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Spitfire EP461 |
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Type : Spitfire Mark : Vb Last Flew : 21st May 1944 Built at : Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory Powered by : Merlin 46 Known Codes : FD |
| Known information | |
| 07th March 1944 | Joined No.303 Sqn. |
| 21st May 1944 | Failed to return from sweep in Pas de Calais. Flight Lieutenant S Brzeski taken prisoner. |
| Pilots and Aircrew who flew : Spitfire Vb EP461 | ||
| A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | ||
| Name | Info | |
| Brzeski, Stanislaw Click the name above to see a profile of Brzeski, Stanislaw
| Brzeski, Stanislaw Stanislaw Brzeski came from Poland to join the RAF, and was with No.307 Sqn by 9th September 1940. He transferred to No.303 Sqn on 14th October 1940, then to No.245 Sqn on 8th November 1940. His final transfer of the year saw him join No.249 Sqn in December 1940. He scored his first victory with this squadron, claiming an Me109 on 10th February 1941. The bulk of his victories would be scored with No.317 Sqn, however, which he joined on 25th February 1941. Here he claimed victories over an Me109, a Ju88, an He111 and an Fw190, as well as half claims on an Me109 and a Ju88. In addition, he claimed an Fw190 probable and another damaged. He transferred to No.302 Sqn on 23rd April 1943, where he claimed a further two Fw190s and a half claim of an Fw190, plus another probable. This would be the last of his victories, as he moved to No.303 Sqn once again on 28th December 1943. On 21st May 1944, his Spitfire Mk.Vb EP461 of No.303 Sqn failed to return from a mission to the Pas de Calais. He was taken prisoner until the end of the war. He passed away on 3rd December 1972. | |
| Dolezal, Frantisek Click the name above to see a profile of Dolezal, Frantisek
| Dolezal, Frantisek Born on September 14th, 1909 in Ceska Trebova, Dolezal studied mechanical engineering at Czech Technical University in Prague. Graduating in 1932, he began his military career and after completing his compulsory military service, decided to stay in the army. He completed his education in the air corps with top honors in 1936 and was commissioned as an air force lieutenant. Completing his training in 1937, he qualified as a pilot and lookout. He joined 36th air squadron of the second air regiment in Olomouc, equipped with AVIA B-534. At the beginning of the Nazi occupation of the Czechoslovakia in 1938, Dolezal was promoted to squadron first officer. Dolezal fled to Poland and later to France, joining L'Arme de l'Air. Most Czech fighter pilots in France served under Dolezal flew Morane Saulner MS-406. During the French campaign he shot down 4 German fighter planes, 3 of them confirmed kills and 1 probable, and was honored with the Croix dr Guerre. On the fall of France on June 16th, 1940, Dolezal with other pilots flew to Africa and then further to Liverpool, where he spent time in quarantine at the Cholmondeley camp. After this he was automatically admitted to the Royal Air Force as Pilot Officer (P/O). He was transferred to Duxford, where the No.310 Czechoslovakian Squadron was created. Due to large number of pilots, he was finally moved to the No.19 Squadron. Flying Spitfires with No.19 Sqn, Dolezal shot down 4 Luftwaffe aircraft and damaged one. During combat with a Messerschmitt Me109 his knee was injured. Returning to the No.310 Sqn, he was immediately appointed as the wing commander and simultaneously promoted to Flight Lieutenant and was later promoted to Squadron Leader. With No.310 Sqn, Dolezal shot down 2 aircraft and damaged 2 others. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 1st September 1942. He later became a co-comander of Churstaton, where the 312 and 313 Squadrons were based. He began his second operational tour as Wing Commander. He took command of the second Czechoslovakian Wing when the commander Karel Mrazek left. During this time, he achieved his last victory. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 17th June 1944. After finishing his second operational tour, he finally left operating service and was appointed Czech liaison officer. Later, he worked as a Czechoslovakian air force inspector in London. In 1944 he moved to the U.S., where he studied at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. After completing his studies, he went back to London where he continued to work as a Czechoslovakian air force inspector. At the beginning of 1945 Dolezal was promoted to major and on March 3rd, 1945 left the RAF and started to work at Ministry of Defence in London. He was one of the first RAF pilots to returned to Czechoslovakia after the war. During a service flight from Prague to Zlin on 4th October 1945 he lost his life tragically in an accident in a Sibel Si 204 training aircraft when the plane crashed near Bucovice na Morave. | |
| Squadrons for : Spitfire Vb EP461 | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have flown Spitfire Vb EP461. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
No.303 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 22nd July 1940 Fate : Disbanded 11th November 1946 Polish - Kosciuszko Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.303 Sqn RAF | No.303 Sqn RAF Flew Mustangs from April 1945. | |
| Aircraft type : Spitfire | ||
| A profile page including a list of all art prints for the Spitfire is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Aircraft | Info | |
Spitfire 
Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number Built : 20351 | Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. | |
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Everything we obtain for this site is shown on the site, we do not have any more photos, crew lists or further information on any of the ships. COPYRIGHT NOTICE. ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW, AND ARE OWNED BY CRANSTON FINE ARTS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. NO REPRODUCTION OR COPYING ALLOWED ON OTHER WEBSITES, BOOKS OR ARTICLES WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT. |
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Died : 3 / 12 / 1972