formerly 0111, fn as 5251 in August 2027

Special tail Slovak L-39 with Otto Smik, the most succesfull Slovakian pilot in RAF service with 11 kills. Died in November 1944 while attacking Zwolle trainstation which is a mere 45 mins by train from where I live.

Special commemorative livery dedicated to 100th Anniversary of S/Ldr Otto Smik's birth.

This Slovakian L-39 commemmorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of S/Ldr Otto Smik, the highest scoring Slovakian ace of WWII. It is pictured in the static display at AirPower 2022.

Special commemorative livery dedicated to 100th Anniversary of S/Ldr Otto Smik's birth.

This aircraft wears markings to commemorate Otto Smik, a Czechoslovakian RAF pilot in WWII after whom the Tactical Wing at Sliac has been named. Smik was a fighter ace who shot down more than 10 German aircraft after being shot down himself when attacking German aircraft on the ground at Gilze-Rijen AB, Netherlands on 3 September 1944. With the help of Dutch resistance, he managed to return to his unit. On 28 November 1944 he was killed when his Spitfire was hit by German fire during an attack on a railway area in Zwolle, Netherlands.

A classy tribute to Otto Smik. Born in Soviet Georgia to a Slovak father and a Russian Jewish mother, Smik fought in the RAF during WWII. Flying Spitfire Mk.XVI RR227, he was killed in an attack against a railway yard in Zwolle, Netherlands on 28 November 1944.