World War II: Interview with Czech Ace Frantisek Perina

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MH: How were you able to get out this time?

Perina: On April 12, 1949, I managed to get hold of a small sports airplane, and with my wife and a friend, I flew to Germany. In order to escape detection, I flew right down on the deck, across the border, until I ran out of gas and belly-landed in a muddy field near Passau, just eight miles from the Russian zone. My wife was injured in the crash and had to be hospitalized in Wiesbaden, but we’d made it.

MH: Where did you go and what did you do from there?

Perina: I joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) again, for five years. I was over the age of 36, so I could not fly operationally, although I did fly small planes. I was on the RAF rifle team and won a lot of trophies. It was really a good five years for me. Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, who attended one of our rifle competitions, came to me personally and tried to make me stay in the RAF, but I knew that I would not reach a higher rank than squadron leader. I thought I’d do better in civilian life, so I quit my commission and went to Canada. There, I manufactured fiberglass fishing boats for five years. In 1953, I obtained an airline pilot’s license, but could not get a job anywhere, being over 42 years of age.

MH: When did you come to the United States?

Perina: My wife and I applied for American visas back in 1949, while in London, but there was a quota on Czechs, so we had to wait 10 years. Finally, just before Christmas in 1959, we were granted our visas. We went to Los Angeles, where I got a job at the Webber Aircraft Corporation in Burbank starting a plastics division, eventually supervising 347 people. My firm assembled lavatories and kitchens for Boeing 747 airliners. Later, while I was there, the company manufactured them. We got a subcontract for Boeing, Douglas, Lockheed and other airliners, and we also made the seats for Gemini space capsules.

MH: Are you still with Webber?

Perina: No. I retired on March 15, 1979. Anna and I moved to Arizona, to take up hunting and fishing, but it’s one of the hottest places in the United States. As you get older, that heat gets to you. So we moved on to Las Vegas, Nevada.

MH: And now I understand that you plan to return to the Czech Republic?

Perina: Yes. The Communists are gone. So, unfortunately, is Slovakia, broken away to pursue its foolish, separate path. The Czech Republic is no longer the country I’d fought for, but I want to go back anyway. There, I’m somebody. Over here, I’m nobody. I’ve a lot of old wartime friends there. Anyway, my wife prefers the opera and theater in Prague over what passes for entertainment in Las Vegas. I guess the main reason is that I’m still such a stupid patriot. I fought for that land. When I die, I want to have that piece of earth around me near the graves of my family, knowing it will be taken good care of by my niece.

This article was written by Jon Guttman and originally appeared in the October 1995 issue of Military History magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!

Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Aces, Aerial Combat, People, World War II

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