General František Peřina, the legendary pilot of the Second World War, who was nicknamed the General of the Skies, was born 100 years ago – on 8. 4. 1911 in Morkůvky near Břeclav.
This small, stocky man, with sparkling eyes and none of the sharp features we associate with heroes, was a true hero. In the cockpit he succeeded in taking risks to the extreme. He became the very first Czechoslovak ace fighter pilot on the western front. In 1937 he and the rest of our air-force elite represented the Czechoslovakia at an air show in Zurich. In June 1939 he fled from the Protectorate through Poland to France. After the fall of France he went to Great Britain, where he joined the 312th Czechoslovakian fighter squadron. During the war he shot down at least 12 German aircraft. He earned glory and honour especially when, all alone, he attacked a group of Luftwaffe planes to protect the remaining bombers in his squadron. Describing his actions, he said “The odds against me were enormous, and I really thought I’d end up getting killed. But in war you can’t think of these things – it’s not about you.”
In January 1949 he was discharged from the air force. Fearing communist reprisals, in April 1949 he and his wife flew to the American zone in Germany. He returned home in 1991, where he was finally awarded full recognition for his deeds. Besides the Order of the White Lion and many other awards, he was also given the highest French mark of honour and accepted into the Legion of Honour. František Peřina died on 6th May 2006 in Prague.
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