HISTORY

Catterick railway station, May 27th, 1941, new members of the recently formed

No. 313 Squadron. From the left F/O Karel Vykoukal (+), F/O Frantisek Fajtl,

P/O Vaclav Jicha (+) and P/O Karel Kasal (author’s collection).

the Rolls Royce Merlin III, providing around 1,030hp allowing for a top speed

of 360mph. However, due to the fact that these aircraft were far from fresh

examples, performance figures were not to what was advertised. The pilots

didn’t mind much, because even so, the Spitfire was faster than the Hurricane,

which the majority of the Czechoslovak pilots had transitioned from. ‘We familiarized ourselves fully with the instrument panel and with the cockpit controls,

learned where they all were, learned the gear retraction and flap deployment,

and with the basics of all these things being similar to the hurricane, we converted

without difficulty in a hurry. 8

The first familiarization flights with the Spitfire Mk.I were made by F/O Fajtl

on May 28th, 1941. The aircraft flown was X4835 with the fuselage code

RY-T. Over the course of three flights, he accumulated an hour in the air. He

made further flights on May 31st, and these numbered three as well. First, he

flew Spitfire Mk.I X4652 (RY-B), taking an hour to practice intercepts of enemy

aircraft. Then he flew R6604 (RY-F) for a sector reconnaissance flight. He lost

his bearings along the way due to compass failure. After two hours and with

his engine sucking fumes, he landed at Driffield. After refueling, he was back

at Catterick within fifteen minutes. 9

Flight was followed by flight. Formation flying, scrambles, interception, aerobatics, high altitude flying, instrument flying and on it went. This was the routine

in the next few days and months. Frantisek Fajtl fell in love with the Spitfire.

‘We fell in love with the flight characteristics of the new fighter’ he recounted in

one of his memoirs. ‘Compared to the heavier Hurricane, the Spitfire was a ballerina. It required your attention and didn’t like being treated roughly. The Spitfire

also demanded to be set on the ground gently. If you landed too heavily, it had

a tendency to bounce wildly, but it could be tamed by throttling up. It responded

immediately to control inputs from the pilot in turns, in aerobatics, in landing and

in taking off.

The aerodynamic appearance of the airframe was thought out ideally by its

designer, Reginald Mitchell. The elliptical wing, with a thin cross section, ensured

very good control at high speeds, and in combination with the thin fuselage, the

aircraft was very balanced. The airplane was as graceful in the air as it was on

the ground.

The Spitfire had me right from the start. I expressed my opinion in my memoir

that first evening like this: ‘It seems to me that 180 miles in the Spitfire is more

than 180 miles in the Hurricane. Sorry, my old, reliable friend, but in a fight

against the Spitfire, you would come in second.’ 10

12

eduard

Catterick, May 27, 1945, afternoon. Sgt J. Gutvald, 2 hours before his death.

From the left Sgt B. Dubec, Sgt J. Gutvald, F/O K. Kasal, standing F/Lt K. Mrazek

and F/O A. Hochmal. (via J. Popelka)

INFO Eduard - DECEMBER 2020