Czech WWII fighter ace Gen. Frantisek Perina, who fought against Nazi Germany in the French and British air forces died today. He was 95.
Perina died in Prague's military hospital of an unspecified chronic illness shortly after midnight, hospital spokesman Frantisek Vlcek said.
Perina, who was born April 8, 1911, fled then-Czechoslovakia, which was occupied by Nazi troops, in June 1939.
He joined France's air force and was credited with four aerial victories on his first day of combat. After the country capitulated, he fled to Britain to join the Royal Air Force's No. 312 Fighter Squadron to participate in the Battle of Britain, Germany's unsuccessful attempt to destroy the RAF.
Perina ended the war with at least 14 downed enemy planes to his credit, one of the most successful Czech fighter pilots.
Defense Minister Karel Kuenhl called Perina ``a brilliant fighter and a true war hero.''
``(His death) is a great loss for the Czech Republic and the Czech military,'' he said, according to comments posted on Czech radio's Web site.
After the Communists took power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, Perina was expelled from the army and again fled his country to rejoin the RAF. Later, he moved to Canada, then settled in the United States where he worked for an aircraft company.
He returned home after the fall of communism in 1989 and was awarded a number of top state honors.
Perina's wife, Anna, died earlier this year. Funeral arrangements for Perina were not immediately announced.
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