Miloslav Mansfeld

Miloslav Mansfeld (14 December 1912 – 22 October 1991) was a Czechoslovak fighter pilot who became a flying ace in the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War.

Mansfeld was a Czechoslovak Air Force pilot in the 1930s, flying initially reconnaissance aircraft, then night fighters and latterly bombers. When Germany occupied and partitioned Czechoslovakia in 1939 he escaped via Poland to France. When France capitulated in 1940 Mansfeld was evacuated to Britain, where he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.

From 1941 to 1944 Mansfeld flew Bristol Beaufighters with the Czechoslovak flight of No. 68 Squadron RAF and scored most of his victories. From 1944 he flew de Havilland Mosquitoes, with which he shot down two V-1 flying bombs.

In 1945 Mansfeld returned to Czechoslovakia, but after the Czechoslovak Communist Party seized power in 1948 he returned to Britain and the RAF. He flew Gloster Meteor jet fighters, specialised in photoreconnaissance and commanded a squadron. In 1958 he left the RAF for a civilian career. He retired in 1970 and died in 1991.

Early life Mansfeld was born in Dalovice in central Bohemia in 1912. His father served in the Austrian Imperial-Royal Landwehr on the Eastern Front in the First World War. After Mansfeld left school he trained as a car mechanic.

Czechoslovak Air Force In 1930 Mansfeld joined the Czechoslovak Air Force. He was trained at the military aviation school at Prostějov. In 1932 he qualified as a pilot and on 1 July was posted to a reconnaissance squadron of the 72nd Air Regiment at Milovice in central Bohemia.

In France On 16 July a group of Czechoslovak airmen including Mansfeld left Bronowice Małe for the Port of Gdynia. There they embarked on a ship that took them to Boulogne-sur-Mer in France. On 27 November 1939 Mansfeld was posted to Châteauroux-Déols Air Base in central France for training.

On 12 November 1941 Mansfeld shot down two He 111 bombers of III/Kg 40 over the Irish Sea and damaged a third.

On 22 October 1942 Mansfeld was promoted to second-in-command of "B" flight, 68 Squadron.

Mansfeld escaped by illegally crossing the border into the American zone of occupied Germany. On 27 May Czechoslovakia declared him a deserter, and on 17 July it demoted him in absentia to private. A street in the Černý Most suburb of Prague is named "Mansfeldova" in his honour.

Honours and awards

60px Československá medaile za zásluhy, 1. stupně ("Medal of Merit, First Class")

Československý vojenský řád Za svobodu ("Czechoslovak Military Order For Freedom") 2nd class