in july 1939 a party of czechoslovak airmen including františek and another future raf ace, karel kuttelwascher, went to the port of gdynia to sail to france. on 29 july they were about to embark on a swedish cargo steamship, the "kastelholm", when a group of polish officials tried to persuade them to stay. many czechoslovaks, including kuttelwascher, rejected the polish offer. but františek was in a group of friends that tossed a coin to decide. it landed "tails", so they stayed and joined the polish air force.