RAF hijacking in Prague
In 1950, ex-British Royal Air Force pilots performed a bold triple-hijack of civilian flights to escape from Communist controlled Czechoslovakia. This is the full story behind this bold escape.
The situation in Prague
In 1948, Communists staged a coup d’etat in Prague. The Soviets had liberated the city at the end of World War II, and Soviet influence was running at an all-time high.
Forewarning the American McCarthy trials, the regime arrested anyone with suspected ties to the West. For the large number of Czech pilots who had fled Nazi-controlled Czechoslovakia for the UK during the war, this was worrying.
At the beginning, most of them were fine. The Communists needed experienced pilots to train new ones1. At the time, the Czechoslovaks still had piston engine planes because the Soviets hadn’t delivered their new MiG jet planes yet1. Without pilots, the country wouldn’t have been able to do much. As a precaution, the company allowed these men to work on internal flights only2. It was only when a generation of new pilots were operational – loyal Communists – that the ex-RAF pilots had to watch their backs1 3 4.
Plans to escape
A group of ex-RAF airmen started to plot an escape:
- 29-year-old Vít Angetter, ex-fighter pilot in No 312 (Czechoslovak) Fighter Squadron. He had distinguished himself in the invasion of Normandy2.
- 38-year-old Oldřich Doležal, ex-radio operator in No 312 (Czechoslovak) Fighter Squadron, and ex-pilot in No 311 (Czechoslovak) Bomber Squadron5. Doležal had been involved in a plot to escape to Munich in 1948 but had refused to take part at the time3 5.
- 33-year-old Ladislav Světlík ex-fighter pilot in No 312 (Czechoslovak) Fighter Squadron1 4.
They noticed that they had flight plans which took them to Prague at roughly the same time on 24 March 19501. One was from Bratislava, present day Slovakia, and the other two were from Brno and Ostrava, present day Czechia1 6. All 3 flights were west-bound flights to Prague.
They started planning in January 19501 3 4. They wanted to escape with family but this was difficult. The Communists would never let them and their family board the same plane5. Between them, they started to coordinate their movements. The pilots realised they could take each other’s families and avoid detection3 4 5.
Since the 3 pilots worked for the Czechoslovak National Airline, they coordinated casual meetings between themselves while on duty1 5. They also used coded words during phone calls5. They knew that once they escaped, the secret service would lockdown all other routes so they approached other trusted friends1. This way they’d help as many people as possible escape to the West.
All women booked flights using their maiden names to avoid any suspicion1 4. Everyone waited for a pre-arranged coded phone call that would alert them to the start of the escape5. With that call, they knew they had to go to the airport the day after and board a specific flight for Prague5.
Such was the secrecy involved that none of the passengers was aware of who else was involved3 5 .
Doležal and his family spent the preceding weeks disposing of their possessions5. They figured they would only be able to pack an overnight bag for the flights3 5. The only thing he left behind was his Czechoslovak medals which he’d earned as an RAF pilot5. He was angry that his country treated him as an undesirable and wanted no reminder of his service to it5.
On Thursday 23 March 1950, the 3 pilots met at the coffee bar at Ruzyne airport, Prague, before setting off to their destinations1 3 5. They laid out the final plans for their escape the next day5. They alerted a colleague to make the coded phone calls to all the passengers involved5.
Escape!
On Friday 24 March, the 3 Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Dakota) aircraft2 were ready for take-off3 5:
- At 06:35 GMT, Vlt Angetter co-piloted Czechoslovak National Airlines DC-3 OK-WDR from Brno heading for Prague, 220 km away. The pilot and flight engineer were not part of the plan, and Angetter intended to overpower them. The plane had 26 passengers, 8 of whom wanted to escape.
- Also at 06:35 GMT, Světlik captained Czechoslovak National Airlines DC-3 OK-WAR from Ostrava heading for Prague. No one else in the crew was a party to the escape1, and only 4 passengers were, including ex-RAF conspirator Viktor Popelka.
- At 07:00, Doležal should have captained Czechoslovak National Airlines DC-3 OK-WDS from Bratislava heading for Prague. All the crew and 6 of the 25 passengers were part of the escape plot.
The Brno flight
![A picture of the CSA Dakota DC3 [C47], call-sign OK-WDR](https://i0.wp.com/www.unexpectedtraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WDR_nmr4Zs8WsYXu17QBocnvvi.webp?resize=600%2C220)
At 06:52, Angetter and his radio operator overpowered the pilot and hijacked the plane5. At 08:18 they landed at Erdberg US air force base in Munich5. Angetter immediately advised the airport commander that 2 other planes were on their way3. They would identify themselves with the passcode “Way to freedom”3. Since they would come over Russian controlled Austria, US fighters scrambled to patrol the skies over Linz, and to escort them to Munich3 5.
The Ostrava flight
Thirty minutes after take off, at an altitude of 1900 metres, Popelka and Světlik overpowered the crew5 3. They tied their colleagues up in parachute strings, and roughed them up3, giving them an alibi in case they got caught by the Communist police1 3 4. The passengers on board included a mining delegation from Ostrava, intent on attending a conference in Prague1.
They cruised over Russian controlled Austria and landed at Erding airbase at 08:505 3.
The Bratislava flight
Since all crew wanted to escape, this was the easiest flight to hijack. It also had the greatest risk since it departed later than the other two. If the Communists had discovered anything suspicious about the other flights, it would jeopardise their escape3 5.
A last-minute complication at the airport also complicated things5. Passengers brought a large amount of luggage which made the plane 750 kg overweight3 5 . Following protocol, Doležal requested 1 200 litres of fuel instead of the usual 1 800 litres3 5. The smaller amount of fuel was adequate for a flight to Prague but not for Erding3 5. Not only was Erding further away, Doležal expected to need evasive flying over Austria to dodge Russian patrols5.
Another complication arose when airport security staff spotted the name Vrzáňová on the passenger list5. The month before, Czechoslovak ice-skating champion Alena Vrzáňová had defected to the West so the name raised an alarm5. This passenger was Alena’s mother5. Airport security re-checked everyone’s papers before allowing them to board3 5.
At 07:30, the plane started taxiing3 5. They received an urgent instruction from the control tower to return to the terminal, but the operator faked radio problems and switched his units off3 5 . Doležal immediately took off before they could be stopped3 5. They followed their flight plan heading for Brno which is where they had a scheduled stop3 5. When they were 80km away from their departure, they radioed Brno claiming they couldn’t land due to a langing gear fault and changed course for Linz3 5. Doležal flew above the cloud cover so he would be able to dive into the clouds in case fighters appeared3 5 .
They met up with the patrolling US fighters over Linz who escorted them back to Erding, landing at 09:303 5.
Fallout
The passengers and crew – all 85 of them – walked out on to Erding air field near Munich in West Germany1 2. Twenty-seven of them claimed political asylum, but the others returned home to Czechoslovakia1 2.
This was the world’s first triple-hijack and it shocked Czechoslovakia. West Germany and America refused the immediate extradition request2 4 7. The Communist-controlled newspaper Rudé Právo wrote that the escape took place by “gangster methods” that could only have come from “foreign influences”1. The Communists held trials in absentia and sentenced the ex-RAF personnel to death5. The other passengers received a 25-year sentence5.
All Czechoslovak flights had to then include an armed undercover policeman to be able to prevent such a hijack in future1. Pilots were also obliged to report their location every 10 minutes1 so ground control could track their movement.
The Czechoslovaks employed many dastardly tricks to capture defectors.
The Communists went as far as producing a propaganda film two years later, portraying the event in a negative light1.
Vlt Angetter ended up in the USA where he joined the US Air Force2. He served duty in American air bases in West Germany and flew missions behind the Iron Curtain over the Baltics, Russia and the Ukraine2 3.
Doležal ended up in England where he got a civil pilot’s licence5. He helped Hungarian refugees get out of Vienna during the Hungary uprising. Later he worked in Libya for a few years with oil companies5.
Světlik rejoined the RAF in England and in 1954 moved to Malta as a transport pilot4. He then flew missions in Malaysia during the war in the Pacific4. In 1966 he retired and settled in Malta, before moving to New Zealand in 19734.
Many others continued to escape and ended up in England. For many, it was the only other home they knew which had helped them during the war. In total, the British Royal Air Force accepted 300 Czechoslovak pilots back into service6.
In 1989, most of the former Czechoslovak RAF pilots were cleared of all accused crimes6.
References
- The great air escape – how three former RAF pilots escaped communist Czechoslovakia by hijacking civilian planes; McEnchroe, Thomas; Radio Prague International; 2020-03-24[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Vit Angetter; Jiří Rajlich; Free Czechoslovak Air Force; 2011-03-23[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- They Flew to Exile 1950; Free Czechoslovak Air Force; 2011-03-12[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Ladislav Světlik; Free Czechoslovak Air Force; 2012-03-01[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Oldrich Dolezal; Free Czechoslovak Air Force; 2012-03-01[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Ungrateful homeland: Communist persecution of Czechoslovak airmen from Britain; Jiří Plachý; stoplusjednicka.cz; 2018-06-03[↩][↩][↩]
- America rejects Czech demands to extradite escaped airmen; Times Of Malta; 1950-04-08[↩]