Plt. Off. Alois Vasatko, No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Sqn., 1940 flew this Spitfire MK.I.




The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seater aircraft, designed by Sydney Camm, developed and produced by the Hawker Aircraft Company. Its design was simple - a practical asset as much of the wartime repair work was done in Squadron workshops. The first Hurricanes were made of steel spars covered with fabric and powered by Merlin engines. They first entered service with No 111 Squadron RAF at RAF Northolt in December 1938. By the beginning of WWII, nearly 500 Hurricanes had been produced, equipping 18 RAF Squadrons and by the end of the conflict had seen service in all the major theatres of WWII.

Wing Commander Alois Vasatko, DFC, DSO, Croix de Guerre, Legion d'Honneur and Order of the White Lion was a very famous Czech fighter pilot. He was originally a teacher in Czechoslovakia before joining the Army. He underwent pilot training between 1937-1938 and became an active pilot a year later. Following the invasion of his country by the Germans, Vasatko fled to France, where he retrained and took part in the Battle of France. He was the most successful Czechoslovak pilot of the conflict. He came to Britain following the German defeat of France and joined 312 Squadron, which became the Czechoslovak Fighter Wing of the RAF.312 Squadron was made up of the elite of Czechoslovak pilots. Alois Vasatko subsequently became the new commander of the unit, which played a significant role in the Battle of Britain. The Squadron flew Hurricane MKI fighters before transferring to Spitfires. Sadly Wing Commander Aloise Vasatko was killed in a Spitfire during a dogfight with a German Fw 190, crashing into the sea in June 1942.