on 1 september 1939 germany invaded poland, and on the morning of 2 september a "luftwaffe" air raid destroyed dęblin airbase. františek's unit evacuated its surviving aircraft to góra puławska, further to the southeast. on one patrol from góra puławska a fellow czechoslovak pilot, zdeněk škavarda, was flying a breguet 19 when he ran out of fuel, made a forced landing near german lines and was at risk of capture. františek landed nearby and rescued him.