The tragic end of a legendary airplane. A unique car from Prague crashed near Cheb
Last spring, the Točná Aviation Museum first showed off an aircraft that had undergone major reconstruction and was bought in Belgium. Since then, the machine has been seen not only as a highly valued exhibit of the collection, which also contains other unique gems, but has also been presented at aviation days or at historical events. When the museum announced its purchase last year, it stated, among other things, that only three pilots would be authorized to fly it: Jiří H., Radim V. – and Petr P., who found his death in the wreckage of the machine.
A World War II fighter jet fell at the air base in Cheb. The pilot was killed
From the beginning, it was assumed that this machine would not remain an exhibit standing on the ground. Jiří Horák, who was the main soul of the project, said last year that the machine will also be active in the air; with participation in aviation days and other public appearances. “To commemorate the legacy of Czechoslovak RAF pilots during the Second World War. Those who survived the war and those who didn’t make it,” he stated.
Hurricanes, together with Spitfires, were among the most widespread (and equally the most famous) machines on which Czechoslovak pilots fighting in Great Britain served. From 1937, several modernized versions gradually entered service; the Mk.IV type was included in the squadrons in 1943 (that is, three years after the famous period, which history gave the designation Battle of Britain).
Colors by Karl Kuttelwascher
The machine from Točná was given the colors of the plane on which the successful fighter Karel Kuttelwascher flew during the war – although in this case it was a different type of hurricane: the Mk.IIC model. The museum has charted that this machine, with a range of 1.4 thousand kilometers and the ability to climb up to 11 kilometers, was built in London – at the Kingston upon Thames plant – sometime between November 1942 and April 1943, modified for service in the tropical weather.
He was assigned to a squadron in Italy, with which he was subsequently transferred to Greece and then to Yugoslav territory; he operated in the Mediterranean and the Balkans until the end of World War II. After the war, he moved with the entire unit to Palestine – and apparently served there sometime in 1946. That’s when the unit was moved to Cyprus. But exact information is missing.
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They have been reappearing since 1983, when the machine was discovered in a very dilapidated state in a kibbutz in the Israeli city of Jaffa. The aircraft then returned to Great Britain, where it changed owners and storage locations. The change came in 2001, when a restoration company from Suffolk took over. She returned him the ability to fly and supplemented the missing components obtained and refurbished from various machines. Another change of owners eventually brought the machine to the Czech Republic.