Several days later, Drava engaged four Hungarian patrol boats coming down the Danube from the direction of Mohács and managed to drive them back.

Although initially imbued with a high level of morale, as the monitor's crew members became aware of the Royal Yugoslav Army's poor performance in the face of the invasion, several deserted.

[2] Berić served in various capacities aboard the Royal Yugoslav Navy vessels Sokol, Uskok, Dalmacija, Torpiljar 1 and Četnik.

[2] Drava was based at Bezdan when the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia commenced on 6 April 1941, serving as the flagship of the 1st Mine Barrage Division.

[8] After the invasion began, Drava steamed upstream to Mohács in Hungary to shell the airfield there on 6 and 8 April,[9] but was subjected to daily attacks by the Luftwaffe.

[11] Around 2:00 p.m. the following day, a Yugoslav lookout near Batina signaled Drava that four Hungarian patrol boats, armed with 70 mm (2.8 in) guns, were coming down the Danube from the direction of Mohács.

Morale on the ship was good, but when Berić met with Royal Yugoslav Army elements later that day, he became aware of the situation elsewhere, and nine crew members deserted.

[12] Around 3:00 a.m. on the morning of 12 April, Drava encountered the ruined railway bridge at Bogojevo, which prevented it from navigating further along the Danube, and anchored nearby.

[9][13] According to Terzić, around 7:45 a.m., as a result of the damage inflicted on her engine room, Drava sank off Čib (modern-day Čelarevo) with the loss of 54 of her 67 crew, including her first and second officers.

[14] According to Terzić, citing the author Anton Simović, Berić survived the sinking and managed to make his way to shore, but was then likely killed by fifth columnists.

[13] Regardless of the means of his death, his remains were subsequently identified by the local inhabitants and buried at a cemetery in the village of Belegiš, near Stara Pazova.