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BOXART STORY
Decorating military aircraft with symbols or
markings related to significant anniversaries
is quite common in modern times, especially in
NATO units. A nice anniversary marking on an
aircraft is usually of interest to modellers. In the
case of the L-39 Albatros, we have seen two such
honours in recent years and both of them have
appeared in Eduard kits for obvious reasons.
The first one was L-39ZA, no. 232433 from
Náměšt' nad Oslavou, with the depiction of
the main designer of this aircraft, Jan Vlček.
The second one is L-39CM, No. 915254 of the 2 Fighter
Squadron, 31 Fighter Wing, of the Slovak Air Force
from 2022, commemorating the 100th anniversary
of the birth of the Czechoslovak fighter ace,
S/Ldr. Otto Smik (current ProfiPACK No. 7044).
Otto Smik was born on 20 January 1922 in
Borjomi in the Caucasus. His father, a Slovak
soldier who fell into Russian captivityin this
area during the First World War, got married
there, and although he wanted to return to
his homeland, he couldn't do so before many
years. He did eventually return in 1934 with his
Russian Wife and their three sons, of whom Otto
was the middle one. After some peripeties, the
family settled in Bratislava. Otto, who had been
interested in aviation since he was a child, built
models and learned to fly gliders. However,
he could not reconcile himself tothe Slovak
state's establishment and its leaning towards nazi
Germany. At the tender age of 18, in March 1940,
he fled Slovakia to join the Czechoslovak foreign
resistance. Via Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece and
Iran, he reached France, where he joined the
Czechoslovak Air Group in the French Air Force in
June 1940. However, France fell before he started
his training. The direction of further escape was,
as for many others, Great Britain.
Here he was accepted into the RAF, where he
underwent flight training. After that, the British
Royal Air Force promoted him to the rank of Pilot
Officer, but in the structures of the Czechoslovak
Foreign Army he had the rank of Corporal.
This discrepancy was not well borne by some
Czechoslovak career officers, and Smik was put
to considerable hardship during his first tour of
duty with the No. 312 and No. 310 Czechoslovak
Squadrons. After only a few days, Smik therefore
transferred to the British 131 Squadron at his own
request, and later to the 122 Squadron of the RAF.
On 13 March 1943 he achieved his first victory,
a probable shoot down of a Bf 109. In May 1943 he
transferred to 222 Squadron, where he increased
his score to 7 and 1/2 aircraft shot down for sure,
2 probably and 3 damaged. With this score, after
taking a break from operational flying, he started
his second operational tour as one of the most
successful Czechoslovak fighters. In March 1944
he returned to the Czechoslovak unit, this time
with the No. 310, later 312, Squadron.
While Flight commander he was shot down
over the Netherlands on September 3, 1944. After
an emergency landing he managed to get behind
Allied lines and after less than two months
he was back in England. On 13 November 1944
he took leadership of the No. 127 squadron
of the RAF, with which he undertook mainly
bomber escorts and attacks on ground targets in
support of the allied invasion troops. After fifteen
days, however, Otto Smik was again shot down.
This time his attack on the railway station at
Zwole in the Netherlands was fatal. His Spitfire
was hit several times by flak and the aircraft
crashed at the Blooksteeg farm near Zwole.
Otto Smik died in the wreckage. At the same time,
one of his wingmen, Belgian Henri L. J. Taymans,
was also shot down and his plane crashed into
a muddy ditch by the railway line. A series of
misidentifications, started by the Germans when
one of the two pilots was buried, and continued
by the Belgian and then the British War Graves
Commission, created a mistake and a mystery
that was not unravelled until 1965.
Since 1994 the famous pilot has been buried in
the Slavic Valley in Bratislava. Otto Smik received
many military decorations for his successful
combat activities: five Czechoslovak War Crosses
1939-45, the Czechoslovak Medal for Valour,
the Order of the M.R.S. 3rd Class, the French Croix
de Guerre with palms and the British Defence
Medal and Air Crew Europe Star. During the war
he flew 263 operational sorties, 215 of which were
over enemy territory. He certainly shot down
11 enemy aircraft, 1 probably and 3 damaged,
in addition to these, he destroyed three V-1
missiles in flight and a number of ground targets.
Smik's commemoration on the tail surfaces of
Albatross No. 915254 is one of the significant
tributes the Slovak Air Force has paid to his
legacy.
For more information about Otto Smik and his
aircraft, we recommend the book by Zdenek Hurt
"Naší se vraceji“ (Boys are back / Eduard, 2013),
and the website of the aviation society Classic
Trainers.
Illustration: Antonis Karydys
A face on the tail
Text: Jan Zdiarský
#7044
INFO Eduard36
February 2024