[3] On 30 October 1918, the establishment of Aviation Corps (Letecký sbor) marked the beginning of the Czechoslovak Air Force.

odbor (letecký) Ministerstva národní obrany) under the command of divisional general Jaroslav Fajfr (as of October 1938).

[5] It was anticipated that individual squadrons and flights would be attached to various field corps and divisions in case of war with Germany.

Czechoslovak aircraft builders included Aero, Avia, Beneš-Mráz, Letov, Praga, Tatra and Zlín.

Its mixed construction (wood, metal, and fabric covering) and all-metal aircraft were competitive in the early 1930s, but by 1938, only its MB.200 (a licensed Bloch design) was not totally obsolete.

Founded in 1919 in a former sugar refinery in the eastern Prague suburbs of Letňany and Čakovice, Avia made entire aeroplanes.

So in 1937 the government bought Tupolev SB twin-engined medium bombers from the Soviet Union,[19] plus a license to build more in Czechoslovakia as the Avia B-71.

The Munich Agreement was followed on 2 November 1938 by the First Vienna Award, in which Germany and Fascist Italy allowed Hungary to annex southern Slovakia.

Then on 15 March 1939 Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, created the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia rump state and allowed what remained of Slovakia to become the Slovak Republic.

[23] Czechoslovak pilots who joined the Polish Air Force went into action in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

Only after France had declared war on Germany did it agree with the Czechoslovak National Committee in Paris to let the men transfer to the French Air Force and restore their ranks.

They needed to be re-trained to fly French aircraft, but some completed their training in time to fight in the Battle of France in May and June 1940.

70 Czechoslovak airmen, including Josef František and Karel Kuttelwascher, were awarded the Croix de Guerre.

They reached the United Kingdom, where Brigadier General Karel Janoušek quickly secured an agreement with the UK War Department for them to join the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).

Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, who led RAF Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain, later recalled: I must confess that I had been a little doubtful of the effect which their experience in their own countries and in France might have had upon the Polish and Czech pilots, but my doubts were soon laid to rest, because all three squadrons swung in the fight with a dash and enthusiasm which is beyond praise.

After the German partition of Czechoslovakia in 1938, Slovakia was left with a small air force (Slovenské vzdušné zbrane or SVZ) equipped primarily with Czechoslovak aircraft.

In 1939 the SVZ defended Slovakia against Hungary in the Slovak–Hungarian War, and fought alongside German forces in the Slovak invasion of Poland.

In the German invasion of Russia the SVZ provided air cover for Slovak forces fighting against the USSR on the Eastern Front.

During the campaign Slovakia's obsolete biplanes were replaced with German combat aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109.

The air force was sent back to Slovakia after combat fatigue and desertion had reduced the pilots' effectiveness.

Towards the end of the Second World War, General Alois Vicherek [cs] left Britain for the Soviet Union, where he was supposed to take over command of the Czechoslovak Air Force in the USSR.

Vicherek was happy to serve an Eastern Bloc Czechoslovakia, and on 29 May 1945 he was appointed the Commander of the Czechoslovak Air Force.

[33] On 15 January 1946 311 Squadron became the Czechoslovak 6 letecká divize ("6th Air Division") at Havlíčkův Brod in southeastern Bohemia.

Letecký pluk 24 was given the name Biskajsky ("Biscay") and initially equipped with Mosquito FB Mk VI fighter-bombers.

The Jumo engine and propeller had been made for medium bombers and had the wrong performance characteristics for a fighter aircraft.

Many ex-RAF personnel, including Air Marshal Janoušek[21] and Hawker Hurricane pilot Josef Bryks,[36] were tried on false charges and given long prison sentences.

After flying about 10 miles (16 km) to the West German border, the refugee's aircraft ran out of fuel, and he landed safely in a Bavarian forest, just before the Czechoslovak fighters could intercept him.

[39] 8th Fighter Air Regiment was based at (Ostrava) (Mošnov) from 1959 until 1 April 1985, whereupon it relocated to Brno (Tuřany).

[44] The details are based on the Czech Ministerstvo narodni obrany website, which lists all units of the Czechoslovak People's Army in existence between 1954 and 1989, with their location, subordination, equipment and changes over time.

[46] One of the first units which closed down as a direct result of the transfer of a large number of aircraft to Slovakia was the 9th Fighter Bomber Air Regiment (9.