Pod křídly RAF v druhém exilu 4. díl (2026)

The final fourth volume of this series about Czechoslovak airmen in the ranks of the British Royal Air Force during the Cold War is the result of 34 years of research. It completes the alphabetical directory, covering surnames from S to Ž, and its opening section adds the stories of individuals whose service in the peacetime RAF was discovered only recently. As in the previous volumes, it reveals the stories of Czechoslovak air force personnel forced to flee after the Communist coup of February 1948, when the new regime launched a campaign of hysteria against soldiers who had fought on the Western Front. After crossing the border, they returned to the British Isles, in most cases already under RAF protection. Those accepted into flying and ground positions again proved their abilities, as they had during the war. Czechoslovak pilots, navigators and radio operators served in all branches of the RAF as fighter and bomber crews, transport and training personnel, instructors and air rescuers. They actively took part in major operations during the Berlin Airlift, actions against terrorists in Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus and the Aden mountains, and the occupation of Suez. The book includes 520 illustrations, while its concluding chapter reviews the decorations awarded to the exiled airmen for their service in the peacetime RAF.