| Honorific Prefix: | Colonel |
| Jaroslav Šrámek | |
| Birth Date: | 1929 5, df=y |
| Allegiance: | Czechoslovakia |
| Branch: | Czechoslovak Air Force |
| Serviceyears: | 1951–89 |
| Rank: | Colonel |
| Battles: | Air battle over Merklín |
Colonel Jaroslav Šrámek (3 May 1929 – 16 February 2015[1]) was a Czechoslovak fighter pilot, active during the Cold War. He is known as the only pilot from the Czechoslovak Air Force ever to have shot down an enemy jet-propelled plane.[2] He flew more than 2,000 operational hours during his career, which spanned 1951 to 1989.
Šrámek had an interest in aviation from a young age, making model aircraft as a child. After graduating from secondary school, he attended the Czechoslovak Air Force Academy, a move which began his career in aviation.[3]
See main article: Air battle over Merklín. On 10 March 1953, Lt. Šrámek (5th Fighter Regiment, 2nd Squadron, Plzeň-Líně air base) had been flying close to the town of Domažlice in the west of Bohemia.[2] [4] His unit was assigned to patrol the edge of Czechoslovak airspace, close to the frontier with West Germany.[4] Šrámek, who was flying a MiG-15, encountered two American F-84 Thunderjet planes above Merklín, a small village within Czechoslovak territory.[4] The two American aircraft split, and one escaped. The remaining craft was piloted by Lt. Warren G. A. Brown, a veteran of the Korean War.[5] No missiles were fired; Šrámek fired two cannon shots. The American plane sustained two hits, with the second one, from the N-37 cannon, causing a fire to break out.[4] [5] Brown ejected from the aircraft, which crash-landed in German territory, near Falkenstein, Bavaria, approximately 35km (22miles) from the border, and survived.[4]
Later in his career, Šrámek became the first Czechoslovak to fly the MiG-23.[3] He flew in the Czechoslovak Air Force until the 1980s, where he piloted MiG-23 aircraft. He described the MiG-23 as the best aircraft he had flown, because "it was the fastest".[5] Šrámek ended his career with a total of 2,353 flight hours.[3]