Josef František, (7 October 1914 – 8 October 1940) was a Czechoslovak fighter pilot and Second World War fighter ace who flew for the air forces of Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, and the United Kingdom. He was the highest-scoring non-British Allied ace in the Battle of Britain, with 17 confirmed victories and one probable, all gained in a period of four weeks in September 1940. František was a brilliant pilot and combatant but frequently breached air force discipline first in Czechoslovakia, in France and Britain. The RAF found it best to let him patrol alone, a role in which he was highly successful. He was killed in a crash in October 1940 in the final week of the Battle of Britain. Life in Czechoslovakia Josef František was born in 1914 in Otaslavice in Moravia, the son of a carpenter. After leaving school he was apprenticed to a locksmith, but in 1934 he joined the Czechoslovak Air Force. He was trained at the Air Training School at Prostějov. In 1935 he was a corporal in 1st Air Regiment. In 1936 he completed training and was posted to the 2nd Air Regiment at Olomouc in Moravia, where he flew Aero A.11 and Letov Š-328 reconnaissance biplanes. By 1937 he was a sergeant. František got into trouble for fighting, returning late to his unit, and other breaches of discipline. He could have been dishonourably discharged, but he showed exceptional promise as a pilot, so he was sent to the 4th Air Regiment to train as a fighter pilot. In June 1938 he became a fighter pilot with the 40th Fighter Flight at Prague-Kbely flying Avia B-534 and Bk-534 biplane fighters. Here he developed his flying and combat skills. On 30 September 1938 France and the United Kingdom allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland, and on 15 March 1939 Germany occupied the remainder of Bohemia and Moravia. It imposed a Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia with a puppet government that it ordered to dissolve its armed forces. Polish Air Force Many Czechoslovak airmen covertly escaped over the border to Poland. František was one of a group of four that was smuggled across the border by train at Šumbark on 13 June. The group reported to the Czechoslovak Consulate in Krakow and was accommodated in a Czechoslovak transit camp at Bronowice Małe that had been converted from a disused Austro-Hungarian Army camp. In July 1939 a