The Airmen's Stories - P/O F Kordula

Frantisek Kordula was born on 3rd August 1905 in Beroun, SW of Prague, Czechoslovakia. He was serving in the Czech Air Force when the Germans took over the country in March 1939.

He was demobilised on the 17th and went to Poland in June and joined the Czech Air Force in exile there.

When Poland fell, he escaped to France and was commissioned in l’Armée de l’Air in late 1939. It has not been possible to trace his service in France.

After the French collapse in June 1940, he made his way to England.

He was commissioned in the RAFVR and joined 310 Squadron at Duxford on 12th July. He went to 6 OTU Sutton Bridge on 17th August.

After converting to Hurricanes, Kordula joined No. 1 Squadron at Wittering on 11th September, moving on to 17 Squadron at Debden on the 25th. He shared in the destruction of a Me110 and damaged another on 17th November.

He was posted from 17 Squadron to the Czechoslovak Depot at Wilmslow on 5th June 1941. Again his subsequent service is currently undocumented but due to his age he is likely to have served in a non-operational role.

It is known that he returned to Czechoslovakia postwar but came back to the UK after the Communist takeover in 1948. Kordula died in Britain on 18th September 1979.