WW2 lost Czech pilot honoured with memorial
A monument has been unveiled in memory of the Czech pilot killed off the coast of Devon during the Second World War.
The body of Wing Commander Alois Vasatko was never recovered after his Spitfire collided with a German Focke-Wulf 190 and crashed into the sea off Starting Point on 23 June 1942.
For more than 80 years, a special plaque and bench in his memory have been placed near where the plane crashed.
The monument was erected by the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, together with the plaque and bench donated by Stokenham District Council.
Vasatko’s body was never found after the crash [Gary Hadden/@garyh_creates]
Vasatko, 33, was one of the RAF’s most senior Czech officers and commanded three fighter squadrons (310, 312 and 313), known as the Czech Fighter Wing, operating within the RAF from bases including Exeter, Bolt Head, Harrowbeer and Culmhead.
The monument was built by stonemason Andy Dunn and designed in collaboration with land owner Lady Newman. Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.
Vasatko was originally a pre-war Czechoslovak Army officer and later became a fighter pilot before joining the French Air Force.
He later joined Czech squadrons within the RAF and participated in combat in the later stages of the Battle of Britain.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
A special plaque and bench were placed in his memory at the Start Point [Gary Hadden/@garyh_creates]
Czech fleets played a vital role in the defense of the naval bases of Plymouth and Portland, as well as in shipping in the English Channel.
They also carried out bomber escort missions and attack sweeps over occupied France.
Thirty-six Spitfires were formed over Starting Point in 1942 to escort six bombers attacking German airfields at Morlaix in northern Brittany, but they were intercepted on the return journey.
Seven Spitfires were lost, including Vasatko’s.
A German pilot whose own plane was lost but survived thanks to British Air Sea Rescue later confirmed that he had collided with a Spitfire during the war.
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