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Vladimir Nedved

Name : Vladimir Nedved Born : 27th March 1017 Died : 31st October 2012 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross

He joined the Czech Air Force in October 1936 and trained as a navigator, graduating from the Military College in 1938 as a flight lieutenant. Following the German occupation in 1939 he left Czechoslovakia without identity papers, travelling by train and on foot through the Balkans. In Lebanon he boarded a ship for France, arriving in early 1940; and in June he managed to escape to England, where he joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve and trained as a navigator before joining No 311 (Czech) Squadron, equipped with the Wellington bomber. On the night of December 16/17 1940 his crew was sent to bomb Mannheim. Shortly after take-off, one of the engines failed and caught fire and the bomber crashed into trees. Nedved survived uninjured and immediately went to the aid of the pilot, who was badly injured. Despite the flames, he was able to drag him clear. He then returned into the blazing fuselage to assist the rear gunner, who was trapped in his turret. Ammunition started to explode and the fire intensified. Even when a bomb exploded Nedved refused to leave his injured colleague. As the flames approached the rear of the aircraft, Nedved’s colleague implored him to shoot him rather than let him die in the fire. Nedved refused, but the explosion of another bomb killed the gunner. Miraculously, Nedved survived; all his colleagues perished. Nedved was recommended for the George Cross, but in the event was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for gallantry. Nedved completed 25 bombing operations over Germany with No 311 before training as a pilot, and in 1942 he returned to the Czech bomber squadron which had recently been assigned to Coastal Command for operations against U-boats in the Atlantic. Flying a Wellington on September 29 1942, Nedved was involved in a running battle with three Junkers 88 fighters over the Bay of Biscay. He jettisoned his bombs and tried to gain some cloud. His gunner shot down one fighter before a second attacked, only to be driven off with a burning engine. Nedved then escaped into cloud before returning to his base at sea level. The squadron was re-equipped with the long-range four-engine Liberator, for the first time giving Coastal Command the capability to close the “Atlantic Gap� which had allowed the U-boats to operate with greater freedom. In November 1942 Nedved was promoted to squadron leader. In August 1943, aged 26, Nedved was awarded a DFC for his aggressive patrolling and was also promoted to wing commander. As commander of No 311 he continued to patrol the Atlantic. The Czech government-in-exile awarded him the Czech Gallantry Medal and the War Cross with three bars. In April 1944 he left for Burma to be a staff officer at the Headquarters of 3rd Tactical Air Force. Despite his ground appointment, he flew a number of transport operations dropping supplies to the Army garrisons that were surrounded at Imphal and Kohima. After six months Nedved returned to England to join the Czech Inspectorate with Transport Command and in January married his Czech sweetheart. In August 1945 he was repatriated to Czechoslovakia and served at the Air Force College as a tactics instructor before attending the Military Staff College in Prague on his promotion to lieutenant-colonel. The communists took power in February 1948 as Nedved was completing his course. He and his RAF wartime colleagues who had returned to their homeland were persecuted, and Nedved joined a group planning to escape back to England. He booked three seats on an internal flight to Bratislava piloted by a friend. After take-off the co-pilot (a communist sympathiser) was arrested at gunpoint and the aircraft turned for Germany and flew at very low level to land at a USAF base near Munich where most of the passengers sought political refugee status. Nedved and his family travelled to England, where they were given British citizenship. He rejoined the RAF in October 1948, and for two years flew transport aircraft with No 31 Squadron before heading for the Middle East to take command of No 78 Squadron flying Valetta transport aircraft. On his return to Britain he converted to jets and was adjutant at the Central Gunnery School. In 1956 he was put in command of the RAF’s Selection Board for ground officers. He retired two years later, and moved with his family to Australia. Settling in Sydney, he worked in administration for the Shell-BP oil company. He later moved to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. (Telegraph Obituary)

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
		unknown	unknown	16th December 1944	Wellesley		December 16/17 1940 his crew was sent to bomb Mannheim. Shortly after take-off, one of the engines failed and caught fire and the bomber crashed into trees. Nedved survived uninjured and immediately went to the aid of the pilot, who was badly injured. Despite the flames, he was able to drag him clear. He then returned into the blazing fuselage to assist the rear gunner, who was trapped in his turret. Ammunition started to explode and the fire intensified. Even when a bomb exploded Nedved refused to leave his injured colleague. As the flames approached the rear of the aircraft, Nedved’s colleague implored him to shoot him rather than let him die in the fire. Nedved refused, but the explosion of another bomb killed the gunner. Miraculously, Nedved survived; all his colleagues perished. Nedved was recommended for the George Cross, but in the event was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for gallantry
No.78 Sqn RAF		unknown	unknown		Valetta

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Aircraft for : Vladimir Nedved
A list of all aircraft associated with Vladimir Nedved. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Liberator Click the name above to see prints featuring Liberator aircraft. Manufacturer : Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California Production Began : 1939 Retired : 1968 Number Built : 18188	Liberator he initial production batch of B-24As was completed in 1941, with many being sold directly to the Royal Air Force. Sent to Britain, where the bomber was dubbed "Liberator," the RAF soon found that they were unsuitable for combat over Europe as they had insufficient defensive armament and lacked self-sealing fuel tanks. Due to the aircraft's heavy payload and long range, the British converted these aircraft for use in maritime patrols. Learning from these issues, Consolidated improved the design and the first major American production model was the B-24C which also included improved Pratt & Whitney engines. In 1940, Consolidated again revised the aircraft and produced the B-24D. The first major variant of the Liberator, the B-24D quickly amassed orders for 2,738 aircraft. Overwhelming Consolidated's production capabilities, the aircraft was also built under license by North American, Douglas, and Ford. The latter built a massive plant at Willow Run, Michigan that, at its peak (August 1944), was producing fourteen aircraft per day. Revised and improved several times throughout World War II, the final variant, the B-24M, ended production on May 31, 1945. he United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) took delivery of its first B-24As in mid-1941. Over the next three years, B-24 squadrons deployed to all theaters of the war: African, European, China-Burma-India, the Anti-submarine Campaign, the Southwest Pacific Theater and the Pacific Theater. In the Pacific, to simplify logistics and to take advantage of its longer range, the B-24 (and its twin, the U.S. Navy PB4Y) was the chosen standard heavy bomber. By mid-1943, the shorter-range B-17 was phased out. The Liberators which had served early in the war in the Pacific continued the efforts from the Philippines, Australia, Espiritu Santo,Guadalcanal, Hawaii, and Midway Island. The Liberator peak overseas deployment was 45.5 bomb groups in June 1944. Additionally, the Liberator equipped a number of independent squadrons in a variety of special combat roles. The cargo versions, C-87 and C-109 tanker, further increased its overseas presence, especially in Asia in support of the XX Bomber Command air offensive against Japan. So vital was the need for long range operations, that at first USAAF used the type as transports. The sole B-24 in Hawaii was destroyed by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. It had been sent to the Central Pacific for a very long range reconnaissance mission that was preempted by the Japanese attack. The first USAAF Liberators to carry out combat missions were 12 repossessed LB-30s deployed to Java with the 11th Bombardment Squadron (7th Bombardment Group) that flew their first combat mission in mid-January. Two were shot up by Japanese fighters, but both managed to land safely. One was written off due to battle damage and the other crash-landed on a beach. US-based B-24s entered combat service in 1942 when on 6 June, four B-24s from Hawaii staging through Midway Island attempted an attack on Wake Island, but were unable to find it. The B-24 came to dominate the heavy bombardment role in the Pacific because compared to the B-17, the B-24 was faster, had longer range, and could carry a ton more bombs. In the European and North Africa Theatres On 12 June 1942, 13 B-24s of the Halverson Project (HALPRO) flying from Egypt attacked the Axis-controlled oil fields and refineries around Ploiești, Romania. Within weeks, the First Provisional Bombardment Group formed from the remnants of the Halverson and China detachments. This unit then was formalized as the 376th Bombardment Group, Heavy and along with the 98th BG formed the nucleus of the IX Bomber Command of the Ninth Air Force, operating from Africa until absorbed into the Twelfth Air Force briefly, and then the Fifteenth Air Force, operating from Italy. The Ninth Air Force moved to England in late 1943. This was a major component of the USSTAF and took a major role in strategic bombing. Fifteen of the 15th AF's 21 bombardment groups flew B-24s 1st August 1943 Operation Tidal Wave: A group of 177 American B-24 Liberator bombers, with 1,726 total crew, departed from Libya to make the first bombing of the oil refineries at Ploieşti, Romania, the major supplier of fuel to Germany. The mission temporarily halted oil production, but 532 airmen and 54 of the planes were lost. After a 40% loss of production, the refineries would be repaired more quickly than projected.[1] Germany's Radio Reconnaissance Service had intercepted and decrypted the Allied messages about the raid and the departure from Libya, and anti-aircraft defenses were in place despite the low-level approach of the bombers.
Valetta Click the name above to see prints featuring Valetta aircraft.	Valetta Full profile not yet available.
Wellesley Click the name above to see prints featuring Wellesley aircraft. Manufacturer : Vickers Production Began : 1937 Retired : 1944 Number Built : 177	Wellesley in April 1937 the first Wellesleys joined the RAF serving with No. 76 Squadron RAF at Finningley a further six RAF Bomber Command squadrons received Wellesleys and Five aircraft with provisions for three crew members were modified for long-range work with the RAF Long-Range Development Flight. On 5 November 1938, three of them under command of Squadron Leader Richard Kellett flew non-stop for two days from Ismailia, Egypt to Darwin, Australia (7,162 miles setting a world distance record. All three aircraft broke the record, but No. 2 aircraft landed in West Timor, 500 miles (800 km) short of the objective. The Wellesley's record remained unbroken until November 1945 This flight is still the longest by an aircraft with a single piston engine By the outbreak of the Second World War, the Wellesley had been phased out from home-based squadrons, with only four examples remaining in Britain, but they remained in service with three squadrons based in the Middle East Following the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940, the remaining Wellesley squadrons participated in the East African Campaign against Italian forces in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somaliland. Although obsolete, the Wellesley formed a major part of the British Commonwealth bomber forces, mainly carrying out raids targeting Eritrea and northern Ethiopia Sudan-based Wellesleys carried out their first bombing mission on 11 June 1940, against Asmara in Eritrea. Three days later, they were involved in their first air combat, when Capitano Mario Visintini, future top-scoring biplane ace of the Second World War, intercepted a pair of Wellesleys from 14 Squadron on their way to bomb Massawa. Visintini, who was flying a Fiat CR.42, shot down the aircraft K7743, flown by Pilot Officer Reginald Patrick Blenner Plunkett. It was the first of Visintini's 16 air victories in Eastern Africa , the Wellesley continued to be sent on bombing raids, bombing Addis Ababa from Aden on 18 August The Wellesley continued in use against the Italians over East Africa until November 1941, when Gondar, the last Italian-held town, fell to Commonwealth and Ethiopian forces. The final Wellesley-equipped unit, 47 Squadron, was then switched to maritime reconnaissance duties over the Red Sea, continuing in this role until September 1942 In February 1940, three Wellesleys (K7728, K7735 and K8531) were sold to Egypt to serve in the Royal Egyptian Air Force
Wellington Click the name above to see prints featuring Wellington aircraft. Manufacturer : Vickers Production Began : 1938 Retired : 1953	Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a Bomber aircraft and also used for maritime reconnaissance. and had a normal crew of six except in the MKV and VI where a crew of three was used. Maximum speed was 235 mph (MK1c) 255 mph (MK III, X) and 299 mph (MK IIII), normal operating range of 1805 miles (except MK III which was 1470miles) The Wellington or Wimpy as it was known, was the major bomber of the Royal Air Force between 1939 and 1943. The Royal Air Force received its first Wellingtons in October 1938 to 99 squadron. and by the outbreak of World war two there were 6 squadrons equipped with the Vickers Wellington. Due to heavy losses on daylight raids, the Wellington became a night bomber and from 1940 was also used as a long range bomber in North Africa. and in 1942 also became a long range bomber for the royal Air Force in India. It was well used by Coastal Command as a U-Boat Hunter. The Wellington remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1953. Probably due to its versatile use, The aircraft was also used for experimental work including the fitting of a pressure cabin for High altitude tests. The Vickers Wellington could sustain major damage and still fly, probably due to its construction of its geodesic structure and practical application of geodesic lines. Designed by Sir Barnes Wallis

Squadrons for : Vladimir Nedved
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Vladimir Nedved. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.311 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 29th July 1940 Fate : Disbanded 15th February 1946 Czech Na mnozstui nehledte - Never regard their numbers Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.311 Sqn RAF	No.311 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available.
No.78 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st November 1916 Fate : 78 Squadron was disbanded on 30 September 2014 Nemo non paratus - Nobody unprepared Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.78 Sqn RAF	No.78 Sqn RAF No. 78 Squadron was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps on 1 November 1916 for home defence at Harrietsham and tasked with protecting the southern English coast. It was originally equipped with obsolescent BE2 and more modern BE12 fighters. changing to Sopwith 1½ Strutters in late 1917, followed by Sopwith Camels in mid-1918. It arrived at Sutton's Farm, under the command of Major Cuthbert Rowden, in September 1917 and was there until December 1919, with a detachment at Biggin Hill. The squadron disbanded on 31 December 1919 re-formed in 1936 as a heavy-bomber squadron and in the second world conflict served with the Yorkshire-based No.4 Group. Beginning operations with Whitleys in 1940, it converted to Halifaxes in 1942 and continued with that type of aircraft for the rest of the European war. Among the highlights of No. 78's war record was its participation in the historic 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne on 30/31st May 1942; the epic raid on Peenemunde on 17/18th August 1943; and the attack on the coastal gun battery at Mont Fleury on 5/6th June 1944, in direct support of the invasion of Normandy. In February 1941, No. 78 Squadron supplied the Whitleys and some of the crews (other crews were provided by No. 51 Squadron) which figured in Operation Colossus, the first Allied airborne operation of the war and the one in which British paratroops destroyed a large aqueduct at Tragino in southern Italy. From July to October 1942, No.78 Squadron was commanded by Wing Commander JB Tait, who later led the combined force of Lancasters from Nos. 617 (the squadron he then commanded) and 9 Squadrons which, using 12,000Ib Tallboy bombs, destroyed the Tirpitz in Tromso fjord. No. 78 flew, a total of 6,337 sorties comprising 6,017 bombing sorties and 320 minelaying sorties; made 302 bombing raids and bombed 167 different targets; dropped approximately 17,000 tons of bombs - 7,000 tons (i.e. more than a third of the total) between D-Day and VE Day; successfully laid 1,064 mines; and destroyed 31 enemy aircraft and damaged 35. The squadron's own losses totalled 182 aircraft. On 7th May 1945, No.78 Squadron was transferred from Bomber Command to Transport Command.converting to Dakotas, moved to Egypt. Here, No 78 took up route flying around the Mediterranean, North Africa and Middle East, receiving Vallettas in 1950, before disbanding at Fayid, Egypt at the end of September 1954. No 78 took up route flying around the Mediterranean, North Africa and Middle East, receiving Vallettas in 1950, before disbanding at Fayid, Egypt at the end of September 1954. On 24 April 1956, No 78 Squadron reformed, this time in Aden as a tactical transport unit equipped initially with Pioneers and then the larger Twin Pioneer. Detachments were undertaken all around the region, and it was felt that some sort of firepower capability should be added to the aircraft, and so guns were mounted in the rear entrance and missiles fitted under the wings. In 1962, the unit achieved what is believed to be the first firing of a guided missile by the RAF in an attack against rebel forces in Aden - quite an achievement for a transport squadron! No 78 Squadron was disbanded in December 1971. The Squadron reformed on 22 May 1986 when No. 1310 Flight, operating Boeing Chinooks, and the Westland Sea King HAR.3 equipped No. 1564 Flight merged at RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands Originally operating the Chinook HC.1, these were later replaced with HC.2s. From 1988 to 2007, No. 78 Squadron was the only RAF squadron permanently based in the Falkland Islands. The four Tornado F3s which provide air defence are operated by No. 1435 Flight, while No. 1312 Flight operated a single Vickers VC10 and one Lockheed Hercules C.3. n December 2007, No. 78 Squadron reverted to its previous identity of No. 1564 Flight and a new No. 78 Squadron formed at RAF Benson as part of the Joint Helicopter Command, flying the Merlin HC3 and the new Merlin HC3A helicopters purchased from Denmark. By 2008, the total fleet of twenty eight RAF Merlin helicopters will be operated in a pool with 28 (AC) Squadron, also based at RAF Benson 78 Squadron was disbanded on 30 September 2014

Last edited : 18:55, January 2, 2018
Last editor : HMS
First created : 18:48, January 2, 2018
Created by : HMS

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