Photographs | Josef Bernat

Josef and his crews

Portrait of Josef Bernat in RAF uniform — Josef Bernat in RAF uniform. The only individual portrait found so far; the same image appears on the home page. Photo: rafaci.cz — Czech RAF Airmen (original source not stated on the page)

A 311 Squadron Wellington crew preparing for a flight, Josef Bernat third from the left — A Vickers Wellington crew of No. 311 Squadron preparing for a flight, East Wretham. From the left: Sgt Karol Valach, Sgt Josef Filler, **F/Sgt Josef Bernat**, P/O Vilém Konštacký, P/O Josef Horák and Sgt Jan Plzák. Photo: © Imperial War Museums, CH 2187 (Wikimedia Commons); crew names per Novinky.cz (VHÚ reproduction)

Josef Bernat's crew writing a message on a bomb in front of their Wellington — The crew writing a message on a bomb in front of their Wellington, East Wretham, winter 1940/41. Josef Horák second from the right; the crew was captained by **Josef Bernat DFM (fourth from the right)**. Photo from Evžen Jedlička's booklet Josef Horák of Hřebeč (municipality of Hřebeč)

Josef Bernat's crew walking to their aircraft with their kit — “Josef Bernat's crew once more” — airmen with parachute bags heading for their aircraft, bomb trolleys in the foreground. East Wretham. Photo from Evžen Jedlička's booklet Josef Horák of Hřebeč (municipality of Hřebeč)

A formation of Vickers Wellington bombers of No. 311 Squadron in flight — Vickers Wellington bombers of No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron in flight (fuselage code KX). Photo: Military History Institute Prague (VHÚ) · via Novinky.cz

Airmen of No. 311 Squadron in front of a Wellington, East Wretham 1941. **Josef Bernat is number 8** (also pictured: Valach, Horák, Konštacký, Nedvěd, Šnajdr and others). Photo: Tomáš Jambor archive · via hbhistory.cz / Wings in Exile

A group of Czechoslovak airmen during training in France, Josef Bernat third from the left — During training in France, 1939–1940. From the left: Oldřich Helma, Jaroslav Šála, **Josef Bernat**, Josef Čapka, Jaroslav Hájek and Alois Šedivý. Photo: Jiří Rajlich collection · via fcafa.com

Places and machines of his life

Wooden bell tower in Kojice — The historic wooden bell tower in his native Kojice, eastern Bohemia. Photo: Petr1888, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Aerial photograph of RAF Honington, 1944 — RAF Honington in a 1944 aerial photograph — 311 Squadron's first base, where Bernat began in 1940. Photo: USAAF, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Three Wellingtons of No. 311 Squadron in formation, March 1941 — Wellington Mk.Ics of No. 311 Squadron — R1410 (KX-M), R1378 (KX-K) and T2541 (KX-A) from East Wretham in formation over East Anglia, March 1941. Bernat was flying with the squadron in these very weeks. Photo: IWM CH 2265 (B. J. Daventry), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The same 311 Squadron formation from another angle — The same trio of 311 Squadron Wellingtons in port echelon — a second photograph from the same flight. Photo: IWM CH 2266, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The grass landing field of RAF East Wretham — The grass landing field of East Wretham — the modest Norfolk airfield from which Bernat set out on his raids over Germany. Photo: IWM / American Air Museum FRE 6140, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Control tower of RAF East Wretham — The control tower of East Wretham airfield. Photo: IWM / American Air Museum FRE 6117, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Geodetic airframe of a Wellington in the factory — The geodetic airframe of a Wellington at the Vickers-Armstrong works — Barnes Wallis's famous lattice structure, thanks to which Bernat's burning R1532 made it home from Münster. Photo: IWM CH 5974, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pilot and second pilot in the cockpit of a Wellington (No. 149 Squadron, 1941) — the workplace where Bernat spent 189 operational hours. Photo: Cecil Beaton, IWM D 4737, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Colour photograph of a Wellington pilot in his cockpit, 1942 — A rare period colour photograph: a Wellington pilot looks out from his cockpit, 1942. Photo: IWM TR 107, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A Wellington crew dressing before a night raid on Berlin — A Wellington crew put on their Irvin suits before a night raid on Berlin (No. 99 Squadron). Bernat flew against the same target in March 1941. Photo: IWM CH 2505 (G. Woodbine), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wellington KX-E of 311 Squadron after a forced landing in the Netherlands — The risks of the Berlin runs: Wellington L7788 (KX-E) of 311 Squadron after its forced landing near Leidschendam following the raid on Berlin of 24 September 1940; the Germans later repaired it. Photo: NIMH collection (Netherlands Institute of Military History), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Captured 311 Squadron Wellington in German markings — A captured Wellington Mk.Ic, L7842 of 311 Squadron, in Luftwaffe markings (the aircraft was lost on a mission to Boulogne on 6 February 1941). Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1972-019-88, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons

A line of RAF Dakotas on an airfield — RAF Dakotas in a line (No. 233 Squadron, 1944) — the same type in which Bernat flew out of Kbely to freedom on 14 June 1948. Photo: IWM CH 12833, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Aerial photograph of RAF Manston, 1939 — RAF Manston in Kent in a 1939 German reconnaissance photograph — here Bernat's Dakota touched down on empty tanks on 14 June 1948. Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Control tower and hangars of the former RAF Newton — The control tower and pre-war hangars of the former RAF Newton — just a few miles from Whatton, where Josef Bernat spent the last years of his life. Photo: Alan Murray-Rust, geograph.org.uk, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Winged Lion Memorial in Prague — The Winged Lion Memorial at Klárov, Prague — among the 2,507 names of Czechoslovak RAF personnel on its bronze plaques is that of Josef Bernat. Photo: Mojmír Churavý, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

The photographs of Josef and his crews are published with their source and owner credited; before further distribution beyond this site, permission of the rights holders is required (VHÚ Prague, rafaci.cz, the municipality of Hřebeč, the Tomáš Jambor archive, the Jiří Rajlich collection). The images in “Places and machines” come from Wikimedia Commons — they are in the public domain or under the CC licences stated in the captions. A better-quality portrait should exist on Bernat's RAF “aviation card” at the Military Central Archives in Prague (VÚA–VHA). Photographs from family archives are most welcome.