Set of four silver coins Czechoslovak Airmen in the RAF - Significant Events 2018 Proof

RAZITKO_POSTOVNE_ZDARMA_NENI

Czechoslovak airmen in the RAF

After the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, our airmen found it difficult to accept the fate of their homeland and looked for a way to fight the Nazi Third Reich abroad. When Great Britain came under attack, the Czechoslovaks rushed to its aid and were quickly integrated into the RAF. The Czech Mint's traditional set of four silver coins in 2018 commemorate the significant events that made history for our flying heroes.

The first deployment of 310 Fighter Squadron in the Battle of Britain, the emergency landing of a KX B in the North Sea, Operation Stonewall and the triumphant return of the Czechoslovaks to their homeland feature in relief.

What is hidden under the code name "Stonewall"? In 1943, five ships set sail from Japan to break the British naval blockade and reinforce the German war machine. These were not battleships, but cargo ships carrying vital raw materials in a crucial year of the war. To escape the enemy's attention, they sailed fast and alone. Yet they were armed to the teeth, just in case. They were called "blockade breakers". The most important of these was the Alsterufer, which carried 344 tons of tungsten for Hitler's armaments factories. When British patrol planes spotted it in the North Atlantic, it made its escape and the German air force and navy came to its aid. The British wanted to sink the ship at any cost, and so the race against time began. Eight Czechoslovaks - crew members of the 311th Bomber Squadron's Liberator bomber - joined the hunt. Regardless of the danger posed by the fierce barrage from the Alsterufer, they made a dive-bombing raid on the target and hit it unerringly several times. The ship went down with its precious cargo, which represented a year's consumption of the Reich's war economy! No wonder our airmen soon became celebrities. Ode to them was sung by British newspapers, Parliament and even King George VI himself. Even the captain of the sunken vessel eventually expressed his appreciation for the cold-blooded feat...

The reverse sides of the individual coins, rendered by academic sculptor Zbyněk Fojtů, feature the following war scenes - Czechoslovak fighters attack a German bomber over the Dover cliffs; the crew of the Wellington bomber is at the mercy of the elements and enemy captivity after an emergency landing at sea; the Liberator bomber sinks a blockade breaker; Prague welcomes its airmen returning from exile. The common obverse side then belongs to the attributes of the island of Niue (a foreign issuer that allows the Czech Mint to issue its own commemorative coins), i.e. the name and portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the year of issue 2018 and the face value of 1 DOLLAR (NZD). These features are surrounded by a description that gives the years of the events depicted on each coin.

The attractive wooden etui decorated with thematic engravings contains, in addition to the four silver coins, a booklet with an expert treatise by PhDr. Lubor Václavů, military historian and advisor to the project.