The squadron was formed at Duxford on 29 August 1940.[1] It was crewed mostly by escaped Czechoslovak pilots, but its first commander was the British Squadron Leader Frank Tyson.[2] On 12 September a Slovak fighter pilot, Ján Ambruš, was appointed as joint commander of the squadron.[3] The plan was for responsibility to be transferred gradually from Tyson to Ambruš.
On 13 October Ambruš led a flight of three Hurricane Mk I fighters on patrol. Over the Irish Sea Ambruš mistakenly led the flight to attack two Bristol Blenheim Mk IFlight bombers of No. 29 Squadron RAF. One Blenheim, L6637, code letters RO-S, crashed into the sea off Point of Ayre on the Isle of Man and not far from the Morecambe Baylight ship. All three of its crew were killed. The other Blenheim, L7135, code letters RO-S, survived with minor damage and returned safely to RAF Ternhill in Shropshire with its crew unharmed.[6] Ambruš was relieved of his command, and on 12 December Sqn Ldr Evžen Čižek was appointed to succeed him.[3] On 17 December Ambruš was transferred to the Inspectorate-General of the Czechoslovak Air Force in London.
The squadron was re-equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIA in October 1941 and again with the Spitfire Mk VB/C in December.[9] The squadron spent the first part of 1942 in Wales. It moved to RAF Fairwood Common in Glamorgan on 1 January, then to RAF Angle in Pembrokeshire on 20 February,[7] and then returned to Fairwood Common on 10 April.[10] The squadron's duties included coastal patrols and shipping reconnaissance flights.
312 Squadron pilots at RAF Harrowbeer in Devon in 1942 just after being decorated by Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš
On 10 October 1942 the squadron moved to RAF Church Stanton[10] in Somerset. On 1 January 1943 Sqn Ldr Tomáš Vybíral succeeded Čermák as squadron commander.[3] On 24 June the squadron moved to RAF Skaebrae on Orkney. On 7 September the squadron moved to RAF Ibsley[10] in Hampshire and joined the 2nd Tactical Air Force as a fighter-bomber unit. The squadron operated over France softening up targets in preparation for the invasion and then supporting the landings.[12] On 1 November Sqn Ldr František Vancl succeeded Vybíral as squadron commander.[4]
Mk IXB Spitfires of 312 Squadron at RAF Appledram being repaired outside a camouflaged Butler combat hangar
On 3 April 1944 the squadron moved to RAF Appledram in West Sussex.[13] From here its operations included intercepting V-1 flying bombs, escorting bombers and attacking rail and road targets in German-occupied Europe.[11] On 15 May Sqn Ldr Jaroslav Hlad'o succeeded Vancl as squadron commander.[4] On 22 June the squadron moved to nearby RAF Tangmere,[13] also in West Sussex.
On 15 November 1944 Sqn Ldr Václav Šlouf succeeded Hlad'o as squadron commander.[4] From 27 February to 8 June 1945 the squadron was based at RAF Manston[13] in Kent.
Farewell parade of Czechoslovak squadrons at RAF Manston, Kent, on 3 August 1945. Air Marshal John Slessor, with walking stick, inspects some of the men. Air Marshal Karel Janoušek can be seen behind him.
On 3 August members of all of the RAF's Czechoslovak squadrons held a farewell parade at RAF Manston. Air Marshal John Slessor inspected the parade, accompanied by Air Marshal Karel Janoušek. On 24 August 312 squadron moved to Ruzyně Airport in Prague.[13] It became a squadron of the new Czechoslovak Air Force, and on 15 February 1946 was officially disbanded as an RAF squadron.[1][9]
Seven Spitfire F Mk IXs survive today that flew with the squadron in 1944–45. This is by far the largest number of surviving aircraft associated with a single squadron.
On 25 October 1941, when 312 Squadron was based at RAF Heathfield, F/O František Hekl crashed a Spitfire Mk IIA into a reservoir in Ayrshire on a solo training flight. The Spitfire was serial number P7540, carrying the marking DU-W.[22]
An eyewitness the Spitfire flying low over the surface of Loch Doon when Hekl banked the aircraft to starboard and its starboard wingtip caught the water surface. Hekl lost control and the aircraft broke up and sank, leaving only a patch of oil on the water. An RAF salvage crew brought a boat and spent several days trawling parts of the bed of the loch, but failed to find either the aircraft or Hekl's body.[23]
In 1977 the Dumfries branch of the Scottish Sub Aqua Club began a systematic search of the bed of the loch in the area where an eyewitness thought the aircraft had crashed. In 1979 several clubs from the Northern Federation of British Sub-Aqua Clubs joined the search, and Blackpool Sub-Aqua Club took over organisation of the project.[23]
The search was unsuccessful so in 1982 it was moved to a different area of the loch, where divers quickly found the Spitfire's tail and rear part of the fuselage. In subsequent dives other parts of the aircraft were found, scattered over a distance of 200 metres. Both wings were badly damaged, magnesium parts such as the undercarriage wheels had corroded away, but the Merlin Mk XII engine was recovered in good condition. Hekl's body was not found.[23]
Supermarine Spitfire Vc 'AR501' (civil registration G-AWII) built in 1942, remains airworthy, and is maintained & operated by The Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire, England. AR501 was one of a production batch of 300 Spitfires ordered under Contract No. 1305/40 of August 1940 from Westland Aircraft, Yeovil.
Spitfire Mk Vc 'AR501' of The Shuttleworth Collection, shown here in No. 312 (Czech) colours
Following restoration in 2018 by The Shuttleworth Collection it is presented in the squadron colours of No. 312 (Czech) Squadron, which the aircraft moved to on October 10th 1943 from No. 310 (Czech) Squadron. Shuttleworth periodically switch between elliptical and clipped wing configurations.
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Halley, James J (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN0-85130-164-9.
Hurt, Zdeněk (2004). In Focus: Czechs in the RAF. Walton-on-Thames: Red Kite. ISBN0-9538061-9-7.
Jackson, Robert (2003). Spitfire The History of Britain's Most Famous World War II Fighter. Bath: Parragon. p.89. ISBN0-75258-770-6.
Jefford, Wg Cdr CG (2001) [1998]. RAF Squadrons, A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (seconded.). Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. ISBN978-1-84037-141-3.
Lewis, Peter (1968) [1959]. Squadron Histories, RFC, RNAS and RAF, Since 1912. London: Putnam. p.96. SBN 370-00022-6.
Liškutín, Miroslav A (1988). Challenge in the Air: a Spitfire pilot remembers. London: William Kimber. ISBN0718306910.
Rawlings, John DR (1976) [1969]. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft (newed.). London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN0-354-01028-X.
van Eyck, Manuel F (1993). Zemřeli jsme pro Anglii (in Czech). Translated by František Fajtl. prologue by František Fajtl. Prague: Naše vojsko. ISBN80-206-0321-2.
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