Karel Kuttelwascher

Karel Miloslav Kuttelwascher
Nickname(s)	Kut Czech Night Hawk
Born	(1916-09-23)23 September 1916 Svatý Kříž, Austria-Hungary
Died	17 August 1959(1959-08-17) (aged 42) St Austell, England
Buried	Uxbridge, England
Allegiance	Czechoslovakia France United Kingdom
Service/branch	Czechoslovak Air Force French Foreign Legion Armée de l'Air Royal Air Force
Years of service	1934–46
Rank	Squadron Leader
Unit	44 Fighter Unit 32 Fighter Unit French Foreign Legion Groupe de Chasse III/3 No. 1 Squadron RAF No. 23 Squadron RAF Czechoslovak Air Inspectorate No. 32 Maintenance Unit RAF Czechoslovak Military Air Academy
Commands held	"A" Flight, No. 1 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars	Second World War Battle of France Battle of Britain Channel Dash
Awards	Order of the White Lion (posthumous) Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945 Československá medaile Za chrabrost před nepřítelem Československá medaile za zásluhy, 1. stupně Pamětní medaile československé armády v zahraničí Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar 1939–1945 Star with Battle of Britain clasp Air Crew Europe Star Croix de Guerre with palm and silver star
Other work	British European Airways pilot

44 Fighter Unit
32 Fighter Unit
French Foreign Legion
Groupe de Chasse III/3
No. 1 Squadron RAF
No. 23 Squadron RAF
Czechoslovak Air Inspectorate
No. 32 Maintenance Unit RAF

Second World War

Karel Miloslav Kuttelwascher DFC and Bar, (23 September 1916 – 17 August 1959) was a Czechoslovak fighter pilot, and a flying ace of the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. He was in combat service from May 1940 to October 1942, first with the French Air Force and then with the RAF. He was the RAF's most successful Czechoslovak pilot, and one of the RAF's highest-scoring flying aces overall.

Kuttelwascher was born in Svatý Kříž ("Holy Cross"), a village in central Bohemia about 4 kilometres (2 ¹⁄₂ miles) south of Deutschbrod (Czech: Německý Brod, now Havlíčkův Brod). He was the third of six children. Their parents Josef and Kristina Kuttelwascher were ethnic Germans from Bavaria. The family name means tripe washer.

Aged 17 Kuttelwascher started work as a clerk at a flour mill in Kladno northwest of Prague. On 1 October 1934, aged 18, he joined the Czechoslovak Air Force. In March 1937 he qualified as a pilot and was posted to 4 Flying Regiment at Kbely airfield near Prague. There he trained as a fighter pilot, completing his training in May 1938. He was posted to 1 Air Regiment, which assigned him to the 32nd Fighter Unit. The unit was posted to defend Czechoslovak airspace over Moravia and Slovakia, but after the Munich Agreement in September 1938 it returned to base at Hradec Králové in northern Bohemia.

...
Wikipedia