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| Sgt Josef Frantisek |
Josef Frantisek was a Sergeant pilot in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. he was the top scorer with seventeen kills and one probable from September 2nd-30th 1940. Frantisek joined the Czech Air Force in 1934, fled to Poland in 1939 and flew with the Polish Air Force. He escaped Poland via Romania and reached Britain in June 1940. Frantisek flew with 303 Squadron which was the most successful at shooting down German aircraft - 126 in 42 days. He had a reputation for going off on his own hunting the enemy, earning him the nickname 'Lone Wolf'. Sergeant Josef Frantisek died on 8th October 1940 when he crashed his Hurricane in Middlesex, England.
He started with the 303 (a Polish volunteer squadron) because he arrived with the Polish exiled pilots. However, when a Czech volunteer squadron was later created, he declined to be transferred there because he had already forged solid friendships with their Polish colleagues... and because he was unsure whether he would have the same freedom of going "lone hunting" in his new unit.
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