military Aviation School in

Prostějov Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...

. When his Czech homeland was in danger he joined the

air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

as a volunteer. On 24 January 1940 Svoboda went to Slovakia and from there he travelled via Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Syria and North Africa to France and then to Great Britain where he was trained as a bomber pilot. He had to his credit 24 operational flights in total, 16 of them as a captain. His last flight was a raid on

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. Their

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

was shot down and crashed in the Netherlands. J. Svoboda, J. Brož and R. Mašek died while K. Batelka, Z. Sichrovský and Josef Šnajdr survived. Jindřich Svoboda is buried in the military section of the General Cemetery Gilzerbaan in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

, the Netherlands. The Junák association of TřebíčAbahoa – Webpages of Jindřich Svoboda`s Scouts, Třebíč
. and in 2003 the footbridge in Třebíč are named after him. In 2006 a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the townhall building in Třebíč in memory of aviators of the RAF who were born in Třebíč.

References

External links

* *
Jindřich Svoboda`s profile
on the webpages of 22nd Air Force Base – Náměšť nad Oslavou
Vredenhof cemetery website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svoboda, Jindrich 1917 births 1942 deaths Czechoslovak Air Force officers Czech World War II pilots Royal Air Force airmen Czechoslovak Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Aviators killed by being shot down Czechoslovak military personnel killed in World War II Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II