115 years on: Remembering pilot František Peřina, “General of the Skies”

WWII Czechoslovak fighter pilot František Peřina, one of the country’s most prominent war heroes, gained recognition mainly during the Battle of France in 1940. His courageous deeds, which won him the nickname “General of the Skies” are being commemorated on the 115th anniversary of his birth both in Prague, and his hometown of Morkůvky in the Břeclav region.

“As soon as you get a taste of aviation, it somehow gets under your skin, and you can’t get rid of it.”

This is how František Peřina described his passion for flying more than 20 years ago.

Even before the war, in 1937, he represented Czechoslovakia at a prestigious air show in Zurich. After the Nazi occupation began, he fled through Poland to France and joined the Foreign Legion. Right at the start of the Battle of France in May 1940, he shot down 11 enemy aircraft. However, the number might be even higher.

František Peřina|Photo: Prague’s Military History Institute

“He became the first Czechoslovak fighter ace.”

Says historian Jiří Rajlich from the Military History Institute. František Peřina demonstrated his courage, for example, during one of the German bombing raids on Paris.

One squadron set out against dozens of enemy aircraft—along with him. While the others attacked the bombers, František Peřina went after the escorting fighters.

“He attacked a superior number of German fighters mainly to draw their attention away from his fellow fighters,” the historian adds.

“If I didn’t do it, eight of my friends would have been killed. And if I did, I would be the one to go. The odds seemed good enough to me, so I flew straight into those 60 Messerschmitts,” Peřina recalled.

Messerschmitt war airplanes|Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-669-7340-27 / Blaschka, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE

During the fight, he shot one aircraft down, but was hit himself and survived only by luck, despite serious injuries. Still not fully recovered, he eventually left France in a very unconventional way at the last moment.

“To this day, I’m recognized as a plane thief. I managed to steal a Curtiss aircraft and fly across the Mediterranean to Algeria,” Peřina said.

From there, he made his way to England, where he flew only briefly. He later became a gunnery instructor and then a liaison officer at RAF Fighter Command headquarters. After the communist coup, however, František Peřina had to flee again—first to England, and later to Canada and the United States. And, true to form, he escaped by air.

František Peřina (right)|Photo: Kaufi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

“He didn’t go on foot like the vast majority of his colleagues. Instead, he used an aircraft to escape together with his wife and an aeroclub pilot. He flew away.”

Explains historian Jiří Rajlich. František Peřina was rehabilitated after November 1989, was able to return to his homeland, and died there in 2006.