The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940-1945

Kyt · Oct 28, 2007

I was going to post this in the Allied Air Forces thread but I ddn't want it to get lost in there. This is a seriously good read.

The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940-1945 is the PhD thesis of Alan Brown who wrote Airmen in Exile. The thesis is available, for free, online and I would recommend a read.

The thesis The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940-1945 was submitted to the University of Southampton in 1998 and subsequently accepted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Since its publication, the thesis has generated considerable controversy amongst surviving veterans because of the detailed exposure of the attitudes of the RAF, the Air Ministry and the British Government towards the Czechoslovak Air Force and its political administration headed by Dr Edvard Beneš. The study also closely examines tensions within the Czechoslovak High Command which led to political considerations often being preferred over strictly military objectives........The entire document is 228 pages long, contains over 110,000 words and has more than 640 references to the archival evidence
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Download the thesis from:

http://www.ssci.freeserve.co.uk/airmen/orderthesis.html

The Introduction for Airmen In Exile (of which I have heard good things) can be read online too

Entitled 'The Unexpected Allies', the Introduction sets the arrival of the European exiles into the social and political contexts of 1940. Also discussed are the major pieces of legislation affecting the exiles, the welfare provisions, and the early post-war planning directed towards repatriation and rearmament. The Introduction is more than 10,000 words long and can be obtained free of charge by clicking this link.

The Poles supplied the largest forces from Europe: over a quarter of a million land personnel and a maximum of 14,000 airmen. Their early days of exile were dominated by disputes between the French and the British over what should be done with them, though initial suspicions soon gave way to admiration. This chapter examines the complexities of the Anglo-Polish air alliance, and concludes with the bitter arguments with the Warsaw Communists when the Polish forces wanted to return home.

The Czechoslovaks brought with them the most complex political agenda of all, and many of the early problems involved serious differences between the British and Czechoslovak governments. Oblivious to much of this, the Czechoslovak Air Force, though small, demonstrated its worth throughout the war years. This chapter studies the formation of the force against the background of the political conflict, and how that escalated into an early skirmish of the Cold War in 1945. See also the Ph.D thesis by the same author: The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940-1945.

The Free French also had serious political issues to be resolved in Britain after the armistice of 1940. General de Gaulle was determined to retain complete control over all Free French forces, something the British did not relinquish without a struggle. This chapter also looks closely at the internal problems de Gaulle faced within his Air Force in exile, and though victory in North Africa smoothed the path to liberation, very soon the British and the French clashed again over the post-war rearmament policy.

Of all the allied groups in exile, the Norwegians came close to being the perfect partners, at least in British eyes. They came with no difficult political demands, they could pay their own way, and they proved themselves to be excellent fliers into the bargain. This chapter examines the relationship which turned out to be the smoothest of all, and it also contains a section on the Danes who escaped their occupied homeland and fought with the Norwegians against the common enemy.

The Belgians also came with money of their own, for they still had substantial colonial possessions to protect. Consequently, they ran into conflict with the British over the distribution and administration of their forces. Nevertheless, they proved themselves in the air when it mattered most, and this chapter traces the development of a small but gutsy force against the background of some friction between the Air Ministry and the Belgian government-in-exile.

The Dutch had their own empire to consider as well, though their territories were thinly spread in the Pacific Rim and in the path of the advancing Japanese. It took some serious pressure by the British to get the Dutch to relent in their desire to split their forces between imperial defence and western Europe. There is strong evidence to suggest that the British never entirely trusted the Dutch political representatives, and many issues remained unresolved at the war's end. Even so, the Dutch fliers acquitted themselves well in action.
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spidge · Oct 28, 2007

It wasn't as simple as "come on board" we are glad to have you fight with us. Politics, Politics and more Politics.

Kyt · Oct 28, 2007

You forgot to mention ...... politics

spidge · Oct 29, 2007

Kyt said: ↑

You forgot to mention ...... politics
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Sorry, forgetfulness goes with old age!

Kyt · May 6, 2008

The original link for the thesis in post #1 is now dead. However, it is still available here:

http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/42318/01/0000326.pdf

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The Czechoslovak Air Force in Britain, 1940-1945

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