Jugoslav Partisan Air Force

This is the first that I have heard of a Partisan force having its own air force or assets. I knew that late in the war that even armor was being used. Did any have any naval type assets or ships?


Jugoslav Partisan Air Force.
Almost all of the information below has been the courtesy of Klemen, and to him goes all the credit for its research.

Jugoslav Partisan Aviation: Because of the guerilla nature of partisan warfare, there were little prospects for the Jugoslav partisans to form their own aviation, although there were some cases when supporters of the National Liberation Struggle escaped along with their planes from the Croatian Air Force to the partisans. After two unsuccessful attempts at the end of 1941, the pilots Franjo Kluz and Rudi Cajavec, with his mechanic Milos Jazbec, managed to defect to the partisans. They escaped on 23 May, 1942, with their planes Potez 25 (Franjo Kluz) and Breguet 19 (Cajavec and Jazbec) from Banja Luka (north-western Bosnia) to the recently liberated town of Prijedor. These two defections symbolize the beginning of the Jugoslav partisan aviation. From the airfield in Prijedor and from another airfield near the village of Medjuvodje (near Kozara), these two partisan pilots took off on 4 June, 1942, on their first sortie against the enemy. Kluz was accompanied by his mechanic Mitrecic, and equipped his (until then) un-armed Potez with a machine gun "Sarec" as well as with some pipe bombs (to be dropped by hand) that were produced by partisans at the "Ljubija" Mine (the largest iron ore mine in all of Jugoslavia). Cajavec was killed during the first mission, when he flew too close to the Banja Luka Airfield and town. He was wounded and forced to land near the village of Kadinjani. In order to avoid capture he shot himself. His mechanic, Milos Jazbec, was captured and later executed in Zagreb. Kluz managed to complete three more missions, during which he attacked with his machine gun and pipe bombs enemy transport columns and garrisons. On 6 July, 1942, his plane was spotted and destroyed on the ground by a German fighter at the airfield near Lusca Palanka.

Until Italy's capitulation in September of 1943, the partisans were unable to form any new air force. This changed after the Italian capitulation. The partisans captured at the airfield at Gorica quite a large number of planes, from which one was successfully used by the Operative Headquarter of the Primorska Zone (Operativni Stab Primorske Cone in Slovene), while two other captured planes were incorporated into Air Base of Main Headquarter for Croatia. Especially interesting is the story of one small seaplane fleet of the Royal Jugoslav Naval Air Force which was captured by the Italians during the April War of 1941, and then remained untouched at Divulje until the Italian capitulation. Partisans captured the seaplanes together with a small support ship, and hid the fleet during the day in various bays near Trogir or some liberated Adriatic islands. By night the partisan naval pilot named Ciril Vrabic had flown, between 11 September and 6 October of 1943, some 30 missions. During the missions he usually observed enemy moves on both land and sea, but he also transported messangers and attacked enemy columns and bases from Neretva Valley to Sibenik. In October and November of 1943, two other planes from the Croatian Air Force defected to the partisans. One of them was later used for training of personnel of 1. Air Base of NOVJ (Jugoslav National Liberation Army), while the second plane (a Do-17 bomber) was assigned the task of taking a delegation of the Supreme Headquarter of Jugoslav Liberation Army to the Allied Command in Italy. Unfortunetly the plane was spotted just before take-off from the Glamocko Polje Airfield and destroyed by a German recon plane. This took place on 27 November, 1943, and Ivo Lola Ribar was killed in this attack (he was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Jugoslavia since 1940, a member of the Committee's Political Bureau since 1941, and the leader of the Jugoslav Communist Youth Association).

On 18 August, 1944, on the liberated Adriatic island of Vis was formed a Liaison Squadron. This squadron performed mostly liaison functions between the Supreme Headquarter of Jugoslav Army and its units on the battlefields/front-lines. Until November of 1944, when the squadron was moved to Belgrade, it performed 1 200 missions/sorties. This squadron had some minor one-engine planes as well as one Junkers Ju-52 which was captured at Niksic, Montenegro. A second Jugoslav partisan aviation unit was similar to the Liaison Squadron; it was the Squadron of the 5-th Corps of NOVJ, which was formed on 21 September, 1944, from planes captured at Zaluzani Airfield near Banja Luka. This new squadron consisted of a couple of Morane MS406 fighters, as well as of two-engine Caproni planes, some Bcker training planes, and BE-51 sport planes. These aircraft participated in their first action on the very same day when the squadron was formed! They participated in an attack on the Banja Luka Fortress, where surrounded Ustasa units fought very hard. When the Germans later pushed the partisans out of Banja Luka, the squadron was moved to other airfields in western and eastern Bosnia. It performed 90 combat flights, and captured two more planes; a Junkers Ju-87 and an FP-2. During all this time the squadron was supplied with fuel, ammunition, and other essentials, only from the areas which were under control of the 5-th Corps of NOVJ; this proved that aviation can even be used by partisans themselves in the conditions of partisan warfare. This squadron's successes in battle were never any great, nevertheless, its actions were a tremendous boost of morale for the partisans and civilians on the ground.

Regular Jugoslav Partisan Air Force: Italian capitulation in September of 1943 combined with Allied landings in Italy, made it possible to form new and regular partisan air force units, which of course dependet mainly on Allied material and operative support. In October of 1944, the Supreme Headquarter appealed through the "Free Yugoslavia" Radio Station to all the Jugoslav pilots in the Near East (Egypt) and in the Croatian Air Force to join the Partisan Air Force. All those who responded gathered in Livno, where on 14 October, 1943, was formed the 1-st Air Base of NOV (National Liberation Army). Soon gathered about 60 pilots and, after an agreement with the Western Allies, they were transferred to Bari (southern Italy) at the beginning of January, 1944. There began the basic air training of more than 220 Jugoslavs.

At the beginning of March 1944, all pilots were transferred by ships to North Africa. On 22 April, 1944, on the Benina Airfield near Benghazi (northern Libya) was formed RAF Command First Yugoslav Fighter Squadron (or in RAF's own records the 352-nd RAF Squadron). On 1 July, 1944, was formed the Second Yugoslav Fighter Squadron (the 351-st RAF Squadron). Following intense training, they were given 16 Spitfire V and 16 Hawker Hurricane IV planes. These units contained several ex-Royal Jugoslav Air Force pilots who until now served in various U.S. and British air force units. An agreement was concluded between the Western Allies and the partisans, which stipulated that these two units confine their area of operations exclusively to Jugoslavia.

The Spitfires of the First Squadron made their first combat flight on 18 August, 1944, from Canne Airfield in Italy. They took-off under the command of their Squadron Commander Milet Protic. They flew over the Adriatic Sea to Peljesac Peninsula, where they attacked German coastal positions. Until the end of the war, the squadron made 364 combat missions with about 1 208 flights. In the process they suffered heavy casualties: from the 21 pilots who completed the training in Lybia seven were killed; German anti-aircraft artillery managed to shoot-down nine planes and damaged four other ones.

The Second Squadron underwent special training with the use of rocket missiles, which were at that time the standard armament of the Hurricane fighters. It made its first combat flight on 13 October, 1944. Until the end of the war, the squadron performed 978 combat flights during which it attacked various enemy columns, ships, and artillery positions. They also frequently supported NOVJ infantry in its operations on the ground. Three pilots were killed and the squadron lost nine planes.

The earliest sorties were conducted from the bases in Italy, but soon both squadrons moved to the liberated Vis Island on the Adriatic Sea. Later, in the beginning of 1945, they were both moved to the Skabrnje Airfield near Zadar (central Dalmatian coast). These moves increased the aircraft's reach further into Jugoslavia. The damages inflicted on the enemy by both squadrons were very high; the destroyed enemy equipment included over 270 motor vehicles, 29 locomotives, 172 railway carriages, 52 various seagoing targets (like ships, tugboats, and etc.), and 100 other vehicles. Six railway stations, two bridges, and one power plant were also destroyed.

http://members.tripod.com/~marcin_w/index-jpaf.html

 

Yugoslav Partisan Air Force in 1942

On 23 May 1942, Franjo Kluz with his Potez 25 no.7005 and Rudi Čajavec with gunner-mechanic Milutinom Miškom Jazbecom in Breguetu 19 no.4521 from 13th squadron from Banja Luka airfield, defected to partisans landing on Urije airfield near Prijedor. After defection has been realized air search was started in order to find and destroy the aircraft's. Bombing of Prijedor airfield resulted in destruction of two camouflaged model aircraft's. Potez 25 had MG34 installed and Ivan Mitrečić was assigned as gunner-mechanic to Franjo Kluz.

First combat mission by partisan aircraft's was done on 4 June when Kluz in his Potez 25 bombed Ustashi units near village of Orahovo. In the same time Čajavec and Jezbec with their Breguetom 19 attacked Banja Luka airfield, their aircraft was hit and wounded Čajavec made a forced landing near village of Kadinjana. They where quickly surrounded by chetniks and Home Defense, Čajavec committed suicide, Jezbec was captured, taken to Zagreb and shoot by firing squad.

Detail search for Kluz and his Potez 25 failed. Fear of bombing Zagreb (!) resulted in three R-100 fighters being assigned to patrol between Prijedor and Zagreb. New attack was on 7 June when Potez bombed Dvor and Bosanski Novi. Air patrols where extended above Kostajnica, Bosanska Dubica and Bosanski Novi. Aircraft remind undiscovered until 6 July when it was spotted on the ground by FW-58 Weihe and destroyed.

http://www.vojska.net/ww2/yugoslavia/airforce/1942.asp

And this,


Yugoslav Partisan Air Force in 1943

During 1943, Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) used former Yugoslav Royal Air Force airfields for attacks against NOVJ units. In Divulje near Split Italian 183rd Seaplane Squadron was based and was used, mostly, for reconnaissance duties. After Italian capitulation, 9 September 1943, Italians abandoned based with 14 seaplanes leaving behind only one broken aircraft. Military and Party leadership of Dalmatia immediately decided to form Seaplane station in Divulje, which as independent unit was under command of HQ of 4th Operative Zone of Croatia, as part of Split Coastal Command. From 11 September to October 1943, seaplane 'Fleet' (?) carried out 30 combat missions. Considering weak armament aircraft was flying only in dawn and dusk and most often at night. Because of activities of Luftwaffe, personnel of seaplane base had to be transferred first to Brač island and later to Hvar.

After flying over to Hvar island, personnel become part of 4th Naval Coastal sector and in the beginning of 1944 entered 1st Air Force Base which over Hvar and Vis island on 5 January 1945 moved to Italy.

During liberation of Rijeka in September 1943 on Grobnik field two aircraft were found Fiesler Storch and Caproni and on 14 October one aircraft Büecker Bü 131 Jungmann landed on liberated area. General Staff of NOV i PO Croatia has taken several steps to use abandoned airfield and captured and defected aircraft in best possible way. In liberated area General Staff Croatia repaired and formed airfields Grobničko polje, then Crkovnicu, Laudonov Gaj near Bunića and temporary runways at Krbava field near Udbina, Bijelom polju near Korenica and runway on Gacko polje. On airfield Laudonov Gaj, General Staff Croatia formed air force base designated "GŠH-1 Air Force Base". Base had two aircraft, six pilots and 16 aircraft mechanics. Base remained there for a month until General Staff Croatia ordered movement to Livno and joining 1st Air Base NOVJ.

After capitulation of Italy, NOV Slovenia had Partisan Air Force for some time. On 9 September 1943 units of Primorje zone captured Gorica on which occasion at the near by airfield larger number of aircraft were captured. But in units of Primorje zone there wasn't any pilots and only one aircraft was used, this was training aircraft S.A.I.M.A.N. piloted by one Italian pilot who joined partisans. From 9 to 25 September from runways Vogersko, Ajdovščina and Otlice aircraft carried out several tasks: reconnaissance of enemy column, maintaining communications with General Staff Slovenia and VIP transport until it was destroyed in German offensive on liberated territory. During advance of German Forces in Gorica on 12 September 1943 partisans were forced to burn dozens of aircraft and destroy all storage's (which had large number of aircraft engines inside).

http://www.vojska.net/ww2/yugoslavia/airforce/1943.asp

 

I see that they had air and armor. Does anyone know of any Naval assets used by the Partisans?

The 1st tank battalion was formed at Carovigno (Italy) where future Yugoslav tank crews were transferred and it was designated officially as Motorized Battalion. The Allies required the Yugoslavs to move to Egypt where suitable conditions for their training were. The Yugoslavs really moved to training base of British VII Army in Egypt till the end of March 1944 and started their training that was going on till April 28,1944. The battalion was divided during training to 6 companies, instructors were British officers and interpreters were Canadians of Yugoslav origin. A training of next group of Yugoslav tank crews took place from the end of April till May 17, 1944. The whole battalion appeared at partisan base Gravina di Puglia (Italy) on June 12, 1944. Yet the 3rd group joined two groups trained in Egypt that was necessary to be trained at site in improvised conditions.

The Allies started to supply tanks, armored vehicles, scout vehicles, trucks, ammunition, fuel and equipment based on the agreement with Tito´s HQ in July 1944. It was decided to establish the 1st Tank Brigade in Gravina di Puglia on 16 July, 1944. The brigade had 2003 men (graduates of Tank school and internist, mostly from Croatia and Slovenia liberated from Italian camps by Allied advance in Italy), 56 tanks and 24 armored vehicles in service. The brigade consisted of 3 tank battalions with two tank companies each, each company had three platoons with 3 tanks each, rear company and antiaircraft battery. The battalion of armored vehicles (armored battalion) was also a part of this brigade. Members of brigade that left in training unit finally left the brigade and went to the USSR to be retrained for Soviet military warfare. They were altogether 600 men.

British ships transported the first part of the 1st Tank Brigade on Vis island in the beginning of September 1944 were it was used to secure the island and Tito's HQ against possible invasion. In the beginning of its existence the brigade was under command of Tito´s HQ. Brigade moved to Brač island. Later it was divided and its part was subordinated to 26th Attack Division that operated on large Dalmatian coast. This part of brigade was divided to the Northern and Southern Groups.

The Northern Group consisted of the 2nd Tank Battalion, a half of 3rd Tank Battalion and a company of armored vehicles. The Southern Group consisted of the 1st Tank Battalion, a half of 3rd Tank Battalion and a company of armored vehicles. The staff of the Southern Group attached armored vehicles to the individual tank companies during combat missions.

The Northern Group landed on the mainland during night 23/24 November near Omiš and participated in fighting's for Split, Šibenik, Drniš and took part in the large scale battle of Knin in the end November. The enemy concentrated here 12 500 soldiers and also 20 tanks. The Yugoslavs put 25 tanks and 11 armored cars to the battle. A co-operation between tanks and infantry was dull in Knin operation. The tank units lost 4 tanks and 1 armored vehicle here. The Southern Group appeared in Dubrovnik in November 1944 to took part large scale operation of Yugoslav Army against Mostar. A target of this operation was to close roads of retreat from Monte Negr* for the enemy. The Tito´s HQ withdrew also the Northern Group of the 1st Tank Brigade to an area of combat to encircle the enemy from The West and North while the Southern Group encircled it from the East. Altogether 60 tanks and 25 armored vehicles took part. Bloody combats launched in surroundings of Mostar in February 1945 (Mostar Operation) that claimed also losses of tank warfare.

The 1st Tank brigade was reorganized after operation of Yugoslav Army against Mostar. The command of brigade wait for a delivery of new tanks and decided to form the independent 4th Tank Battalion from a part of the 3rd Tank Battalion. The battalion of armored cars was not established and armored vehicles were left as an escort of tanks in the individual companies of tank battalions. The 1st Tank Brigade had 1600 men, 75 tanks and 23 armored vehicles in March 1945. Some Stuart tanks was not able for further combat and they were used as towing vehicles or their turrets were removed and anti-tank 75 mm Pak 40 L/48 gun or 20 mm Flakviering 38 quadruple or 82 mm mine-thrower was installed instead of it. Seven vehicles were adapted in such way.

The 1st Tank Brigade became a part of 4th Army of Yugoslav Army and from 20 March 1945 fights in area of Lika. In fighting's near Tounj on 13. April 1945, Germans counterattack with four "panthers" (T-34 in reality), but one AEC, commanded by August Begusha, manages destroy one "panther" by first hitting its barrel and then making two hits on turret - destroyed "panther" was commanded by Captain Albert Pihler.

After combat in Lika makes breakthrough through difficult terrain of Gorski Kotar towards Ilirska Bistrica (Rijeka operation) and on 29 April 1945 advances along direction of Ilirska Bistrica-Divača-Villa Opicina in only 15 hours across 110 km of rough terrain and arrives in Trst (Trieste) suburbs.

The brigade had 93 killed and 195 wounded in combats on Yugoslav territory. It lost 33 tanks and 5 armored vehicles, 31 tanks and 2 armored cars were damaged. The work shop of brigade succeeded to do general overhauls at 43 tanks and 5 armored vehicles.

http://www.vojska.net/ww2/yugoslavia/brigade/1tank/default.asp

 

I knew thay had an air force, but haven't heard about the tanks before.

There even was a very popular TV program called Partizanska Eskadrila, which was based on this air force (with much fantasy and even romance )

 

IIRC the partisans had a few PT boats and MTBs as a "navy." But I haven't found out anymore about them

 

Had this moved here. I hope to for it to get more attention LOL

 

"While guerrilla warfare usually centres around light, mobile forces, at least one guerrilla force has used tanks. These were Yugoslav partisans, who at first used captured Italian tanks against Italians and Germans using captured French tanks. By 1944, the partisans had 50 captured tanks in running condition. Later that year, the British supplied 56 light tanks and 24 armoured cars, which reached Yugoslavia in November of 1944. The Russians equipped a partisan unit with 65 T.34's, heavy tanks which caused the Germans much grief. When the Wehrmacht finally evacuated the Balkans, they had to do so in great haste, lest they be trapped by guerrilla armoured units--an unheard of situation."

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/3351/misc.html
--

 

Bump

 

Well, in france, the FFI also used some 200 tanks in the summer of 1944 i have heard, including 150 cromwells and some B-1 bis too. And after german defeat in France, they even found some panthers.

 

Clems. You might be interested in my threads where I posted some info about the French .

http://www.ww2f.com/weapons-wwii/22220-allied-use-captured-axis-afvs-tanks.html

Or,

http://www.ww2f.com/weapons-wwii/26075-post-war-use-axis-afvs-vehicles.html

 

for sure, thanks.

 

I was looking for a ship or boat used by partisans in the war as I had read somewhere about it. I finally found one . Anyone with some more info on it?

Partisan Patrol Boat PC21 Miran​

 

Hi, JCFalkenbergIII,

Here is the link to the site noting the PČs (=patrol boats) of the partisan navy:
Patrol boats of Yugoslav navy

 

Thanks. I don't know how I missed that on the site LOL.

 

Bump for Carl and TOS.

 

"In early 1944 the Allies recognized the Partisans as the official Yugoslavian resistance organization and quit supporting the Chetniks. When Italy surrendered in September, 1943, the Partisans had captured a significant number of warplanes, and they were obtaining more from a growing stream of defecting Croatian pilots. Also, they captured some German planes as they liberated regions of Yugoslavia. In the fall of 1944 the British RAF activated two squadrons manned by Yugoslavian pilots as part of the Allied Balkan Air Force. RAF 351 Squadron used Hurricane Mk.IVs fitted with rockets, and 352 Squadron used Spitfire Mk.Vs to fly missions in support of the Partisans until the end of the war. The Soviets subsequently created two air force divisions manned by Yugoslavian pilots. The Soviet air force's 42 Assault Division flew Il-2 Stormoviks, and its 11 Fighter Division flew Yak fighters. They went into action in January, 1945, and also flew missions supporting the Partisans until the end of the war. These RAF and Soviet planes, along with the planes the Partisans had captured, were the basis for the postwar Yugoslavian air force."

Yugoslavian Combat Aircraft of WWII 1/72 Scale

 

"24 AEC Mark III & IV armored cars were given to the rebels by the British."