Brašna in their book “Psohlavci letectva” (Air Force Guardians)

published by Svět křídel (World of wings). Fiedler must have

known about a year-old case when Václav Bartoš, also a pilot

from 5th Fighter Regiment based in Líně did not shoot down

a German helicopter which intruded the Czechoslovak airspace.

During the investigation he supposedly stated that he was not

going to watch people falling off the helicopter. He was discharged from the Army with immediate effect.

So, the warning shots captain Fiedler fired missed the target

which by Bezák’s judgement demonstrated the pilot‘s poor skills.

He continued maneuvering and flying in a westerly direction.

Fiedler reported that the target did not react to the warning

shots either and then he heard in his headphones something he

for sure did not want to hear. The order to shoot the target down.

Earlier he had reported multiple passengers on board, including

children. Also, people on the ground knew already who was on

board and this information may have reached Fiedler as well.

What was going through the mind of this pilot who was a father

himself will never be fully discovered. The fact is that neither

the second burst hit the escaping Trener which consequently hid

in the low layer of clouds. Fiedler reported the outcome and

was ordered to return to the base. After 1989 the whole series of

articles were published glorifying Bezák’s airmanship thanks to

which he “defeated” the much faster jet fighter. But the truth

could have been quite different… Of course Bezák was keeping

his opinion. During one interview he put even more oil into the

fire: “I recognized his flying skills were not up to the speed, he

was unable to follow the trajectory of my aircraft. When he

fired for the first time, I made a ninety degrees banking turn. At

the speed Mig was flying he needed three minutes to turn around

and settle himself again into the firing position. I was evading

him flying sharp turns. He did not hit me. No wonder – as I learned later his latest combat training took place 10 years ago and

I already knew from my own experience from seven months long

military service these pilots typically logged only forty hours

per year” (Bezák served with military as a cadet at 1st Fighter

Squadron in České Budějovice in the role of squadron´s leader

adjutant; author’s note). Of course, it was unthinkable for an

Air Defense system pilot not to have flown combat training for

ten years...

INFO Eduard - December 2021

Strange hit marks

After several years Karel Fiedler supposedly confessed to one

of his comrades that at the moment the target disappeared in

the clouds, he was relieved. Allegedly he shared with another

one that he missed on purpose. Also Miroslav Irra mentions this

in his book “Vysoká modrá zeď – ohlédnutí druhé” (The tall blue

wall – the second hindsight) published by Jakab: “Whether capt.

Fiedler did not obey orders on purpose or did not act due to

other circumstances remains inconclusive even though after

1989 he should have confirmed he did not want to shoot Bezák

down.” Radek Folprecht wrote along those lines as well in his

article published in iDnes.cz (Technet section). There could not

have been any “post-revolution” Fiedler’s confessions because

he passed away on December 13, 1986, six days short of an exact

fifteen’s anniversary of his “dogfight” with Bezak… Supposedly he never spoke to anyone about his fateful scramble flight.

Independently this was confirmed to the author by three of his

former comrades and his wife Marta Fiedler.

According to some sources Bezák supposedly seated his two

older sons in the luggage space behind the pilot‘s rear seat

headrest while two younger sons were to sit on his wife’s lap

in the front. Question is if two six-year old boys would fit into

the so-called “coffin” i.e. the Trener’s sheet metal luggage compartment behind rear seat under the ridge. Other sources state

that Bezák put one son behind his seat, another one squatted

under the rear instrument panel. Regardless of Bezák’s family layout on board no one got harmed during the interceptor

attack. Bezák successfully navigated his Trener to the Nürnberg

airport where he landed and applied for political asylum for the

whole family.

Then the media campaign started in Germany. Several articles

were published about Bezák and his family and he also appeared on television. “After landing in West Germany Bezák was

showing on television the hit marks on the fuselage (we watched

it, we could get a good signal in Líně) in the area where his sons

The front double page of the article on Bezák and his escape. The photo is staged, in reality Bezák and his family did

not fly like this.

eduard

23