🔍 MăreșteIn memoriam
Václav Jícha, DFC (10 February 1914 – 1 February 1945) was a Czech flying ace, flying with the Czechoslovak Air Force, French Air Force and Royal Air Force during the Second World War, credited with seven victories.
Václav Jícha a adăugat o fotografie
acum 4 ore
Václav Jícha, DFC (10 February 1914 – 1 February 1945) was a Czech flying ace, flying with the Czechoslovak Air Force, French Air Force and Royal Air Force during the Second World War, credited with seven victories.
Václav Jícha a publicat o actualizare
acum 4 ore
Early life Jícha was born in Dnešice, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (now in the Czech Republic) on 10 February 1914, the first of two children of Václav and Kateřina (née Smolová) Jícha. His father was a porter at a psychiatric hospital in Dobřany. He graduated from a technical college, specialising in electromechanics, on 30 April 1929. He worked at a flying club at Letňany and obtained his pilot's licence in 1933.
Václav Jícha a publicat o actualizare
acum 4 ore
Military career On 1 October 1935, Jícha began his two-year mandatory military service and was assigned to the 64th Squadron, 3rd Air Regiment, based in Piešťany. He graduated from a flight mechanics school in Nitra 9th out of 65. On 1 July 1936, he enrolled in the Military Aviation Academy in Prostějov for pilot training, which he completed on 31 March 1937. He was posted to the 43rd Squadron, 1st Fighter Regiment, Czechoslovak Air Force, based at Prague–Kbely Airport. On 30 September 1937, his compulsory service ended, but he elected to remain in the military. After completing training on 1 October, Jícha was assigned to the 34th Squadron, 1st Fighter Regiment, flying the Avia B-534 biplane fighter out of Prague–Kbely Airport. On 1 December, he was promoted to desátník (lowest non-commissioned officer rank). In January 1938, he was transferred to the 4th Squadron, 1st Fighter Regiment, based in Hradec Králové. On 15 February, he was reassigned to the 43rd Squadron at Prague–Kbely. He was promoted to četař (sergeant) on 1 May. A talented aviator, he was selected for the nine-member Air Force aerobatic team, flying the Avia B.122 biplane, and was also part of a three-man demonstration team. Responding to…
Václav Jícha a publicat o actualizare
acum 4 ore
Death On 1 February 1945, Jícha was either a passenger on or the co-pilot of an Avro Anson. The pilot failed to check the weather report and flew into a snowstorm, crashing into Turf Law, Scotland and killing all three men aboard. Jícha was interred in Haddington Roman Catholic Graveyard, East Lothian, Scotland.
Václav Jícha a publicat o actualizare
acum 4 ore
Croix de Guerre with palm Czechoslovak War Cross (Československý válečný kříž) Distinguished Flying Cross on 28 September 1942 Air Force Cross posthumously on 28 November 1945, the latter for his test pilot accomplishments. In 2007, a memorial plaque was installed on Jícha's birthplace in Dnešice. There is also a memorial plaque at the primary school he attended. A street in Prague is named in his honour.
Václav Jícha a publicat o actualizare
acum 4 ore
Personal life When he was 24, he met 18-year-old Juliette Liska, who was a female pilot, a rarity at the time. They became engaged, but never married because of the war. Liska became a member of the Belgian Resistance's Comet Line. She was betrayed and sent to a concentration camp, before being reassigned to a mobile labour group repairing railroad lines. Surviving the war, she visited Jícha's grave several times.